I have always loved aprons. I have a few. I like the kind with a bib top to protect my blouse.
One of mine is a reversible polka dot that reminds me of Lucille Ball. It was made by Mary Spike. I won it at the St. Ignatius silent auction. I have a batik apron that was made by Mary Iverson for the Annandale Improvement Club fundraiser.
I also have an apron embroidered with cherries and a moose apron given to me by my Grandma Barb. Depending on the job and my mood I select a favorite.
Now working for the Cottage Gourmet I wear aprons all the time. Sometimes it’s black and sometimes it’s red depending on my job for the evening. I have learned through experience that an apron can only do so much to protect me…. BBQ sauce is no match for any apron!
I wasn’t sure where my fondness for aprons came from until I found this letter called “The History of Aprons.” This story hits the nail on the head. I remember my grandmas using aprons for all these tasks and probably more.
The history of the kitchen apron: 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.
I don’t think I ever caught anything from an apron – but love.
Author Unknown
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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