January 10, 2010

Mt. Victory was located on a ridge about half way between Somerset and London, KY. There were no water sources nearby such as a branch, creek, or river. Our water was carried from a dug well. And carrying water was a job delegated to the children. Our well was about four feet in diameter and about 15 feet deep. The perimeter was lined with stones and there was a concrete base and box at the top. The water was drown in a 3 gal zinc well bucket attached to a chain or rope. The well was located about 3 or 4 football field lengths from the house. It seemed like a half mile to me! All water for cooking , drinking, bathing, and laundry, etc. had to be carried.

Wash day was just that, a day's work for a big family. Since Mother was a school teacher, our wash day was usually on Saturday. I remember our gasoline engine Maytag washing machine which was on the back porch, put-putting all day long.

Washday required water to be carried to the house the day before. It took at least a dozen trips to the well unless two people took one of the big tubs, filled it at the well, and carried it back. One large tub of water was heated early that morning to go into the washing machine and two additional large tubs were used for rinsing. All the clothes and linens were hung on clothes lines outside. If more space was needed some things would be hung on the garden fence. In winter time it was not unusual for the clothing to freeze.

I have a memory of  Dan at about 13 or 14 years old one summertime wearing no shirt, just a suntan, carrying water in  5 gallon lard cans of water on his shoulder. It took lots of trips to make enough for washday!