The many uses of Granny’s apron

From drying children’s tears to serving hot pans - there’s so many uses of Granny’s apron!

“The principal use of Granny’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 great for drying children’s tears and on occasion was even used for cleaning dirty ears. From the chicken house, the apron carried eggs, fussy chicks and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, the apron was a handy hiding place for shy children.

When the weather was cold, Granny wrapped it around her arms. Those big aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over a hot stove. Sticks and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron, and from the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas were shelled it carried out the hulls, and in autumn it was used to bring in apples that had fallen from 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, Granny walked out onto the porch, waved her apron and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that old-time apron which served so many purposes.”

Winnie McCarron, Monaghan

From The ICA Book of Home And Family, published on 16 October by Gill Books. What The ICA Cookbook did for your kitchen, this book will do for your whole home – clever tricks, special touches and precious know-how for the next generation of homemakers.

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