Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Aprons

I saw this on Facebook, and I just knew some of my readers would so love it.

The History of 'APRONS'
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 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 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 that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
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
---Hawk Seeker of Truth---

21 comments:

  1. Oh, I love this, Nan. I have a collection of aprons and wear them for cooking. Now I realize there is so much more that they could be doing, although I have carried eggs in from the hen house in my Frida Kahlo apron.

    Happy October from New Mexico, dear kindred spirit and co-fan of Gladys Taber.

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    1. I so thank you for your comment! Maybe you could do a picture post of all your aprons! And happy October to you!! There's some beautiful foliage here just now.

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  2. Still using them! For cooking, for painting, for gardening. Thanks for finding that, Nan.

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  3. This is fabulous. The apron is described so expressively. I still have and use aprons. Usually when I am dressed for company and I don't want to muck up my outfit. Germs. How did we ever survive? Ha...

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    1. I love that you still use them! People are such germaphobes now. And they say that kids who grow up in "too clean" surroundings get sicker.

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  4. I asked my mom to get me an apron for Christmas last year as I decided I wanted one although I've never used one before. She gave me one my grandmother had made.

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    1. Lucky, lucky you! Isn't it wonderful that she had kept it.

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  5. I own quite a few aprons, which I now wear frequently. When I finally admitted how messy I often am when cooking and eating, I'm happier having aprons with olive oil stains rather than ruining my shirts and blouses. Now I've learned a few more uses for my aprons.

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    1. Yes! Accidents can happen so easily. And most stains don't come out, no matter what the detergent folks tell me.

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  6. Like the others here, I use an apron for cooking/baking, especially if I am already dressed in what I intend to wear for the occasion. They really are very practical, even though many of the purposes described in your post will never apply to me (such as hiding children, cleaning ears or carrying chickens) :-)

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    1. You never know. You might get some chickens someday!

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  7. I haven't used an apron in quite a while, but I was so happy to see my 14-year-old niece by one for herself this summer when she was visiting us. She loves to cook and loves aprons! Maybe it isn't a dying tradition!

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  8. Love this! I used to always use aprons, but less so now....But I love them!

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  9. Really enjoyed this post, especially as I do wear an apron!

    All the best Jan

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  10. OK... Now this makes me want to wear an apron more often.

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