Beaufort resident remembers being raised the 'Watkins Way'

If a homemaker mentions Watkins products, you can likely identify that woman's generation, for she can tell about the Watkins man coming door to door with the Watkins products.

These women talk about the "Watkins Way" and how their mothers used the products. Of the women with whom I have discussed the Watkins Way, Beaufort resident Ann Wirz could do a show-and-tell about growing up, her mother and "Watkins Household Hints," a book published in 1941 that sold for $1.50.

Ann's mother, Annelle Tedder Newberry, was not the typical Southern mom following in the footsteps of America's Susie homemaker. She believed in no frills while making do with what you have. Newberry practiced this whether she was cooking, cleaning, doctoring, making electrical and plumbing repairs or doing the laundry. "Mother relied on the handy 'Watkins Household Hints,' " Wirz said. "This handy guide traveled with her to and from Beaufort and California numerous times, to Pearl Harbor to California and to and from Charleston and California."

Wirz's mother was quite a lady. She grew up in Beaufort with a brother, two half-brothers, a half-sister and three first cousins within the family. Under the guidance of her stepfather, she painted the trim on the barber shop at Parris Island when she was 14. When she was 18, she qualified for her painter's license issued by the city of Beaufort. At 19, she met and married Wirz's father, Joseph Newberry, a Navy pharmacist stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. When Wirz's mother was 25, she became the first woman civilian painter at the Charleston Navy Yard.

"Mother had always been independent, but after my brothers and I were born, she had to be more innovative and imaginative in making do," said Wirz. "Since mother was the primary parent in all aspects of our lives, she made use of 'Watkins' on a daily basis."

When Wirz's father came home from an extended stay in the hospital, the family was living in a full-size house with a full-size garage and basement. There was room for Wirz and her brothers to skate and shelves for their mother to place her canned jars of peaches, pears, relish and pickles. Her mother followed hints from "Watkins" in tinting the pears dark pink and green. Her mother never worried about her children bumping into the shelves, but she did worry about them opening the jars and eating the pears. To discourage them, she stated that the green pears were "full of the devil."

"I have fond memories visiting my grandmother," Wirz recalled. "While at a cook out ... I hit my forehead. A bruise started forming immediately. Picture adults having a great time and children running and playing. Mother did not have her 'Watkins Hints,' so her remedies had to be used. She placed a tablespoon over the rising bump and told me to hold it there for as long as she said, whatever time that was. I can't imagine how long it was, but I thought it was an eternity. Basically, mother had 'made

do' using a cold spoon as a compress."

Growing up, meal times were also special to Wirz and her family.

"Our nightly dinners were served in the kitchen. While Sunday and holidays meals were eaten in the dining room. Dinner was a simple meat, green vegetable, rice or potatoes, cornbread, store-bought rolls and sweet iced tea," Wirz said. "Very seldom did we have any dessert unless it was a pudding or gelatin. Mother always used serving bowls even though the pots were only 4 or 5 feet away from the table. About every two weeks, she made mayonnaise, which was the only dressing used for salads and sandwiches. It was my job to set the table, and most times there was a centerpiece, especially for holidays."

Many people identify themselves with more than a name. Wirz will tell you she was raised as a Watkins girl, and she still wears the title.

Port Royal resident Ervena Faulkner is a retired educator who has always had an interest in food and nutrition. E-mail her at features@beaufortgazette.com.