We're busy all the time when school's in session, but we're really, really busy during 'duck' season. Sensing that her visitor is trying to figure out what birds have to do with laundry, she explained.
Duck season is in the fall and spring when the cadets wear white ducks and white shirts.
Visitors to the Post are almost always struck by the thought that nearly every cadet looks as though their clothing, no matter what type of uniform is being worn, is brand new and being worn for the first time that day. There is certainly not much space there for the ubiquitous college student habit of just throwing dirty clothes in the corner until they get the large pile home to Mom's washing machine. As with all things at VMI, a cadet is expected to be responsible for their clothing, but they need some help to keep their short inventory in service. Enter the VMI Laundry and the 25 men and women who work there to ensure that cadets who get their dirty laundry to them will get it back cleaned and folded in a timely fashion. The laundry cleans, dries and folds non-wool items, and during duck season they press thousands of white shirts and ducks each week.