Can you top this?

Parish gal’s "butter machine" was high tech in 1882

Way back when, butter-makingwas a back-breaking chore made only slightly less tedious by J.S. Gifford's hand-cranked "cylindrical butter worker" that's now on display in Bonnie Guidry's Bits 'N' Pieces antique shop in Paradis.

And just so you'll know, the contraption that looks like a glorified wooden box today was "cutting edge" when the inventor applied for a patent 124 years ago, in 1882 - not long after the War Between the States.

Bonnie reckons there's no telling how many hungry men, women and children buttered up thick slices of fresh-baked homemade bread with the gooey stuff that dribbled out of the machine before she picked it up.

Got something bigger, better, older, cooler, wilder or weirder than Bonnie's "butter worker?"

We want to put you in the St. Charles Herald-Guide. Write: editor@heraldguide.com or post a short letter describing what you've got to: Can you top this? P.O. Box 1199, Boutte, LA 70039. We'll do the rest.