The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress
underneath but, along with that, it served as a holder 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, after
being 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 knew it was time to come in from 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.
And remember:
"Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window
sill to cool.
Her granddaughter's set theirs on the window sill to thaw."
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