That word I mentioned yesterday that I had been chewing on in the early hours was starch. I was remembering how it was part of every Monday morning wash day routine. But for the life of me I could not remember how Mom made it.
But I seem to remember it involved using her blue enamel water bath canner and some kind of powder.
Faultless Starch was the oldest brand that did not require lengthly boiling. It was developed in the 1880's and probably what Mom used in the 1940's.
While researching I discovered an interesting, to me, side note that from the 1890's to the 1930's, in Texas, books were attached to the boxes of starch with a rubber band. There were thirty six titles designed as a supplement or substitute for school texts and primers.
As for how Mom made the starch, which was supposed to save 20 minutes or more of ironing time, first, one, two or three tablespoons of dry starch, depending upon how heavy she wanted it, was stirred into cool water until it was the thickness of light cream. Step 2 says to slowly add the creamy mixture to rapidly boiling water and stir constantly until it turned from milky to clear.
What it doesn't say is how much boiling water to use. I suppose Mom knew from years of experience just how much to use depending on how many pieces of clothing she needed starched.
Niagara Instant Starch was introduced in the1950's. It did not require boiling the starch which was its main benefit.
Not only was there no boiling, the instructions on the box were more complete and easy to understand.
Ironing starched clothes worked best if they were still slightly damp. If one didn't get them off the clothesline that way, lightly sprinkling them before ironing worked. I can remember Mom sprinkling by hand, but she also had a cork bottle top sprinkler which fit into the neck of a pop bottle that we used.
It took a lot of starch for all our dresses, skirts, blouses and the men's good dress shirts. But what I remember most about starching was trying to get my can-cans good and stiff!
Faultless introduced instant spray starch in 1960. Niagara brand is the one I mostly used. It was such an improvement over the powdered starch and came along just in time for me - after can-cans and shortly before I became a housewife. I rarely iron anything anymore, but I do have a can of spray starch in the laundry room.
By the way, that 99-cent can pictured is off ebay for sale for 'only' $8.95.
And that mention of spine in the title of this post? Once in awhile when it seemed something was too difficult for us, Mom would say, "Get a little starch in your back". Meaning, toughen up or use more energy, or be bold. You might also "Take the starch out of someone". Which meant make them weak or unsure; lose confidence. Just another of those old sayings from childhood which still reside in my memories.
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