In the olden days, when I was a kid, it was required that I take a bath on Saturday night, need it or not. As I think about this, the mandatory bath was probably due to going to church on Sunday.
During the week I did wash using a wash cloth, as it was known to families that had more resources than us, we called them “wash rags”. I still often refer to the wash cloth as a wash rag. I occasionally refer to the refrigerator as and “Ice Box”. Old habits!
I am not sure why I wasn’t forced into the tub more often, heaven knows I got very dirty playing outside. I was the last of seven kids, maybe mom had enough arguing, she may have just gotten tired of riding herd on kids. I can remember playing outside on a hot summer day and when I finally went into the house someone would comment that I had a dirt necklace on. That was due to the dirt all around my neck.
When I was eight or nine years old we lived on South Benton Street. It might be hard to believe but we didn’t have computer games to play, and there were only three channels on the TV. The drive ways were all gravel and dirt and that is where we played cars, sitting and crawling on the ground. We played Cowboys and Indians (it wasn’t illegal to shoot your friends with a play gun or your finger in the olden days). When it rained we had board games to play such as Checkers and Monopoly. I also remember playing pickup sticks, not an easy game, and old maids or crazy eights.
There was an old tire swing at the neighbor’s house, and there was an enormous Johnson grass field behind our houses. At the edge of the field was an old worn out abandoned combine. We would crawl inside and all over that old machine. It was at times a fort, a tank, a battle ship and anything else a kid could imagine.
There was a tree line along the field and one of the tall trees was a wild cherry tree. I am here to tell you those so called wild cherries were bitter. We would climb that tree and when we got up near the top we could see the top of the old bridge over the Mississippi River.
The old bridge is now gone and a new suspension bridge was built about half a mile south of where the old one was.
Certain times of the year we would fly kites. I know they weren’t as high as I remember them but memory says we could hardly see them, they were that high. Our kites would fly high and would stay up for long periods of time.
In those days our house was just three blocks from May Green School. We were allowed to walk or ride our bikes to and from school (age 8 and 9). There had to be bad people in those days but as a kid, I was unaware of them.
One Halloween the school had a party and I dressed up as an old woman, yes in an old dress. I rode my bike to school, dressed as an old woman, and no one told me to keep the dress pulled up while riding. Yes I had jeans on under the dress, get your mind out of the gutter! Why do you always have to bring up this type of questions?
On the way to school, my dress got caught in the chain and it was ripped. I was able to get it out of the chain, and being afraid that the dress would get caught again, I ended up pushing the bike the last block to school.
There was a long ripped part of the dress dragging behind me. All the students walked across the stage in front of the judges, and I must have been very funny looking, I was one of the winners for best costume. I think I got a candy bar as my prize.
In those days there were winners and losers, everyone did not receive a trophy.
I tried out for the basketball team when I was in the 3rd grade. My parents bought me a pair of tennis shoes as they were called, you know white canvas high top shoes. No, I did not make the team. I can’t remember being upset, I was happy that I had the new shoes.
It seems as if I got off the subject of Saturday night baths. I have stopped taking baths altogether, now, I take showers but not just on Saturday nights, although old habits are hard to break.
I hope your memories are all good,
And your baths are all warm!
Don Ford
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