Found out what the smelly stuff was that granny wore around her neck as a child. It was asafoetida. It was supposed to be a cure all. Here are some links that tell about it and other remedies of the olden days. Perhaps every old timer tied a little bag of asafoetida with a string and places it around his children's neck. It was said to be good to kep diseases away. From the odor, one wouldn't doubt the adage. http://www.angelfire.com/ky/mossierose/mc30.html In many local households there were smelly asafoetida bags, containing a fetid gum resin of various Oriental plants related to the carrot family. These cloth bags were fastened around the neck and asafoetida was a folk remedy for almost any ailment Here is also a great source about the 1918 flu. http://www.berksweb.com/histsoc/articles/flu.html During a meningitis epidemic in Mingus before World War I, citizens wore bags of asafoetida around their necks or carried Bermuda onions in their pockets. And from the Handbook of Texas here is a link for diseases, doctors, and cures back in the day. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/HH/smhzc.html Tammy Owen Bastrop County Coordinator http://www.rootsweb.com/~txbastro/bastrop.htm <A HREF="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=5647408&siteid=35098265&bfpage=digbutton">Ancestry.com - View Census Images Online</A> The Best! with subscription. <A HREF="http://www.myfamiliesname.com/?AID=2834348&PID=849435">MyFamiliesName.com - "Preserving and Reserving Your Family Name Online."</A> <A HREF="http://www.qksrv.net/click-849435-487817">Go to the AandE, Biography and The History Channels</A> And the best place to find new and used genealogy stuff? <A HREF="http://www.qksrv.net/click-849435-1643272">EBay - the world's online marketplace</A> and <A HREF="http://www.qksrv.net/click-849435-168019">Half.com: The Smartest Place to Buy and Sell Genealogy material.</A>