I am currently reading The Persian Pickle Club, a book about a group of women in Kansas. The name of their quilting group is called The Persian Pickle Club (Persian Pickle is a type of paisley fabric). The story takes place during the Depression and one of the terms used was “Root Hog or Die.” So, of course, I had to look it up to find out what it meant.

When a farmer couldn’t afford to feed his pigs anymore, he would let them loose in the woods for them to forage for their own food. The pigs or hogs had to “root” or find acorns, etc. to feed themselves or they would die. The term was used for anyone who had to do what was necessary to stay alive.

In the book, one of the women and her family had to pack of their belongings and move to California as they could no longer survive on the farm – Root Hog or Die!