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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

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.

It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used 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...


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Courtesy of Useful Tips

I remember my grandma tying an apron on my and pulling a chair over to the counter for me to stand on so I could help cook.  Sweet memories.



24 comments:

  1. Sweet Memories for sure! My Great Aunt had a lot of wonderful aprons! I rarely wear an apron. My clothes are forever getting stained!

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    1. Happy you enjoyed them Minelle...I keep forgetting to put my apron on and have lost so many over the years. LOL

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  2. Wonderful Cat, loved this. Thank you for making me smile :)

    Hugs
    Roz

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    1. You're very welcome Roz...happy to help you smile. ;)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  3. Great post. Just seeing that picture sets up a longing in me for my childhood.

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    1. I know what you mean PK!

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  4. Made aprons for all my grands...even the male one...only good memories come from aprons....
    great post.
    hugs abby

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    1. What a lovely memory for your grands Abby...you are an awesome granny. :)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  5. Hi Cat , nice post. gotta love a pinny
    love Jan,xx

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    1. Happy you enjoyed it Jan...forgot that you call aprons a pinny. ;)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  6. Oh Cat, lovely post. Many a happy day standing on the chair with my nan's apron helping her bake.

    Love,
    Ronnie
    xx

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    1. Sweet memories aren't they Ronnie. ;)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  7. Loved this Cat. Thanks so much for sharing - never thought about all the uses for an apron. Once in a while I still don an apron and if I remember correctly, I even wrote a story about an apron a couple years back.

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    1. You're very welcome Sunny...happy you enjoyed it. Don't remember any story regarding an apron but then I haven't read all of your stories...would be nice if you were to dust it off and re-share. You could also write a story regarding all the uses for an apron. LOL

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  8. You know according to HACCP most of those sanitation details are not really criticals. I suspect Gramma knew that it was OK to carry eggs in her apron but never dipped her apron in the soup you were about to eat. That's probably why you didn't get sick. Or then again, maybe kids today need a bigger dose of some of those bacteria in order to develop some immunity! Nice thoughts!

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    1. I agree Ryan...I can remember my grandma carrying eggs and chicks in her apron as well as using it to pull biscuits out of the oven but she sure didn't dip it in the stew pot. Happy you enjoyed the post.

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  9. Cat, I couldn't possibly cook without wearing my pinny. I have about ten of them, all well worn, and most of them with pictures of chickens on them! I use them for lots of the above tasks, and more. They are completely invaluable. How do people manage without them, I wonder?

    Hugs
    Ami

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    1. LOL Ami...as I told Jan, I forgot that you call aprons pinnys. I don't wear my aprons as often as I used to and have lost quite a few. My sons used to love to use my half aprons as super hero capes when they were little.

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  10. Hi Cat, I love aprons but often enough forget to don one. We will start with solid food for Tilda very soon, so this will be when I surely want my apron. :) Your post brought wonderful memories back, thank you for that!

    hugs

    Nina

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    1. Your very welcome Nina...happy to help you bring back those memories. Oh yes, you will definitely want an apron when Tilda starts eating solid food. ;)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  11. I love my apron - and for a lot of the same reasons listed. I never defrost apple pies, only chocolate ones.

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    1. Aprons are handy dandy aren't they Blondie. Would that be chocolate cream pies? ;)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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  12. I remember my Grandma in the kitchen with her apron on. She was my favorite person in the world. I can remember running in the house when we went to visit and the smell of ginger cookies in her kitchen. This post made me smile! Thanks, Cat

    Hugs,
    Clara

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    1. So happy you enjoyed the post Clara. Grandma's apron was good at wiping tears also wasn't it. ;)

      Hugs and Blessings...
      Cat

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