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LEARN HOW TO MAKE OUR TYPE LARGER

	Just a thought
	Betty Lammers

Monday's child
Published June 2000

Back then, Monday was always wash day. I helped Mother during the summer so I knew the routine. She first filled the wringer machine from a hose attached to the sink tap. A big pot of water boiled on the stove to reheat and replenish the level as needed. The whites were washed first and then put through the ringer into a washtub for the rinse. Then the colored clothes went in the washer. You swung the wringer around and put the whites from the rinse water through, into a basket and carried them outside to the clothesline. The same was done for the colored and when the whites were dry, we took them in and hung the others. It was an all-day affair.

When I married and bought my first house in the early ‘50s, there was an automatic machine in the kitchen with the window in the front door. When my mother visited me, she was fascinated and would watch those clothes go around as if she were seeing a TV show - just amazed at the convenience!

I couldn’t believe that when her washer stopped working, she replaced it with the same wringer type. Said she was used to it and didn’t want to learn anything new.

Not me! Every time I got a new appliance, I went for the latest. The refrigerator and freezer were both frost-free and the new oven had to be self-cleaning. However, when it came to using the computer, it was a different story. I did manage the word processor because that was familiar. It took me almost a year before I acceded to the request to “get with it” and try e-mail. I really went kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I am still afraid of hitting the wrong key and ruining the whole system. I guess that’s how my mother felt about automatic washers.

E-mail Betty Lammers at betty@homefrontmagazine.com.

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