Mineral Wells once a booming health spa. (original) (raw)
In verification of this bit of Trew family history, we have Grandma's crock container and two boxes of Crazy Water Crystals among our heirlooms. The crock jug holds about two gallons of water, has a good lid and a brass spigot. The label identifies the container as a "Radium Ore Revigerator" patent #302621, made in San Francisco, Calif.
Labels on the boxes of crystals, (small whitish flakes), state: Mix one teaspoon of crystals with twenty ounces of tap water and drink daily "as can be aggreeably tolerated." Ingredients consist of sodium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride and sodium carbonate. These ingredients plus the "Radium Ore" label encouraged me to read further.
The fine print below states, "Precautionary Advice - Not to be used when abdominal pain, stomachache, cramps, colic, nausea, vomiting or other symptoms of appendicitis are present." The next label says "Warning - Continual use of any laxative may develop a systemic dependence."
After serious study and comparing these labels with today's medicinal labels and side-effect warnings, I offer the following observations. The ingredients of Crazy Water Crystals appear to be the same as today's Epsom Salts in which my family soaked our bruises, sprains, wounds, aches and pains to eliminate soreness. I also recall, in serious cases, a good dose of Epsom Salts cleared out the lower passages in both man and beast.
I imagine the twice-a-day bathing in the hot mineralized water was a great improvement over sitting in a galvanized bath tub, in lukewarm, second-time-used bath water back at home. But most important of all, we now have the only legitimate reason I've heard for building a "two-holer" toilet. It might have been required in a family taking Crazy Water Crystals for a spring tonic.
� Delbert Trew
"It's All Trew"
July 11, 2006 Column
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