REMENBERING "WASH DAY" OF LONG AGO & "DOWNTOWN " BEFORE MALLS
By OLIVENE GODFREY
Long ago women washed clothes in creeks and rivers. One of my earliest memories is of "Wash Day" at our Chattanooga home and the very different "Wash Day" at my paternal grandparents farm home in the 1930s.
Mother did laundry in an electric wringer type washing machine and considered herself one of the lucky ones of her day. My paternal grandmother and her two spinster daughters built a fire on a grate like stand and placed a large tub filled with water and soap and laundry on the fire. I had no sense of time as a child but I remember the aunts would stir the clothes with a long stick for a while. When the clothes were clean, the women would rinse them in two large galvanized steel tubs, one which contained bluing which I think was to brighten up the laundry.
They had to squeeze the laundry by hand and then hung them on clothes lines. I don't remember the procedure for starching items that needed it. I do remember the women dampened laundry to be ironed with flatirons heated on a wood burning stove.
There were several "rain barrels" situated near the farm house and the rain water was used to shampoo hair among other things.
After World War II and the invention of automatic washers, people would spend hours watching the glass front open machines in laundromats tumble their laundry. One man told me that,"the clothes come out almost dry and ready to iron." That was an exaggeration but we were thrilled with the new machines. And, to this day, I am still grateful to have an automatic clothes washer and dryer as I remember the days of long ago when it was a chore to do laundry.
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One recent Saturday, Barry drove me to the Dalton mall to take care of an errand. While we were there, we decided to eat lunch at the Subway. We ate our lunch at one of the tables situated in front of the Subway. Being a people watcher, I enjoyed watching the parade of people passing our table. And my mind went back to the time I was young and downtown Dalton was filled with people, shopping in the shops and chatting with friends.
Some of the merchants had their wares displayed on tables in front of their shops. When I was a teenager,I worked as a clerk in several of the downtown shops at various times. In those days, there was no self-service stores and clerks waited on each customer. It was a tiring job and even though I was young, I would be exhausted at the end of the day.
I remember one of my most embarrassing moments was after a busy day at a shop and I was walking home on a sidewalk. I met a group of people walking toward me and I asked, in a loud voice, "May I help you?" The people looked puzzled and I felt my face burning as I realized what I had said. I hurried on down the street until I reached the haven of my bedroom. After a good meal prepared by my mother,I could see the humor of the situation and the family members all had a good laugh.
See you next time.
By OLIVENE GODFREY
Long ago women washed clothes in creeks and rivers. One of my earliest memories is of "Wash Day" at our Chattanooga home and the very different "Wash Day" at my paternal grandparents farm home in the 1930s.
Mother did laundry in an electric wringer type washing machine and considered herself one of the lucky ones of her day. My paternal grandmother and her two spinster daughters built a fire on a grate like stand and placed a large tub filled with water and soap and laundry on the fire. I had no sense of time as a child but I remember the aunts would stir the clothes with a long stick for a while. When the clothes were clean, the women would rinse them in two large galvanized steel tubs, one which contained bluing which I think was to brighten up the laundry.
They had to squeeze the laundry by hand and then hung them on clothes lines. I don't remember the procedure for starching items that needed it. I do remember the women dampened laundry to be ironed with flatirons heated on a wood burning stove.
There were several "rain barrels" situated near the farm house and the rain water was used to shampoo hair among other things.
After World War II and the invention of automatic washers, people would spend hours watching the glass front open machines in laundromats tumble their laundry. One man told me that,"the clothes come out almost dry and ready to iron." That was an exaggeration but we were thrilled with the new machines. And, to this day, I am still grateful to have an automatic clothes washer and dryer as I remember the days of long ago when it was a chore to do laundry.
---------------------
One recent Saturday, Barry drove me to the Dalton mall to take care of an errand. While we were there, we decided to eat lunch at the Subway. We ate our lunch at one of the tables situated in front of the Subway. Being a people watcher, I enjoyed watching the parade of people passing our table. And my mind went back to the time I was young and downtown Dalton was filled with people, shopping in the shops and chatting with friends.
Some of the merchants had their wares displayed on tables in front of their shops. When I was a teenager,I worked as a clerk in several of the downtown shops at various times. In those days, there was no self-service stores and clerks waited on each customer. It was a tiring job and even though I was young, I would be exhausted at the end of the day.
I remember one of my most embarrassing moments was after a busy day at a shop and I was walking home on a sidewalk. I met a group of people walking toward me and I asked, in a loud voice, "May I help you?" The people looked puzzled and I felt my face burning as I realized what I had said. I hurried on down the street until I reached the haven of my bedroom. After a good meal prepared by my mother,I could see the humor of the situation and the family members all had a good laugh.
See you next time.
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