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Mary Elizabeth Carolena
(Winters) Newkirk
In 1925 quilts added warmth to the Newkirk home. The rural Indiana farmhouse had 4 bedrooms and 6 beds. Carolena and her daughters made sure each bed was covered with a quilt. In the winter a feather bed and additional comforters or quilts were added to each for warmth. There was a wood cook stove in the kitchen and a heat stove in the middle room. The upstairs was heated only by the rising heat of the two lower stoves. Young Dorothy and her sister Gladys would have preferred to continue quilting with their mother (Carolena) and older sister Agnes but the upstairs beds needed to be made. Baby brother Charles and little sister Bertha were too young to help and the boys; Willard, Harold and Woodrow, were doing outside chores with Daddy(Walter). So, up the cold stairs they went thinking of warmer days to come. Spring came and it was time to clean. The house was "cleaned" once a year, a room a day for 9 days. The upstairs bedrooms were approx. 16'X16'. Everything was removed from the room, featherbeds and carpets included. The carpets (rag rugs, factory made of sewed together strips) covered the entire room and were tacked down every 6 inches. The carpets were rolled, carried down the stairs, rolled out on the lawn and beat with a carpet beater to remove the dust. Then they were rolled up, dragged back up the stairs and tacked every 6 inches. As the girls grew older, this task often fell to them and their mother. The hard work would often bring on a laughing spell and the girls would wilt under the load with their mother laughing along with them. Soon after Spring cleaning summer chores began. Carolena worked with the girls sewing and gardening. The garden was very important and the neighborhood women prided themselves on the beautiful jars of canned fruits and vegetables that lined the cellar shelves at the end of the season. When the girls were small, Carolena would sew their dresses at night after they were in bed. Rural Electric didn't reach the farm until the early 1940s so the treadle sewing machine was a blessing. Wash day consisted of large pots of boiling water and took place in its own special building, called the wash house. The doctor had told Carolena not to breath in the vapors from the clothes boiling pots. The steam was not good for her lungs. The chores didn't stop with the house. The entire family helped in the fields. Making hay when the sun shined was not just a catchy phrase. Carolena would be on the wagon helping alongside her husband and children. The first tractor was purchased in 1950. Until then, everything was horse or mule powered. There were 3 meals prepared and served each day with morning and afternoon snacks. Dorothy remembers after supper her mother would often say "just give me ten minutes". Carolena would take a quick rest on the couch and then be ready to finish the day's chores. As harvest finished and the pace slowed a bit, there was more time for quilting. On occasion, Walter or one of the boys would hitch the buggy and Carolena would travel to a neighbors home for quilting. Dorothy remembers riding with her mother on one such occasion. The neighbor's daughter was a couple of years younger than Dorothy. I can imagine they spent the day playing while their mother's quilted. Regardless of the season, Sunday was the one day a week the family didn't work. It was a day of worship and rest. With the exception of daily chores (cooking, feeding, watering, etc.) Sunday afternoons were typical times for family reunions or church socials. The many quilts that warmed this family have served their purpose well and for the most part been used to pieces. One of the surviving quilts was passed on by Bertha to Dorothy's daughter Shirley. It is a wonderful Flying Geese and Stars pattern in patriotic colors. Click here to view the quilt. The above story is based
on recorded dates, family history, stories passed down through the
generations and my imagination. I hope you enjoyed it. |
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