JOY ALONG THE WAY: BED SHEETS CHANGED FROM WHITE

White sales are traditional after the first of the year. I think it has become a misnomer. In the beginning all sheets were white and it was truly a white sale. I wonder which manufacturer first said, "Does it have to be thus?" Perhaps the tradition was broken when colorfast dyes and detergents that didn't fade colorfast dyes came into being.

The way early sheets used to be laundered couldn't pass any non-fade test. First, a big bar of homemade lye soap was rubbed across a ridged tin scrubbing board. Then the sheet was pulled up out of hot water and vigorously rubbed over the soaped ridges. It took a long time to do this pre-washing. Yes, pre-washing. After that it was plunged into a big iron kettle of boiling soapy water, out in the yard under a shade tree (the kitchen in winter). Good dry wood burned brightly underneath the kettle. With the aid of a long broomstick, someone stirred the sheets from time to time.

After the boiling water treatment, the sheets were transferred, via the pole, into a tub of cold rinse water and then another and another, the last one being treated to a tablespoon or two of liquid bluing to enhance the whiteness.

Onto the clothesline they went to soak up the golden sunshine, perfume of lilacs, roses, phlox and bird song. Just kiddin'. Sunshine was all.

Many of these early white sheets had a seam down the middle. This was because housewives found it more economical to buy lengths of bleached or unbleached muslin, sew them together and hem. The center seams were demarcation lines of areas not to be crossed when, in my case, two sisters slept together. "Get over in your own territory," was a common complaint if one was having a restless night.

One can go on and on, night after night now with only one set of sheets per bed, for they can be washed, dried and back on the bed in about an hour. Terribly monotonous though if the set of sheets the same color and pattern. The monotony of white doesn't seem to count.

What to do with old sheets has changed too. Earlier in time there were two purposes awaiting them -- carpet rags and bandages. For those who remember, ever see a stump-bloodied toe wrapped in a piece of green checked gingham or purple print? Mercy no! All scratches, cuts, bindings were white -- strips of white, worn-out sheets. Nearly every family had a special top drawer for old sheet bandages for stumped toes and cut fingers, or to be made into little poultice bags to be filled with whatever one thought had some healing benefits.

I don't know what most people do now with old sheets. Mine are torn up into suitable sized pieces for dust cloths or car washing rags. The good corners make dish-drying cloths. Some hopelessly thin parts go into the already bulging rag bag for some yet to be thought of purpose.

Some household hinter said that one of the more useful gifts one could give a new bride would be a bag of rags; she hasn't yet accumulated any. I wouldn't suggest them as a shower or wedding gift, just some midweek gesture of thoughtfulness. Unless, of course, you're tired of scanning a bird's registry and seeing Spode, Waterford, sterling, etc. In that case you might hem the rags, even do a little feather stitching on them and label, "Cloths to wrap your precious things in."

You probably wouldn't get an invitation to the Housewarming Party nor to the first Baby Shower, Baby's High School Graduation, Baby's College Graduation, Baby's Marriage, Baby's first baby . . . Just kiddin' again, folks.

REJOICE!

~Jean Bell Mosley is an author and longtime columnist for the Southeast Missourian.