Palmetto Historical Commission member fondly remembers her youth

We are fast approaching the end of the school year. Many local high school seniors graduated last weekend. While the last day of school is exciting for children, for parents it’s a time to look for activities to keep youngsters entertained. With most parents in the workforce today, summer programs are a necessity.

Working at Palmetto Historical Park, I’m lucky to be able to talk with local people who remember a simpler time, when summer meant free time — after chores of course! Back then, chores were done early in the cooler hours, leaving the rest of a precious summer vacation day to spend as you liked.

When students visit our park on field trips, we talk with them about how much easier many chores are today because of electricity. Of course, some chores haven’t changed. Beds still need to be made and pets still expect to be fed. However, I doubt many of today’s children help their parents start a fire under the wash pot to boil their clothes!

Longtime local resident, and Palmetto Historical Commission member, Mary Alta Dowd Griffin, remembers helping her father use a sawed-off broom handle to move dirty laundry around in their big wash pot. After being boiled and washed on a washboard, the laundry was wrung out by hand and “pegged” to a clothesline to dry. Later, her family purchased an electric washing machine with an agitator. Once the clothes were clean, they were run through a hand-cranked wringer. This was much easier than boiling clothes, but certainly a far cry from today’s machines that we toss dirty laundry into and push a button to start!

Mary Alta also helped her family by sewing, cooking and many other chores on their Bradenton farm. During the Depression, they made cottage cheese and butter to sell at Will-Clair Grocery on 14th Street between Ninth and 10th Avenue. The store was owned by and named after William and Clara Lawrence.

Mary Alta recalls the first time she made cottage cheese unsupervised. It turned out perfectly, with one little problem. Knowing her family liked pepper in their cottage cheese at home; she added it to the mix.

Her poor mother was horrified. The added pepper made the cottage cheese look dirty and it was unsellable. A lesson learned and a mistake never made again!

Butter was churned in a gallon jar with a wooden paddle. The churned butter was “washed” with cool water until it ran clear, pressed, and stored in the “Coolerator” ice box — not refrigerator — ice box. Each week, Mr. Dowd would visit the ice plant to purchase 100 pounds of ice for the Coolerator, and for their Sunday afternoon treat of homemade ice cream.

Though the Dowds didn’t have electricity until she was senior in 1944 at Bradenton High School, Mary Alta remembers her childhood fondly. There were beach trips, books to read in the hammock, bicycles to ride and many friends to visit. Radio was a favorite source of entertainment. The Dowds’ battery-powered radio allowed Mary Alta to enjoy baseball games with her cousin, and radio adventures shows like “The Green Hornet” and “The Shadow.” So, while the lack of electricity would be a real hardship for us today, Mary Alta didn’t miss it at all! By the way, her alma mater, Bradenton High School is now Manatee High School where Mary Alta returned to teach for many years.

Summers today often include exciting opportunities such as sports camps, music camps, even space camps. Hopefully, children looking forward to the start of this summer break will also have a bit of time to enjoy simple summer fun starting with a visit to Palmetto Historical Park and Manatee County Ag Museum’s “Hands on History” event. Children can churn butter, receive mail in the 1880 Post Office, wash clothes on a washboard, learn to lasso, write on slates and many other fun, oldfashioned activities. A special feature of the day is the hands-on Powel Crosley exhibits. This feature is part of the multisite countywide exhibit: Powel Crosley, Jr. Community Exhibition: His Life. His Work. His Impact. The free event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 4. Email palmettohistoricalpark@manateeclerk.com for information.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Palmetto Historical Commission member fondly remembers her youth."