Giving Reversible a New Meaning

Melissa SandfortAgricultural Anthropology

I’ve owned reversible jackets, pants and hats, but I’ve never owned a pair of cotton flannel double-thumbed gloves. They might look a bit of an oddity, but they were quite popular back in the day for husking corn. Corn picking was done by hand, and then you’d have to take the husks off before putting it in the sheller or grinder. What a chore for your hands!

Double-thumbed gloves to the rescue. Once you wore through the palm on one side, you’d just flip it over and get back to work.

And well aware that money only stretched so far back then, they would sometimes smear tar on the gloves to make them last longer.

I’m thinking a pair of these would be nice for avid gardeners.

And by the way, isn’t that what a combine is for these days?

Until our next history lesson …