People can do things like this. No use to let everything go because of hard times. – Ina
This
morning, Ina and Shirley took turns ironing beside the old wood range where
they heated the sad irons. They smoothed the clothes quickly with the heavy
irons before they cooled and had to be reheated. No steam iron here! The
clothes were mostly cotton, of course, so prior to ironing they sprinkled them
with water, rolled them up, and placed them under a towel to keep them moist.
Lest you think sprinkling the clothes is easy, let me say that I could never do it to suit my mother. “You’re getting them too wet,” she would admonish. “Now watch me do it.” Finally, she just did it herself. Apparently sprinkling the clothes was an art and one that is lost today. Not only don’t we sprinkle, but we barely iron.
As
Ina works, I see the resolve on her face. They would go on as they always had,
and she would have plenty of food, light, and warmth – just no ready cash for
extras. As for Christmas, though, it didn’t matter. She would look into her
storehouse and find gifts for those she loved. She would send a jar of “fancy” strawberry
jam to son Earle and his wife Bernice. They had failed to put up any this year,
and Earle had been so disappointed. She smiled to think how happy he would be
to receive the jam.
And she had pieced a quilt top for daughter Pearl and would send a fountain pen, a premium (or bonus) provided with the purchase of seed (or was it feed?) to grandson Stanley. And together, she and Shirley would make doll clothes for the rag doll that Santa would bring little granddaughter Shirley Jean, now six years old. And every box would include beans and popcorn grown right here on the farm.
Yes, it would all work out beautifully, Ina smiled to herself. No use to let everything go because of hard times. KW
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