Aprons

I had received an email not too long ago about the history of Aprons. Just another writing worth passing along. I have no clue where it originated but I wanted to share it.

The History of  ’APRONS’

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is. The principle use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons required less material.  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. 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 folk 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.

Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma’s aprons.

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 – but love…

When life was sweet.

-Source of the poem is unknown .

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

The apron was always valued for its function, but eventually women became creative, and began making their own aprons with style. By the 1950s, the apron was seen as a symbol of the happy American housewife, along with high heels and a pearl necklace. However, a few decades later, the apron all but disappeared from use, thanks to the women’s lib movement and the advent of the washing machine. Not only did women cast off the symbol of working in the home, but even those who stayed home didn’t need them to protect their clothing as they once did. The apron is making a comeback. Some women are even pulling out their grandmothers and mothers hidden away aprons.

My great grandmother used to just about lived in her apron. In the kitchen today aprons can still protect us from all sorts of food stains and grease splatters. People wear them today to clean the house and they even have pockets to put your cleaning supplies in, carry an item from one floor to another, carry your cell phone or iPod in. Aprons have become a part of society and our society will always love them. Aprons may well be the most practical thing ever invented.