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Archiver > AUTEN > 2001-08 > 0997628684


From: Colleen Pustola <>
Subject: [AUTEN] SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 09:04:44 -0600


)
(
) Good Morning Family!
.-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . .
\\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . .
\| |// ...and we even have decaf,
| |/ tea, and hot chocolate!
\ /
------



Today's topics include:

1. Welcome to new cousins
2. Those were the days


TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~

On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome
to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are
very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of
our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list,
please send in your list-surname lines so we can all see how we're
related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or
queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything
to do with our list-surname ancestors that might help someone, please
feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

The drudgery of laundry day! Ugh! ... or is it today really "drudgery"
and "ugh"?

You may have thought I've totally "lost it" here, but I don't think so.
As newbies and novices we learn to put flesh on our ancestors by telling
as many of their stories as we can. This section is going to do just
that, but with a twist.

For today's subject picture yourself doing laundry. Not a fun picture,
huh?

Now picture your great grandmother doing laundry, then your 3x great
grandmother. Put yourself in your grandmothers' position and picture
what it must have been like for them.

You're now stepping into the frame of mind for this section...

Before the days of washing machines, people got dirt out of their
clothes by pounding them on rocks and washing the dirt away in streams.
Sand was used as an abrasive to free the dirt. Soap was discovered at
Rome's Sapo Hill where ashes containing the fat of sacrificial animals
was found to have good cleaning powers. Technology has taken us a fair
way to the modern rectangular shaped white box with appropriate buttons
for permanent press and delicate fabrics. What would grandma have
thought if she were given the choice of "delicate" or "permanent press"?
Certainly the pair of bib-overalls that had been on granddad for the
past week, or two, would not have fit within either category.

The earliest washing "machine" - the scrub board - was invented in
1797. In those days the process went something like this... Build your
own laundry soap (no running to the store for detergent). Heat water
for the laundry on the old cook stove, pour it in the wooden wash and
rinse tubs. After scrubbing the clothes, wring them out by hand, then
hang everything on outside lines. Hope it didn't rain or a dust-storm
wouldn't come along.

An 1800's housekeeping book gives the following instructions for making
detergent:

"A Washing Mixture. Mix and boil twenty minutes one gallon soft soap;
half a gallon of weak boiled lye; four ounces sal soda; half a gill of
spirits turpentine. Soak the clothes over night in milk-warm water. In
the morning, rinse and wring them. To every gallon cold water add one
pint of the above mixture. Stir it well in the water. Open the clothes
and boil fifteen or twenty minutes; rinse out of those suds. If the
articles are not thoroughly cleansed, rub a little of the mixture on the
soiled places, and the result will be satisfactory. -- Mrs. Dr. E."

Or, you could try this one:

"Castile soap, ounce; aqua ammonia (34), a quarter-pound; sulphur ether,
one ounce; glycerine, one ounce; spirits wine, one ounce. Shave the
soap into thin pieces, dissolve it in two quarts rain (or any other soft
water). Then add the other ingredients. Rub the soiled spots with a
sponge or piece of flannel and expose to the air. -- Mrs. B."

In 1874 William Blackstone of Bluffton, Indiana built a birthday present
for his wife. It was a machine which removed and washed away dirt from
clothes. The machine consisted of a wooden tub in which there was a flat
piece of wood containing six small wooden pegs. The inner mechanism
looked something like a small milking stool. It was moved back and forth
by means of a handle and an arrangement of gears. Dirty clothes were
snagged on the wooden pegs and swished about in hot soapy water. Mr.
Blackstone began to build and sell his washers for $2.50 each.
Competitors moved in quickly, which helped to keep prices down. Many
early washing machines cost less than $10.

Other early washers were hand powered by means of a wheel, pump handle
or similar device. One was driven by twisted ropes which powered the
washer by "unwinding" somewhat like the use of a rubber band to power
model airplanes. Another washer contained rollers which were pushed back
and forth by hand to squeeze out dirt. Several featured "stomping"
devices and one - called a "Locamotive" was moved rapidly back and forth
on a track washing the clothes by slamming them against the walls of the
tub.

Later a wringer, invented in 1861, was added to the washer. Metal tubs
replaced wooden types around 1900. Drive belts made possible use of
steam or gasoline engines in the early 1900s and electric motor power
for the first time in 1906. In 1922 a system of forcing water through
the clothes by means of an agitator rather than dragging the clothes
through the water was introduced. This system is most commonly used now.

In the mid 1930s, a device invented by John W. Chamberlain washed,
rinsed, and extracted water from clothes in a single operation. It was
the mother to today's washer.

Great grandmother should see us now! A job that took her up to two days
to complete, takes us a matter of hours now.

Today's Coffee presented you with another facet of genealogy ~ an
insight into to one aspect of the lives of our great grandmothers. Did
you enjoy it? Would you like to see more pieces like this? Let me know
your opinion <>.

Family ... it's what we're all about.

I really enjoyed this time with each of you. I wish you all a week
filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all ... filled with
love.


)
(
)
_.-~~-.
(@\'--'/. Colleen
('``.__.'`)
`..____.'

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