Aprons

I recently received one of those nostalgic emails about times past. This one was a particularly good one remembering the aprons once worn by housewives. It brought back memories of my own Mother, with her apron tied around her waist, cooking, cleaning, washing and all the other chores associated with being a farm wife. The apron was handier than a pocket on a shirt and Mother had several, all of which had to be starched and ironed on a weekly basis. (by guess who)
This email got me to pondering on other things from my childhood that are no longer used or even seen in homes and kitchens today. It brought to mind the dinette cloth, (not to be confused with a regular table cloth) which was used to cover the dinette table in the kitchen. It was usually square with a border of flowers or fruit and in any color and pattern you could imagine. I have always loved those simple cotton cloths. They remind me of grown ups having a cup of coffee (from the percolator on the stove) with a neighbor who stopped by on his way to town. Of pies and cakes baked for supper, looking so tasty, cooling on the dinette table and playing games or paper dolls cut from an old Sears catalogue with my sisters. Maybe that is why every time I go antique shopping, I am on the lookout for these old cloths. I have a collection, starched and ironed, in my closet and still use them anytime I have company.
Another item that is no longer needed or see is the matchbox holder. We always had one hanging above the kitchen cook stove filled with a big box of matches. They were metal and painted, here again, with flowers and fruit and I always thought they were so pretty. I can't remember when our match box holder, the apron or the dinette cloths fell by the wayside. I didn't even notice until I started to see these items in antique shops, (selling for a prohibitive amount) and wondered, just where did my inheritance go?
It also got me to thinking about what my daughter and her generation will look back on from their childhood and wonder "what happened to? " Could it be the avocado green and harvest gold appliances or the mushroom (shudder) canisters? What about Hollie Hobbie and Weeble farms? Only time will tell.