Last year 2012, not 2013, I received a peculator coffee pot for Christmas. I have been enjoying fresh perked coffee ever since and I love it. It is the best tasting of all, that's my opinion. Personally I use Folgers because that is the best part of waking up ! It is Folgers in your cup. Grandmother would have said, Maxwell house because it is good to the last drop. Whatever your taste in coffee the old fashioned way is still the best way. As I went back for another cup this morning for some reason I was reminded of how the coffee was always on at Grandmas house. Her old pot sat there always hot and ready. Funny thing is, she drank tea !
Now Grandmother Bennett was a laundress. Her big old kitchen was usually filled with wash tubs up on saw horses. Clothes were being soaked in one tub, scrubbed in another and rinsed in yet another. Laundry baskets sat on the floor and it was always hustle and bustle in there. The old coal stove sat in the corner heating water and warming those heavy flat irons. The air smelled of steam,bleach and laundry soap. But above it all you could smell that coffee when it was brewing. Sometimes in the morning when I smell that coffee I am reminded of her and it is a good memory.
The people she did the laundry for would come and go. With some, it was their servants that did that chore. A cup of coffee was always offered when any transaction took place. Dropping off clothes, have a cup of coffee. Picking up completed wash ? Have a cup of coffee. The pot was always on. This was back in the days of traveling salesman and assorted vendors that delivered to your door. The Dugan brothers, a bakery company, came and you could purchase bread,donuts,and cakes. Of course the Dugan man, as I called him, was offered a cup of coffee. Same with the mailman, or any other of a number of people.
Grandmother Bennett never drove a car in her life but she had a driveway. Her kitchen was where she ran her business. The door was always open and there were no days off. On wash days those tubs would be set up and Grandma was a busy camper let me tell you. Washing those clothes, all by hand, and then hanging them out to dry. When dry they needed to be brought in, separated by owner and staged for ironing. The ironing would take place in the evening or the next day. After they were ironed and folded they would be covered in brown paper and the bundle tied shut with white cotton string. The itemized bill would be written out and pinned to the bundle.
Busy,busy indeed, but always time for coffee. Conducting business with her was like talking with a friend. There was much work to do, but she always had time for the pleasantries. There are times when I go into a place of business and a free cup of coffee is offered. It is a rare thing these days. But I think people were a lot more social in the old days. Whether it was just human nature or social convention that dictated that behavior I'll leave to the sociologists. My thought is it was a combination of both. At any measure it was good business.
Now Grandmother Bennett was a laundress. Her big old kitchen was usually filled with wash tubs up on saw horses. Clothes were being soaked in one tub, scrubbed in another and rinsed in yet another. Laundry baskets sat on the floor and it was always hustle and bustle in there. The old coal stove sat in the corner heating water and warming those heavy flat irons. The air smelled of steam,bleach and laundry soap. But above it all you could smell that coffee when it was brewing. Sometimes in the morning when I smell that coffee I am reminded of her and it is a good memory.
The people she did the laundry for would come and go. With some, it was their servants that did that chore. A cup of coffee was always offered when any transaction took place. Dropping off clothes, have a cup of coffee. Picking up completed wash ? Have a cup of coffee. The pot was always on. This was back in the days of traveling salesman and assorted vendors that delivered to your door. The Dugan brothers, a bakery company, came and you could purchase bread,donuts,and cakes. Of course the Dugan man, as I called him, was offered a cup of coffee. Same with the mailman, or any other of a number of people.
Grandmother Bennett never drove a car in her life but she had a driveway. Her kitchen was where she ran her business. The door was always open and there were no days off. On wash days those tubs would be set up and Grandma was a busy camper let me tell you. Washing those clothes, all by hand, and then hanging them out to dry. When dry they needed to be brought in, separated by owner and staged for ironing. The ironing would take place in the evening or the next day. After they were ironed and folded they would be covered in brown paper and the bundle tied shut with white cotton string. The itemized bill would be written out and pinned to the bundle.
Busy,busy indeed, but always time for coffee. Conducting business with her was like talking with a friend. There was much work to do, but she always had time for the pleasantries. There are times when I go into a place of business and a free cup of coffee is offered. It is a rare thing these days. But I think people were a lot more social in the old days. Whether it was just human nature or social convention that dictated that behavior I'll leave to the sociologists. My thought is it was a combination of both. At any measure it was good business.
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