“Here I picture one of my very earliest memories of wash day as a two and a half year old. I remember warm weather and my pretty mama hand washing diapers on a scrub board for my baby brother. The sun picked up a red glint in her chestnut brown hair caught in a bun on the nape of her neck. I can see her long blue gingham checked dress and was impressed by its prettiness. Mama loved blue all her life and wore it often. She had a hand-cranked wringer-washer on the wash stand. (We learned later these wash stand were made in Belleville, Michigan.) After scrubbing the diapers, she ran them through the wringer into a rinse tub. I remember it as cool fun under the elm tree in the backyard. I am sure Mama remembered it as just hard work.
In the summer of 1921 Edna Mae would have been two-and-a-half years old. The Edwardian style of clothing with its ankle length skirts was beginning to phase out and short skirts just were starting to arrive on the fashion scene.
One hot summer day when I was fourteen as I was carrying a pail of scalding water to the wash tub, I tripped spilling boiling water all over myself. Fortunately, it was a hot day and I was dressed in just my under panties. I received a small second degree burn along the elastic at the leg opening. The elastic held the boiling water there long enough to burn me. If I had had on more, I would have been burned over much more of my skin.”
Remember this was on the farm. Her father was out in the fields working. Her brother Jerry at twelve was out with him. There were no neighbors and very little likelihood of visitors. If unexpected visitors were to arrive, the approaching noise would give enough alarm to run and dress.
BED MAKING
Edna Mae (Bradley) Gregory tells about making her and her brother’s beds when they were little kids. This method, used all through the nineteenth century, lasted on the farms of America well into the 1930’s and probably originated long before in Europe;
“My brother Jerry and I had mattresses filled with straw on our beds. Each year after thrashing day we removed the straw ticks from our beds, took them out doors and shook out all the old straw from a year ago. Our mother prepared wash tubs of hot sudsy water and hot clear rinse water. We washed out the mattress ticking and hung them up to dry on the clothes line.
‘Dad had brought up bales of fresh sweet-scented wheat straw from the prior day’s thrashing, in preparation of stuffing the clean ticks. Wheat straw lasted longer than oat but we could have either. I had a rope bed. A rope bed had a frame with holes in each side through which strong hemp rope laced. The rope took the place of bed springs. When we changed the ticks the ropes were tightened as well. This bed was converted to a metal spring bed sometime early in my childhood.
“When we climbed into our beds that night we nearly could touch the bedroom ceiling. The straw smelled fresh and sweet as it crackled under us. Once in our beds we tried to stay in the very center for fear of falling out. At first the tick would talk to us of rain and hot sunshine in noisy crackles but as the months passed from summer to fall the straw settled and became less noisy. Each movement reminded me in the soft cracking of the almost forgotten summer breezes as it lulled me to sleep.
“As the colder days of winter approached Grandmother’s and Mother’s goose down feather beds were gotten out. Each was fluffed and aired. If it wasn’t raining or snowing; we would hang them outside to freshen in the cold sun and chill breeze. A day outdoors made them sweet smelling.
“Preparing the straw beds for winter sleeping, involved stripping the sheets. While laying the feather beds on top of the straw beds, we shook the straw ticks to help fluff them up a bit. On top of the feather beds we placed an outing sheet. This sheet was twice as long as regular woven sheet. We laid them on the Feather ticks, tucking in the top at the head of the bed, then folding them in half brought the sheet back over the bed. This made both the bottom and top sheet. The top sheet wouldn’t pull out and expose little feet to the frosty night air. These sheets may have been snugly but they were horrible to wash in the old hand powered washer. And because of their length, each required a clothes line of their own.
“On top of the sheets we replaced our summer quilts and added wool stuffed quilts and thicker cotton stuffed quilts. Mother would warm cast iron “sad” irons on the kitchen wood stove and water to fill water bottles to warm the beds on cold winter nights.
“The upstairs bedrooms were not heated. In the floor of the big bedroom was an iron grate over the dining room near the hot air register of the furnace. Hot air rose up through the grate. It kept water from freezing but it barely could be called heat. It was hard to leave the warmth of our feather beds to start the day. By the 1940’s we had gotten rid of our straw beds and replaced them with tufted cotton filled mattresses.”
Removing Tarnish
After dinner is finished always wash all pieces of the silverware removed from the chest or protective wrappings. Fingers have natural oils on them and handling the silver will deposit these oils on the silver; causing tarnish to appear faster on these places. After cleaning avoid touching the silver directly. Although the silver may look clean when you put it away; it will not be when you take it out a few months later for the next holiday. If you can, do not directly handle the silver with bare fingers. Get out the gloves or keep a clean dish towel between you and the silver.
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