When I think about spring, I usually think about spring cleaning. When I think about cleaning, my aunt Kitty always come to mind.
When I was young my mother worked. I had the privilege of visiting my Mamaw Mae and Aunt Kitty, who happened to be neighbors. Kitty and my mama were more like sisters than sister-in-laws. They were both sweet and fun women who loved being around and entertaining children. I spent many days with my mamaw.
My mamaw and Aunt Kitty’s houses were one in front of the other. My Mamaw could look out her back kitchen window and see Aunt Kitty’s front patio. They usually woke up early, sat on the patio and chatted over a few cups of coffee, then got all the children fed and started the long workday.
I learned quickly that Mondays were very busy days for stay-home moms.They were laundry days, unless rain was forecast. Laundry day fascinated me because my Aunt Kitty always used an old-fashioned wringer washer. It was a long process, but it did a superb job. She always pin-curled her hair with bobby pins and wrapped a scarf around her head to keep her hair out of her face. Kitty was clad in a plain cotton dress, and she wore an apron with large pockets to hold some wooden clothespins. She was ready for the day.
The kitchen was the designated spot for washing clothes. Using the wringer washer required lots of space, as you had the wringer unit, a large shallow metal bucket to hold the soapy clothes while you ran the rinsing water in the unit, and a large weaved basket to take the clothes out to the clothesline after you ran the clothes through the spinning rubber wringers on the top of the machine.
She washed the dark clothes and jeans first. Then she drained the water, refilled the washer and washed the light-colored clothing. She added bleach when she was ready for the white T-shirts, socks and such.
In the middle of her front room, she sat up her ironing board. She brought the clothes that needed to be ironed in from the clothes line and sprinkled them with a bit of water and rolled them up tight. She used an empty Coca-Cola bottle filled with water that had a metal or cork sprinkler to wet the clothes a bit. She put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and took them out a few at a time to iron.
I remember on one of those Mondays I decided to “help” and tried to iron a nice silk scarf she had set aside. She went to the restroom and when she came out the beautiful scarf had a perfect iron shaped hole in it. I thought I’d really be in trouble, but she didn’t say much. She just turned off the iron and then finished getting the rest of the stain off with a salt rub. Needless to say I never tried that again.
I was always amazed at how much my Mamaw and Kitty got accomplished on those busy Mondays. Not only did she do her laundry, but also she picked up the house, cooked lunch for her three boys and I and started a pot of ham and beans for supper.
I believe things were a little harder back in those old summer days, but I think they were better. Although I was working right alongside my aunt, I was gaining knowledge and some new skills. It was a long day of physical activity, which was also good exercise. Now washers and dryers are pretty much push the button and let them do the work.
Kitty must have thought that the old ways were better, because when she moved from that little house off Park Avenue to her Bedford Stone home on East Morgan Street, she had uncle Paul drag that old wringer washer to her new home. She still used the unit in her basem*nt when she had heavy rag rugs and such to wash.
I’ll always count those days as precious because of the two sweet caring ladies who helped shape my life. They were both strong women who worked hard caring for their families. In the midst of work, they smiled and laughed along the day. I’ll never forget you “Kit” and “Mazie,” you were the best.
