Diamonds in My Coal bucket: Appalachian Word of the Week -- JUICE

Do you know what JUICE means in Appalachia?

Now, sometimes it means what you drink. (See photos below the post)

But most of the time, JUICE is what we call electricity. From what I imagine, those early engineers, or salesmen, who planned to bring electricity into the mountains tried to explain it to the mountain folk by showing how juice flows through a straw or tube. I guess the explanation stuck. Of course, I'm just surmisin' all this.

Either way, mountain folk soon had JUICE flowing into their homes, making the way for indoor lighting, refrigerators, and all sorts of JUICE-powered gadgets. Like TVs, toasters, stoves, hair dryers, washing machines and dryers, and Christmas lights.

I'm not sure that most of the mountain folk fully understood the power and dangers of JUICE, though. Maybe it was just mountain pride.

Daddy added JUICE to the garage

An example of that is when my daddy decided it would be a good idee to run some JUICE from the house to the garage outside so he could see better to work on his car and find his tools. I think it may have also been so he could see and avoid those pesky bumbly bees and waspers that kept attacking him when he rummaged around in the dark trying to find a tool. Also would help with the nest of Copperheads that thought the garage was the perfect place to raise young.

Daddy's homemade ladder

Either way, he decided to pull out his homemade ladder one day and climb up to screw in a couple of receptacles for the JUICE. Then he tapped into the main JUICE box on the side of the house and ran a line over to his new light fixture.

Realize--he didn't turn off the source of the JUICE while he did this. My daddy wasn't a dumb man, just proud. So, when he connected the wires there was a blinding spark, a hum, a yell, and a man flying across the garage.

He was mad because it broke his ladder.

A little singed, he picked himself up, repaired the ladder, and climbed right back up there to finish the job -- while Mom and I stood on the porch watching in silent horror.

Have you ever had an exciting experience with JUICE in your house? Can you remember back to when you or a grandparent (great-grandparent) first had JUICE hooked up to the house?

Tell me your stories.

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There was a big spark, a yell, and a man flying across the garage

A Few More Photos for Your Enjoyment