The Smell of Steamed Dirt

Experts say that smells reside deep in our long term memory and a smell is very likely to bring about thoughts of something from long ago.

This is not a story of a memory being triggered by a fragrance. The trigger in this case is a sunny summer day. One of my very first jobs, not as a paperboy, was working for Kern’s Florist on Walnut Street in Slatington.  What does that have to do with smells? Patience.

I was fifteen at the time and was assigned whatever task needed doing that day. One day I might be loading the delivery truck, the next pulling weeds.  One day I was watering plants in the greenhouse, the next pulling the side buds off chrysanthemums so the top bud gives a big flower.  Here comes the smell part!  My favorite job there, by far, was steaming dirt. A load of dirt would be delivered and we would flatten the pile into a manageable mound. Next we would cover it with a canvas tarp. Then we would put chains around the pile to hold the tarp in place. Then we would sneak a steam hose underneath the tarp and steam the dirt for hours.

It was the most amazing smell! Better than coffee, better than opening a bag of chips, better than Cinnabon at the mall.  You would think working at a florist the memorable smells would be roses, or geraniums. or lilies.  but no…..my big takeaway is the smell of steaming dirt! Earthy, sweet, and exotic!

I drove by Kern’s Florist recently. The four greenhouses (wow that was a hot place) are down to one. The adults I worked with are certainly long gone. Lots of good memories. The owner was a cokeaholic. He would drink at least a dozen seven ounce bottles in an eight hour shift. At lunch we all had those small bottles of coke with the place it was made etched into the bottom of the bottle. Whoever had the farthest location from Slatington had to buy!  Before Memorial Day, in 1967,  I went with the owner and his brother-in-law to the cemetery to deliver flowers. The two of them knew every grave in that very large cemetery by heart. Good times!

I wonder if there is a fragrance from your past that holds good memories. I am now thinking of how every time when I eat a Swiss Vanilla Crème Sandwich Cookie, I am immediately taken back to Kindergarten and cookies and milk before nap time. Mmmm.