|
|
|
|
A Couple of Yards of Unbleached Domestic
|
|
My grandfather, Walter Thomas Hamilton, was a man of settled habit and ritual. He did the same things every day. Coming into the farmhouse from the field or cow lot he would always stop on the backdoor step and stomp the dirt and cow manure off his shoes before coming on the back porch where he hung his hat on a nail there for that purpose.. Then he would put a bucket full of water into a wash pan on a small stand and meticulously wash his hands, arms, face and his head including the back of his neck in water directly out of the windmill at 55 degrees F and usually using Lava soap.. This ritual he always observed whether he had been out of the house all morning or for just a few minutes. I am sure that Grandad used the front door of the house on some occasions but I cannot ever recall him doing so except to meet guests arriving there.
Saturday morning was his time to go to town and he rarely went at any other time. After all it was 12 miles to Plainview and Grandad did not believe in wasting gasoline unless it was really necessary. It would take one gallon of gasoline selling at the outrageous price of thirteen cents per gallon for him to make the round trip . If he absolutely had to go to town in the week he would usually hitch the team to a wagon and go to Lockney which was only five miles away. Thirteen cents was not to be sneezed at and I have known times when Grandad stopped at the Aiken service station and got his one gallon of gas and promised to pay for it on the way back after he had sold his cream and eggs in Plainview.
Grandad had a flock of about 150 laying hens and had from four to eight Jersey cows. The cream and eggs he got from these were about the only source of money that Walter ever saw except for a small share of the cotton harvest in the fall which had to be used for major expenses. There was therefore a lively debate between my grandmother and Walter about what the money should be spent for. This debate was usually held just before his departure for town on Saturday morning and I remember that there was one item that frequently came up that I did not recognize. My grandmother would frequently say with a resigned tone in her voice "and if you can afford it I need a couple of yards of unbleached domestic". I finally asked my grandad what "unbleached diomestic" was and he said that it was an inexpensive type of cotton cloth that was not shiny white because it had not been bleached after machine weaving. I asked Grandad why she wanted it and he said "For many things. She makes quilt backings, cup towels, underwear , baby clothes, handkerchiefs, nightgowns, pillow slips and table cloths as well as many things that I don't even know about."
I don't know what unbleached domestic cost then or even if it still exists as an item but I do remember that Grandad crossed something off the grocery list that day and bought my grandmother two yards of unbleached domestic which made my grandmother very happy. It has been a very long time since I have heard of unbleached domestic and I wonder if it still exists as something that would make a woman's day brighter.
Love
Dad, granpa, ami
|
|
|
|
|
