Wash Day Memories

A friend sent this to us recently and it brought back some memories.  I remember all this quite well.  I also remember using a wringer washer.  Mom and Grandma would sort, wash, run things through the wringer, and into the rinse tub, then back through the wringer. You had to be careful not to let your fingers get run through there too! Clothes pins were kept in pretty "bags" that were made to look like aprons and fit over a clothes hanger so you could hang it on the line and slide it along as you hung the wash.  If the weather was really nasty, the wet clothes had to be hauled up to the attic or just hung in the basement to dry.  And you NEVER hung your "unmentionables" where anyone could see them!

THIS IS FUNNY AND QUITE TRUE....WE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST GENERATION THAT WILL REMEMBER WHAT A CLOTHES LINE WAS....

There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. I can hear
my mother now....

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:  

1. You had to hang the socks by the toes....NOT the top.

2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs....NOT the waistbands.

3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.

5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?

6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather....clothes would "freeze-dry." I remember my Grandfathers union suits standing by themselves frozen. How many remember union suits?

9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!

10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.

11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed. (IRONED? Well, that's a whole OTHER subject!)   

And now a POEM....

A clothesline was a news forecast, to neighbors passing by
There were no secrets you could keep, when clothes were hung to dry
It also was a friendly link, for neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by, to spend a night or two

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", and towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths", with intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth, from folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung, so carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could, so readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed, you'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck, as extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes and a bathrobe too, haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "On vacation now", when lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, with not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows, and looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past, for dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home id anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign,
When neighbors knew each other best...by what hung on the line.