When people look at history, they tend to talk about things removed from daily life – politics, wars, etc.
But we as a whole seem to have forgotten about those aspects of daily life that would have affected us directly – such as the scourge of rats. A century ago in our community, most people farmed. They stored large amounts of foods, such as wheat and corn, over winter. But even people who lived in town and bought their foods stored them in barrels and jars. Rats would get into them.
Yes, rats ate the food. Worse, though, they walked all through the food, and used the bathroom in it, which would ruin the whole lot.
They spread diseases. They chewed away at clothing and linens.
Each year, Henry County called March “Kill the Rat” month. It was a major campaign. Everyone – man, woman and child – had to chip in to do their part to reduce the rat population.
Each March, a contest ran through Henry County for adults and through the schools for children. Though it was exciting to win prizes, it was nasty the way the children had to bring the tails of the rats they had killed for the teacher to tally up. Imagine having a bucket of rat tails in one corner of your classroom.
This poem was published in the Henry Bulletin on Feb. 14, 1922: “Watch the ladies climb a chair – while they wear one in their hair – hear them holler, shriek and scream – kill them, help the little Queens.” The article which started with the column finishes: “Moral – Observe ‘Kill the Rat Month’ during the month of March and kill all you can.”
An article on Feb. 28, 1922, in the same newspaper says: “If one man kills all of his rats and his neighbor doesn’t his neighbor’s rats will go visiting. Now is the time for everyone to kill so there will be no rats to go visiting. Poison given away at the Clerks Office for as long as its lasts.”
In 1922 Mrs. Kellogg’s class at Horsepasture School won first place for most rats killed, with a $5 prize. That’s worth $100 today. Black students and classes would get only half the prize money, so Bettie Hairston’s class at Bassett School won only $2.50 for the most rats killed.
In the community-side category, Linwood Stone won $2.50 for killing 237 rats. Allen Haynes got second place for killing 163 rats and won $1.50. Frank Craig got third place at 149, and he won $1. Those were the white children. Among the Colored children, Robert Giles killed the most, 68 rats, and he won $1.50.
Other prizes included –
· The oldest rat, 8 years old, killed by Thomas Self. He won $2.50, given by Mutual Benefit Insurance Company.
· Macon Purcell killed a rat that was 16 ½ inches long. He won the largest-rat prize, which was a box of candy from Kearfott Drug Company.
· Linwood Stone won the prize for heaviest rat. It weighed 1 pound. His prize was a ring from A.D. Beckner. He also won the prize for the first 10 rat tails turned in. It was a fountain pen from Central Drug Company.
· Tom Hill won the prize for the blackest rat killed. His prize was a Quality Cake by Martinsville Bakery.
