What's in Your Pocket?

 There are hot pockets, pill pockets, even Lacrosse pockets, but what about the ones in your clothing? 

I'm so glad pockets are finally more routinely included in women's clothing. Still always could use more of them, and the idea started long ago with the pouch-pocket theory. 

                                              

    Ancient people used leather or cloth pouches to hold valuables, the forerunner of the pocket. Even Ötzi (also called the "Iceman"), who lived around 3,300 BCE, had a belt with a pouch sewn to it that contained a cache of useful items: a scraper, drill, flint flake, bone awl, and a dried tinder fungus.

  According to historian Rebecca Unsworth, it was in the late 15th century that pockets became more noticeable. The pockets began by being hung like purses from a belt accessible through a slit in the outer garment. Being concealed beneath a coat or jerkin, help to discourage pickpocketing. 

The word pocket appears in Middle English, and is taken from a Norman diminutive of Old French poke, pouque, or pouch. The form "poke" is now only used in dialect, or in such proverbial sayings as "a pig in a poke".

                                           

 Historically, the term "pocket" referred to a pouch worn around the waist by women, as mentioned in the rhyme Lucy Locket. In these pockets, women would carry items needed in their daily lives, such as scissors, pins and needles, and keys.

 

Lucy Locket lost her pocket.

Kitty Fisher found it;

Not a penny was there in it,

Only ribbon round it.

 The rhyme was first noted by James Orchard Halliwell in 1842 (Some accountings hint at Lucy and Kitty being rival courtesans of the time of Charles II", making it a much older and more interesting nursery rhyme)  

   In the 17th century, pockets began to be sewn into men's clothing, but not women's. In more modern clothing, women still sometimes have a Potemkin pocket, which is a fake slit sewn shut.  

   

A watch pocket or fob pocket is a small pocket designed to hold a pocket watch, in men's trousers and waistcoats and found in traditional blue jeans.

              

   A besom pocket or slit pocket is cut into a garment instead of being sewn on. often with reinforced stitching. Besom pockets are found on a tuxedo jacket or trousers and may be accented with a flap or button closure.

  Camp pockets or cargo pockets are sewn to the outside of the garment. They are usually squared off and are characterized by seaming. Battle dress was first worn by members of the British Armed Forces in 1938, and introduced to the United States in the mid-1940s during World War II. The large pockets characteristic of cargo pants were originally designed for British forces to hold field dressings, maps, and other items. The concept was copied in the U.S. Paratrooper uniform to allow more room to hold K rations and extra ammunition.

   During Prohibition hip pockets became a handy place for hiding flasks and this practice contributed to the curved shape of the vessel to fit snuggly against the body and be less obvious. Supposedly, people who wore hip flasks became known as hipsters and thus the term was born. 

Like people, pockets come in all shapes and sizes. Hopefully there is one just right for you!

No woman wearing a dress with pockets will fail to mention that it has pockets upon receiving a compliment on said dress. 

Gini's books include:

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate * Special Delivery.
Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall
Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart * Promise Me Christmas.
Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream
Fantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence

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Johnny Appleseed, Fact or Fiction?

Blog Post by Reggi Allder

         Do You Love Apples and Apple Pie?

I do. I grew up with my grandparent’s apple farm nearby. If I needed an apple, I went to their place and picked as many as I wanted. I could choose from several varieties including my favorite the Red Delicious.

  In the winter, glass jars of apple sauce waited for me in their cellar.

In school, we learned about a man named Johnny Appleseed. Was he a fictional character? I wasn’t sure. Research told me that Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman on September 26.1774 in Leominster, Massachusetts, in the United States.

      He was an American nurseryman who introduced apple trees to parts of Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and the Northern counties of present-day West Virginia. John was known for the proliferation of orchards throughout the American frontier.

Johnny gathered leftover apple seeds from the cider mills’ pumice stones and sold them to settlers. This led to John Chapman's nickname of “Johnny Appleseed.” Pioneers brought the apple seeds to the West.

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 He was a successful businessman who used his money to improve his Apple Enterprises. John planted a nursery that produced thousands of apple trees. He would sell or trade the trees, or in some cases, he would replant the trees elsewhere.

In the West, it was unfortunate that fresh fruit was not available on cattle drives. The chuck wagon carried food for the cowboys. The trail hands ate beans, hard biscuits (hardtack), dried meat, and they drank coffee. So, imagine their delight if they arrived back at the ranch to homemade apple pie, all thanks to Johnny Appleseed’s hard work.

 

 Johnny became a rich man, but he never married and had no children.

His legacy lives on through nursery rhymes, books, and a movie, not to mention all the trees generated from the seeds he assisted in planting.

By the way, seven thousand varieties of apples from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, and Japan are now sold in the United States. In North America, the Crab Apple originated in the U.S. and the Macintosh Apple is from Canada.

Do you have a favorite apple? Please leave a comment. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Reggi Allder.

   “If you love, cowboys, small towns, second chances, and real-to-life characters, the Sierra Creek Series books by Reggi Allder are for you!” Her Country Heart,  His Country Heart, Our Country Heart, My Country Heart, available in ebook and paperback too on Amazon! Please follow Reggi Allder on Facebook and on Bookbub and Amazon.Thank you.

If  romantic suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat is your cup of tea, check out Amazon for  Dangerous Web book one in the Dangerous Series by Reggi Allder.