So this week I will begin to prepare the house - hanging (purchasing) a clothes line in the basement, getting the rotary phone rewired so it will work, purchasing some vinegar/ammonia for cleaning...etc.. I think I will also pack some stuff away - I've debated about leaving it out as a "temptation" or actually putting some of it in the basement for the duration. I think I'll at least put some of it away - like forbidden bathroom products.
Through all this research, I feel like I'm getting a real good handle on my "can't haves", but I need to find out more about what people (particularly 30-something wives) did to fill there "spare" time...I have this uneasy feeling that I may know the answer based of the research I've been doing...dishes, laundry, and cooking. Any suggestions or comments?
2 comments:
Women filling time in 1950:At my grandmothers funeral we recounted her life, aside from tending her children, she "kept house" which you suspect will suck up a lot of time, but she ALSO found entertainment/socialization a lot through womens clubs (church and civic) which did church work or volunteer work.Also giving dinner parties & having card clubs(like bridge), a lot of her time was also used up taking the bus to her or her kids activities or running errands via bus, she did drive but not very often or well and access to a car was limited, so she bussed it!!,Dress, high heels and all. People at the funeral at vivid memories of her running for the bus.She also spent part of her day "having coffee" with the neighbor wives. They also helped eachother cook!, in that one could put a roast in, go run an errand and ask a neighbor across the street to let herself in the backdoor to take the roast out at 4:15, since Grandma wouldn't be home till 5. Grandma and her neighbors did things like that for eachother in the 1940--60's. She was a very social lady, and that was part of that era, being a socially involved with your community.
She probably sewed. By the way, that dress she wore was almost mandatory both in and outside the home. Even for chores, she wore a "housedress." She spent hours at the ironing board since there was no permanent press. She spent more time in maternity clothes because there was no pill.
Every "good" Mom was a stay-at-home Mom, yet her children were shooed outside and they roamed freely because there wasn't this constant fear of strangers. The prevailing wisdom was spare the rod and spoil the child... I remember the threat of "wait until your father gets home" as he had the privilege of doling out spankings.
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