By Frank J. Buchman
“When it rains, it pours.” That’s certainly been the case in the past couple of weeks, and we’re thankful for it.
For some reason, we think about those one-pound round blue canisters of Morton Salt we stocked on the shelves at Buchman’s Grocery a half-century ago.
Actually, never could quite figure out exact meaning of the little girl on the saltbox with the quote: “When it rains, it pours.”
Researching, we’ve discovered the hand-drawn logo is the “Morton Salt Girl” walking in the rain with an opened umbrella and scattering salt behind her from a cylindrical container of table salt, and one of the ten best-known symbols in the country.
That logo-motto, “When it rains, it pours,” was developed in 1914, to illustrate that Morton Salt was free flowing even in rainy weather, after the company began adding an absorbing agent to its table salt to ensure that it poured freely.
The Morton Salt Girl, also known as the Umbrella Girl, has gone through seven different iterations, including the latest update in 2014, for her 100th birthday. Now we know.
When something good or bad occurs, it usually happens more than once, and often within a short period of time, thus: “When it rains, it pours.” Unfortunate events occur in quantity, seemingly, and for some “it never rains, but trouble pours.”
Already we’ve heard several comment “It’ll never stop raining.” Admittedly, those who don’t have their spring crops planted, or first cutting alfalfa baled, the water abundance is presently detrimental, even if long-haul positive.
For a cowboy, despite maybe a water gap out, there’s little we don’t like about rain. Pastures are growing lush, and ponds are full, compared to being record low, prior to cloudbursts.
Some are concerned mushy grass doesn’t have the protein, so cattle aren’t gaining yet like they’d anticipated, but nobody questions that “When it rains, it pours” is always better than no rain: a drought.
Reminds us of Deuteronomy 11:11: “The hills and valleys drink water of the rain from the heavens.” Then, Deuteronomy 11:14: “He gives rain for the land in its season to gather in the crops.” Reprieve from First Kings 17:7: “The brook dried up because of the drought.” Now, First Kings 18:41: “Get up, eat and drink for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
+++ALLELUIA+++
