Hall of Famer [22127]
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Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 9:34 AM
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In my younger days we called a burlap sack a "gunny" sack or a "croker" sack. "Croker" has several different spellings and the term was used mainly in the South. I have not heard the term "croker" sack in ages so I assume most of you younger posters are not familiar with that term.
When I was a young boy, we had relatives from Ohio visit my family in Florida. There were two boys about the same ages as my older brother and I. They asked if they could see our "machine". I thought that was an odd request because the only machine I could think of was my Mother's sewing machine. However, the machine they were referring to was what we called an automobile or a car.
When I was stationed at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh during WW2, a young lady said "she had to "rid up her house". She had to explain the term to me which was nothing more than cleaning the house, using the vacuum and getting rid of trash, etc.
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Heisman Winner [79298]
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We also called them "tow sacks"
Mar 29, 2021, 9:39 AM
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One term I had never heard growing up was kids being "bus left" if they missed the bus for school. The term is used widely where I live now. And we don't want to get into a discussion about "crazy checks".
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Legend [6962]
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Re: We also called them "tow sacks"
Mar 29, 2021, 11:22 AM
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Where did toe, or tow sack originate, and what was the meaning? And crazy checks. I remember, when I was a very young boy, a man from our neighborhood, referred to his crazy check the government gave him every month. He had come back from The Korean War a very decorated soldier, but unfortunately, he also came home with some pretty serious mental issues. He had what I guess is now called combat flashbacks. He was a good ol' affable guy, until he had his "spells", then he became a pretty dangerous man.
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Orange Elite [5253]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 9:43 AM
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Joe, I'm a youngster at 75 and definitely remember gunny sacks and croker sacks! Not the others!
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Orange Blooded [2307]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 9:55 AM
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I've heard all those names but my father called them croker...or croaker...sacks.
I remember asking him why they were called that once, and he said he didn't really know but thought it might have come a handy way to carry a mess of croakers...the fish...that you'd caught.
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Athletic Dir [1151]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 9:59 AM
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The croaker term goes back to when fertilizer was basically rotten fish. the fertilizer bags had a picture of a fish on it
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Orange Blooded [2307]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:07 AM
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Thanks. I've heard of fish meal fertilizer. That makes a lot of sense as the origin of the name.
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Paw Warrior [4875]
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I am 82. We had tow sacks and my
Mar 29, 2021, 9:58 AM
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father would tote things in them.
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Standout [235]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:03 AM
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Yep,,, I'm 60 and the term croker sack is very familiar.
Some really Po people would make dresses out of em too.
Hope they wore a Petticoat underneath.
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110%er [6825]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:03 AM
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For me, "gunny sack" was for any old reused second hand "ragbag" - burlap counted, but if a sack was being reused, it was a "gunny" to a point. My guess was that burlap was kinda "out" due to synthetic being used more but the term was kinda remaining.
Cro(a)ker is a fish. If you would have said that I would give you a bunch of fish in a bag.
People in Ohio are ignorant. For me, the only odd term I heard was: a "Duck truck" aka a station wagon - normally in worn/questionable condition. My guess, it was a play on the old DUKW transports. The old station wagon (Ford LTD) we use drive with gear to go sailing was a "duck truck" but I heard it for any real farm-use vehicle, especially if covered.
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Letterman [196]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:03 AM
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I remember when you wanted to complement an attractive young lady you would say, "She'd look good wearing a croker sack."
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Orange Blooded [2588]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:06 AM
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Tote sack
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Paw Warrior [4875]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 12:14 PM
[ in reply to Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks? ] |
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There is a picture somewhere of Marilyn Monroe wearing a burlap sack. They had cut out places for her head and arms and it looked like a mini-skirt. Fablous.
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Clemson Conqueror [11396]
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Game Changer [2024]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:13 AM
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Joe, I am almost 65 and I definitely remember crocker sacks. I don't think I ever questioned the term. As far as the machine, my mother grew up in Columbia and she used to jokingly ask what kind of machine did you have. It was definitely a mocking term for her. I always thought it was making fun of who she referred to as "tacky people" rather than those from the north or midwest. Other than that, I never heard anyone else refer to a car as a machine.
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Orange Immortal [64964]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:17 AM
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Tow sack
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Clemson Conqueror [11396]
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I'm thinking that was tote sack!***
Mar 30, 2021, 7:11 AM
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Playmaker [354]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:23 AM
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I'm 72 and we used croker sacks for cotton picking when I was a child on the farm. Tore sheets into strips for a shoulder strap, and then rolled a walnut into one side of the open end of the sack and tied one end of the strap around it. Did the same on the other side with the other end of the strap. Put it over my shoulder, got on my knees and picked cotton, putting it into the croker sack as I crawled and picked. As a kid, I tried to avoid most all work, but my father was very persuasive!! But cotton picking was my absolutely all time hated chore.
