You are hereBlogs / donna's blog / The History of the Apron

The History of the Apron


donna's picture

By donna - Posted on 08 July 2009

A friend of mine sent me an E-mail with the History of The Apron, as I read it I thought about how it had a direct relationship to the antique tractor. They are both something that most can only remember hearing stories about or have seen in a photo. In both cases each played an important part in our lives. I will share this story and see if you don't agree. The History of APRONS I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma'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. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out 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. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, 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 walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes. Send this to those who would know, and love, the story about Grandma's aprons. Or it can be a good history lesson for those that have no idea how the apron played a part in our lives. REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron ..... but Love !!
This is so true..have read a couple articles now and this one for me . makes me think .. great job
donna's picture
Thank you for your comment. The apron is as much a staple to the American farm life as the tractor and barn.