The clothes line....a
dead give away.
Do the kids today even know what a clothes line is?
I am sure a lot of you are too young to remember the Clothes line,
but for all of us who are older, this will bring back the
Memories
. It sure did for me.
THE BASIC RULES
1. You had to wash the clothes line
before hanging any clothes. Walk
The length of each line with a damp cloth
around the line.
2. You had to hang the clothes in a
certain order and always hang
Whites with whites and hang them first.
3. You never hung a shirt by the
shoulders, always by the tail. What
Would the neighbors think?
4. Wash day on a Monday...........never
hang clothes on the weekend or Sunday for heaven's sake!
5. Hang the sheets and towels on the
outside lines so you could hide
Your 'unmentionables' in the middle.
6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero
weather.............clothes
Would 'freeze dry.'
7. Always gather the clothes pins when
taking down dry clothes. Pins
Left on the line was 'tacky'.
8. If you were efficient, you would
line the clothes up so that each
Item did not need two clothes pins, but
shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
9. Clothes off of the line before
dinner time, neatly folded in the
Clothes basket and ready to be ironed.
10. IRONED?????????? Well, that's a
whole other subject.
A POEM
A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the 'company table cloths'
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown.
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, 'We're back!' when full lines
sagged
With not an inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their
brows,
And looked the other way..
But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess.
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!