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Team Captain [478]
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Unfortunately they are getting harder to find around here
Mar 29, 2021, 10:24 AM
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I like to use them soaking wet to cover my oysters when roasting. Of course back in the day the oysters came in the sacks so it made sense to use them. Now they come in some king of plastic bags and people use steamers. I always enjoyed sitting around the fire with my friends after the oysters were gone. Not as much fun sitting around a steamer!
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Orange Blooded [2211]
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Re: Unfortunately they are getting harder to find around here
Mar 29, 2021, 10:40 PM
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This is the proper and best way to cook oysters but few know of it and fewer have a proper setup for it. The Smokey flavor is much richer. I hate the plastic bags oysters and seed come in nowadays. Hard to fin burlap.
To OPJoe. I’m 32 and it’s always been about 50/50 burlap and croaker. Used them for oysters, seed, oyster cooking, and camouflage. There was another name my dad used but it escapes me.
If you get a high quality burlap from a seed bag it’s actually not too rough to the touch. But they are hard to come by.
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All-In [10774]
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A Three legged sack
Mar 29, 2021, 10:41 AM
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as in the race of the same name
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Athletic Dir [1167]
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a poke***
Mar 29, 2021, 10:49 AM
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Tiger Spirit [9521]
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Only as long as there was a pig inside it.
Mar 29, 2021, 11:43 AM
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nm
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Legend [6962]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:53 AM
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Ever hear those same sacks referred to as toe (or tow, I'm not sure of the spelling), sacks?
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Varsity [225]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:58 AM
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My father worked for a company named Stein Hall. He would import Jute and Burlap from India and sell it to the carpet mills for backing to carpet. He spent half his life in Dalton, Ga. which was the carpet manufacturing center of the USA. It was his connection with some good ole boys in Dalton Ga. that I ended up at Clemson. One of the best things that ever happened to me. God does have a plan. All I have to do is get out of the way and let it play out.
Thanks for reminding me of Burlap.
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Standout [311]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 11:03 AM
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I'm 82 years old and we called those items "jute sacks". My dad used those to teach me to swim. He would take me off shore about 50 yards ( in the muddy Catawba River, near Charlotte) and toss me out of the boat and I had to swim back to shore. Oh yes the bag! As soon as I got out of the bag there wasn't much to the swim!
Bubba
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Legend [6962]
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Re: In other words, your dad had big plans for you,
Mar 29, 2021, 11:26 AM
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but you were able to get out of the sack. Pretty funny bubba.
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Freshman [1]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 11:16 AM
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From my knowledge living in rural SC, originally gunny sacks were slang for Guano sacks, harkening to the days guano (bird droppings) was shipped from Caribbean islands as fertilizer. Since most birds only defecate and do not urinate, guano is very high in nitrogen content, hence it's a highly effective fertilizer.
In hard times certain rural milling companies sole flour in pillow case like bags. These could also be easily turned into women's sleeveless shifts for summer wear.
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Clemson Icon [27753]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 11:25 AM
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I thought the guano bags were called “Duana” sacks! They made great bases for cow pasture baseball diamonds. That’s where I learned to play the game and I bet a lot of you agree. Those were the days. No adults No umps No unis!
Just a well you provide great drinking water. Kids today’s missed out on a lot of growing up. Can you imagine a kid today being forced to play baseball with an old ball wrapped in black tape ?
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Athletic Dir [1151]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 11:37 AM
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I have 8 shares of a fertilizer stock from 1918 framed on the wall. Found the site when I was working in Georgetown, basically a brick (old ballast stones) lined pit where the fish were dumped until ready for additives mixing and bagging. Value of stocks in 1918 was $800 and 9% dividends. The croaker sacks were reused for tobacco sheets, insulating stables and many more things on the farm oce emptied
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CU Medallion [20883]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 11:53 AM
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GA Tech cheerleader uniforms
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Heisman Winner [85718]
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I always heard them called "crocus" sacks when I was growing
Mar 29, 2021, 12:21 PM
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up in South Carolina.
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Orange Blooded [2307]
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Re: I always heard them called "crocus" sacks when I was growing
Mar 29, 2021, 3:59 PM
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This is interesting to me. My father, everyone on his side of the family, had the kind of southern accent you don't hear that often anymore, where you don't pronounce an "r" on the end of a word. It comes out like "uh."
So the word "croaker" would sound like "croakuh."
String together "croakuh sack" and say it kind of quick and it sounds like "crocus sack."
Not saying it wasn't actually "crocus sack" where you're from, but might be that's why you heard it that way.
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Clemson Conqueror [11396]
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Pretty sure you are correct...it was never "crocus"***
Mar 30, 2021, 7:17 AM
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CU Guru [1524]
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Poke Sack, and Gunny Sack for me ...***
Mar 29, 2021, 1:22 PM
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Paw Master [17831]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 1:28 PM
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Farm girls called them dresses.
