I got up the other morning and one of my heifers was on the wrong side of the fence. My wife Bobbie found the place where she had walked through the fence, and we began the process of making repairs. After determining that another fence post was needed, I went to Smith’s Animal House to get one. When I went in, I saw a friend of mine sitting on a bag of feed in the corner, so I cautioned everyone to not believe all the stories they were hearing.
He said he didn’t recognize me with my farming clothes on and he asked me how retirement was going. I told him I was adjusting to it. He said when he retired it didn’t take him but one day of not driving to Atlanta and he was adjusted. I then noticed that his jeans had a serious hole in them that he had tried to fix with an iron-on patch. I told him that it may be too late to fix them and maybe it was time to turn them into shorts.
As the conversation continued, the suggestion was made that he should take the patch off and advertise them on eBay. Jeans with holes and tears seem to be selling at a premium these days. He could probably get more than he paid for them.
Pondering this situation reminds me of a time in the past where iron-on patches were common. Our parents were all children of the Great Depression, and no one wanted to send their children out with holes in their clothes. We played a lot of marbles back then and worn-out knees with iron-on patches were common. Today we just keep wearing them or throw them away and get another pair, which was not an option back then.
My momma loved to sew, and she would keep some of the material from jeans that were completely worn out and use the material to make patches for future holes. When jeans had a knee worn out, she would cut the seam on the side of the jeans and sew the patch on the inside. We always had the best-looking patched jeans of anybody.
Likewise, when you wore a hole in a sock, the sock would be darned and put back like new. The darned socks were actually very comfortable. I don’t know what momma would think about jeans of today that have holes cut in them on purpose, but I am sure she would adjust to the times. I wonder what the result would be if those cutting the holes had to repair them?
Frank Hancock has worked as a Farm Manager, Vocational Agriculture Teacher and Vice President at Snapper. He retired as the University of Georgia Agricultural Extension Agent in Henry County. He is a also a member of the Heritage Writers Group.
