Skip to content
Curious as a Cathy
Menu
  • Home
  • About the author
    • The Tale of Ole Green Eyes
    • A Poet I am Not
    • Blog Achievements
  • A to Z Challenge
  • Daily Blog Hops
  • 2025 4M Themes
Menu

#FlashbackFriday Rural Life Wash Day

Posted on March 27, 2015
borrowed image
borrowed image

Good-morning, kittens & dawgs! I often think about how easy life is for me. One area in particular ~ laundry day. When isn’t it a laundry day? Our parents and grandparents didn’t have the luxury of tossing an arm full of clothes into a fully automated machine and walk away.

I remember the way my grandma washed clothes when I was a little girl in the early 60s. Let’s take a walk down memory lane in today’s edition of Flashback Friday.

My parents lived very close to my grandparents for the first five or six years of my life. I don’t remember my mom washing clothes at our house even though I recall the laundry hanging on the line to dry. However, I do have recollections of helping (more like watching) grandma and mom doing the wash with a machine sorta like this….

Image snagged from Google hits
Image snagged from Google hits

Fascinated by it, I hugged against the gadget to watch the machine swish and swash. Grandma repeatedly screeched, “Cathy Lynn, keep your hands away from the wringer!” Now, when does a child ever listen? Needless to say, my tiny fingers were not fast enough to escape the energy snagging demon from gobbling up my arm. While the panic built inside my chest, Grandma and Mommy worked desperately to free me from the monster and I can only imagine what was going through my head!

flattening_2__commission__by_pekepeke3-d87bq19
Curious as a Cathy all pretty in pink line dried in the sun

Geez, the squeeze of the rollers put some uncomfortable pressure on my small arm, but luckily nothing ever broke! Scared to death after that experience I heeded grandma’s warnings with extra caution and still there were times I came dangerously close to another repeat encounter of the unpleasant kind.

Did your folks or grandparents have one of these? Were you afraid of the wringer?



Today, I  celebrate the small things in my life.

  • I celebrate renewed energies and brain fog lifting thanks to Sottopelle (HRT) inserts.
  • I celebrate tossing/giving away more unneeded clutter.
  • I celebrate not having to buy a new printer after fixing the ink cartridge problem with our printer that HP said was a hardware failure.
  • I celebrate that we’re getting a new garage door.
  • I celebrate the gorgeous spring weather!

What are you celebrating?

Let’s celebrate making new friends together and we can begin by joining Friendship Friday and Follow Who? Social-Weekend blog hops. Thanks for visiting. Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for a little boogie session with Saturday Songsuasion!

For more day specific blog hops, click here.

  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Discover more from Curious as a Cathy

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

5 thoughts on “#FlashbackFriday Rural Life Wash Day”

  1. dcrelief says:
    March 27, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    Hi Cathy. Sorry to be so late. My Mom had a washer like this. Baby brother got his arm stuck. It was a scream – really. But it had a safety switch by then. The rollers popped open and released him in a few seconds.
    I am so grateful or lovely warm weather. Glad you’re finally getting some. happy to hear about meds that help. Life is tough enough, huh?
    See you for Saturdaysuassion!!

    Loading...
  2. lexacain says:
    March 27, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    I think my MIL still has on e of those machines. Congrats on meds that work, giving away clutter (I did that too this week!), fixing your printer, getting a new garage door, and nice weather! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂

    Loading...
  3. XmasDolly says:
    March 27, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    Oh yes, my mom had one when I was growing up and curiosity got the better of me one day and I got my fingers in the ringer, and then so was my butt after I got out. hahahaha Thanks for bringing back the memories and have a fantastic weekend my friend. HUGS

    Loading...
  4. Noah Weiss says:
    March 27, 2015 at 9:09 am

    I never experienced ye-olde laundry machines, since I was born in 1987. However, it sounds like it was a fascinating but scary experience as a young kid.

    I liked your description of Grandma “screeching.”

    Loading...
    1. Cathy Kennedy says:
      March 27, 2015 at 9:34 am

      Oh, you’re a youngster! lol You’re a year older than my oldest daughter. Are you single? lol Bless my grandma’s heart, but she could get quite shrill. Unfortunately, I have a high pitched voice and it can be ear piercing when I get excited, too. My late MIL has an old washer similar to the one in the picture that sits in my in-laws’ basement to this day. They have an electric washer, but never parted ways with the old one. Of course, they rarely threw anything away. It really had to be of no value before they got rid of a single thing. lol

      Loading...

Comments are closed.

Bible verse of the day

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:6

Click the 4M banner for weekly music prompts

4M Guidelines: Below are the 4M co-hostess. The rules are simple. Every other week, a suggested (not mandatory) theme is given to build your song picks. We're looking for embedded music to enjoy, one song or several. On the off weeks, we dance to whatever music moves you (your choice)! It's just that easy. Have fun and welcome to the party!

Curious as a Cathy
Ramblin' with AM
StacyUncorked
XmasDolly

Post Activity At A Glance

June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« May    

BOTB

BOTB By Debbie D
Jingle Jangle Jungle
Mike's Ramblings
STMC presents BOTB
Landmark Sounds
Stine Writing
The Sound of One Hand Typing
Tossing It Out
Trivial Music Sillness

Battles held bi-monthly on the 1st and 15th. Newcomers are welcome!

Looking for something?

My travel photo are being moved, please join me there!

Due to storage limitations on my current host site, I am moving old posts and plan to share new travel pictures to this new blog. Eventually, I hope to bring everything back together. It just may take awhile to get everything back the way I want.
  MONDAYS - WEDNESDAYS

Comedy Plus for Awww Mondays, Happy Tuesdays, & Wordless Wednesdays  

THURSDAYS
Rain Frances Creations for Thursday Art Date
Brian’s Home for Thankful Thursdays
Moonwashed Musings for Weekly Poetry Prompt
The Sound of One Hand Typing for Writer’s Workshop

FRIDAYS
DV Artist for Friday Face Off
15andMeowing & Four-Legged Furballs for Friendly Fill-ins
MessyMimi for Feline Fridays
 

100% American Girl

I'm a proud member of these freedom of speech platforms


Gab

MeWe

Ethical Author Code

I'm an Ethical Author

Blog Stats

  • 275,988 hits

Community

  • jeanvivace
  • diedre Knight
  • John Holton
  • messymimi's meanderings
  • Thomas Anderson
  • Expansão&Percepção
  • Arlee Bird
  • Eugi
  • qurbanali awan
  • mysticstrasse
©2025 Curious as a Cathy | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme
Menu
  • Home
  • About the author
    • The Tale of Ole Green Eyes
    • A Poet I am Not
    • Blog Achievements
  • A to Z Challenge
  • Daily Blog Hops
  • 2025 4M Themes
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d