Finally, a day to stay home and tackle my "to do" list. I know it's early to do fall cleaning, but with my schedule, I clean when the opportunity presents itself.
My kitchen cupboards had been bugging me for some time. Seemed every time I wanted something, it was in the back; likewise the "junk" drawer with the larger pot-stirring utensils.
When I dumped that drawer, all types of knives, forks, spoons and "junk" came tumbling onto the countertop. Just how many pickle forks does a person need? (I have 11.) I also discovered the knob to my table fan, two walnut pickers, a bottle brush and a knife sharpener with a wheel. I didn't know what it was until I looked on the back. And, get this — I also found tongs that say S&H Green Stamps.
I discovered brightly colored plastic bottle tops from the '50s, a dark-green melon ball scoop, too many straws to count, a tea ball to steep loose tea (when?), two number 8 candles, and the tailgate to my son's toy Chevrolet truck (he's 42 this year!).
SUMMER KITCHEN
My grandmother Bernice Spencer McGibbon used to talk about the spring cleaning she did as a kid. Feather comforters were hung outside, beat with a rug beater to fluff them up. The floors got a good scrubbing, too, probably with lye soap.
Bernice was an only child, born when her mother and father were about 38. But she didn't have it easy. She learned how to do housework and helped out with farm work. It was a good thing, because after she married my grandfather, Walter, they had six children and lived on a large farm. That must have been a real eye opener for her.
A relative and neighbor, Alice Stark, told me she used to go over to the house and stay for a few days in the summertime to help my grandmother with the children, the housework and especially picking berries. Alice came from a big family and didn't mind the kids chasing the cat or dog, or each other, around and around the kitchen table.
When it's hot and I'm cooking supper, I think about the women who lived in the 1800s and early 1900s. How did they do it? The traditional garb then was long skirts, long sleeves and high necklines. I can appreciate the "summer kitchen" found in many older homes. Normally open to the breeze, the summer kitchen was supplied with a cook stove so meals could be prepared there instead of inside the house on a 90-degree day. But add flies and humidity (without air conditioning) and you get the picture. It wasn't easy.
FIELD WORK
The summer kitchen must have been welcome when the farm garden was ready to harvest. Canning nearly everything they grew took a lot of time and energy. Most of it was done in the heat of August or early fall.
The men didn't have it easy either. Think of the huge hay fields, cut with a hand scythe, a hay wagon pulled by horses, men loosely piling the hay with a hay fork. Hot, hot, hot! Most of the Amish work their farms this way today. It must take a lot of heart and dedication. Not so sure I would have made it as a farmer back then (or as an Amish woman today).
As much as I love the romanticism of olden days, when it is 90 degrees and 79-percent humidity, I really love my air conditioner, my ceiling fans, my floor fans, microwaves and refrigerators. Now I just have to figure out what to do with 11 pickle forks.
As always, please be kind to each other. The world needs more kindness.
Susan Tobias lives in Plattsburgh with her husband, Toby. She has been a Press-Republican newsroom employee since 1977. The Tobiases have six children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They enjoy traveling to Maine and Colorado, and in her spare time, Susan loves to research local history and genealogy. Reach her by e-mail at: writertobias@gmail.com.