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Tiger Spirit [9788]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 2:51 PM
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My daddy used to keep his duck decoys in "croker sacks".
Message was edited by: 1portroyalty®
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Orange Blooded [2597]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 4:19 PM
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Croker sacks were seed sacks that were reused to tote other crops or material. My main run-in with them was at a cucumber shed in Cottageville. I was the weigher a of the cukes after they were sorted. I was paid ten cents more and hour because they trusted me to get the weights correct. The season lasted from about the first of June to first of July. Do not worry; we did not celebrate the Forth of July back then. It was not celebrated statewide until 1976.. If you do not understand why, Either you are too young or not from the South. And yes; everyone was paid the same prices per pound. The group that made the most money were the Edisto Indians from near Givhens. They used 150 pound croker sacks and filled up a old 40 something from behind the front seat, through the trunk, and filled up and old wooden trailer.
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Tiger Spirit [9788]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:15 PM
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My uncle Belton used to check all the farms in the Lowcountry.
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National Champion [7992]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 6:38 PM
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We can always count on you to bring back good memories. Joe when coming up fertilizer came in 200 lb. croaker sacks. As a young boy it was my job to keep the hoppers full of fertilizer and seed after each round. After planting corn, Funks Hybrid and Dixie 18 it was also fun to go down to the branch and wash the sacks out. We used them for many things. Also, when the corn was laid by we would side dress it with Bull Dog (He's the Champ) soda.
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Orange Blooded [2221]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 6:52 PM
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I am 52 and my mom and dad both came from
large farming families that grew cotton. I always heard them both refer to burlap bags as croker sacks.
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All-Time Great [94433]
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I’m a mere child @ 65 . . .
Mar 29, 2021, 10:17 PM
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and am familiar with all the names . . . but we called them “tote sacks” . . . and a must for the previously mentioned oyster roast!!!
Thanks Joe for helping us peruse that memory path!!!
As for odd terms . . . my Dad always referred to his (or our) doctors as . . . “Sawbones”
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Asst Coach [702]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:30 PM
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I remember croaker sack very well! We used them in 3- legged race back in 3rd grade at Saluda Elementary School .
If you got rolling good with your bud in that rac, then slipped/tripped up, you got skint knees and bloodied up for sure.
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Rival Killer [2676]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 29, 2021, 10:57 PM
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I commercial crabbed through high school and college, late 80’s thru early nineties. We always used wet croaker sacks to cover the bushel baskets to keep the crabs from baking in the sun. Have also used them for chum bags while cobia fishing.
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Top TigerNet [31366]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 30, 2021, 12:39 AM
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Feed sacks
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Ring of Honor [23032]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 30, 2021, 1:07 AM
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I knew them as croaker sacks. Local oysters always came with a croaker sack and we used them to cover the oysters when we steamed them.
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Clemson Conqueror [11396]
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Yes...i'm 70, and I well remember "croker" sacks. You're right...
Mar 30, 2021, 7:03 AM
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we don't hear that anymore. Don't really see them much anymore either. Most sacks are paper or plastic nowadays.
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All-TigerNet [6061]
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Croker/Crocus
Mar 30, 2021, 11:07 AM
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I always heard them called "crocus" sacks and thought those who called them "croker" sacks were ignorant..... ">..... I see that either spelling is OK:
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/crocus%20sack crocus sack - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free.
At about age 8 or so, my cousin and I walked into a farm barn and saw a big black snake of some kind.... maybe 6' or so.... we declared him to be a coachwhip (but we really didn't know. We caught him, then put him in a burlap sack we saw in the barn.
It seemed reasonable to see if he could really eat a frog, so we went down to the pond and caught a medium size frog, worked the snake's head to the top of the bag and put the frog in front of the snake. Immediately, the snake bit down on the frog, so we were sure we were about to see how a snake could eat something that big.
We put the bag with shake inside on the ground at the edge of a field. All of a sudden, the snake came out of the bag, raced toward the weeds in the field, stood up on his tail (while running) and flung the frog about 30' and continued across the field, all the while running on his tail with his head above the weeds so he could see where he was going.
I've never seen anything quite like it since.
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Head Coach [963]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 30, 2021, 6:39 PM
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Kroka or kroker sack is the sound for the bag in my part of the state.
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Orange Blooded [2102]
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We called them croker sacks in the 70s.***
Mar 30, 2021, 8:40 PM
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CU Guru [1526]
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Re: Anyone Remember Other Names for Burlap Sacks?
Mar 30, 2021, 10:05 PM
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My granddaddy, sometimes after seeing a big-breasted woman would remark "those things looked like 2 shoats in a croker sack."
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