Grandma's Apron

An old-timey pic showing bib-style aprons

And this is my Grandma Jenny on the leftGrandma Jenny, Mom, Me, and Rose in hunting season when I was in high school

THIS IS THE STORY OF GRANDMA'S APRON....

I can see Grandma in the kitchen with her apron on... can't you??? What a wonderful memory this is! I don't think our children even know what an apron is. I have always loved aprons. I guess it's because my mom always wore one. These are some my Aunt Naomi made. She loved to sew and knit. These aprons are about 50 years old! I was maybe 12 or 13 years old when she made these for me.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,

but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and, on occasion,

was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

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.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy children. And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

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.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples

that had fallen from the trees.

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 onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something

that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER......... Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the kitchen counter to thaw.