FAMILY FARM Life - Weakley County Tennessee

Pictoral History of the Family Farm
by MaryCarol
THE BASIC  RULES FOR  CLOTHESLINES

This sure brings back memories

1.  You had to wash the clothesline before hanging any clothes-Walk the
entire length of each line wiping the line with a damp cloth.

2.  You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"
with "whites," and hang them first.

3.  You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would
the neighbors think?

4.  Wash day on a Monday . . . Never hang clothes on the weekend, certainly
not Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

5.  Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your
"unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

6.  It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather. . . Clothes would
"freeze-dry."

7.  Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left
on the lines were "tacky!"

8.  If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item
did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the
next washed item.

9.  Clothes had to be off the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the
clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. IRONED?  Well, that's a whole other subject!
Submitted by Cynthia Campbell Ferrell
                                     POEM

                      A clothesline was a news forecast
                      To neighbors passing  by.
                      There were no secrets you could keep
                      When clothes were hung to dry.

                      It also was a friendly link
                      For neighbors always knew
                      If company had stopped on by
                      To spend a night or two.

                       For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
                      And towels upon the line;
                      You'd see the "company table cloths"
                      With intricate designs.

                      The line announced a baby's birth
                      From folks who lived inside  -
                      As brand new infant clothes were hung,
                      So carefully with pride!

                      The ages of the children could
                      So readily be known
                      By watching how the sizes changed,
                      You'd know how much they'd grown!

                      It also told when illness struck,
                      As extra sheets were hung;
                      Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
                      Haphazardly were strung.

                      It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
                      When lines hung limp and bare.
                      It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
                      With not an inch to spare!

                      New folks in town were scorned upon
                      If wash was dingy and gray,
                      As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
                      And looked the other way . . . .

                      But clotheslines now are of the past,
                      For dryers make work much less.
                      Now what goes on inside a home
                      Is any body's guess!

                      I really miss that way of life.
                      It was a friendly sign
                      When neighbors knew each other best
                      By what hung on the line!


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