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Recently while I was rummaging through some boxes of accumulated junk, I found something that would be completely meaningless to my children or grandchildren. It was a brand new bar of P&G soap, still in the original wrapper. Finding a bar of soap isn’t all that unusual, except in this case, Procter and Gamble hasn’t made this soap in probably 40 years or more.
Back when I was a youngster, P&G soap was commonplace. However, being like most boys my age, I wasn’t particularly obsessed with cleanliness. To me this soap was wonderful because it could be used for fish bait. The soap was a very popular brand during the Depression and into the Fifties because it was cheap, effective, and a wonderful substitute for the harsh lye soap that poor folks like the Joneses used down on Route One, Millsap. One of the features of “The White Naphtha Soap” was the fact that it was softer than soaps of today, and it could be diced up into about half inch cubes and stuck on the end of a fishhook. It was particularly effective for channel cats feeding in shallow water. Rarely would trash fish like carp and gar steal your bait. As recently as the late ‘80s, I heard that Procter and Gamble still made and sold the soap in Mexico under another name, but I never found any. What a shame that it is gone.
I’ve read that that use of soap has been documented as far back as 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. Until recent times, the technology used for making soap by various cultures changed little. The process was one of combining some type of animal fat or plant oil with a strongly alkaline compound to produce the soap. Earliest soap makers used ashes as a source of the alkali. Early settlers around here used lye, sodium hydroxide, to mix with the lard rendered from fat obtained from killing hogs. This soap making was an important part of the annual hog-killing process each fall.
As a young child, I never saw soap other than lye soap. Although harsh and a bit smelly, it was an effective means to achieve both cleanliness and godliness. It would cut right through dirt, sweat, and grease on a filthy body. In addition, a quick scrubbing of a youngster’s filthy mouth with it rendered subsequent language coming from it to be a bit cleaner and more righteous.
Back in my Navy days, often I would visit countries in Europe, observing how another society lived. One of the prized souvenirs that we flyboys would bring home to our wives was the inexpensive, fragrant, and exotic beauty soaps made by the Europeans, especially in the Mediterranean countries. Today, with our new global economy, most anything like this can be had at local grocery or department stores.
We have an exceptional array of soaps and detergents manufactured to exacting specifications and purity. With them we can clean any surface, provide skin care medications, and lend erotic fragrance to excite the senses, yet there are some things missing. Personally I’d like to see the return of P&G soap, and a return of a few more moms who would wash those filthy little mouths with soap and water. Don’t see either one happening anytime soon.
Larry M. Jones is a retired Navy Commander and aviator who raises cattle and hay in the Brock/Lazy Bend part of Parker County. Comments may be directed to nowhearthis@pwhome.com.
Viewpoints
COLUMN: Coming clean
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Letters to the Editor – May 23, 2013
America is being destroyed by voter fraud and the buying of votes by the followers of Karl Marx.
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CNHI EDITORIAL: Seizure of AP phone records an insult to independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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NOW HEAR THIS: ‘What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate’
This famous quote addressing communication failure is a classic line from the 1967 movie “Cool Hand Luke,” starring Paul Newman. Strother Martin, who played the role of the warden in a southern prison, would use this phrase every time he gave Luke a good whack with his baton. The concept resonated so well with moviegoers that it was voted No. 11 of the 100 all-time favorite movie quotes according to the American Film Institute.
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Letters to the Editor – May 19, 2013
Do you remember the “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” sign that the personnel on the USS Abraham Lincoln displayed to greet President Bush when he went out to greet them?
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Guest opinion: Campaign with honor
All politics is local and personal! I hope that you and your family have a wonderful summer, filled with relationship building experiences and times of relaxation. As you do all the things that re-charge us for the next round at work and involvement in community and political activities, let’s reflect on the 2013 local elections for a moment.
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TISCIONE: Woe for calling evil good
You don’t often see “woe” used in an article. It’s a word that has fallen out of usage in our day. But it’s a word that ought to be understood and taken seriously.
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Letters to the Editor – May 17, 2013
As mercury pollution threatens our waterways and carbon pollution-fueled climate change worsens extreme weather, we need someone in Washington who knows how to get things done.
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Letters to the Editor – May 15, 2013
I just wanted to express my heartfelt thanks to the slobs, idiots and inconsiderate people who continually decorate the beautiful Texas landscape with their trash. I guess it’s really a form of art with beer bottles and cans, boxes, plastic drink containers, food packaging and just about anything else you can think of. It just doesn’t appeal to me. Thank you.
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NOW HEAR THIS: Not by the hairs of my chinny chin chin
I had never really considered this possibility, but every one of the Three Little Pigs was almost certainly a guy. I know that assumption is not particularly popular from an equal opportunity standpoint, but the fact is fairly certain. How do I know? They all three had hair on their chinny chin chins.
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ESTES: Securing a bright future for Texas
Texas businesses have created more than 500,000 jobs since November 2011. Our economy is growing nearly 50 percent faster than the rest of the country and our cost of living remains low.
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Letters to the Editor – May 23, 2013
Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
Raw: 80-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest
Wash. State Man Arrested Following Ricin Scare
Chain-Reaction School Bus Crash Injures About 50
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Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season
Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
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Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
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Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
