Among the oddities going on display Friday at the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison is a yellowing bottle of skunk grease concocted by New Glarus farmer Hank Blumer. He made it for an ailing neighbor to spread on his chest, much as we use Vicks VapoRub today.

Until modern times, rural residents had to fashion their own treatments for whatever ailed them. "Physicians were few in number and usually far away when needed," recalled Fond du Lac County pioneer William Titus, "so the housewives became the guardians of the family health."

Fumes from skunk grease were thought to penetrate the respiratory tract and help the sick person breathe. Patients suffering from whooping cough or croup even drank skunk oil to induce vomiting, thereby supposedly clearing their lungs. It presumably cleared the household, too.

Skunk grease was made by boiling the fat from several skunks and adding about two tablespoons of a skunk's glandular secretions just before the solution congealed. After the mixture cooled, it could be stored in a jar for years. Some people who used skunk grease for respiratory problems swore that it got better with age. Museum employees haven't opened Blumer's bottle to test this claim, however.

"Goose grease, skunk's oil, bear fat, and even slabs of pork fat were supposed to be beneficial when applied externally," Titus wrote. But he admitted that home remedies were not only unreliable but often harmful, "as is evidenced by the large proportion of young people whose names are inscribed on the tombstones of the period."

-- Wisconsin Historical Society,
www.wisconsinhistory.org

"Odd Wisconsin," by Erika Janik is now available as a book from the Wisconsin Historical Society for $16.95. Visit www.wisconsinhistory.org for details.

"Odd Wisconsin" Look for Odd Wisconsin on Wednesdays in the Local section. Let us know what you think: justaskus@madison.com; 608-252-6192; Just Ask Us, P.O. Box 8058, Madison, WI 53708.