I am sharing a tattered, yellowed article with you that appeared in a local Kansas newspaper many years ago. It was given to my mother by my great-grandmother...
Years ago a Kentucky grandmother gave a new bride
the following “receet” for washing clothes. It appears below just as it
was written and despite the spelling, has a bit of philosophy:
1) Bilt fire in backyard to heet kettle of rain water.
2) Set tubs so smoke won’t blow in eyes if wind is pert.
3) Shave one hole cake lie sope in bilin water.
4) Sort things. Make 3 piles. 1 pile white, 1 pile cullord, 1 pile work britches and rages.
5) Stir flour in cold water to smooth, then thin down with bilin water.
6) Rub dirty spots on board. Scrub hard, then bile. Rub cullored, don’t bile, just rench in starch.
7) Take white things out of kettle with broomstick handle, then rench, blew and starch.
8) Spread tee towels on grass.
9) Hang old rags on fence.
10) Pore rench water in flour beds.
11) Scrub porch with soapy water
12) Turn tubs upside down.
13) Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with side combs, brew cup of tee, set and rest and rack a spell and count your blessins.
Hang this up above your automatic washer, and when things look real bleak, read it again! (And count your blessings!)
