OLD TIMER’S COOL TALE!
By Norris Chambers
Many,
many years ago it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, much as it is
today. However, there was one slight difference; in the summer time the good
old country people had no air conditioners or other convenient means of keeping
cool. In the winter time most homesteads were warmed with a cast-iron heater or
an open fireplace. The kitchen area was kept comfortable with the big iron cook
stove. Kids who were busy playing outside usually had a big bonfire that kept
them from turning into chunks of ice.
Temperature
control in the summer was not very easy. Most houses had windows and halls that
took full advantage of any summer breeze and helped to keep the inside
temperatures bearable. One of the first efforts to combat the hot weather at
night was to move beds outside. Usually the complete bedstead was moved to the
breeziest spot in the area. A location under a big tree kept the bed cooler
during the day but at night was more likely to accumulate spiders, scorpions or
other undesirable insects that could drop from the tree limbs. For this reason
most beds were placed in an open area and bedtimes were delayed until the hot
bed had time to cool a little after the coolness of the night developed.
The outside
beds appealed to the family’s cats and dogs as accommodations to nap in the
sunshine and a few families carried the mattresses and other bedding materials
inside during the day.
A few
families did not move their beds outside but hung wet, porous cloths in the
windows taking advantage of any slight breeze that might cool the room by
evaporation. Of course someone had to get up from time to time and re-dampen
the cool curtains. This method helped some but most people thought it was more
trouble than it was worth. We never tried it.
The
ordinary hand operated fan was an old standby and was in almost constant use
during a hot, sultry day. Many types of fans were available without cost. The
fan was considered an excellent advertising freebie and many merchants were
glad to give them away with their advertising printed on both sides. Fancy fans
were also available for a price. These included simple folding fans that could
be opened and used when the need was evident as well as very beautiful models
that were designed for stylish use in high-tone assemblies where the
temperature might rise above the comfort level. Many of these models folded
into nice, compact packages that were easily kept handy!
Clifton and
I and most young characters of our age spent considerable time splashing around
in the muddy stock tanks. The water was a little warm but the dampness tended
to cool us considerably. It was probably just the evaporation that did it. We
didn’t suffer much from the heat when we were just taking it easy under a nice
shade tree.
One day
when discussing the hot nights Clifton
mentioned that it was pretty cool in the cellar and that he hadn’t heard of
anyone moving a bed down there. That was something to think about. The cellar
was considerably warmer in the winter and was several degrees cooler during the
hot days of summer. Maybe the cellar would we be a good place to spend the
night.
This was
such an interesting idea that we decided to try it. Moving a couple of folding
cots to the cellar was a simple matter. The cellar was located on the north
side of the house, perhaps thirty feet from the kitchen door.
We retired
a little early on a hot and sultry night to test our cellar sleeping
experiment. The access door was a foot or so above ground and was sloped at
about a 20 degree angle to allow water to drain away from the cellar. We
decided to close the door since there was a nice ventilation pipe passing
through the log and dirt roof. With the
door closed it was very dark and quiet. As the old timers say, “We slept like
babies” and the heat didn’t bother us at all. We spread the news of our
successful experiment. Several folks said they would try it and a few wondered
why they hadn’t thought about it.
One
ambitious farmer built a summer sleeping structure near his house. He
constructed a nice concrete cellar with a screened building above. On
moderately warm nights family members slept in the nice screened building and
on excessively hot nights they retired to the cool cellar below. Clifton and I mentioned building
such a fancy contrivance but we never found time to do it.
Was there
any fun in trying to sleep on those hot nights? We always found a little fun in
everything but I now find it a little difficult to remember what it was!