William Henry Harrison Howell
and
Howell's Wonder Salve

"William Henry Harrison Howell was my grandfather on my mother's side of the family. He had what was called "white swelling" of the knee caused from an injury he got when jumping across a ditch when he was a young man on a farm. Someone supplied him with a salve which cured the knee but left him with a stiff knee for the remainder of his life. He bought the prescription from the man (when he, the man, was drunk) back in 1886. The salve has been made in the family ever since. It was on the market for a great many years but since my Grandpap, my step-father, my mother, and my aunt (all of whom made and sold the salve) have passed on, my daughter "Sis," and I are the only ones who know how to make it, and we have no interest in marketing it."

Written by P.C. Pickard, son of Daisy Howell Pickard Ruth

 

Above is a copy of the box top from Howell's Wonder Salve. The box was tan. The logo (below) reads:

Howell's Wonder Salve

Registered trade mark nr. 69945

Price 50¢

Guaranteed under the Food and Drugs Act, June 30, 1906. Serial nr.15471.

Manufactured by (rest of label missing)

This salve was sold in drugstores in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Florida and wherever else there were relatives or orders. It became a very big business for W.H.H. Howell's two widowed daughters, Daisy and Mabel.

My dad finally called a halt to it when the war (WWII) came along and we make it [now] only for family use.

Submitted by Patt Carnevale [25Dec01]

 

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