T H E   L A U N D R Y

Doing laundry is a fact of life, and this display shows how it was done here in a small country town around the turn of the century.

Double washtubs made it convenient to wash and rinse either on the back porch or in the back yard, with a scrub board kept handy. Also in the back yard there was always an iron wash pot for boiling the whites and other clothing items as needed, along with a stirring stick.

All yards had a drying area, with clotheslines strung between two trees or a post as needed. Sometimes, but usually only by the poorest families who did not have clotheslines, clothing was strung along a fence line. On rainy days clothing had to be dried on racks beside the fire, or on porches or attics if handy.

Ironing boards came in different sizes and were laid across the tops of two chairs at a convenient height. Most housekeepers still used flat irons which were either heated at the back of the cook stove, many still used wood stoves, or by the fire place. A very modern contraption was a gas powered iron which was a luxury item. Even with today's modern washers and dryers, there is still nothing like the fresh smell of sun-dried sheets!