Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Grandma's Apron
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. And don’t forget those dresses and aprons had to be ironed!
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Send this to those who would know, and love, the story about Grandma's aprons. Or it can be a good history lesson for those that have no idea how the apron played a part in our lives.
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron......
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I stumbled upon your blog a little while back, and really liked it. I thought I should get around to commenting, and let you know that I was just cheered up by reading that very sweet story!
ReplyDeletehow lovely... the apron may well be a sign of oppression for many a modern woman. But that story just suggests to me how very lost we women are from a truly beautiful, important and incredibly complex role. I want an apron now.
ReplyDeleteI have such a weakness for aprons. What a great story to inspire my day! I am fortunate enough to have a few of my great-grandmother's aprons, and they are such a simple pleasure. When I'm having a day where I'm less-than-motivated, I don one of my aprons and I feel an instant boost of energy and connection to the women in my past. I say, let aprons be a symbol of the power for women!
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I've been on the search for an apron for so long. I just haven't found one that calls to me. My MIL wears one all the time. Thank you for such an inspiring post.
ReplyDelete