Carol's Chapter
Saturday-Night Baths in the Warm Kitchen
told by Carol Mae Guild Sutton
Carol recalls lining up with her brothers and sisters for Saturday-night baths, oldest first and youngest last. They bathed in a round galvanized wash tub in the kitchen, warmed by an open oven. Their mother screened the girls with towels draped over four chairs, added hot water to the shared bathwater, scrubbed each child, and dried them with oven-warmed towels. She kept all seven children clean and groomed, with clipped nails and clean, starched, pressed clothes.
In the family's own words
I lined up every Saturday night along with all my brothers and sisters for a bath. The oldest child went first and the youngest was always last. This was done in the cozy warmth of the kitchen, using a round galvanized wash tub. The water was heated on the stove in a big kettle. The oven was turned on and the oven door opened to keep the room nice and warm. Mom would place four chairs around the tub, and put towels over them to hide us girls from the peeping eyes of our brothers. We all used the same tub of water, but Mom kept adding hot water as each of us got done. She would scrub us raw, and then dry us with towels warmed on the oven door. She kept all seven of us perfect: nails clipped, hair clean, clothes clean, starched, and pressed.
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Carol's Chapter, told by Carol Mae Guild SuttonRelated stories
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