The following anonymous poem was originally written in country dialect and published in The Ram’s Horn (February 1903), a religious based magazine associated with evangelist Dwight L. Moody. The poem compares ironing with the work of Providence through adversity.
The linen that hangs on the line
It is no sight to see;
It looks like any cotton stuff
As common as can be.
The roses and the pretty buds
The lilies and the vine,
And all the little leaves and things
That around each other twines.
They don’t show up, not one bit
And never would be true,
If something wasn’t done to them
To bring them into view.
But when the iron presses hard
The change comes mighty quick;
The lily buds and leaves and vines
They spring up fast and thick.
The roses just come blooming up
Like something made them grow,
And all the hotter is the iron
The plainer that they show.
And folks are like linen stuff
Before the ironing day;
The best in them nobody knows
That is somehow hid away.
Adversity, is the iron
That God holds in His hand;
And when it presses hard and hot
The one that pressed must stand.
And not try hard to get away
Nor squirm, nor cry, nor doubt;
For God lets these things come to life
To bring the flowers out.
Many living today can recall that Mondays were washdays throughout the land. Traveling through residential areas of every town or on a country back road one would not think it unusual to see family washing hanging on a clothesline in the back yard, or thrown over a fence or bush. After a full day of tending fires, drawing water, boiling and rinsing, it naturally fell that ironing would follow. On Tuesdays housewives and daughters stood hours on end pressing out myriad wrinkles from wrinkle collecting fabrics.
During days before electricity had arrived, every household had at least one “Sad” iron to smooth out the wrinkles from Monday’s wash. These heavy cast irons did not get their names from being unhappy, but because they were heavy. (When we are sad, we might say that our spirit is “heavy.”) Thus, all heavy irons are sad irons. Sad irons came into general use in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century though smoothing stones had been used during the 8th and 9th century, making them the earliest western ironing methods.
Since these sad or flat irons had to be heated to smooth out wrinkles, they were set on a wood stove or near an open fire until they were at the right temperature. Knowing the right temperature took years of experience–too hot and they would scorch the garment, too cool and the wrinkles would stay put. Having the good fortune of owning several irons would expedite the hot, tiring chore. While one was being used, the others could be heating.
Since flat irons were a necessity, and having several was a matter of convenience, their production in the United States was in the millions, which accounts for their abundance today. As time progressed, various means of heating the irons was developed. In the collection on exhibit at the Museum of Western York County are examples of those that were heated by filling them with hot coals and others that operated on liquid fuel. Although they preceded federal safety guidelines, both should have had warning labels!
As well as heating methods, the weight and size of sad irons also varied. Weight and size was determined by the work it was to perform. A heavier and larger iron may be desired to press work clothes while a lighter and smaller size would be used on lighter weight fabrics. Last year when someone brought a miniature iron into the museum, the donor believed it to be a toy, but a volunteer quickly identified it as a frills iron used to remove wrinkles from frills and small ruffles. Children could not resist these tiny irons as playthings and manufacturers sometimes used them in promotions and gifts.
Harnessing electricity and the invention of the electric iron lightened the burden of the housewife and many sad irons were relegated to being doorstops. Today, with modern wrinkle resistant fabrics and the tumble dryer, ironing has almost become a thing of the past and old irons have found a new value–as part of a museum collections.
Harnessing electricity and the invention of the electric iron lightened the burden of the housewife and many sad irons were relegated to being doorstops. Today, with modern wrinkle resistant fabrics and the tumble dryer, ironing has almost become a thing of the past and old irons have found a new value–as part of a museum collections.
J.L. West – Author
This article and many others found on the pages of Roots and Recall, were written by author J.L. West, for the YC Magazine and have been reprinted on R&R, with full permission – not for distribution or reprint!
Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.
Do you have information to share and preserve? Family, school, church, or other older photos and stories are welcome. Send them digitally through the “Share Your Story” link, so they too might be posted on Roots and Recall.
Thanks!
User comments always welcome - please post at the bottom of this page.
Share Your Comments & Feedback: