My recollection of that term is that it was a shelf on the breezeway between the house and the kitchen (which were two separate buildings in most South GA farms) upon which were kept a fresh bucket of well-water, a dipper (often made from a gourd), a basin for washing hands and face, and a clean towel for drying same. Both the residue from the basin and any undrunk water from the dipper were thrown into the yard, and NEVER put back into the bucket. In some homes, this arrangement was on the back porch, especially if the place had a drilled well and hand-pump,and all of the afore-mentioned was usually located there in one spot for convenience. -O.J. hickox@3n.net ---------- > From: Parker <nlp@xtalwind.net> > To: THRIFT-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: Fw: You Are Very Wiregrass If...... > Date: Thursday, January 13, 2000 9:37 PM > > What is a water shelf? > NLP > > > ==== THRIFT Mailing List ==== > http://millennium.fortunecity.com/byker/886/clan_thrift_home_page.html > "CLAN THRIFT" > Researching THRIFT from any place, any time period