Clean Up the Splatter

Some staples, I recall from the 1940's and early 1950's have vanished from the landscape. Back then,  I remember 'fly-paper' and Church-pew Funeral Home handheld-fans. That's right. We had flies but no air conditioning. The fly paper was a strip of paper covered on both sides with a sticky substance. The sticky element held a sweet odor that attracted the fly and once the insect got close to the paper, it became stuck and doomed. It was a slow death, which was somewhat pathetic. I preferred the fly-swatter but mother said if I used the swatter, I had to clean up the 'splatter.'

There was no place more uncomfortable, on a hot Mississippi Valley summer day, than an early-August Sunday mid-morning non-air conditioned Church. It surely didn't help being dressed in o'Sunday togs' while the preacher-man was talkin' 'bout hell-fire-and-damnation.' Today our Churches have air conditioning and 'feel good' sermons. Funny tho' but back in the day my Church was filled; not so today. Anyway, as a youngster sweating out those Sunday Church meetings, I recall handheld fans used by everybody in every pew. Folks waved those fans frantically in front of their faces. Those fans were provided free of cost to every Church in East St. Louis...compliments of local funeral homes. Kurrus Funeral Home, Kassley Funeral Home and Burke Funeral Home. Come to think, the Preacher had all the 'props' working for him...a hellish relentless heat, words of eternal suffering and local funeral establishment ads on a fan held before your eyes to remind you that this 'ride' has an exit station.