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| Dickens' Chimney Sweeps |
Must stop now and go “grind” the old washer. So very much love to you and the merriest Christmas. The most Happy and successfulest New Year! – Shirley Dobson
It was washday again, and Ina did her best to focus Shirley on the task at hand. “Shirley, we just can’t let everything go because Christmas is coming. Please leave your letter-writing for now and help with the washing.”
So, Shirley quickly closed her letter to Vance and began to “grind” the old washer, whatever that meant.
Meanwhile, Ethel took advantage of the hot stove to make penuche (brown sugar fudge). She had planned in advance and brought brown sugar and nuts with her so as not to use Ina’s supply, but she knew that cream and butter would be in plentiful supply at the farm.
Once
the laundry was hung, Shirley mixed the dough for gingerbread cookies with a wooden spoon, and thank goodness she had strong arms, but by the
time the dough was mixed, everyone was tired, so they decided to let the dough
sit overnight in the “cellar” and roll the cookies tomorrow.
As daylight waned, they were so tired that they decided that bread and milk for supper would be “just the thing.” Sadie didn’t like bread and milk but knew better than to say so. Ethel quietly allowed her a little extra sugar and cinnamon on her serving. And Ina's applesauce for dessert was a treat!
And
then Sadie was bundled into her pajamas, robe, and slippers, and the four
adults took turns reading aloud from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Actually,
the adults enjoyed the reading more than Sadie. It was a little boring for
a four-year-old, but again, Sadie knew better than to complain. After all, the
longer they read, the longer she stayed up, and she didn’t like to go to bed
upstairs by herself. At last she fell asleep, and Jack carried her to bed. KW
3 comments:
Sorry that I haven't been good about commenting. I've been busy and try to catch up every few days and think I'll write, but then it's a few days later, again, and . . . Anyway, I have enjoyed this year's advent!
I was also curious what "grind" the washer was. Here's what AI told me:
In the early 1900s, "grinding" a washing machine meant the hard manual labor of using hand-cranked wringer washers or manual agitators (dolly/posser) in tubs, often requiring moving clothes through multiple tubs and wringing them through rollers to extract water before hanging them to dry, a far cry from today's electric automation. Early models, like the hand-levered "Happy Day," agitated clothes in a tub, while later wringer washers used electric motors or foot pedals, but the whole process—washing, rinsing, wringing, hanging—was a heavy, time-consuming chore.
Hi Chris! It's good to hear from you. I had no particular direction when I started my "story," and I wasn't sure I could keep it going. I didn't have time to actually make an apron or a doll or whatever.
And Becky -- I missed your introductory sentence and thought your Grandma Reece must have educated you on old-time washing practices. Interesting! Truly, the modern washer and dryer are labor- and time-saving devices. I'm afraid we take them for granted. Thanks for supplying the info.
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