My Mother ,from James community Shelby County , told me the reason was to keep the weeds under control .After that was accomplished the whole yard was cleaned with a "brush broom " Small limbs were cut from trees in the fall after the leaves had fallen ,then they were bunched & tied together to make a "brush broom "This was their rake to clean the yard . My Mom said it was the children's responsibility to keep the yard clean (In their family ) Karen Nobles Edson -----Original Message----- From: J. A. Lanagan <lanagan@by-rite.net> To: TXSHELBY-L@rootsweb.com <TXSHELBY-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 8:13 AM Subject: No grass in the yard >Sandy, >No one has ever told me why the grass was picked back, so I am open to other >suggestions. > >However, I have heard it said that a lot of people thought that this would >cut down on the number of critters up in your yard in the 'wilderness'--such >as snakes. At the least, if your dog didn't see 'um coming, you might. > >Also, the push lawn mower was invented in the 1800's, but I've never heard >of early use of it in rural >areas of the South. Once you got yard growth under control, use of the hoe >was one way was one way to keep things under control and mark off your yard >as a well maintained domain. > > Tony Lanagan > >