Spud sacs

Old Home Week 2011, Charlottetown
Sometimes we call spud sacs either potato pouches, gunny shoes, hessian sacks or jute bags.

Apart from storing potatoes, those stitched flaps of burlap can be used for various ends:
  • a magic carpet to whisk you down a slide (see right)
  • a scarecrow’s head or a haunting mask for Halloween 
  • an itchy, shapeless dress (exception: Marilyn Monroe successfully sported one)
  • a wrap to protect sensitive shrubs and trees from frost and moisture-wicking winds
  • inexpensive weights for fitness training or stage riggings
  • a temporary sandbag measure for diverting floods or rising waters
  • a makeshift shield or wall during military operations
  • a nearly indestructible prop for a sack race – the burlap stands up to greater abuse than when you sub in sleeping bags or pillowcases for the spud sacs. (As a child, I enjoyed  the potato-sack hop almost as much as the three-legged race at my grandfather’s corporate picnics.)
Spuds sacs are versatile, durable and      

AWESOME!

Can you think of other great uses for burlap bags?

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