New Richmond Heritage Center
  • Home
  • Events
  • Tours
  • Pioneer Village
  • Support Us
  • About Us
  • Heritage Days
  • Weddings & Receptions

Laundry

8/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​It would be tackled on a Saturday
When all four daughters were at home to help.
Mama ran the job, rewarding speed and sunny dispositions
with sweet-smelling chores like pegging clothes out on the line,
or gathering in.
 
That wasn't me.
I usually sorted dirties in great heaps upon the kitchen floor,
never mastering the complex rules concerning weight of fabric,
color, odor, depth of dirt.  Towels go in this stack, Mama said,
unless they're red or purple -- those make a separate load --
they won't be colorfast.  Sheets, pillowcases here,
school clothing there, except for underwear. 
Check crotches carefully.  The stained ones get a special soak and scrub.
Now start that tub of whites – no, not those smelly shirts --
they'll wait till near the end.  And barn pants, overalls, go last.
 
The sorting, soaping, dashing, wringing, bluing,
rinsing, wringing, rinsing, wringing again,
the hanging, drying, taking down and folding up consumed our day.
We finally saw the last foul load of overalls go in.
Oshkosh B'Gosh went churning in a gray-blue soup
garnished with straw.  They crawled up through the wringer,
somewhat cleaner, though I wondered how. 
Their buckles caught between the rollers,
made them gasp and stall and fly apart.
An easy fix, said Mama, to my great dismay.
 
The washer drained out slowly, clogged by a silty mix of soil
chaff, manure and broken buttons, stones and screws
and God-knows-what-men-put-in-their-cuffs-and-pockets.
We made pancakes for supper, too weary for the usual roast or stew.
That was some job we did today! chirped Mama.
Don't you feel good?
We rolled our eyes and sighed, Sure do.
 
--Sara DeLuca
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2021
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Events
    Exhibits & Artifacts
    Food & Cooking
    Life In The Village
    New Richmond History
    Volunteers

New Richmond
​Heritage Center

1100 Heritage Drive
New Richmond, WI 54017

Phone: 715-246-3276
info@nrheritagecenter.org



​
© COPYRIGHT 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
About Us
Events
Tours
Building Rental
​Genealogy
​
Blog
Volunteer
Membership
Donate
Gift Shop
​Wedding & Receptions
Museum Hours
Monday - Friday: 9am-1pm
Please call to schedule a tour
​Guided tours are by appointment only.  


Flea Market Hours
Sale Hours:  Wednesday 8-2, 5-7
                       Saturday 8-2
                        Sunday 11-4
                 
​
Donation Drop Off,  
Drop-Off Times:  Tuesday & Thursday 9-noon
​                                Saturday 9-1:30
​


  • Home
  • Events
  • Tours
  • Pioneer Village
  • Support Us
  • About Us
  • Heritage Days
  • Weddings & Receptions