19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, November 19, 1914: <<no entry>>
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Since Grandma didn’t write anything a hundred years ago today, I’m going to go off on a tangent—
Sometimes I’m surprised how thoughts of Grandma pop into my head at the least expected times.
Last week-end my husband and I had friends over for dinner. It was almost time for them to arrive and I still hadn’t set the table.
I pulled some cloth napkins out of a drawer-and thought with dismay—“Dang it, I’m going to have to iron them.”
Annoyed, I dragged my heavy ironing board out of the closet—and suddenly thought—”Did Grandma also dislike lugging this hefty ironing board around?”
This makes perfect sense because I have Grandma’s ironing board.
She passed many years ago. It was shortly after I got married, and I needed an ironing board. So when the grandchildren were given an opportunity to select items they would like from her house—one of the things I chose was the ironing board.
I’ve used the ironing board for more than 35 years. It’s probably 60 or 70 years old (and probably could easily last another 60 or 70 years). I replaced the ironing board cover once a few years ago—but that’s it. It might be heavy, but it is also darn sturdy.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Just love the fact that you have her ironing board. They are such tactile things.
Yes, it’s nice to have something of her’s that is so functional and that I periodically use in my day-to-day life.
I have an old heavy one too. I like it because I do a lot of sewing. and pressing. I have put those old rubber tips that you could buy for crutches on the bottom of the legs about 40 years ago. to keep it from scratching the floor. I bought it used at a white elephant sale. I have no idea how old it is. I bought a new one once because I wanted a lighter one. I kept this one in a closet. The one I bought new kept shaking and was hard to work on cutting quilting block and other odd stuff you do with a ironing board when quilting so I got rid of it and went back to the old one. It don’t shake or rock. They sure didn’t spare the metal in those days. It weighs a ton.
You’re exactly right–these old ones are much easier to iron with than the newer ones. Somewhere along the way, I bought a lighter board, but I didn’t particularly like it so I gave it to my son. 🙂
How special is that!!! So neat that you have hers. (And I’ll bet when she was a youngster, her family had a wooden one!)
This ironing board was probably considered to be a “modern” one when she bought it. 🙂
She probably enjoyed ironing as much as she liked watching the cows?. 🙂
I think it’s neat that you have her ironing board.
hmm. . . Is ironing or watching the cows a worse chore? 🙂
I love that you ate using your grandma’s ironing board. Talk anout generational memories!
I actually have–and regularly use– several additional items that once were Grandma’s. For example, the fruit bowl in my kitchen (which is currently filled with bananas) was hers.
You have the ironing board, and I have the iron. This is a different model than Mom had, but it looks just the same. It’s from the 1930s, and talk about heavy! It’s about ten pounds. I can’t imagine doing a whole pile of ironing with the thing.
That is one impressive iron! I bet that it won’t take very many passes over the cloth to get all the wrinkles out with an iron that heavy–though I get tired just thinking about trying to use it.
They made things to last in the years gone by. Next year at Christmas a watch I was given for a gift 50 years ago is still working and being used.
Wow, it’s amazing that it still works. It must be a very well-made watch.
What a lovely, really intimate, thing to have — grandma’s ironing board. It may be heavy, but oh how sturdy. You don’t have to worry about the iron falling off as you switch the position of what you are ironing.
Once I get it set up, I actually really like it. It doesn’t wobble at all when I iron.
In my grandmother’s house, as in my parent’s house for most of the houses we lived in, and in the older homes my husband and I subsequently rented or owned, the ironing board was built in, usually in the kitchen (so as to be handy to the sink for water for steaming?), sometimes in the laundry room, if the house were big enough to have such a luxury. It is such a lovely convenience, but as permanent press gained traction, built-in ironing boards have lost their appeal. I miss it every Thanksgiving and Christmas when I get out the ancestral linens (especially since the new light-weight boards shift around a lot under the weight of all that cloth.) Lucky you!
I’ve never seen a built-in ironing board, but it sounds really convenient.
I had one just like yours that I got from my grandmother and it finally broke. Heirlooms like that are so much fun. U used to love ironing for her as she hated it!! Hugz Lisa and Bear
Oh, I hope that mine doesn’t break. Even I complain about it being heavy, I’d really miss it if it ever broke.
Mine is a flimsy piece of junk. They don’t make them like they used to! Btw I posted about ironing too today! So funny!
LOL–really? . . . It’s amazing that we both ended up with the same somewhat mundane topic on the same day.
Ironing boards! Now you’re speaking my language! You’re lucky to have a quality older board–they only make flimsy ones now!
🙂 There are lots of linens that need to be ironed for the upcoming holiday season.
Yes, you are so very lucky to have an old heavy duty ironing board. I have been looking for a good quality one for years!
Your comments, and the comments of others, have me realize just how fortunate I am to have an old heavy-duty ironing board.
A lovely story. Thanks for directing me here to read it. Your practical *gift* from your grandmother will be a story that lives on forever.