PACE FOUR
HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON
Spring
House
Cleanin'
By FRANK TRirr
No matter how much Industry one
mliiht care to Instill Into his chll
dren. no matter how rugged his own
boyhood, he would be a mean father
who would wish back the carpet
etretcher and the old carpet flail.
Soring house cleaning in the man
Mr of the 90s Ultra status of a
' museum piece to the modern house
keeper: In fact few of the most Im
maculate among them have much
notion of the speck-hunt their
grandmothers made of It.
Many who hover around 60 will
know whereof I speak, can check
' my veracity, so I must exaggerate
with caution. This 1 to be the
' honest truth about spring house
cleaning as I knew It. I'll go to
court before ..'trading a word.
There were only three in our
family Just pop and mom and me.
My father could cut high capers
with tools, could repair or ouua
'. anything. But he would have moved
, alone to Pat Walsh's railroaders' ho
tel, or 8teve Blyley's, before h e
would have raised a ringer with
house cleaning. So I was mother's
little helper, even to high school
days, when her little helper weighed
180.
Come spring I envied pop's house
hold philosophy. But mom had the
Indian sign on me and together we
housecleaned. It started as soon as
the frost was out of the ground and
warm sun peeked through.
Everything went out of every
room, and I mean everything. Tack
ed down carpet came up. The pine
floors were scrubbed on hands and
knees. The woodwork and windows
were washed, the shades unrolled,
cleaned and maybe turned. The bed
steads were taken apart, heaven
knows why; every coll of the springs
was wiped off. The mattresses went
out on the grass, were pounded with
beaters and turned over and over
gain.
Blankets and washable winter
bedding went through the old Arm
strong WRAhrr 25 minutes of back
ache to every washerful. The cur
tains and portieres got theirs and
down came the curtain poles and
fixture too one point upon which
mom and I vociferously disagreed.
But It was the carpets which made
life lust not worth living and took
all the Joy out of spring. Today's
cliff dwellers dont' know any metre
about carpeta than a rabblt.'we
knew less about finished floor and
: mgs.
i Carpet covered every flooy except
I ine Kiicnen. we naa no oaifuoon
, Just a chummy two holes'. Carpets
i were nailed each four lftches close
. up to uie oase ooam. rfom coming
' p ana down, the iiofjr was so oer
," t orated around the eases that It
: looked like a sold out punch board.
. . . .
t cauocku "rom weir secure
location floor cover Jnra went to the
:plothes line and j0t the daylights
khaled out of J&em. My mother's
i' lotion was thjft no carpet was clean
i mm Deaien.-fh a brisk wind for one
I alf day,Jhen spread on the grass
fcfaTiwept both Bides. This beating
Job couldn't be shirked, 'cause no
matter where In the house mom
worked she could tell when I stop-
ped beating.
Then they all had to go back
down and with the same dull and
twisted carpet tacks, which were
supposed to last at least three ex
tractions. Most of our carpets were
cheap Ingrain which had to be
stretched to lay flat.
The stretcher waa a vicious gad
get, an enemy of carpets and of all
who used them. Prongs In a board,
upon which you knelt, caught the
carpet while you used a hooked-on
lever to stretch the edge to the wall
so you could tack It. Carpets tore,
except the choice Brussels In the
parlor, fingers bled, mothers raved
and sons learned to curse, at least
under their breath. T. . stair carpet
also was master creation of the
devil.
Newspapers or straw went under
the carpel. I guess that's how news
papers got going to be put under
carpet and on pantry shelves. Alter
the part they played in my young
life as a carpet layer, why I went in
the newspaper business Is beyond
me. Just to get even I guess.
Once when I handled a mall order
advertising account the firm got an
order from a 15-year-old newspaper
ad. They're all keyed, yo know. I
wrote the customer to learn how
come. What do you think she re
plied? She found the ad In a paper un
der a carpet in an old country place
which she bought to remodel We
sold her a bill of goods.
Now let's hear radio tell one.
Hager
tarry Snyder returned Sunday
from Salem where he visited his
cousins, Kent and Thlrza Ooeck
ner and reports a fine visit there.
Mrs. Robert Mozlngo was on the
Sick list Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman have gone
on a vacation trip.
The Junior, sophomore and fresh
man classes of Henley high school
re presenting three one-act plays
t the Henley gym April 20, Tues
day, starting at S p. m.
The farmers around here are be
ginning to get their land ready for
seeding.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Hendrlckson
entertained at a dinner at their
home here Sunday. The following
were guests, Mr. and Mrs. R. j.
Bretches, Mr. and Mrs. William
Cuslck, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Fow
ler, Mrs. Collins, Mr. Shook, Ernest
Pitt, Dale Hendrlckson, Darlene
nd Orvllle Pitts, Mllly Roberts,
Mrs. Jul! Ledbetter and Edna
Keeler.
Ouy Barton visited at Merrill
over the week-end.
Best wishes to Barbara Reeder,
Who was recently married to Hugh
Btapleton of Eugene.
Mr. McDonalds father from
Portland Is visiting here.
Mrs. O'Reilly and Mrs. R. Mo
alngo are having fine luck with
their baby chicks which they pur
chased some time ago.
Several from this community at
tend the show, "Sitting Pretty,"
that was featured at Klamath
Falls theatre this past week.
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