....that's what folks use to call 'em,....they came in all colors, some were home made, some store bought or received as gifts, they all had many uses.
Mom and Grandma always had one in their apron pocket or in their purse. Dad and Grandpa carried a big red or blue one in their pocket, part of it usually hung out, lending a little color to the overhauls they wore. Handy to pull out and wipe the sweat from their brow as they walked behind a team of horses or sat up shocks in a hot field all day. On Sundays there was always a white hankie for church.
Mom had some new, some old and frayed with holes. Grandma made some of hers, carefully stitching embroidered flowers or an initial, adding crocheted lace or tatting around the edge, some were appliqued. All were washed, ironed and folded neatly, even the old torn ones. They were always there to wipe a baby's nose or dry a childs tear after a fall.
While going through some of my mothers things I found some of her hankies. Not just hers but some of Grandmas, Aunt Ethels, and Aunt Rebeccas. As I pressed each one into a neat little fold I thought of the memories each one held.
My Mother's tears as she watched her boys go to war, then her tears of joy as they all came home once more. Tears of pain as she lay her tiny baby to rest beneath the lilac bush so long ago. Tears of happiness for each of her children when they did well, or when they gave her each healthy, beautiful grandchild.
Did my Grandmother wet a hankie in a cool stream and wash her baby's face, or, cool the brow of her dying husband as she took him on the long journey to Colorado, only to bury him after arriving there? Then the tears she must have wept.
Yes hankies had many uses, a young man could offer his to a damsel in distress, or she could coyly drop hers as a handsome young man walked by, knowing he would pick it up and return it to her. Hankies were used to wave goodbye, hello or just catch someones attention.
Now we have paper hankies or puffs or whatever, one blow, one tear and you throw them away. No....I hadn't heard them called hankies for quite some time. Then a few years ago they came out with "Homer Hankies" for the Minnesota Twins. The "Homer Hankie" carries the memory of a win or a loss
I guess in a way so do all these hankies that belonged to my folks.Hankies full of memories some happy, some sad, memories and hankies with their neatly pressed folds.
Written by my Aunt Mary August 2, 1996 and presented here with her permission.
copyright 1996-2001 All rights reserved
Photos of Great Grandma Mary and Grandma Martha
C. LaRue
Copyright 1997-2001 All rights reserved
updated music link 21 Dec 2014, Tim Stowell