Welcome to Marmee's Pantry

Welcome to Marmee's Pantry

Friday, April 23, 2010

The History of Aprons

My aunt sent me this in an e-mail and I thought it was so sweet I just had to share it with you. Having come from a loooong line of counrty folks ~ farmers & incredible country cooks ~ this brings back so many memories.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

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The History of Aprons

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 kids.

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. Af ter th e 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 window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron--except love.

4 comments:

  1. That was great, thanks for sharing it with us!
    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm giggling about the last part. I'm on a mission to bring the apron back. The last time my mother-in-law was at my house, she told me I needed to throw my apron in the wash because she was afraid that I would touch it with my hands and get germs in the food I was preparing. Haha! It is actually very, very stained. Washing it still leaves it looking pretty well-loved.

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  3. With Kendra. Let's start a movement!

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  4. I absolutely LOVE Aprons! My husband's grandmother had quite a few that I inherited when I got her Hoosier Cupboard from her home after she passed on to Heaven...then my own dear mother made a few aprons for me as well...I used to wear them a lot, when I cooked more than I do now...I also made a few for friends and loved ones as gifts through the years. Aprons are a symbol of a gentler, more comforting era of life...one that I wish I could somehow get back to. Thanks for the reminder...it was a pleasant interlude.

    ReplyDelete

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