Shooing Flies with Turkey Wings and Homemade Fly Brushes

In the early days of Cleveland County, people knew flies were filthy pests, even though they did not yet understand germs or how disease spread. At mealtimes, families tried to keep flies off the food by constantly shooing them away. This was often done with a turkey-wing fan or with a leafy green bough cut from a nearby bush. Some households used a homemade fly brush made by fastening a folded newspaper to a cane stalk, cutting the paper into narrow strips and crimping them so that waving the brush created enough wind to drive the flies away. Despite these efforts, flies were everywhere, moving freely between decaying matter and dining tables, and no one yet suspected that flies or mosquitoes could carry disease.

Source: Mamie Jones