DUNCAN — Heads nodded throughout the program as Gloria King, Oklahoma community education program specialist, talked about “WD-40, duct tape and baling wire,” recently at the Stephens County Fair & Expo Center. Her “seasoned” listeners could identify with her presentation, and freely added tips of their own throughout the lesson.

“I grew up in an era where people ‘made do,’ with what they had. I think we’ve done a disservice to the younger generations not to teach them to make do as we did, especially in this economic downturn,” King said.

“For the first time in many years, the Burpee Seed Company sold more vegetable seeds than flower seeds last year. I think that says something. Things that people learned in The Depression and World War II are in style again, and young people are realizing we’re not old fuddy-duds. I encourage you to teach your grandchildren and great-grandchildren how people did things in the past. Now, young people think if something is not ‘pretty,’ they should throw it away. In hard times, everyone worked together and now, a walk down memory lane can be a useful thing to do.”

As most anyone who runs a household knows, there is always something that needs doing — or undoing — around the home. Several members of the audience shared their experiences in “making do,” including one woman who owned a rocking chair that had had its loosened rungs repaired with electrical tape.

“We always said that if you needed to make a temporary repair, you used binder twine,” said Bill Rice, a retired city worker. “If you needed a permanent repair, you used baling wire.”

Three items that have stood the test of time for generations in Oklahoma are WD-40, duct tape and baling wire and, while most homes contain the first two products, baling wire is in shorter supply than it once was.

“Baling wire was invented in the early 1800s, when people manually tied bales of hay with it. It was an essential part of agriculture for many years, then came the Depression and the Dust Bowl days and baling wire began its second life as a tool for repairing just about anything that was broken around the home or farm,” King said.

“Nowadays, the round hay bales are tied with a type of string instead of wire. Old, rusted baling wire may not be as pretty as shiny new wire, but it’s more pliable and easier to work with. As a tip, if you can’t find baling wire, look around and see if you can find someone who raises horses. The square bales of hay are still tied with baling wire.”

Duct tape began its life as an “Army green” tape in the military that was used to keep moisture out of ammunition boxes. It got its name because water “rolled off it like a duck’s back.” It was used to repair everything from guns to jeeps to aircraft.

After the war, as the soldiers went home to marry and have families, the housing boom caused a need for tape to seal ductwork in the newly built houses, and the green tape changed colors to better match the aluminum materials on which it was used. Lately, duct tape has gone “designer” and now comes in a variety of colors and even prints and is used for all kinds of crafts and even clothing.

WD-40 was born in 1953 when Rocket Chemical began working on a rust preventive, lubricant and water displacement product. It took a lot of tries, but the 40th worked, and history was made, King said.

“It is a petroleum-based solvent, and is flammable. It should not be used on skin and the vapors should not be inhaled. I don’t care what your neighbor says about spraying it on arthritic joints. It should not be used that way,” King said, as more people in the audience smiled and nodded.

“Don’t spray it if you’re not in a well-ventilated area. Oh, and if you drive through a big puddle and water gets in your car’s distributor cap, a spritz of WD-40 will take care of the problem.”

Some Banner readers already knew that, as when the advance story on the lesson appeared in the paper, a Marlow man called to share just that bit of advice.

King wound up her presentation with tips on using homemade “green” products such as vinegar for cleaning, cautioning her listeners not to use vinegar on clear-coated brass items, as the vinegar will clean all right, but it will also take the shine off the item being cleaned, and it will look worse than it did to begin with.

To sanitize or sterilize, chlorine bleach or isopropyl alcohol works fine. Don’t use lemon juice for that purpose. Lemon juice is a lightener or mild bleach and works well when such is needed. Vinegar is good for cutting grease, and salt and/or baking soda can be used as scouring powder.

“Never put a homemade cleaning mixture into an old food container such as a butter dish or Kool Whip container as there can be a chemical reaction between the chemical and the plastic from which the dish is made. And, always label carefully so people will know what’s in the bottle or jar that you do use.”

She encouraged the group to re-use, re-cycle and re-purpose everything possible. To reduce waste, reuse, reuse, reuse — then recycle, she said.

The program was a joint project of Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Home and Community Education (OHCE).