Contributed by: Elaine Brown
The principle use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that,
it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven;
when company came those old aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids;
those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling-wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
from the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables, to say nothing about shooing away pesky birds. After the peas had been shelled it carried out the hulls.
from the chicken-coop the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
in the fall it was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
and when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
when unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
when dinner was ready, Grandma walked out on the porch and waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.
and what treasures could be found in that one small pocket! A clothespin or two just when they were needed; a pretty hanky to dry a tear or blow a little nose; a stubby pencil to write a note or draw a picture; a nickel or two (and how come they never jingled?); a hairpin to fasten up a stray lock of hair; a match to light a candle …
It will be a long time before anyone invents something that will replace that old-time apron that served so many purposes.
A current observation about how life has changed:
“Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughter’s set theirs on the window sill to thaw!”
