THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHES LINES: (if you don't know what clothes lines are, better skip this and go straight to the poem below)
1. You had to clean the clothes line before hanging any clothes - walk
the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
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 neighbours 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 (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather on washing day ... clothes would "freeze-dry."
7. Always gather the clothes pegs when taking down dry clothes!
Pegs left on the lines were "tacky - and the sign of a lazy housewife!"
8. If you were efficient, you'd line the clothes up so that each item did not need
two clothes pegs, but shared one of the clothes pegs with the next washed item.
9. Clothes had to be off the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket,
and ready to be ironed.
10. IRONED?! Now, THAT is a whole other subject !
...................................................................................................................................................
A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbours passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbours 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 "decorative table cloths"
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby's birth
From 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 also 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 their washing was dingy and grey,
As neighbours carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way .. . .
But clothes lines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much 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 neighbours knew each other best
By what hung on the line.
1. You had to clean the clothes line before hanging any clothes - walk
the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
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 neighbours 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 (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather on washing day ... clothes would "freeze-dry."
7. Always gather the clothes pegs when taking down dry clothes!
Pegs left on the lines were "tacky - and the sign of a lazy housewife!"
8. If you were efficient, you'd line the clothes up so that each item did not need
two clothes pegs, but shared one of the clothes pegs with the next washed item.
9. Clothes had to be off the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket,
and ready to be ironed.
10. IRONED?! Now, THAT is a whole other subject !
...................................................................................................................................................
A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbours passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbours 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 "decorative table cloths"
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby's birth
From 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 also 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 their washing was dingy and grey,
As neighbours carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way .. . .
But clothes lines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much 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 neighbours knew each other best
By what hung on the line.
nthego:
