# Old-fashioned experience...



## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Thought this would be a fun topic to post about.

Was giving thought to a number of old-fashioned things that were popular in the past, with some still remaining as popular as ever today, so...

... how old were you when you learned how to...


Sew a button on?
Hang laundry on an old-fashioned outdoor clothesline?
Wash laundry in an old-fashioned wringer washing machine?
Wash floors on your hands-and-knees using a bucket and cloth?
Canning fruit and vegetables?
Iron/press a shirt using starch?
Change an old-fashioned cloth diaper with pins and rubber pants?
Cook/bake from scratch?
Make homemade baby food and formula?
Warm a baby's bottle on the stovetop in a pot of water?


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Maude said:


> Thought this would be a fun topic to post about.
> 
> Was giving thought to a number of old-fashioned things that were popular in the past, with some still remaining as popular as ever today, so...
> 
> ...


Well that sure was a dud I have no idea where my answers went.

I did and still do most of the things posted. I can remember playing in the button tin, washing sorting, etc. when I was little on the back yard lawn. 
Still hang clothes out. Love the smell. 
I'll never forget my grandma getting her fingers caught in the wringer of the old tub machine.
Still clean my old red oak wood floors on hands and butt (easier to sit than kneel) a couple times a year so they shine.
Began canning by assisting my grandmother - kept it up and still can, mostly fruits now.
Well, since my eldest is 50, I used cloth diapers and rubber pants...But I did have a service so didn't have to wash them.
I always have cooked from scratch, but never made my own baby food.
Yes - warmed a bottle on the stove in a pot of water.

But then, I'm 76, so what I did/do is not unusual for one my age...WHAT A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.


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## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

The first 4 probably 10-13 years old. Canning- 42  i just started that. Got a pressure canner for my birthday. Had to starch my xdhs army uniforms. So 18 there. 
Changed baby bros cloth diapers. 10 years old. Gross. I made formula then too and with my babies. Didnt make homemade baby food till 2016. And still do. My son has a gtube and is on a blenderized diet. Been cooking/baking from scratch with my mom since I can remember. I was blessed to have a stay at home mom. 
Bottle warmed at 10.


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

Your post brings back lots of memories.
I still remember my fathers shoe shine box, the tins of whatever it was, and spiffing up my scuffed saddle shoes with the white dabber.
I still have not canned.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Ah yes, the good old days 

Get up and change the TV channels, only had about four that came in on the antenna.
Flip your brights on and off with your foot.
Church every day before school and Sunday too (Catholic)
Plastic bread bags over your socks so your feet would stay dry and slide into crummy rubber boots.
Catching night crawlers for bait.
Fishing with a cane pole.
Sandlot football, baseball or basketball without referees, uniforms, etc.
Steel runner sleds, and an old car hood occasionally.
Building tree houses and forts in the woods.
A packed full gymnasium for high school basketball games.
Frequently jump starting cars, pushing them and pop the clutch, and more flat tires than we needed.
Family vacations in station wagon with nobody buckled up and parents smoking.
Book reports, flash cards and cursive writing.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

I would say many people still do it. I bake from scratch. hang my clothes outside. wash the bathroom upstairs, powder room and bathroom downstairs and the laundry room on my hands and knees with a bucket of water, cloth and scrub brush.

I took my scrub brush with me when I went to visit a friend this summer and scrubbed all of his floors. I thought the linoleum was gray when I started but it turned out to be white. nothing gets off dirt and grime like the old scrub brush and elbow grease. I still have the one I brought from NFLD in 1970 and mom owned it before me, ~Georgia


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Have did all the above posted except hand and knees scrub a floor. Had a long handled brush for that and a string mop and wringer.

Wash hung out till it got so cold it froze instead of drying.

Used the steel runner sleds till just after thanks giving when the snow just plain got to deep. Switched to skis, side of a old fridge and a car hood about 40 ford vintage.

Buzzed fire wood for fuel for the old warm morning top fill pot belly stove and moms range. Learned to cook with mom on those winter days when we didn't want to go out slideing.

Put hay up in the barn loose useing a hay loader behind the wagon then egale claw to pull the hay up to the barn peak and back to the mow. Long poles with a big spear in the end to push the hay before releaseing it to one side of center or the other so you didn't have to folk it all to fill in the sides.

A whole lot more old fashion stuff.
Still have a ironing board still gets used every so often, Still have a open arm sewing machine to sew up the knees of my Allan Jackson Jeans and elbow pads on flannel winter hunting shirts.

Still have a galvinized tub I throw on work jeans in with some dollar store soap to get grease and Oil out I alway manage to get in/on them.

Still heat the house with fire wood. Put the ashes in the garden and use them in the drive way and around the mail box.

I freeze more stuff today than can but still can a few things, like tomatoes.


 Al


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## happy hermits (Jan 2, 2018)

We still hang our laundry outside , I know my first day of school I got my first cow to milk by hand before school. We were canning young also my older sister and I canned in the summer while my mom was at work. I never used a ringer washer but have changed a lot of cloth diapers in my day . I still am our grand kids but they have new ones with snaps. I can and freeze constantly now . I know at five I was expected to get up dressed eat and do chores in the morning and be back in the house to get cleaned up for school. We had to do our own laundry and hang it up with a stool.


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## SLADE (Feb 20, 2004)

My paternal grand parents had a large farmhouse.
The kitchen was large and had a wood cook stove that was always used year round.
On one wall of the kitchen there was a sink a light and an electric cook stove.
The light worked and was the only light in the house.
The stove was a tall legged affair and farm house chic.
The stove never worked but they had one b god.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

I have to admit that that list strikes me as odd- maybe because I'm odd, and didn't even know it.

Is sewing a button, or hanging clothes on a clothesline old-fashioned? I mean, I thought that I live a fairly modern life, but I'm not going to throw a perfectly good shirt away because a bad button stitch made it through the QC in some Indonesian sweat-shop, and there are some heirloom quilts that I wouldn't think of putting in the dryer... under threat of death.

That said, I've only ever cleaned the floors with stick-mounted implements, and I can't say I ever recall using a wringer washer.


The one I really don't get being 'old-timey' is canning. If you make any food for yourself, canning is just part of the landscape. Some things go in the freezer, some make sense in the dehydrator, and some get boiled in jars. I cant really say when I learned to can, since I'm sure I started doing some task or another to help mom and grandma before I even had lucid memories.

Heck, we learned hydroponics a few years back so we could keep some garden year-round. We really like our salad, and leafy greens seem to be the riskiest supermarket produce. By the time our outdoor garden is done, we've usually got a tomato, pepper and cucumber running with the greens in the basement. Inevitably, we end up with too much of something, and the dehydrator or canner ends up running in the middle of winter.

Canning, dehydrating, and freezing is just part of life.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

When I lived in San antonio, I had my wringer washer & rinse tubs out in the back yard. Have done pressure canning, jelly-making and butchering (rabbits and chickens) for many, many years. Have always loved line-dried laundry.


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

nehimama said:


> When I lived in San antonio, I had my wringer washer & rinse tubs out in the back yard. Have done pressure canning, jelly-making and butchering (rabbits and chickens) for many, many years. Have always loved line-dried laundry.


When we got electric in 1950 on the farm my family got a new electric washing machine. They gave me the old gasoline motor off the old washer. I put it on my bike. Used to run all over the country roads. No brakes 
I still dry some of my clothes on the line. However i dry most in the dryer so i don't have to iron them.


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## SLFarmMI (Feb 21, 2013)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> I have to admit that that list strikes me as odd- maybe because I'm odd, and didn't even know it.
> 
> Is sewing a button, or hanging clothes on a clothesline old-fashioned? I mean, I thought that I live a fairly modern life, but I'm not going to throw a perfectly good shirt away because a bad button stitch made it through the QC in some Indonesian sweat-shop, and there are some heirloom quilts that I wouldn't think of putting in the dryer... under threat of death.
> 
> ...


I’ve done everything on that list and still do some but I think I’m all that old-fashioned.

One thing stood out to me in your post, GMI, so I have to ask. Please tell me that you are not taking those heirloom quilts directly from the washing machine (hopefully that is included in the don’t do under threat of death) and hanging them on the line. If you are and you are interested I can tell you a better way that would help preserve them longer.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I've read this several times before responding because the questions seem gender biased and a bit condescending. 

Like most people with homesteading leanings, I've conquered all of the aforemented tasks many years ago. My grandmother taught me it scrubbing floors on one's hands and knees or spending time in front of a wringer washer was time that could be spent doing something far more constructive, like gardening, canning, butchering chickens or helping a neighbour. 

You may find that most of the homesteading oriented women here have long since mastered the tasks you mention, while making their own soap, reconstructing homes, building cabinets as well as tending large gardens, hunting, raising and butchering livestock and manage a bit of mechanical work as well. 

Like GunMonkeyIntl, I haven't tossed too many shirts out because they needed a button but I have done the odd emergency hem repair with two sided tape or a stapler, my kids wore disposible diapers once in a while, had more than a few naps in the barn or out beside the garden.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

SLFarmMI said:


> I’ve done everything on that list and still do some but I think I’m all that old-fashioned.
> 
> One thing stood out to me in your post, GMI, so I have to ask. Please tell me that you are not taking those heirloom quilts directly from the washing machine (hopefully that is included in the don’t do under threat of death) and hanging them on the line. If you are and you are interested I can tell you a better way that would help preserve them longer.


We specifically bought a washer without an agitator a few years ago just because of my family quilt collection. It's got a gentle cycle that just lightly sloshes back and forth, 10 degrees or so, for a few minutes.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

wr said:


> ... but I have done the odd emergency hem repair with two sided tape or a stapler, my kids wore disposible diapers once in a while, had more than a few naps in the barn or out beside the garden.


I'm actually the sewer in out house. I find running a sewing machine therapeutic. There's been several times when the Mrs thought tape would suit the need (and was probably right), but I insisted on doing it "right" and putting a seam in it.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

You folks left out the old fashioned things like changing tires, patching inner tubes, looking for the oil can spout, draining oil cans and washing them so that the bait shop will buy them. Then there is that business of the well bucket (the long one with the flipper, not the wooden pail), and most of all, walking three miles to school when there were no school buses on your road. I do not miss living in a line cabin on a big ranch, nor do I miss picking cotton or pulling corn. As much as I do admire tractors, I do miss the horses.

Somehow it has been my luck to wind up with women who know nothing about canning, drying, butchering, etc, but they have been excellent shoppers, great cooks, smart as all get out. willing to overlook my faults and tolerate my foibles.


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## SLFarmMI (Feb 21, 2013)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> We specifically bought a washer without an agitator a few years ago just because of my family quilt collection. It's got a gentle cycle that just lightly sloshes back and forth, 10 degrees or so, for a few minutes.


I can’t tell you how jealous the phrase “family quilt collection” makes me.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> I'm actually the sewer in out house. I find running a sewing machine therapeutic. There's been several times when the Mrs thought tape would suit the need (and was probably right), but I insisted on doing it "right" and putting a seam in it.


I prefer to do it right as well but usually discover the problem as I'm heading out the door when I discover the problem. Two sided tape lives in the junk drawer so it's usually the handiest. 

Do people still have junk drawers or is that something I picked up from my grandparents?


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## JeepHammer (May 12, 2015)

I don't know about 'Gender Bias', must have been something from town...

You do what needs some, if the floor needs scrubbed the floor, the garden needs tending, you tend the garden, didn't matter if t was next to Grandma or Grandpa...
Since the younger and elder did the home chores, and the stronger adults did the hard manual labor.

The elder teaches the younger to get the job done effectively, in the military we called it 'Routine Maintenance', the common stuff that just has to be done.
The stronger used the tools, the elder/younger cleaned them up, sharpened them, got them back into the correct storage spot for next hard use.

Knowing how to sharpen/fix when you are younger let's you take on the issues in the field quickly/easily so the hard work can stall get done. When you can't do effectively anymore you teach the next upcoming generation...
Not much of that goes on anymore.

We called it 'Foundation'.
You can't build much or expect it to stay up very long without a solid foundation, so you build a good foundation.
You also learn everything takes work, you learn to clean & maintain what you have, learn how things work, how tools work, that no amount of nonsense & noise gets anything accomplished, only work gets it done...

From building the shakiest, ugliest bird houses  , to building dog houses, to chicken coops to garages to homes...
From starting with simple wire brush & scrub brush cleaning, to rust prevention, to changing and patching tires to wheel bearings & brakes to engine, transmission & differential overhauls.

The bottle and tube brushes that Grandma used to clean dishes & canning equipment, to cleaning out hydraulic oil passages in an automatic transmission, the boys and girls all did the tear down and clean up from kitchen to garage...
We all did the garden work shoulder to shoulder, the canning shoulder to shoulder.

I'm aware there is a 'Gender Bias', but we just didn't grow up with it, could be there were girls about 3 to 1 in this family. Everyone eats so everyone works  The grandparent didn't differentiate, we just never learned it, the girls got scrapes and busted knuckles just like the guys did.
The girls learned to shoot, change tires, can, sharpen lawn mower blades, change belts and scrub floors, just the stuff that had to be done...

And just for the record, I can knit (poorly), really like canning/jarring (science gadgets!), bake from scratch, and I mean from grinding my own flour, and my wife reloads ammo, can assemble an automatic transmission, and can shoot the crotch out of a human silhouette targets the officers she works with like to use... AND she makes the best pork sausage white gravy I've ever eaten!


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I learned about most all of the things in the first post between the age of 3 or 4 and my mid 30s.
Never made homemade baby food and learned at a young age about a sink drain wringer washer when I was watching my grandmother using her electric round tub washer and after her telling me not to mess with the drain hose she had clamped on the sink with the end in the sink drain, I pulled it up as it was draining when she stepped out of the kitchen for a moment and with the hose not in the sink drain, I ended up spraying myself and the kitchen as the water splashed out.

My father taught me how to hand sew and put on buttons after he gave me my first .410 single shot when I was 9 or 10 as he showed me how to make a denim gun bag from a old pair of his work pants using the legs to make the bag, carry strap, ammo pouch and fold over button down stock cover flap.

I had fun with a friend who is anti fossil fuel, nuclear power and always ranting about that we need more solar and wind power by telling him I was doing my part as best I could at this time by using wind /solar and an organic powered vehicle on my place as much as possible.

He laughed when I told him my solar /wind power use was my clothesline and my organic powered vehicle is a 3 speed retirement community style tricycle I put heavy duty mountain bike tires on to peddle around my place using the rear basket to carry water buckets or tools around my place and runs on whatever I ate for breakfast. 

I really got his head spinning when I told him in reality everything on Earth is nuclear powered considering that sunlight grows our crops, makes the conditions needed for winds , the Sun is the biggest nuclear power plant in our galaxy and doctors warn us to wear hats and sun screen to protect our skin from radiation effects when we go out into the Solar radiation zone.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I can't remember how old I was when I was first being taught about bucthering pigs. 
Usually mid Oct or this time of year. wood would have been gathered in a pile easy to grab and keep the water in the big cast iron hog scalding kettle at a boil. I learned how to shave the hairs off after being dipped. 
the skin was cut off and mom would place it on a big cookie sheet sort of thing and cook it then can. the meat was made into different cuts and taken into the basement made of huge field stones aranged so they would hold the house up.
Once we had the meat in the basement it went into wooden cask with layers of salt till full and the lid placed on a rock to hold it in place.

For the beef we butchered, those got skinned the hide sold to a fellow in the area that bought hides. before we owned a freezer the meat went to a locker in town the folks paid rent on. I believe our first freezer arrived about 1952 or 53. It was placed in the wood shed and a wall build so wood would not land on it when we tossed wood in the shed.

 Al


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

wr said:


> I prefer to do it right as well but usually discover the problem as I'm heading out the door when I discover the problem. Two sided tape lives in the junk drawer so it's usually the handiest.
> 
> Do people still have junk drawers or is that something I picked up from my grandparents?


To be clear, I didn’t mean to suggest using tape was the “wrong” way. I was acknowledging that, where my wife has wanted to use tape, it would have probably be fine. I just argue that doing it the “right” way gives me a chance to get some zen time on the sewing machine.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

SLFarmMI said:


> I can’t tell you how jealous the phrase “family quilt collection” makes me.


What was the step between washing machine and clothes line, anyway? The first I read your response, I thought you were referring to how a conventional washer could be hard on them. I re-read it to mean that there was something you were supposed to do between washing and drying. 

We currently put them in the gentlest cycle, and let them spin dry before going to the line. My grandmother had showed me to slosh them around in a tub of warm, soapy water, then put them in the washer for the spin dry, only. Without an agitator, the washer we have now basically does that first step the same way she did it.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

We had our granddaughter here a couple weeks ago and she was "helping" press cider. She went to school and was telling about it and the teacher called and asked if she could bring the class out to see the process.

While they were here one of the kids saw clothes on the line and asked me why we didn't keep our clothes in the house.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Super enjoyable reading everyone's replies, and just love all of the additions to! Thank you everybody!

Two additions that resonated with me in a big way... plastic bread bags over stocking feet when winter boots failed to stave off wetness, or when boots became over-saturated through play and hadn't yet fully dried, out with the plastic bread bags it was, and family travel in classic station wagons where play, sleep, and conversation happened right at the back. No seat belts, no nothing. Gosh, got to love those memories.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Sew a button on? Around age 8-9. What memories...

Hang laundry on an old-fashioned outdoor clothesline? Age 8-9, though wasn't until I was in my double digits that I truly started using the drying line to the fullest.

Wash laundry in an old-fashioned wringer washing machine? Wouldn't have been much over the age of 5, when I was first introduced to the laundering using a wringer washing machine. What fun it was helping my mom with the washing, catching all that exited from the rollers.

Wash floors on your hands-and-knees using a bucket and cloth? Aside from the good old mop, back in the day when I was a kid, getting down on ones hands-and-knees to wash and wax floors was the way, at least it's what I remember. I would have been younger (age 8-10) when I experienced helping mom with such.

Canning fruit and vegetables? Gosh, what memories I have related to the smell of vinegar and pickling salt! Yummy! Was very young when I was introduced to the likes of (age 5-6). I was the chief lid and ring supervisor.

Iron/press a shirt using starch? Didn't experience using starch when ironing/pressing until I got married, but definitely remember mom doing it all the time, everything from shirts to doilies.

Change an old-fashioned cloth diaper with pins and rubber pants? Was changing diapers on baby siblings at age 8, though I knew the drill at a much younger age. Fold-and-pin diapers with white pull-on rubber pants (late 1960's/early 70's). 

Cook/bake from scratch? Age 8 (simple, easy recipes and things along-side my mom), and by age 11-12, I was baking cookies and squares and things and preparing basic meals.

Make homemade baby food and formula? Age 8, helping my mom with baby siblings.

Warm a baby's bottle on the stovetop in a pot of water? Age 8 (baby siblings). Cracked a couple bottles in the beginning. Glass bottles when sibs were little... plastic bottles when they got older.


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## SLFarmMI (Feb 21, 2013)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> What was the step between washing machine and clothes line, anyway? The first I read your response, I thought you were referring to how a conventional washer could be hard on them. I re-read it to mean that there was something you were supposed to do between washing and drying.
> 
> We currently put them in the gentlest cycle, and let them spin dry before going to the line. My grandmother had showed me to slosh them around in a tub of warm, soapy water, then put them in the washer for the spin dry, only. Without an agitator, the washer we have now basically does that first step the same way she did it.


With a vintage quilt, the experts say you shouldn’t use the washing machine at all because the agitation and the spin cycle are hard on them and can cause threads in the seams or quilting to snap. 

However, since none of us have two days to wash a quilt the way the experts say is the right way, here’s the step that goes between washer and clothesline. Gently take the quilt out of the machine being really careful not to pull or tug. The key word here is gently. Even though the quilt has been through the spin cycle, there is still a fair bit of water in it and it can be heavy. Get some good, thick towels and roll into a tube. Roll the quilt around the towels, gently squeezing as you go. The idea here is to get as much water out before it goes on the line to reduce the stress on those old threads. Then dry and store, remembering to refold differently about every six months.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> To be clear, I didn’t mean to suggest using tape was the “wrong” way. I was acknowledging that, where my wife has wanted to use tape, it would have probably be fine. I just argue that doing it the “right” way gives me a chance to get some zen time on the sewing machine.


I never felt that tape or staples was the right way either. Now that I dress up so seldom, I try to make a point of inspecting whatever I'm going to wear the day before I need to wear it so that I can avoid digging through the junk drawer. 

I don't mind sewing but I probably should have paid more attention to my grandmother's lessons when I was younger but I was always a bit too keen to get back outside so I can patch or fix but I'll let it stack up until it's a big job. 

My mother insisted on the perfectly kept house and anything that may cause clutter or mess meant it was off limits and in her mind, sewing created mess so it wasn't a skill that was fostered. 

Perhaps I swung the pedulum a bit too hard the other way but often my house was less that spotless and my kids and I were at the table on cold days, fostering their creative talents.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Maude said:


> Thought this would be a fun topic to post about.
> 
> Was giving thought to a number of old-fashioned things that were popular in the past, with some still remaining as popular as ever today, so...
> 
> ...


Most of those was before I was 12.
As far as the diaper and baby bottle and food; the Lord never blessed us with children so I can honestly say I have never changed a diaper in my life. Too easy to just hand the niece or nephew back to their Mom or Dad.


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## JeepHammer (May 12, 2015)

One thing I don't miss is trying to peel old fashion pears with a pairing knife!
It's still turn off the century technology, but those old woody pulp pears peel a LOT easier on a hand cranked machine, which is what I'm doing again today.

About the only thing they are good for is preserves, cook the sugar out of them, but I have TONS this year, and when they are the smooth skin eating pears you have a hard time getting rid of them.

I told 2 people to come get what they wanted, and woke up to about 20 people in the side yard.
They *May* or *May Not* (I neither confirm or deny) they are headed to be distilled...
The last time I gave a way a bunch of these, a couple really nice bottles of pear brandy showed up out of no where, and since they are headed for juice they don't care if Saturdays storm knocked them off the tree or not.

Since they are getting picked up, I don't feel bad about them rotting and I can stop canning!


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

JeepHammer said:


> One thing I don't miss is trying to peel old fashion pears with a pairing knife!


Yes, the sore, aching, and stiff fingers and hands that result. Potato peeling, too.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

JeepHammer said:


> ...They *May* or *May Not* (I neither confirm or deny) they are headed to be distilled...
> The last time I gave a way a bunch of these, a couple really nice bottles of pear brandy showed up...


My only critique is that you stopped too soon. Pear brandy is cool, and all, but...

Archaeologists recently uncovered an ancient scroll that detailed the authentic recipe for the original Nectar of The Gods.


To exactly no one’s surprise, it was pearshine.


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## JeepHammer (May 12, 2015)

It's the simple screw thread type peeler, about $20-$25 off eBay and made since the turn of the century but the get 99% of the peel, slice in a spiral & core at the same time, so it's simple & WAY quicker than a pairing knife.

These old fashioned pears are odd shapes, the the cutter follows the shape, and follows the odd shape, and will get through that thick woody skin, so it's simple finish trim and straight into the blender.
If I could find a stiff enough round bristle brush, a 5 gallon bucket, water and a power drill is the fastest way to peel, but my old brush fell apart and I can't find one with stiff enough bristles to do the job around here.

We used to stiff brush potatoes to peel them, I just got a round brush so I could use the drill.

I have one of the old hand cranked peelers with all the gears, it does good on apples, but potatoes & pears, not so much.

That's one for your thread,
Hand cranked food processors, from peelers & pitters to slicers & slaw/kraut cutters.
I've been picking up the replacement parts to keep the old girls running for about 2 decades,
I have parts and accessories for about all of them.
I machined adapters so I can use drill motors to drive them slow, or just slap the hand back on and crank.
I still crank grid wheat for home baking about once a month, proof the yeast, mix and raise ingredients, kneed the dough,
In the winter I make a production out of home made apple pies, too cold and sloppy outside, make a production out of baking. Gives me something to do that tases wonderful when it's done!

Smells like Grandma's kitchen on holidays, funny how smells snap you right back to those times in memory!


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## D-BOONE (Feb 9, 2016)

I do miss loggin with the mules, dont miss an axe though much prefer my chainsaw
miss biscuits out of wood cookstove, to this day the smell of pine kindling makes my stomach growl


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

The guy who ran the last livery stable /boarding facility/ wagon & buggy repair /blacksmith combination 4 acre inside the town limits operation in the small town I grew up in taught me platting and braiding by showing me how to make custom lariats and girth straps.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Shrek said:


> The guy who ran the last livery stable /boarding facility/ wagon & buggy repair /blacksmith combination 4 acre inside the town limits operation in the small town I grew up in taught me platting and braiding by showing me how to make custom lariats and girth straps.


Blacksmithing is something that has always interested me in a really big way. Seems it's becoming a lost art/craft.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Hand-cranking a Regular. Hand-cranking a WC. Hand-cranking a Hart-Parr/Oliver 70.

Felling dead elms with a two man crosscut saw.

geo


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

. how old were you when you learned how to...


Sew a button on? Still don't know how(i'm not into sewing)
Hang laundry on an old-fashioned outdoor clothesline?5,Only way Grandma did it
Wash laundry in an old-fashioned wringer washing machine?Never have had to do it but could if need be
Wash floors on your hands-and-knees using a bucket and cloth? 10
Canning fruit and vegetables? 30,Father in law taught me
Iron/press a shirt using starch? I have never done this
Change an old-fashioned cloth diaper with pins and rubber pants? 28
Cook/bake from scratch? 14
Make homemade baby food and formula? Made homemade baby food for my oldest so I was 22
Warm a baby's bottle on the stovetop in a pot of water? 22


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## keenataz (Feb 17, 2009)

Fishindude said:


> Ah yes, the good old days
> 
> Get up and change the TV channels, only had about four that came in on the antenna.
> Flip your brights on and off with your foot.
> ...



Weird thing, it's been 25+ years and I still sometimes search for the floor button to dim my lights


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Picnics. Not the kind where you bring along a bar-b que and coolers and have picnic food intended for foodies but the old fashioned kind. Sandwiches (cheese, ham, tuna, peanut butter) wrapped in wax paper and a thermos of hot tea or cold juice.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I never made home made baby food or formula or heated a bottle on the stove or in the microwave. 

Most of the rest I was prety young, probably between 3 and 6 years old. They weren't old fashioned experiences, just the way Grandma did things. 

But I have personally never starched a shirt. I watched Grandma and helped, but never did it on my own. Permanent press and poly blends are a wonderful invention.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

alleyyooper said:


> Once we had the meat in the basement it went into wooden cask with layers of salt till full and the lid placed on a rock to hold it in place.


Down in S. Texas the meat was smoked or cured with commercial "Sugar Cure" but when I moved to Ok an old Indian gentleman told me that his family had a big trough in their basement where pork was stored in layers of salt just as Alleyooper describes. 

He also told me that his mother hung sacks of onions in that basement. When Spring was near and everyone was hungry for green food (about the time vitamin A deficiency showed up) she would send him down to throw a bucket of water on a sack of onions. The onions would send out green shoots and she'd feed them to the family until poke weed and dandelions showed up,.

PS; Even though the old people parboiled salt pork, it is small wonder that high blood pressure and "strokes" killed so many of them.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

My mom would rince the salt pork twice be for cooking it and would serve other foods with out salt to ovewr come the salt that premated the meat. 
We also hung onions in the bag, along with other things like turnips and parsnips.

I spent plenty of time hand pumping water to fill the boiler on moms old wood burner range and for inside drinking water before dad got a pump jack.

 Al


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Good grief, Alleyooper!!!!! I have only seen one of those little pump-jack water well outfits, and I was perhaps ten years old at the time!!!! Dad and my uncles bought and installed one for Grandma! I think it came from Wards. They bought it because Grandma's creek had dried up and she was pumping water for her cattle.

It is hard for me to realize that at that time my dad and uncles were perhaps in their thirties, and grandma 55 or so. I remember them as "old" and none lived to be as old as I am now.


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## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

I remember the effort it took to make home-made ice cream when cranking by hand...us kids would crank it for a minute or two each, and then Dad, and Grandpa would take over with just the right amount of Morton's salt, and crushed ice. It made for the cherry on top of a picnic day at the park, or out on the farm.

I also remember swimming in the "cement pond", which was actually a cattle waterer out on our friends farm.


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## kinnb (Oct 23, 2011)

... how old were you when you learned how to...


Sew a button on? 7

Hang laundry on an old-fashioned outdoor clothesline? 9

Wash laundry in an old-fashioned wringer washing machine? never exposed to one

Wash floors on your hands-and-knees using a bucket and cloth? 10

Canning fruit and vegetables? I never learned this, but I helped my mother starting at 9

Iron/press a shirt using starch? 15-16 ish

Change an old-fashioned cloth diaper with pins and rubber pants? 7

Cook/bake from scratch? 12

Make homemade baby food and formula? 7

Warm a baby's bottle on the stovetop in a pot of water? I don't remember doing this, not sure I was allowed--only the first three kids of eight were bottle kids, then my mother switched for the other five.
great thread!


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Kinnb: Exactly reversed in my case; last ones were bottle babies, the rest of us were fed the real, original, sweetened carnation condensed milk that Nature provided. When I was small kid it was nothing to see a woman whip out a breast and stick a baby on the end of it. Most natural thing in the world 75-80 years ago.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

kinnb said:


> ... how old were you when you learned how to...
> 
> 
> Sew a button on? 7
> ...


Oh my word, talk about a house-full. That's a lot of little ones.

Where did you fit in age-wise?


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

To all those who lived through the days of, and/or experienced changing old-fashioned cloth diapers with pins, remember running the safety pins through your hair before pinning diapers on? A little oil from ones hair helped lube those pins and they'd glide through even the thickest and bulkiest of diapers with the greatest of ease. Worked super-duper at nighttime when double diapering.

Did it all the time when changing baby siblings, practiced it all through my babysitting years, and continued with the old-timey practice when diapering my own children. Worked like a charm.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

I remember Mom "dampening" the clothes with a sprinkle top attached to an old Pepsi bottle. She would sprinkle each piece, then roll it up like she was wrapping a piece of meat. 
She would lay each garment in a bushel basket that was lined with a plastic liner that slid over the wire bails, cover it with a cloth to hold the moisture in, and let it sit until afternoon when she did her ironing. I remember how easy it was to scorch a cotton garment.

geo


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

geo in mi said:


> I remember Mom "dampening" the clothes with a sprinkle top attached to an old Pepsi bottle. She would sprinkle each piece, then roll it up like she was wrapping a piece of meat.
> She would lay each garment in a bushel basket that was lined with a plastic liner that slid over the wire bails, cover it with a cloth to hold the moisture in, and let it sit until afternoon when she did her ironing. I remember how easy it was to scorch a cotton garment.
> 
> geo


OMG, yes, I remember those sprinkler bottles!


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## kinnb (Oct 23, 2011)

Maude said:


> Oh my word, talk about a house-full. That's a lot of little ones.
> 
> Where did you fit in age-wise?


I am the oldest!! There's a 23 year age difference between me and the youngest, all progeny from the same marriage.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

kinnb said:


> I am the oldest!! There's a 23 year age difference between me and the youngest, all progeny from the same marriage.


The true good old days.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

keenataz said:


> Weird thing, it's been 25+ years and I still sometimes search for the floor button to dim my lights


LOL! I can see it, and while were talking autos, let's not forget three on-the-tree!


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Maude said:


> LOL! I can see it, and while were talking autos, let's not forget three on-the-tree!


Thats the car I learned to drive on, a 1960's era (68 maybe?) Chevy Nova


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

mnn2501 said:


> Thats the car I learned to drive on, a 1960's era (68 maybe?) Chevy Nova


My husband had an old car when we met, it was half the length of a city block (LOL), a 4-door, built like a tank, and had three on the tree. I learned to drive standard on that car. What fun it was.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

My gp


SRSLADE said:


> My paternal grand parents had a large farmhouse.
> The kitchen was large and had a wood cook stove that was always used year round.
> On one wall of the kitchen there was a sink a light and an electric cook stove.
> The light worked and was the only light in the house.
> ...


My childhood home had a grate in the floor over a wood stove in the basement (then changed to cole) and same spot over the stove in the kitchen had a grate in the ceiling. I have a burn scare on my foot from not listening about walking on the grate barefoot.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Forcast said:


> My gp
> My childhood home had a grate in the floor over a wood stove in the basement (then changed to cole) and same spot over the stove in the kitchen had a grate in the ceiling. I have a burn scare on my foot from not listening about walking on the grate barefoot.


Gee-whiz... I wonder how many little ones suffered the consequences of back in the day.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

geo in mi said:


> I remember Mom "dampening" the clothes with a sprinkle top attached to an old Pepsi bottle. She would sprinkle each piece, then roll it up like she was wrapping a piece of meat.
> She would lay each garment in a bushel basket that was lined with a plastic liner that slid over the wire bails, cover it with a cloth to hold the moisture in, and let it sit until afternoon when she did her ironing. I remember how easy it was to scorch a cotton garment.
> 
> geo


I remember that too.
My mom did spring and fall house cleaning and would buff the wood floors with Johnson’s lemon scented wax and would wash, starch and iron all of the Cape Cod curtains in the house.
The night after seasonal cleaning the house smelled so good and if it was sting cleaning, my sisters and my bed would be pushed to under the windows. In fall, she moved them to the opposite wall. I remember she always left the lamp on the dresser on shining softly as we went to bed instead of the overhead light.
The smell of Noxema still makes me feel happy because Mom washed her face with it and I could smell it when she came in to check on us and kiss us goodnight right before they went to bed.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Lisa in WA said:


> I remember that too.
> My mom did spring and fall house cleaning and would buff the wood floors with Johnson’s lemon scented wax and would wash, starch and iron all of the Cape Cod curtains in the house.
> The night after seasonal cleaning the house smelled so good and if it was sting cleaning, my sisters and my bed would be pushed to under the windows. In fall, she moved them to the opposite wall. I remember she always left the lamp on the dresser on shining softly as we went to bed instead of the overhead light.
> The smell of Noxema still makes me feel happy because Mom washed her face with it and I could smell it when she came in to check on us and kiss us goodnight right before they went to bed.


Oh yes... spring and fall cleaning, I remember it well! House was always spotlessly clean, and when I became old enough to help, I worked alongside my mom scrubbing walls and shuffling around furniture.

Noxema, Vicks Mentho-Rub, Absorbine Jr, Johnson's Baby Powder, and Diaperene Diaper Rash Ointment, are the smells I remember growing up with.


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## SLADE (Feb 20, 2004)

Isn't it funny how we remember smells.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

SRSLADE said:


> Isn't it funny how we remember smells.


Yes, absolutely.

Your post just made me think of the aroma of a freshly cut Christmas tree. We always had a store-bought tree in our home when I was growing up, and I remember going with my dad to select the perfect one. Such exciting and fun times for a young child.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

anybody remember Ben Hur perfume? they would keep the loved ones in the home then when they passed and that's the perfume they would use. I can smell it now just thinking about it. hated it! it's not likely around any more though. mom used Noxema also. loved the smell.~Georgia


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Ben Hur? Nope, but Ben Gay, and Big Ben and Little Ben bedside alarm clocks---tick tock. With glow in the dark radium dials.

geo


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

aw you're too young to remember it Geo


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

One of my first memories was of sirens going off and my Mom explaining that the War was over. (VE Day)

Was Ben Hur the same as burning carbolic acid on the stove to purify the house?

geo


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Maude said:


> Gee-whiz... I wonder how many little ones suffered the consequences of back in the day.


Most of us carry a scar or two, but we survived. Most of us anyway.


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

Maude said:


> LOL! I can see it, and while were talking autos, let's not forget three on-the-tree!


I had to back my first trailer with one of those without burning out the clutch.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

mreynolds said:


> I had to back my first trailer with one of those without burning out the clutch.


It's been decades now, but one thing I remember about dear husbands car, first gear was only good for about 8-10 MPH, essentially just enough to get you moving before you had to change gears into second, and I seem to remember the clutch had about 10 inches of play in it. It was like pedaling a bicycle working that thing. LOL!


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## SLADE (Feb 20, 2004)

We had an old car that had a starter button that was beside the gas pedal. You pushed the starter and ran the gas with the same foot until the car started. Then just the gas.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

SRSLADE said:


> Isn't it funny how we remember smells.


My mother and all her friends wore Jean Nate after bath splash and the powder.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

SRSLADE said:


> We had an old car that had a starter button that was beside the gas pedal. You pushed the starter and ran the gas with the same foot until the car started. Then just the gas.


Nothing like complicating the process of starting a car. 

I also remember the manual chokes. My uncle had a pickup and when starting he had to pull a button out of the dash first, then he'd feather the gas pedal until the truck started running smooth, then push the button in.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Irish Pixie said:


> My mother and all her friends wore Jean Nate after bath splash and the powder.


Your post reminded me of an elementary school teacher I remember that wore enough perfume to choke a crowd.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Speaking of old-fashioned cloth diapers... I remember the old perforated rubber pants with tiny little air holes in them, I'm assuming to help keep baby's bottom cooler in warmer weather, and/or to help allow moisture to escape from baby's diapers when baby had a diaper rash.

Only recall dealing with perforated rubber pants at my aunts when babysitting my cousins (early/mid 70's).

Also remember when diaper liners were super popular back in the day (1970's/80's). Used them with my own kids for the first few weeks after they were born to save me from having to scrub meconium out of diapers.

Also remember the early days of disposable diapers and how terrible they were. No elastic gathers around the legs, no elastic waistbands, sticky tapes that ripped and tore the plastic waterproof backing on the diaper, and the padding used to bunch and shift.

Also remember t-tab disposable diapers, called Scott's, or Baby Scott's, or something like that. They were thick paper pads that went inside special gingham pattern rubber pants with snaps. Aunt used them on her oldest for a month or two, before switching over to cloth.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Love’s Baby Soft perfume. It always reminds me of the first day of school from middle school on.
I Bought it for my daughters as well and they have the same memories.
I guess we’d dab it on for the first day and then forget about it.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Lisa in WA said:


> Love’s Baby Soft perfume. It always reminds me of the first day of school from middle school on.
> I Bought it for my daughters as well and they have the same memories.
> I guess we’d dab it on for the first day and then forget about it.


Yep, I remember Love's Baby Soft!


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Maude said:


> Your post reminded me of an elementary school teacher I remember that wore enough perfume to choke a crowd.


An elderly woman in furs sat behind me on the plane last week and her perfume was so strong I could TASTE it. 
Luckily I went nose dead pretty quickly.


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## jerry arnold (Dec 1, 2018)

Maude said:


> Thought this would be a fun topic to post about.
> 
> Was giving thought to a number of old-fashioned things that were popular in the past, with some still remaining as popular as ever today, so...
> 
> ...


maybe 10yr old for buttons, outdoor clothesline, diaper pins (mid-70s); 18yr old for wringer washer (early 80s) and still heat the bottles on the stove and blend/puree baby food...early adults for cooking and canning (mid 80s)


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Lisa in WA said:


> An elderly woman in furs sat behind me on the plane last week and her perfume was so strong I could TASTE it.
> Luckily I went nose dead pretty quickly.


OMG, yes! You said it! I remember I actually COULD taste the teachers perfume! LOL!


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Paying bills. Today there is nothing special about paying your bills. You can use your phone or your computer or have auto withdrawals and deposits and it takes no time at all.

When I was young the day that Mom paid the bills was a special day with a certain charm and dignity to it. I loved it.

Dad always brought his paycheque home to Mom. They would look at it together and discuss their plans. But Mom was in charge of the finances. Dad was away for so many months every year that it only made sense. Plus Mom ran her father’s business for years and Dad loved to spend money especially on cars.

The first part of this important duty was to take the paycheque to the bank for deposit. Mom would either walk to the bank by herself or wait until we finished school and take us with her. No one was ever in a rush and the line moved steadily as there were a lot of tellers. A lot of business was conducted at each window.

The bank manager always came to talk to the customers and even when quite young I noticed that he spent the most time talking to my Mom. She was a very, very beautiful, charming and interesting woman. I always managed to insert myself between them rather like the Rottweiler that lived on our street and would get between any of us kids and any stranger who dared to walk near us.

The next day Mom would pay the bills. If we were home she insisted that we either go outside to play or played quietly inside. This was serious business. She did not want to be distracted. If I promised not to wiggle too much or ask too many questions I was allowed to watch.

She would set everything out on the kitchen table - a beautiful fabric bound ledger, fountain pen and ink bottle, blotter, writing paper, envelopes, a silver stamp box and the invoices.

Every bill was accompanied by a short letter acknowledging the invoice and with thanks, the service rendered. Mom had beautiful handwriting. I still remember the day she let me put the stamps on the envelopes. She was not overly pleased with the sticky mess I made on the first one as I was sucking on a gobstopper.

When everything was done and the ledger entries complete we would walk to the end of our street to the mail box and then stop at the building manager’s apartment to deliver the envelope with the rent cheque. This always involved serious greetings from Mr. and Mrs. B and an invitation to enter for tea while the receipt was being written.

And then one day Mom let me deliver the envelope containing the rent cheque. They treated me with the same seriousness but I was offered chocolate milk instead of tea. And I had to memorize a greeting message to take back to my Mom. My activity as a messenger and the real old fashioned courtesy with which Mr. and Mrs. B treated me did not however save me from a clip around the ears from them if we kids behaved badly or made too big a mess.

Even 57 years later if I close my eyes, and sit as still as a mouse as I did back then, I can still see my Mom as she was, sitting at the table, head gracefully bent, delicate hand and pen moving slowly across a page and that small little frown line of concentration between her eyes.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

emdeengee said:


> Paying bills. Today there is nothing special about paying your bills. You can use your phone or your computer or have auto withdrawals and deposits and it takes no time at all.
> 
> When I was young the day that Mom paid the bills was a special day with a certain charm and dignity to it. I loved it.
> 
> ...


These days I pay most of my bills over the phone but it's still a chore. I still have to document each bill, enter amounts, when it was paid, to whom, what for etc. for me it's pretty much an all day thing. Recording income happens as it rolls in. Doesn't take as much time all at once but it's spread out through the month.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Ahhh, you young whippersnappers. When I was a kid we had to walk 5 miles to school through 10 feet of snow. Uphill. Both ways!


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

emdeengee said:


> Paying bills. Today there is nothing special about paying your bills. You can use your phone or your computer or have auto withdrawals and deposits and it takes no time at all.
> 
> When I was young the day that Mom paid the bills was a special day with a certain charm and dignity to it. I loved it.
> 
> ...


Em. Your post brings back such warm memories for me. I can associate with nearly all that you said. Just lovely.

Thank you for this.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

gilberte said:


> Ahhh, you young whippersnappers. When I was a kid we had to walk 5 miles to school through 10 feet of snow. Uphill. Both ways!


For heavens sakes... you and I went to the same school! Now what's the chance of that?


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

gilberte said:


> Ahhh, you young whippersnappers. When I was a kid we had to walk 5 miles to school through 10 feet of snow. Uphill. Both ways!


Oh, one of the lucky ones I see.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I remember the dimmer switch on the floor. and there was a similar switch to step on for the starter.
then somebody came up with a silver button on the dash to push for the starter.
a farmer I worked for hooked up one of those silver buttons on the AC tractor. only his activated a horn.
IDK if it was a warning if somebody was trying to steal his tractor, or if it was just a joke..
the old Studebaker pick up had the starter button under the clutch pedal. a safety feature so you could not start the engine in gear..


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

My first truck had the starter stored under the drivers seat. You set the brake, set the choke, take it out of gear, take the starter to the front of truck and crank the handle til it fired up.


