Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on
Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday
Days
of the week were set aside for women to do certain chores, but they had oh so
much more to do! As the old adage said, “A man’s work is sun to sun but a
woman’s work is never done!”
They
cooked three meals a day, and had them on the table right on schedule. They
carried water from the well and heated it on the kitchen cook wood stove to
wash dishes, do laundry and fill the bathtub for the family on Saturday nights.
They made soap and butter, tended the kitchen garden, and preserved fruits,
vegetables and meats. They made clothing for their family, and when those wore
out they cut them up and made utilitarian quilts or rag and braided rugs – by
hand not machine. They knit socks, hats and mittens for their family with wool yarn
they spun themselves. In the earliest days they even carded their own wool –
what a luxury it must have been when a carding mill was close by.
Every
day they collected eggs, and took care of the milking. They cleaned the privy,
made the beds, emptied the chamber pots, swept, washed the floors, kept the
wood fires going, and in between they had a passel of kids to take care of –
and more than likely they were nursing one of them in between chores.
The
average household had 8 – 10 children in the 19th century. If the
mothers were lucky some of those kids were daughters who could help carry some
of the workload. Work on the farm was clearly defined as men’s work and women’s
work – mostly out of necessity – but even if they had all boys and no girls
that unwritten rule rarely deviated. Many households had widowed mothers and
maiden aunts living with them, and could give a hand if they were not too old,
ill or impertinent to do so.
The
woman of the house also helped deliver the neighbor’s babies and made
themselves available to help care for the newborns and prepare meals for the
men and other children for a few days afterwards. They took care of the sick – going to the
hospital was a last resort and considered a death sentence in the 19th
century.
In
the afternoon, when they had cleaned up from the noonin’ (dinner meal), the
neighbor women often gathered to visit and catch up on the local news. They
always came with a basket of handiwork on their arms – knitting, crocheting or
the like. After all - “Idle hands make the devil’s work” they would say.
(C) 2015 All Rights Reserved by Dale Potter-Clark
This article appeared in Good News Gazette May, 2015
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