H & P Page 14
Mrs. Mildred McCrady demonstrates how the “dryer” was used to dry items and as a place to hang clothes after they had been ironed. A staple for most homes, they were frequently placed in the kitchen area. Though it is seldom used now, Mrs. McCrady can recall when her mother used the same drying rack that now hangs in her kitchen.
The Dryer is on (the wall)!
What other “indoor” drying methods can you recall? Also used were drying racks, extending lines, and of course, the backs of chairs.
Five South Parkersburg brothers, aged 57 through 77, are all still “momma’s boys”! Though all are avid out-of-doors-men, Jim, Charlie, John, Barry and David McCrady all have a daily routine– between 8:30 and 9:00, they gather in Mom’s kitchen. Toss in a grandson, a nephew and a friend or two of the family, and the sunroom is needed as an overflow area.
Sunday is the only day that the routine changes. If they’re not all “at Mom’s”, the missing brothers and/or friends are still usually together, out of town fishing or hunting. Rarely does a morning pass without the coffee pot being filled two or three times, cake or cookies shared and Mildred McCrady beaming as she listens to her boys talk about issues of the day. Even after two or more hours, there’s usually a boy or two remaining, chatting with their mother.
As she proudly enters her ninth decade of life, Mildred McCrady still worries about her boys. Asked if their being there every day was ever a bother for her, she quickly replied, “Oh no! If they’re not here I miss them.”
The beautiful piece of prose below was received some years ago. It was penned by Otho Cossin of Evans, West Virginia. Though the original is hand-written, it is reprinted here as written; the misspellings and grammar errors take nothing away from the wonderful thought that the writer attempts to share.
Clothes Dryer, circa 1923-24
as offered by
Montgomery Ward
BIG BOYS STILL HONORING
MOM!
Somebody Mother on Mother Day
Any Day Can Be Mother’s Day
Some Body Mother Will Be lonely today For all her children is Far away. / Her companion Has Gone to a Better land. She longs For the toch of his loving Hand / My children will greet me With card and fone they cant come to See me I’ll Be all alone/ If you Such mother why not I pray pretend She your mother if Just for one day./ Pay her a visit and take hur some flowers Hur Face will lite up and stay so For hours/ You never Regret the time it will take to Show Her true kindness for Jesus sake
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Wood County Historical and Preservation Society
