The History of an Apron

Rarely do I share forwarded emails that are sent to me.  Its not that I don't enjoy reading them, its just that I don't know who's read what and when.  Today I read and email worth sharing.. It may date me.. I don't know?? But it reminded me so much of my Great Grandmother Nettie Clontz.  She was one tough lady from what I can remember of her.  She raised chickens in her backyard to eat for Sunday dinner, she baked the most incredible bread ever and to this day I have not found any bread that has touched the flavor.  She was a hard woman but a loving woman all mixed into one.  She lived to be 99 years old and I have fond memories of her ALWAYS wearing an apron.  This email brought me back to my childhood at GG Clontz's house.

SOME MAY   Remember making an apron in Home Ec?  Read below:     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 also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons 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 folks 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.        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...