Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2016 12:23:04 -0500
From: “N.A. Booko”
Subject: Gaulded and chuffa nuts
My father wanted bantam chickens. A farmer, Mr. Carney that had some for sale. We all drove out to his farm. Mr. Carney was a colorful character.
He was probably in his late seventies and dressed as if the temps were chilly. It was a hot July day, but he had on a long sleeve denim shirt, buttoned up to his Adam’s apple and a pair of very heavy denim overalls- with a bib. Lots of pencils, papers bulged from his every pocket. He wore a hat that looked to be decades old. A few random chicken feathers clung to his clothing.
As we got out of the car, Mr. Carney came out of the barn, grinning from ear to ear, showing what few teeth he had. Dogs, cats, chickens and various farm animals scurried to get out of his way.”How y’all? How y’all? Especially friendly to my aunt- How you Miss Alma?”
“Mighty good” she replied “How you Mr. Carney?” “Well Miss Alma” he moaned ” I’m just so gaulded I can’t hardly walk.” I didn’t know what he meant. Now I know that he had probably been wearing those heavy overalls so long in the heat, it had caused skin problems. It was the first and last time I ever heard anyone complain of ‘being so gaulded, they can’t hardly walk.”
As we walked to the chicken lot, Mr. Carney kept reaching into a basket and pulling out some type of food and throwing to the chickens. It looked like very tiny potatoes. “Y’all want some chuffa nuts?” he asked. I tried some and they tasted like coconut to me. He showed us where they were growing and told us how he would pull them up and dry the tubers for later use.
That was about 1948 and it was Montgomery County. In the 1980s, in Chatham County, I tried growing chuffa nuts. No success at all. Voles, moles and other varmints kept eating the tubers. But alas, even though my mind may appear to be a little ‘gaulded’- I can still taste those succulent little tubers and think just maybe, someone, somewhere in Chatham is growing them or at least has conditions suitable for their success.
N.A. Booko
Botanical name for chuffa nuts is Cyperus esculentus- Another common name is Yellow nut sedge. It likes damp soil. There are several sources- they can be found on the internet.