bean stringing

bean stringing n Also bean-stringing party, ~ social chiefly sAppalachians, esp eKY Cf bean breaking n, bean hulling n, leather breeches n pl 1

A social gathering at which the strings are removed from beans in preparation for canning or drying.

1885 Brownstown Banner (IN) 17 Sept [5]/2 (newspaperarchive.com), A bean-stringing party was given on Big Creek the other evening. 1902 Centralia Sentinel (IL) 28 Aug [4]/4 (newspaperarchive.com) ceKY, A report is received here of a battle on Sturgeon creek, Owsley county, in which two men were killed and five men and one woman wounded. The fight took place at a bean-stringing at the home of William Peters. 1908 Bluefield Daily Telegraph (WV) 3 Oct 6/1 swVA, The young people of the neighborhood had gathered at the home of W. P. Laforce for a bean stringing. . . Knives and pistols were drawn and G. B. Laforce was fatally shot by Lowry Kiser. 1922 Eve. Sun (Hanover PA) 28 July 2/5, A bean-stringing social was held in the basement of St. Mary’s Reformed church. About 50 stringers were present and strung 35 bushels of beans, all the proceeds were for the benefit of the C. E. Society. Candy and lemonade were served. 1942 (1971) Campbell Cloud-Walking 181 seKY, Ever last funeral meeting or bean-stringing or lasses stir-off or other gathering had its crowd of candidates misputting theirselves to be sociable. 1959 Roberts Up Cutshin 30 KY, When the crops come in, we’d have to start gathering ’em and putting ’em up. When our beans come in, we’d have bean stringings. 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 59 wNC, eTN, Bean-stringin’: a group of women, or of girls with their sweethearts, putting beans on strings to make “leather britches” (also called “shuck beans,” that is, dried beans). 1969 DARE (Qu. FF2, . . Kinds of parties) Infs KY40, 41, 45, Bean stringing. 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY. 2007 Farr My Appalachia 109 seKY, Word would go out to neighbors that a bean stringing would take place at a certain home on a certain date; everyone was welcome to come. . . Many hands made short work of readying two or three bushels of green beans for canning or drying.