I
don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principle 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 aprons used less material. But along
with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
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.
Grandma
used it to wipe her perspiring brow as she 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 was used to carry 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 folk 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 this
'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Send
this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma's aprons.
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.
Someone
could earn a PhD figuring out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron… but love
(Anonymous. Edited by
William McDonald, PhD)
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