I don't think our kids
know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron
was to protect the dress underneath,
because she only had a few,
it was easier to wash aprons than dresses
and they used less material,
but along with that,
it served as a potholder for removing
hot pans from the oven

It was wonderful for drying
children's tears,
and on occasion
was even used for
cleaning out dirty ears..

From the chicken coop,
the apron was used for carrying eggs,
fussy chicks,
and sometimes half-hatched eggs
to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came,
those aprons were
ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold
grandma wrapped it around her arms..

Those big old aprons
wiped many a perspiring brow,
bent over the hot wood stove..
Chips and kindling wood
were brought into the kitchen
in that apron.

From the garden,
it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled,
it carried out the hulls.
In the fall,
the apron was used to bring in apples
that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company
drove up the road,
it was surprising how much furniture
that old apron could dust
in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready,
Grandma walked out onto the porch,
waved her apron,
and the menfolk knew it was time
to come in from the fields to dinner.