Remembering Mom's Clothesline Author unknown

You have to be a "certain age" to appreciate this one. I can hear my
mother now.

1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.

2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.

3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk
the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"

with "whites," and hang them first.

5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What
would the

neighbors think?

6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on
Sunday, for

Heaven's sake!

7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide
your "unmentionables" in the middle -- perverts & busybodies, y'know!

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

9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on

the lines were "tacky"!

10. 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.

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

12. IRONED? Well, that's a whole OTHER subject!

13. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the
clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush
the ground and get dirty.

And now a clothesline 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 lines;

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, "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 their 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 anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life,

It was a friendly sign,

When neighbors' knew each other best,

By what hung out on that line.

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