Doing the Wash

I hope you're not celebrating Labor Day by doing laundry. If you are, at least you can take comfort in knowing how much easier it is today than it was at the turn of the century. And this lady thought she was fortunate to have a hand-cranked wringer.

Doing laundry isn't really newsworthy today, but I guess back in 1909 and 1912 it was a big enough job that it was worth writing home about.

These cards were sent in June and July, so I imagine the clothes were hung on the clothesline and came back smelling of sunshine. I hang laundry out in the summer too, but I would miss the convenience of a dryer in the winter.

The first card was sent to Mrs. Claude Light of Harpursville, New York in 1909. According to the 1910 Census, Claude (27) was a milk inspector for Borden Milk. His wife Nina, was 19 at the time.

The message reads:

We arrived home soon after eight. B.G. was surprised. Suppose you are canning. I washed today. I asked father how he was feeling today and he said he didn't know. Mother G. invited me up to dinner today. Write soon Lovingly M.

The second card was sent to Mr. Derrick Osro Steere of McDonough, New York in 1912. According to the 1880 Census, Derrick Steere, a dairy farmer,  was born in 1855. The sender, his daughter Nora, was born in 1879. The message (with very little punctuation) reads:

June 3, 1912

Hallo Father

I send this wishing you a happy birthday and many more to come we age well F' has got to Point I have washed I have got five turkeys is all when does yours come off I will write more and send to marrow so you will have all the news

your daughter Nora

Here are the other sides of the cards. Grace Lester must have had the first one glued in an album.

A Range of Stoves

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt shows a country store interior with a pot-bellied stove. In addition to heating, people also used wood-fired stoves for cooking. Sometimes they were simple and other times they were extremely ornate.

Garland stoves have been around for a long time. In fact I remember considering one when I was shopping for ranges years ago. As far as I know, Garland only produces commercial ranges now.

This is one of my favorite advertising cards, although it's difficult to show with scanned images.
It starts out as a triangle like this.

 And then unfolds to find the children doing unspeakable things. The maid runs to alert their mother.

When she come back with the mother, the children are sweetly reading their books by the fire. But where is the cat?

In any case, it's an amazing stove. Not surprisingly, people still collect these even if they don't use them for heat. 

The Michigan Stove Co. had been making Garland stoves had been around since 1864, but they were originally unveiled at the 1893 World's Fair. In 1925 The Michigan Stove Co. merged with Detroit Stove Works, makers of "Jewel" Stoves and Ranges. Here's a trade card of theirs showing no stoves at all, but a blissed out girl on a shopping trip. She looks to me as if she's waiting for a train.

 

The Jewell stove name may be in quotation marks to distinguish it from another company, makers of the Jewett Range.

Sherman S. Jewett (1818-1897) was better known for his civic involvement and philanthropy than his stove business. You can read more about him here.

Be sure to check out Sepia Saturday this week, with many posts inspired by a single photograph.

Tuberculosis of the Head

Martha sent this card to her grandmother in May of 1909 from Davenport, New York. At that time her grandmother would have been 73 years old. When Fannie Utter was born in 1836, Andrew Jackson was president, the battle of the Alamo has just been fought, and there were 24 states in the United States. By the time Fannie died in 1915, she had lived through the Civil War, Lincoln's assassination, the invention of the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, moving pictures, and many other historic events. If she had only lived an additional 5 years, she would have been able to vote.

Fannie must have been delighted to get such a beautiful card, but the message probably had her deeply worried.

Dear Grandma

Thanks for the card you sent me I am feeling fine for me and working as hard as ever

Milo is sick again

The Dr. told him Monday he had symptoms of Tuberculosis of the head Wouldn't that be terrible if he has it

you must write a letter soon

from Martha

Oh, I do hope that Milo didn't have tuberculosis of the head. Tuberculosis was one of the leading causes of death at that time.