On occasions, when life turns complicated we sometimes long for what we term as “the good old days.” There’s only one problem with that; nearly to a fault bygone days are romanticized as simple and idyllic; hardships and inconveniences are ignored in the longing. Yet, during the ice storm of December 2002 that fell on York County with a vengeance, many who were deprived of water, lights, heat, a hot bath or shower quickly gained a less romanticized appreciation of those good old days. While it is a natural tendency to romanticize about times past, the truth is, we have little knowledge of the life our ancestors lived. They were not as spic and span as we might imagine. For instance, Michael J. Varhola who wrote an article entitled A Clean Break With The Past (Civil War Times, February 2003) tells us that about the time York County was being settled in the 1760s, most Americans considered bathing “uncomfortable, immodest, even unnecessary.” It may be hard to image it, but our ancestors may have lived their entire lives without bathing. Varhola goes on to say that industrialization produced a more clean conscious people when the steam engine spawned pumps that could maintain water pressure. Philadelphia, in 1820, became the first city in America to complete an urban waters system. During that decade other cities began their systems and as this happened more Americans began to bathe. This usually took place on Saturday night in order to be clean for church on Sunday. But wait, that was in the urban, industrialized areas, and the south was neither urban nor industrialized. In fact, in 1820, there was only one village in York County (the county seat) and it would not have a water system for decades. Not to mention the rural areas of the county, which even today, nearly one-fourth of the county still has no public water system. Even as late as 1960, some county residents were “washing up” and still rushing out to the “johnnie house.” Even by the time of the Civil War only the more affluent families were passing themselves off as bathers. This dubious practice normally took place in a wooden or tin tub that had been carried in and placed near the fireplace or kitchen stove where the water could be heated. Though hand and bath soap was available, most bathing families relied on homemade lye soap. The American standard of hygiene has been drastically refined since our ancestors arrived here around the time of the Revolution. If you don’t believe it, try to convince your friends that one bath or shower a week is a gracious plenty and that a couple of sheets from the Sears & Roebuck catalogue is as good as their favorite toilet tissue. Romanticize about our ancestors all we may, but more than likely, if we were to meet them in the living flesh, we would be aghast at their appearance and may even gasp for a breath of fresh air. They probably would not be the kind of people we care to associate with. A number of years ago the memory of “the good ol’ days” was brought to mind one evening when I said to my wife, “Well, I’m going to take a bath.” She looked at me with puzzlement and asked, “Over the years I have always wondered, why do you always find it necessary to announce that you are going to take a bath?” For a moment I too was puzzled, and wondered why do I find it necessary to do that. And then it dawned on me—it’s a hangover from bygone days. In the good ol’ days, before the bathroom had its presence in many country homes in western York County, folks bathed in a large galvanized tub sat and filled in front of a fireplace. This bathing practice was done in more modest times and the announcement, “I’m gonna’ take a bath” was a way of telling everybody in the house where you would be and what you were doing and that you wanted privacy, lest we might find ourselves having to contend with an embarrassing situation. The next time life gets a little tedious and we long for a more simple way of life, let’s just stop for a moment and ponder the simplicity of a shower head or a commode handle. Or remember the good old days of the ice store of December 2002 or those showerless days after Hugo. Note: I have a picture for this article. Mark it compliments of the Museum of Western York County.
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!
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