“WORK” – Schedule | Grandma’s Stories

Nov 5th “WORK” – Schedule

“WORK” is one of those 4-letter words – and probably the one that most people just cannot quite get the hang of – it’s the activity that most people do not want to do without receiving “being paid – as if they are a KING?”

When I first went to the “German St. Vincent’s Orphan Home” – all children would learn how to “WORK” – with everyday general cleaning – and then there were those jobs that with 350 children require – weekly and the same thing every week work and then every six (6) months – the down on the knees scrubbing and waxing clean!

Before we went to the “Orphanage” – at home – my Mother would iron clothes, using an electric iron, one that you would plug the cord – into the wall. So, was I ever in for a surprise when on Mondays and Tuesdays after school, the girls were assigned to work in the “Laundry” until done working or almost 6:00 PM – which would be “SUPPER” time and we would run at fast as possible to be on time.

The “NEW” kid – that was me – was taken all around the Laundry area – so that – I would know where the “IRONS” were and shown how to handle these “HOT” irons. There was a rack of “IRONS” – sitting on individual metal plates – and all these irons were kept nice and “HOT” and ready to be used – immediately! You had an ironing board set-up for you to do your ironing. You went to one of the baskets, where you would find dampen clothes – rolled and placed together with a towel covering so that the tops of the clothes to be ironed – did not dry out – before being iron? You were given some “POT-Holders” to hold this “HOT” Iron – and you would already have your garment – ready to start the ironing on your board – and you would iron until the iron was not – any longer “HOT” enough to continue. At this point you would take your “COLD” iron back to the rack and pick-up another “HOT” iron – and continue your work!

Here’s what happened to me – I was in the 3^rd or 4^th grade – and had no idea about the differences in materials? There was a nice “Girls Blouse” in the basket – looks like it had been refolded several times and put back into the basket – for someone else to iron? Like I said -this material – to me – was the same as any other item – to be iron? So, I laid this item, out on my board – left to get my “HOT” iron – when I returned to my board – I set the “HOT” iron – smack dab on the center of this blouse – that – red “HOT” – iron – marked that blouse so fast with the nicest dark-brown spot ! “YOU ruined that blouse!” ‘What are you going to do about it?”

This is one of those days – when all I wanted to do – “was to find a hole and crawl into it – as fast as I could!” How in the world would a poor little kid get treated like a “MONSTER KILLER” in an “ORPHANAGE” – what could I do? Materials that needed special care should never have been out in that basket – for kids not knowing how to “CAREFULLY” iron them? All of the garments worn by anybody in the “Orphanage” were marked with your – number – and everybody was known more by their “NUMBER” than their name! So, this is what I think about this situation; That blouse belongs to one of the “PERKINS” girls – and somebody wanted to ruin it – but couldn’t do it their selves – figure to have it done by someone who is “NEW” to this whole rival “pecking” order operation – and so – I was the “fall guy” for this accident – that just happened so nicely – for all??? “But, not for me – I never forgot it!”