I don't
think our children know what an apron is.
The
principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because
she only had a few. It was also because
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.
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
autumn, 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.
REMEMBER:
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 - but love....
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