Hot Times in Texas

How did the Old Timey People stand it?

Ah the expectations of Fun in the Sun, Bar-Be-Ques in the yard, the warm breeze gently wafting beneath a cotton dress as I drift through a pasture filled with wildflowers…

in Texas, that’s not summer - that was April 28th, from 2:15 - 2:45PM. The rest of the time it’s been Texas TerrorIce, Texas Tornadoes or Texas Toast. As we cuddle up next to a roaring AC, we have to ask ourselves - how did the old folks manage to stay alive in Texas?

In my Sci-Fi Western Series, WATCHER of the DAMNED, I had to ponder this timely question because A) they have no electricity and B) it’s Texas, so I didn’t need my Main Characters dying of Heat Exhaustion before the end of the Series. Fortunately for me, I have the answer.

Turns, out, I know first hand. I have actually lived in Texas without air conditioning in the Summer, because I was a) a primitive camper and b) I was broke. But I also have real stories from real people about how people leaved in Ye Ancient Times. This knowledge is born the kind of wisdom that dipped Scotch Snuff and drank Sweet Tea, for I am old, born of old people who were also born of old people who were born of old people ad infinitum.

ANCIENT HISTORY VERACITY CLAIM:

My Birth: 1962

My Father’s Birth: 1923

My Grandfather’s Birth: 1881

My Great-GrandFather’s Birth: 1841

TO WIT: My Great GrandFather fought in the Civil War. I literally heard my Mother tell stories told to her by a CIVIL WAR VETERAN; I am a freak of nature and I love it. But this means I need to share my incredible knowledge with you before I shuffle off this mortal coil and become one with my ancestors and Sweet Baby Jesus, so let’s tackle this question:

HOW DID OUR ANCESTORS STAY COOL IN TORRID TEXAS?

Spoiler Alert: They did what people the world over do: MAKE DO.

HOT TAKE #1: Natural Air Conditioning

EXHIBIT 1: Dogtrot Houses

Dogtrot House, Image Courtesy of the Bullock Museum of Texas History

My Grandma lived in a Dogtrot house much like this one. I visited it as a child, and it was every bit as awesome as it sounds. The smell of old wood and dust set the stage of a concert of cicadas in the evening breeze - all from inside this marvellous house. The Dogtrot design was oriented towards the prevailing southeast summer breeze, to funnel air in and create natural air circulation. A woodstove in each side of the house kept it warm in the winter, and summer cooking was done in the breezeway. In memory, I am still there; no symphony ever matched the Song of Summer Beneath the Breezeway.

EXHIBIT 2: High Ceilings

Wichita Grass House, Image Courtesy of habitatio_nepi

Many Indigenous Tribes of Central Texas - Waco, Tawakoni, Caddo - built these wonderful grass huts with high, vented ceilings, creating a ‘chimney effect’ to draw air into the hut for natural ventilation. These houses were engineering marvels, keeping cool in the summer and staying warm in the winter - and despite their seemingly ephemeral construction, they were remarkably durable. Look to the Prairie, and see how her People survived and thrived; she has a story to tell.

HOT TAKE #2: Hats & Light, Long Cotton Clothes

Image Courtesy of Davick Services: Bailey County Farmer with Mule Team

This fine Farmer has the formula down - a high-crowned straw hat and light, long cotton clothes. Anyone who works outside for a living knows that this is the way, but for many who have never worked outside, a word of advice: the sun is NOT your friend. My Mother picked cotton as a Sharecropper’s child during the Great Depression, and I still have a cotton slat bonnet she wore, packed away with all my treasures. She wore long-sleeved, loose-fitting, light colored clothing, and would tie water-soaked bandanas around their necks to stay cool. Bare arms and a bare head equalled sunburn and heat stroke. And outdoor work leads us to our Third Hot Take:

HOT TAKE #3: Work Like A Mule

Image Courtesy of Library of Congress: Resting the Mules

This intelligent young Man knows when to lay off in the heat - and he’s following the lead of his wise Work Partner: his Mule. Mules are smart critters, and many farmers in Texas considered them the best draft animals, because mules would usually stop working when they got too hot. When the mules stopped pulling, people stopped plowing and took a water break. Scheduling was also important. Doing hardest outdoor work before noon and after six PM in summer, many old folks would switch to ‘shade tree’ work whenever feasible in the hottest part of the day. These were jobs that could be done beneath a tree, or inside a cabin: laundry, food prep, housecleaning, repairs, etc - they worked all day long - they just worked SMART. They worked like Mules. But what about AFTER the work day?

HOT TAKE #4: Outdoor Kitchens

Image Courtesy of Dummaniosa’s Flicker Page: German Farm Outdoor Kitchen

An outdoor kitchen was a necessity for Texas Farms. A roof was needed to keep off rain and sun; cooking was long, hot work, and a shaded space to cook made the work more pleasant - plus it allowed cooks to interact with the family and watch children while they were working and playing outside. Work was a family affair, and everybody pitched in to make meals and do labour required to stay alive. Working within eyeshot made work safer and more social. Who wants to be cooped up in a teeny dark house when the fireflies are playing in your kitchen?

HOT TAKE #5: Sleeping Porches

Image Courtesy of The Gamble House: “Sleeping Porches”

They sound fancy, but even humble cabins aspired to have a sleeping porch. Sleeping inside during the summer was like sleeping in a sauna: not feasible. Nobody likes to wake up roasted like a brisket, so when it was too hot, beds were moved to a cooler place - the porch. In Texas, Dogtrot homes already had a built-in breezeway to use, but any home could convert a porch into a bedroom. Before screens, they used wooden or bamboo lattice, just like people the world over have done for millenia; sleeping inside was simply too hot. But even then, mosquitoes might come around to buzz in your ears, so a nearby smokey fire would help to keep the bugs at bay. This fire was even better if it was a pit bar-be-que. WIN-WIN.

FAST FORWARD TO LIFE IN THE A/C AGE: Having grown up in a dirt-floor cabin, my Mother loved Air Conditioning, and would relentlessly freeze us all to death, just because she could. But even in the middle of summer, she would sometimes turn it all off and fling open the windows, just to smell the scent of the sun’s heat, a forgotten relic of time without summer chill. Mother said we should, because people all over the world live without air conditioning. Then she would sit down with a gigantic mason jar full of sweet tea and tell me that life without Air Conditioning is not just a relic of our past - it might the heat wave of our future.

Perhaps I should build that outdoor kitchen soon.