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Long may it wave, laundry on the line

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By Bill Wundram | Friday, May 9, 2008 2:05 AM CDT | () comments

CHEER up! In these troubled times, there are small events like hanging clothes outside to dry that make us whistle a happy tune. A recent Sunday column, “Hanging Out,” has brought everything from poetry and oodles of letters to a box of clothespins.

“People who do not hang their sheets on the line have never known what it’s like to sleep in a bed with sheets taken straight from the clothesline. What a great experience to climb between those sheets,” writes Penny Kreusch, Savanna, Ill. “It has been said that my yard is the only one that has footprints in the snow from the back door to the clothesline. It is wonderful therapy and the fresh smell is heavenly.”

“I have just hung out my first load of laundry on the line and three more are lined up in the washer,” says Diane Schreiner, Davenport. “How sad to never go to bed smelling sheets that had been line-dried. My boys don’t even mind when I hang out their boxer shorts. Let’s hope clotheslines don’t go the way of the porch swing or the Sunday drive. Keep reminding people that some things are worth keeping.”

Several readers submitted basic rules for hanging out clothes, like wiping the length of a wire clothesline before hanging any clothes. Other edicts; hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you can hide your “unmentionables” in the middle, and always gather the clothespins when taking down the dry clothing. Leaving pins on the line is tacky.

One reader sent a poem:

The line announced a baby’s birth

To folks who lived inside.

The diapers were so lovingly hung,

So carefully with pride.

“I remember Monday mornings as a child when mom used to make the resident redbird — cardinal — very frustrated when she hung out clothes. One of those laundry baskets revealed a new puppy, which became my ‘life mate’ through childhood and into grad school years,” says George Loveland, Port Byron, Ill.

“There is nothing like outdoor-dried sheets when you climb into bed at night,” says Erna Cielecki, Stockton, Iowa. “It seems like you sleep better.”

“We had an old Maytag washer with wringer and two rinse tubs. We hung the clothes on the line. Our children’s diapers were the whitest and softest, and the babies never had diaper rash,” says Gretchen Goodwin, Rock Island. “We have a friend who always says, ‘Before I die, I want to bring my sheets over and hang them on your line. There is nothing so sweet smelling.’ ”

“I’m one who still hangs out the clothes to dry, and it was big a surprise when a neighbor’s two little grandsons, visiting their grandma, saw my line,” says Donna Sothmann, Milan. “They had never before seen a clothesline and ran into the house yelling, “Grandma, the lady next door is hanging her underwear on a rope.”

“There can be caveats to hanging out in the country,” says one responder. “One spring day years ago, mom had the clotheslines filled to capacity and forgot about them until after supper. Since it was dark, she decided to leave them out until morning.

“That night, our dog had a bit of a dust-up with a skunk in the immediate vicinity of the clothesline. Everything on the line was doused. I’ve never again heard my mother use language as she did that morning.”

Bill Wundram can be contacted at (563) 383-2249 or bwundram@qctimes.com.