Staying Busy as a Housewife in the Late 50's & 60's

Shirley was a full time mother until daughter Paulette was in high school. Shirley made many clothes for herself and all three of us girls--everything from prom dresses, coats and other things. She would buy or borrow a Simplicity or McCall Pattern and lay out the material on the dining room table. Her sister Lorriane and her often worked on projects together. For instance, they each made a felt Christmas tablecloth that had ornate ornaments festooned with rickrack, beads and other decorations. I think Lorriane helped with the smocking in the three red dresses pictured above. As the oldest, I wore these the least amount of time. Once outgrown by one of the sisters, the dress was passed down from Paulette to Linda to Lori. Lori must have worn this dress for many years. A gift of a better sewing machine from Roy was treasured.

Making meals was a time consuming process. Everything was pretty much homemade. Breakfast would include milk which was delivered to the back porch into a silver milk box for many years. School and work lunches were packed while everyone ate and got ready for school or work. There were very few conveniences for cooking meals. Burning feathers off raw chicken, using a gas burner on the stove was part of the process of making dinner. A full dinner was served every night after Roy got home from work with all of the family at a small table in the kitchen. A special meal would be served on Sunday in the dining room and often family visitors came over for dinner or visited on Sunday afternoon after church. The football game would usually be on in the living room and the women would sit at the dining room table. Our Uncle Tony and Aunt Ceil were frequent visitors. City chicken from Levandowski’s Meat Market, on Stocking Avenue, would be a special treat. Meat from the meat market and Polish rye bread from American Bakery, on Bridge St., were always a part of every holiday meal. Other special treats were the homemade hot fudge ice cream topping she often made for Sunday night. She still makes this sauce, using a candy thermometer to ensure it isn’t soupy or rock hard. On Sundays, because we had a big dinner after church, our supper in the evening would be something smaller. A favorite was hotdogs wrapped in crescent rolls with a melted slice of cheddar. We would watch our favorite Sunday night programs together like The Wonderful World of Disney. While all her baked goods were (and still are) good, she is really known for her pies and her pie crusts. She knows every trick to rolling out a perfect crust. She can tell you why egg whites didn’t rise when whipped and she scolds you when you keep nibbling on the cookie batter.