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Hey there Maude! 
Gee its easier to summarize this one for you. I started all of them except the diapering and wring washer one at 5 years old. My Grandmother took me in during my parents divorce for a year. I was the one that wanted to know how she did everything. She gave me a needle and thread, showed me how to hand sew back then. I helped her pit cherries as my little thumb could flip the seeds right out and pick fruit for her canning learning as we went. I did prep for her cooking and went with Grandpa down to milk the cow which he still did by hand! Grandma showed me how she made butter in her old butter churn and she had the original paddles etc from her Mom. I never got to use a wash board or wring out washer as they always had a modern washer. I learned to cook from scratch from her. When I moved out on my own from my parents home, that was during another divorce and I wanted to stay where I was to graduate high school. I didn't buy anything prepared and made every meal from scratch! It was the cheapest way to eat good. I had no TV for 5 years until I met my husband and once with him, he bought one. I had an old track stereo and music with books...the outdoors and work... I hand scrubbed my floors. A lot of the time, I hand washed my clothing only using a washer when doing towels and jeans. I even hand washed my work pants. I air dryed alot of my clothing indoors on hangers. Today I still use an old wood drying rack! I have lots of wool socks and natural fiber clothing.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

romysbaskets said:


> Hey there Maude!
> Gee its easier to summarize this one for you. I started all of them except the diapering and wring washer one at 5 years old. My Grandmother took me in during my parents divorce for a year. I was the one that wanted to know how she did everything. She gave me a needle and thread, showed me how to hand sew back then. I helped her pit cherries as my little thumb could flip the seeds right out and pick fruit for her canning learning as we went. I did prep for her cooking and went with Grandpa down to milk the cow which he still did by hand! Grandma showed me how she made butter in her old butter churn and she had the original paddles etc from her Mom. I never got to use a wash board or wring out washer as they always had a modern washer. I learned to cook from scratch from her. When I moved out on my own from my parents home, that was during another divorce and I wanted to stay where I was to graduate high school. I didn't buy anything prepared and made every meal from scratch! It was the cheapest way to eat good. I had no TV for 5 years until I met my husband and once with him, he bought one. I had an old track stereo and music with books...the outdoors and work... I hand scrubbed my floors. A lot of the time, I hand washed my clothing only using a washer when doing towels and jeans. I even hand washed my work pants. I air dryed alot of my clothing indoors on hangers. Today I still use an old wood drying rack! I have lots of wool socks and natural fiber clothing.


Lovely, just lovely. 

As I read through your reply, I conjured up images of you learning and doing each. There really is nothing quite like learning old-school things from an old-school teacher.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

A big thanks to all here for your stories, experiences, etc.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Maude said:


> A big thanks to all here for your stories, experiences, etc.


You could spend years going through the stories, experiences and general knowledge archived here. Some amazing stuff stashed away in ht's archives!


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> You could spend years going through the stories, experiences and general knowledge archived here. Some amazing stuff stashed away in ht's archives!


It real is so true, can't tell you how many days/nights I've lost myself searching through older topics, and there's just so many really great members here!


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## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

There was no gender bias in our family either. My dad had four girls and three he raised and his Mother; my Grandma lived with us. Dad taught us to garden, build, mix and pour cement and the basics of using hand tools and how to use a paint brush. Grandma taught us basic cooking, canning, baking , mending and sewing with a needle and thread and thimble, how to wash by hand, dry clothes on a line or drying rack, scrub and mop a floor and clean an outhouse. She taught us to make a quilt sewn with a needle and how to sew on a treadle sewing machine and make out own pattern for a dress. I still do these things except I don't have a treadle sewing machine now or electric one. I prefer hand sewing. My sisters learned to knit and crochet but my eyes were bad so didn't learn that skill.

On the long list most of the things we do and still do. I don't know much about mechanics but Bill does. Animal husbandry I learned from him. Growing up on a farm he knows how to do so many things I could never make a list. I always tell him if lost in the wilderness we would survive and have food and shelter before dark if he was with me! 

To the long list I would add a few things. One is breaking up sod ground with out a tiller, tractor or draft animal. Using a Dutch hoe and growing a garden with without weeds. Also add how to make a horse harness by riveting the straps together , sharpening knives for hand use, hand sharpening knives for a horse mower, how to maintain horse drawn equipment, cut trees with two people using a cross cut saw. Learn how to build an effective easy to clean out-house.
Another is using an iron that sits on the wood stove to heat and iron clothes with. A third is using a non- electric pop corn maker and non-electric oven that sits on a wood stove. Learn out to utilize the sun to your advantage when building a camp or house. Passive solar energy is free. Learn how to make the best use of a solar panel .

One thing new I got off Amazon this year was a Wonder Bag. It is modern technology that does not use electricity. I use a round iron , covered pot which is brought to a boil on a wood stove or any stove; for about 15 minutes. I put a tea towel in the bottom of the Wonder Bag , put the pot of vegetables on the tea towel, replace the thing that looks like a pillow over the pot, draw up the strings and tie the bag shut. Then leave it sit a few hours like any slow cooker. Open it up and dinner is cooked! I used it quite a bit at the farm this year as there is no power there. Sometimes modern technology is good and comes up with something that works without power.


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## Witch's Broom (Dec 23, 2017)

lmrose said:


> There was no gender bias in our family either. My dad had four girls and three he raised and his Mother; my Grandma lived with us. Dad taught us to garden, build, mix and pour cement and the basics of using hand tools and how to use a paint brush. Grandma taught us basic cooking, canning, baking , mending and sewing with a needle and thread and thimble, how to wash by hand, dry clothes on a line or drying rack, scrub and mop a floor and clean an outhouse. She taught us to make a quilt sewn with a needle and how to sew on a treadle sewing machine and make out own pattern for a dress. I still do these things except I don't have a treadle sewing machine now or electric one. I prefer hand sewing. My sisters learned to knit and crochet but my eyes were bad so didn't learn that skill.
> 
> On the long list most of the things we do and still do. I don't know much about mechanics but Bill does. Animal husbandry I learned from him. Growing up on a farm he knows how to do so many things I could never make a list. I always tell him if lost in the wilderness we would survive and have food and shelter before dark if he was with me!
> 
> ...


What a lovely read! Reading many of the replies here takes me back in time, like a time machine, as if I'm living it first-hand just as it was back in the day. Got to love that! 

Totally forgot about sewing thimbles! Had an aunt that had a collection of ceramic and metal thimbles she displayed in a wooden rack in her kitchen.

The Wonder Bag is the niftiest thing! Will be Google-ing it to read more!


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