The History of Aprons

I don't know if our kids know what a thin apron is…

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect

the dress underneath, because she only had a

few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses

And they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing

steaming 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.

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 window sill to thaw.

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

This nice piece about aprons was passed along to me by Theresa Mustard, who will be one of the dealers at Bluebird's Vintage Market on May 1st. Theresa and her husband Jack have owned antique shops in Crane for many years, but now are focused on shows and travel in their RV. She has fabulous costume jewelry, lots of Shawnee and other vintage pottery, and what I call girly things (hats, gloves, vanity items), Plus probably a whole lot more we'll see at the Market! She always has some surprises!
 
In addition to Theresa and Jack's great vintage finds, we'll have apron expert extraordinaire Debbie Sanders from Republic, and incidently she's a fellow classmate from Republic High. You may have seen a feature in the Springfield News-Leader recently on Debbie's aprons, which are sold at Minden Place Antiques in Republic.
 
And a final ramble on the apron subject! My daughter Natalie has inherited her Grandma Nita's 'good cook' gene will be on hand at the Market with a mini tea-room featuring some of our family's favorite home made treats: Granny Bridges' chocolate cake is one you might want to sample, plus a whole lot more so save some room....
 
And I won't be surprised to see my daughter wearing.....an APRON!