Darrow School - Shaker Post Yearbook (New Lebanon, NY)

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1936 The Peg Board Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 SPECIALLY DESIGNED STOVE FOR HEATING IRONS But I shall return to the story. For a long time things might go like magic, but then the wringer in the northwest corner might stop working. Neither oil nor hammering could repair this machineg therefore the sisters would have to pause and wait for a thorough mending of the wringer. Perhaps the main belt had been laced badly. When it was Hnally relaced, the wringer would start again. Then the sisters might be lucky for the rest of their washing day. When the work was finished, they would all enjoy a good hot dinner. This story shows what used to happen in the wash house and how the Shakers would over- come their diFticulties.' 1. The editors wish to note that Sinclair Hart's statements about the things which sometimes went wrong may be verified by con- sulting The Shaker, VII lMny 18777, 36. 23

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The Peg Board 1936 The Shaker Wash House By SINCLAIR DANFORTH HART, ,39 Prize Article in the Lower-Middle Group HE Shaker laundry, or wash house as it was called, was built in sections from time to time. For this reason it is difiicult to determine the exact date of its construction. I shall reverse the usual order and describe this building from the attic down, reserving the ground floor, on which most of the laundry work was done, to be considered last. In the attic the clothes used to be dried on racks. These interesting old racks are still to be seen. A number of old spinning wheels and hand looms are also to be found up there, but they must have been put there for storage. They could hardly have been used where they are, for it was too hot, and besides, the clothes would have been in the way. Most of the rooms on the second and third floors were used as workshops. In one ofthese shops weaving was done, in another the mending, and in still another the ironing. In the ironing room there is a stove shaped like a truncated cone. All around it run iron racks, each projecting out from it about two inches, and each about a quarter of an inch thick. The back ends of the irons were set on these racks so that the bottoms would rest against the stove. A fire was then lighted and the irons were heated. In one large room on the first Hoor of the building the laundry work was done. In the middle of this room are eight stone wash tubs in rows of four facing each other. Overhead is a barrel- shaped tank capable of holding ia great quantity of Water. It was heated by steam conveyed through pipes. The room was lighted by windows on the east and west sides. All the washing for the Church Family was done here. The Shakers would work all morning and stop at noon and have dinner. Often many things would go wrong. However, the sisters were never sullen. Perhaps a story of a washing day would show how the Shakers washed and what might happen. In the morning about five o'clock a large bell was rung to call the sisters to work. If one were late, she would make up for it by working especially hard all the rest of the day. Every sister, however, disliked to be tardy. In a little while many baskets filled with clothes ready to be washed stood by the Shaker washing machine, and there also stood as many as twelve sisters as assistants. But sometimes things went wrong. The pipes that held the steam might have frozen, and then, of course, no hot water could be obtained. While the engineers were fixing the pipes, the sisters would go off to do other things that had to be done before night. When they were through and the pipes had been put in order, they would continue their work. After a while a dense fog of steam might arise. The Shakers as usual had a remedy for this. They had learned from previous experience that if two doors opposite each other were opened, the draft would take most of the vapor away. But when they tried to open the doors, they sometimes found them frozen. Then a good fire would be made so as to melt the ice. All this might occur before breakfast, but not one sister would be gloomy. Their cheerful- ness in such 'circumstances was caused by the influence of their Sabbath devotions and the vows they had made. After they returned from breakfast, they might find the washing machine frozen, but a little oil and some hammering would soon put it in good shape. This machine, I must say here, was very useful to the Shakers. One of them once said, The Shaker Washing Machine has rendered too much valuable service in the last ten years to permit us to underestimate its many excel- lencies. The Shakers had only one article that was of as much use to them as their washing machine. This was the Shaker Laundry Soap. With this soap they were able to clean many things such as linens, woolens, and cottons and even the finer fabrics, silks, laces, and muslins. They have proved that paint and all kinds of ink and stains can be removed by the proper use of this soap. 22

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The Peg Board 1936 i P r A SHAKER DOORYVAY 24