Laundry

When I look at this washing machine, it makes me feel guily for complaining about doing laundry! I don't remember one like this, but I do remember the big white tub with the wringers on top. This and other wonderful things can be seen on Historic Route 66 at the Western Oklahoma Historical Center inside the Cedar School House at 520 West Main, Weatherford, Oklahoma.

Note the wash board, used to scrub clothes, laying in the tub on the right.

These irons were heated on top of the wood stove. Lordy, I do not like to iron at all much less have to heat the thing up on the stove! Oh and they are very heavy too.

I do remember using a sprinkler much like this one. We would have a basket of washed and dried clothing that needed to be ironed. Usually it was a LARGE basket full. We would sprinkle the garment with water from the sprinkler bottle and then iron it. My husband tells the story of his father hiding his mother's Christmas present in the bottom of the laundry basket, because he said she would never get down far enough to find it!

Before commercial laundries and dry cleaners, there were lots of people who took in ironing to make money. They usually charged so much per piece for ironing the clothes. I was surprised the other day, when I saw an ad in the local little free ads paper, someone was advertising to do ironing. My rule is that if it has to be ironed don't buy it!