From: Bron Fionnachd-Fein
Date: Saturday, 2 December 2017
Subject: ...and another bit of info
.........
...and here’s another bit of info about Mrs Brown and her pegs (this time from http://fsgbookkeeping.com/excerpt-housewife-superstar/ which is about Marjorie Bligh):
“One of the more colourful characters was Mrs ‘One-eye’ Brown, who had ‘one eye and a hole where the other one should have been’. She came with a cart piled high with wares, and a mangy horse and several dogs. As well as selling her goods, which included handmade willow clothes pegs, she would beg meat for her dogs, gather firewood in backyards and request old clothing. If given a hat, she would put it on top of the one she was wearing. According to Marjorie, Mrs Brown was bad-tempered when crossed, and once threw a bucket of water over the butcher when he refused her free meat. She also gave Marjorie and her younger sister, Beatrice, a pair of hearty smacks across the face when she caught them peeping at her through a shop window. Mrs Brown would approach houses loudly singing ‘My Blue Heaven’, and Emma would gather her daughters inside and lock the door when she heard her coming. Mrs Brown ‘knocked at the door; no answer, so she banged hard and sang out, “I know you’re in there, Mother Pearsall, so now I’ll let your kangaroo rat out!” and she did just that, and my goodness, it was hard to catch again.’
It was rumoured that Mrs ‘One-eye’ Brown was in fact a wealthy woman from Hobart who dressed as a tramp to go out profiteering. Whether or not this unlikely story was true, she remained a character in the midlands for some time, and turned up peddling her wares at Marjorie’s own door after Marjorie was married.”
Also a friend today was telling me about ‘Granny One-Eye Brown’, apparently of Romany stock who used to travel around Tassie with her horse and dray, and slept in a hammock under the dray and who made and sold willow clothes pegs for a living.
My friend’s grandmother had some of her pegs, which were simply made dolly pegs, bits of willow bound with wire.
"Also well-known was Mrs 'One-Eye' Brown who made and sold willow pegs. She terrified local children and could turn nasty if her pegs were not bought" (A. Alexander, Glenorchy 1804-1964, Glenorchy City Council, 1986, p. 21)
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