Remembering Clotheslines 2007

Today there is not a clothesline at the Windy Knoll; however, there was a time when it was a necessity and everybody had one – much like an opinion.  My mother used to complain that her clothesline was always over the wood pile making it difficult, if not impossible to reach – at least in certain areas. One important thing about the old clothesline was the propping stick.  The line would be heavy with clothes or whatever causing it to sag and here’s where the propping stick came into play.  You put that stick at the right location to raise the line up high enough that the clothes wouldn’t touch the ground.  Another important thing about the clothesline was that it had to be wipped off before the wash could be hung.  A dirty wire would make a dirty place on the clothes and that was a no-no.  Clothes pins were an important thing, too.  We made the prettiest clothespin bags.  I have owned several clothespin bags that were worn tied around the waist, but some were made to hang on the line.  It was important to remove the pins from the line and keep them free from mildew, etc.

One could tell a lot about a family from what hung on their clothesline.  People passing by had snide remarks to make about a lady who hung a dingy wash on the line. There was just no excuse for it.  One remedy for making clothes whiter was to leave them hanging on the line over night during the month of May and let the May dew fall on them; however, if proper caution was taken that was not necessary.  White clothes were washed first, boiled in that old black wash pot, rinsed and then hung on the clothesline.  Darker clothes were washed next with work clothes and rags bringing up the rear.  Of course, starch had to be made (from flour and water many times) and certain items were dipped in the starch before hanging out.  On ironing day these items were sprinkled, rolled up and left for a while before ironing – many times they would be sprinkled the night before and left over night before being ironed.  Dresses, shirts, blouses, dresser scarves, pillow cases and tablecloths were “starching” items.

Neighbors had no trouble knowing when company had visited.  The very best sheets and towels were on the clothesline, as well as the fanciest tablecloth.  What manner the clothes were hung was a conversation piece, too.  Many ladies would hang the shirts by the tail; however, I preferred mine to be hung from the shoulder.  I wanted to hang all the shirts together, all the underpants  together and all the towels together, etc.

The clothesline told, too, when the new baby had arrived.  The line would be full of those pretty white diapers, as well tiny clothing.  I loved hanging out diapers.  They were so pretty blowing in the breeze. Of course, in the winter when the diapers were hung outside, the person doing the hanging would freeze as did the clothes. When our youngest was a baby we lived across the street from an elderly lady, who was confined to her bedroom and she could see my clothes hanging on the line.  Many days I would have a wash on the line and run over to visit with her for a minute.  Often she would tell me the clothes were dry and ready to take down – she could tell by the way the clothes were blowing that they were dry.

One could tell by the size of the clothes on the line what ages the children were in the house and how many there were.  Sickness was another thing told by the clothesline.  Washing had to be done daily when a seriously ill person was in the house as sheets, towels and the like couldn’t be allowed to pile up.

When the fertilizer sacks were washed in the spring time, one knew by the clothesline if the lady of the house was able to get the lettering out of the sacks or not.  Those old black letters were almost impossible to get out of the sacks.  We have quilts today where fertilizer sacks were used for the lining and the black lettering is still intact.  Later the manufacturers used blue and red ink for lettering and that washed out much easier.  Feed sacks many times were printed (floral) and the labels on them were paper, but the sack and paper had to be wet before the paper could be pulled (or some times scrapped) off.

In the spring and fall, the clothesline would be hung full of pretty quilts hung out to air.  There is no prettier sight to me than a line full of well made quilts.  I remember one time I was passing by a house with the most colorful line of quilts and being the quilt lover I am, I had to stop to look.  I was so disappointed as I got closer to the quilts – every quilt was made from double knit fabric.  Another of those “looks can be deceiving” times.  To me they were not nearly as pretty up close as they had been from the road.  With quilts on the line, the propping stick was a must because of the weight on the line.

There were other uses for the clothesline, too.  When my mother killed a hen, she would fasten the hen’s feet to the clothesline and cut that old hen’s head off – by hanging her on the line the blood could drain easier.  Hog killing time was another time when the clothesline came in handy.

It’s just as well that we don’t have a clothesline today; with my staggering walk I couldn’t tote a basket of clothes to the line anyway.  And that’s to say nothing about the bringing in of said clothes.  This is just one of the memories of how it used to be with that style of country living.