History Of The Apron

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.


The principal use of Grandma or mama's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven or stove.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, wiping snotty noses and on occasion was even used for cleaning 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 or oven..

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen or living room in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In autumn, 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 and Mama walked out onto the porch, waved their aprons, and the menfolk knew it was time to come in from the paddocks to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.