The Good Old Days

Rarely do I eat out, only on occasions-mainly with my sons. It would be fair to say that ninety percent of the time, my appetite gets satisfied by preparing and cooking meals at home.

I live alone and mostly have to prepare the necessary ingredients, and cook for one person, me. This would seem simple and require very little effort. But not really! A good estimate of daily commitment to this chore is approximately 2 to 3 hours. Yes, I do take longer to do things these days but less time would be sacrificing quality and sanitation.

While preparing breakfast this morning of cereal, berries and a slice of wheat toast my thoughts drifted to housekeeping responsibilities thrust upon parents. The thoughts included a comparison of house chores performed by the parents of today with those of long ago.

The only personal reference I had was of course my experiences as a child in a large family that took place in the 1930’s during “The Great Depression”. My Mother was a pure homemaker. Her day was totally dedicated to; feeding us, making sure there was an adequate supply of food for all of us, house cleaning, washing clothes, etc. One would think this would not be so difficult because she had the whole day. On the contrary!

Think of it, as stated earlier, feeding myself is a 2 to 3 hour necessity. Mom had to feed nine daily! This all took place early in the twentieth century prior to the appliances available today. To detail the comparison of today’s home conveniences to those of that era could be the basis of another discussion. Just as an example though; Mom cooked on a “coal burning stove”. Merely to access the coal, ignite, regulate, sustain, and maintain it is thought provoking if not mind boggling!

For the first nine years of my life we did not have running hot water. To this day the absence of a hot water heater in that house remains a mystery. This house and its' environs will be referred to in future discussions as "The Villa". We did have a wonderful furnace that provided good heat in the winter months. All needs for hot water, bathing, cooking, dish washing was achieved via, you guessed it, that coal burning range. Come to think of it even the iron used for pressing clothes required heating on that stove!

Mom baked bread. Store bought bread was a luxury we did not have. In hindsight this was probably a blessing because no other bread could replace Mom’s home baked for taste and nutrition. So perhaps my folks knew this important fact and intentionally shied away from the store bought doughy stuff. Does “Wonder Bread” ring a bell?

During our residence at the “Villa”, we were very fortunate to have a “kiln” in the back of our house. Still fresh in my mind remain vivid impressions of Mom placing the dough on a long handled paddle, placing the dough in the kiln. and retrieving a loaf of freshly baked bread. The breathtaking aroma that accompanied this activity has never been replicated in all my subsequent visits to bakeries.

Of course, washing clothes by hand, except for some delicate fabrics is unheard of today. Monday was designated clothes washing day come rain, snow, or shine. Why that day of the week was preferred I do not know - it just was.

Imagine having to wash clothes with no hot running water. Again, all the water was heated on that reliable coal stove - big pots of it! The water from these huge pots would then be poured into a large galvanized metal tub placed on a not so sturdy bench or stool.

A very indispensable tool required for hand clothes washing was a “scrubbing board”. If you are not familiar with this not so modern convenience of the day, it is merely a panel of corrugated metal that came in varying sizes.Ours was the size of a large cutting board. The trick was to rub the fabric over the rough surface at the risk of bruising one’s knuckles. Not only was this a hazard to hands but shortened the life of each piece of clothing after repeated washes.

At that time, clothes dryers were a figment of some ones imagination, so in the winter the clothes were hung to dry in the house. Figure that one out. Of course in spring and summer, outside drying was welcomed regardless of wind or rain.

Are you tired yet? Man-Oh-Gee we have not even come to cooking, housecleaning, planting tomatoes, or picking berries! That and more will be forthcoming in: "Good Old Days".Soon!