Everyday Life of Mum & Grandma

The History of Aprons

The History of 'Aprons'

I don't think our Kids and certainly not our Grandkids know what an apron is

The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because it was easier to wash than a dress, which she only had a couple and took less material to make, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears
From the Chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks and sometimes half- hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven
When company arrived those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids and when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over a hot stove
Chips and kindling wood were brought in to the fire in that apron
From the garden it carried all sorts of vegatables after the peas had been shelled it carried out the hulls, in the Autumn the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees
When unexpected visitor's arrived it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old time apron' that served so many purposes

I guess they would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron........

Rules of the Clothes Line

Wash Day is Always Monday
If the temperatures are sub-zero don't worry the clothes will freeze dry!
Be efficient share the pegs between two items

First wash the clothes line, walk the entire length with a damp cloth
Always hang 'Whites with Whites' and you must hang these first
Remember Shirts 'Must' be hung by the tail not the shoulders
Next hang sheets and towels
Finally hang the 'unmentionables' close to the house so they are hidden from general view from your neighbours gardens

When taking in the washing ensure you remove all pegs from the line, leaving pegs on an empty clothes line is 'tacky', what would the neighbours think!

Cothes must be off the line before Dinner and neatly folded in the laundry basket ready for ironing

Ironing.......Well that's a whole new set of rules

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbours passing by
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes hung out to dry

It also was a friendly link
For neighbours always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two

For then you'd see the 'fancy' sheets
And towels upon the line
You'd see the 'company' table cloths
With intricate designs

The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children
Could so readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown

It also told when sickness struck
As extra sheets were hung
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too
Haphazardly were strung

It also said 'Gone on holiday now'
When lines hung limp and bare
It told 'we're back' when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare

But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work much less
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life
It was a friendly sign
When neighbours knew each other best
By what hung on the line!