Snow Melt

I’m thinking about Laundry this morning

Fidál (Grace), 14 Asma (Names), 165 B.E. – Tuesday, September 2, 2008 about 4:33 AM Pacific Time

I'm thinking about laundry this morning because I checked the cloths left in the dryer last night. The cloths were still a little damp so I ran them through the dry cycle again. I don't know if the dryer was overloaded or Mom didn't put the cycle on long enough to dry them. It's difficult for Mom to see timer mechanism on the dryer, so sometimes she doesn't put them on long enough.

Anyway, I got to thinking about laundry or as Grandma Newland called it "The Washing". For years Grandma had old agitator washer, which ran by either electricity or an attached motor. I can't exactly remember which at this point. That washer had a wringer to squeeze the excess water out of the cloths before putting them into the rinse tubs. Grandma used that washer until Grandpa bought her an automatic washer. He never bought her a dryer, only because she didn't want one she liked hanging her wet cloths outside on the line to dry.

I asked Mom how Grandma did "The Washing" before they invented washing machines. Grandma used a washtub and a scrub board. Mom said that in spring and summer she would put the tub outside under a tree and "do the washing" in the front or back yard. I remember Grandma using a scrub board for extremely dirty cloths, but I don't remember her using a tub to do laundry.

My memories of Grandma and laundry day consist of the wringer washing machine and rinse tubs. Grandma always put her cloths through two rinses and one of the rinses had bluing in the water. I think the best way to retrieve all the laundry day memories is to do a focused free write. Perhaps attempt ten or fifteen minutes using the working title "The Washing" and see what I remember.