CinderELLA

This is one of the earliest pictures of Ella Deloris Lundberg. She is sitting on her father's lap with Mae on the other side of the chair. Obviously it is taken outside, it could have been mother's birthday which was in March. She may be as old as five. It was before they moved to Chicago and before Mae and Phil were married.



Mother had enough hair for the entire neighborhood on Chief Coolee near the Northrop School. I am thinking Viola, the older sister may have taken the picture.



Mother stated that early in her life one of her jobs was to clean and polish the black wood stove on Saturdays. I was mortified to learn she had to take out the ashes as well. That was her job, and as we have learned in an earlier post, children had jobs early and they weren't always safe for them to be doing.



She said she had very few clothes. One set for school, and one set for play. Her school clothes were changed right after school. They were hung up for the next day and the next day. They were washed on the weekend and made ready for the next Monday.





Children who attended private school, like Jaeme may not think anything about wearing the same TYPE of clothes to school each day but what I am talking about is wearing the same garments each day.



What would happen if you got your clothes soiled and you couldn't wear them? Then, you had to wear your play clothes unless school clothes could be washed, dried, and pressed before the next day. Remember what that meant? Lots of work to get the wash kettle out, heat the water, hope they dried and in the winter, it wasn't that easy. It was common for children to have few clothes. She wasn't the only one, I am certain that helped. Her dress looks like tucks, and some smocking. Most likely made from cotton. And of course, always black stockings. Take into consideration that everything was air dried. That helps us understand ironing.



Mother wore black stockings held up by a garter belt; I wore white long stockings, held up by a garter belt, Rachel wore leotards or when it was cold, she wore pants. Even in private school there is a variety of pieces that mix and match 'leggings'. Try this as an experiment: After a day of wearing, take off your socks/stockings. Look at them, aren't they somewhat amiss? Now when you wash and dry them, don't they re-shape themselves? When one wears cotton stockings, like mother's black socks, you have knee pooches. My white cotton stockings had their own knees too.



Mother always said she had big feet. They do look a little ski like in the picture I assure you they weren't huge, they were narrow. When she bought shoes later in life, she needed a double A toe and a triple A heel. She walked pigeon toed when she and Stan were married. He bought her a pair of high heels and taught her how to walk. And she walked like a model with her head up and her shoulders back in those 3 + inch shoes.



I am trying to remember what kind of shoes she wore when I was young. I know she didn't wear heels at home. I do know that she bought tennis shoes, always white and wore them from the mid fifities and on. Ked's at the Fashion Shop were $5.95.



I do know that in the winter, she had boots and carried her shoes in a bag, changing at her destination. Once, while visiting at the hospital on a very, very cold night, someone took her boots and she was concerned about getting home without falling.



I always remember mother dressing up and putting on high heels. I remember her as being much taller than I. When you aren't around your parents in their transtional years, you are a little shocked when you see your long legged, maxi striding mother wearing low heeled orthapedic tie shoes. Did she have a lot of shoes? A conservative estimate over a lifetime? 500 pair. Clothes? Well, we took 39 bags full out of her house when she died and they were all size six or eight. Came a long way from one for school and one for play, don't you think?