My Journal #2

Jobs a hundred years ago

November has been especially exciting. I was able to travel with my husband and visit parts of the USA I'd only dreamed of.  After touring Philadelpha and seeing the sites that make up our nation's history we drove to the Amish country of Pennsylvania.  Life as these people live it is simple but not something I have a desire to ascribe to. With no electricity to their homes or using the modern mechanisms to make their farm work easier, I don't see the advantage to that life style. I do think some of the things we are addicted to now days are not something that makes us better people as a whole.

I remember growing up in a strict home. I strained at the rules I had to live by. My job, as a young teen was not only to watch over my younger sisters, but I had to learn to iron. I am thankful for what was a modern convenience of an electric iron. I had a pop bottle with a spritzer shoved into the neck to sprinkle the clothes so they would be damp when I ironed them. Damp clothes made steam when the hot iron was run over them. It was also used to wet wrinkles I accidently made when I didn't get the fabric flat and was in too big a hurry to get done so I could go out to play.

One hundred years ago I might have been a maid. I would have had to wash clothes in a pot of boiling water or a wringer washer. One that had a handle to agitate the clothes. Electric washers were in place in the early 1900's so by 1914 women were purchasing these modern marvels. The machine washed the clothes and rinsed them. The wet clothes were fed between two rollers that squeezed water from the material. It also left the clothes with pressed wrinkles. The clothes only lost some of the wrinkles if the wind blew the clothes around.

The clothes were brought in the house and VOILA They were redampened to accept the hot, flat, iron that would burn any resisting wrinkles from the fabric.  Many a time I would have shirts and dresses ripped from their hangers and thrown in the basket with the order, "Dampen those again and do them over. There are wrinkles in them. If you don't do it the way I told you, there will be wrinkles.'

I hate ironing. However I don't like wrinkled clothes. I will drag my iron and board out to press up a skirt. (I have left clothes hanging in the bathroom with the shower running hoping the steam will relax the wrinkles.) I bought a steamer but its so old I need to buy a new bottle as the rubber stopper discinigrated.

One more point about the Amish. They too have had to adjust to the demands of society even it they don't like it. I'm sure the FDA demands they use milking machines and containers that heat and/or cool the milk they collect. I doubt hand milking is allowed or even managed when you have time limits for pick up.  They have electricity to their barns. When they have a store where they sell quilts and other items they make, they sometimes have an electric cash register. They don't take credit cards, they just take cash or check.  When the need arises, they make their adjustments to deal with the problem. I don't beleive God looks at self flagellation or the strict denial of amenities as some way to gain a better position in heaven. 
I do think fasting AND PRAYING is a good thing if someone needs a specific answer to prayer for a specific time. I agree that when one ashews the things that divert our minds from spending time with God is a good thing and draws a person closer to Him. That also means you will hear his voice and recognize his leadings easier. Ever get a phone call from someone who doesn't tell you their name and after a a minute or so you still don't know who they are?  Its probably someone you don't often talk to.

I don't admire the Amish. Even less now that I've seen Breaking Amish and heard about the Amish Mafia (I won't even begin to espouse on that) I do support their right to live and do what they do.