Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1930-07-11
JANE
AND THE
DISH PAN
BLUES
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(0 by D. ]. Walsh.)

IN IG plates that were grayish-lit-
X tie plates that were buttery-
- tumblers and dessert dishes
trimmed with cream-silver tar
nished from sulphur of the eggs and
from the vinegar and salt Of salad
dressings-salad plates Shiny with OIL
i've oil-cooking dishes caked with
cream sauce-a roasting pan brown
with drippings-truly, it was an ar
ray that might well have discouraged
any young wife, the morning after
holiday, especially one who, like Jane
Parsons, had been carefully spared
any contact with dirty dishes, for at
least twenty-five of her twenty-siX
years.
AS little girl Jane had never been
permitted to "help mother" with the
dish washing, for James mother was
ambitious for the little girl to be
musician and feared that any work
in the line of household tasks would
stiffen the plant little joints of James
hands. And besides the music there
Nuo luC lhullCL VI lOi
Jane did exquisite needlework, and Of
course dishwashing makes hands
rough enough to fray delicate embroi-
derry silks.
Once out of school, Jane had pro-
ceeded to capitalize her love for fine
fabrics by obtaining position SELL
ing draperies in an interior decorat-
ing shop. Her music efforts, 1t
seemed, were not sufficiently note
worthy to warrant attempting that
sort of professional career, so Jane
cOntented herself with playing popu-
lar hits" to entertain the numerous
young men who paid court to her out
side of business hours.
Naturally, since her hands must be
kept in perfect condition to display
effectively the beautiful brocades, the
shimmering taffetas. the rich, lustrous
velvets. and the cheerful chintz, ere
tonne and linen lengths in the shop,
Jane never washed dishes at home.
In true modern fashion, Jane con-
tinued to keep her "job" for some
tilllC dllCl jShC ludlIlCu DlCIl, 81
washing was still taboo for Jane.
Whatever dishes were used In the
course of James trifling culinary eff
forts were washed the following morn
ing by the housekeeper who came In
TO straighten up the tiny apartment
each day, while Jane and Brett were
at their work.
The ultimate arrival of Betty Jane
gave Jane-the-First still another alibl
for steering clear of the kitchen sink.
Jane must not waste her strength lean
ing over a dishpan. washing dishes.
There was always some one to be
hired to bring order from the chaos
of the kitchen.
Brett, Junior, complicated affairs
somewhat, for with his coming Jane
and Brett, Senior. decided that a cot
tage in the country must be obtained
''for the sake of the children" Usu-
ally. however, even In the country, a
high school girl was to be found to
come in after school, and all of Sat
urtlay. James hands remained sur
prisingly slim and white and soft.
But then came the reorganization Of
the company for which Brett worked
Instead of a definite weekly pay check
there was an inc0nveniently, indefl-
nite-sized monthly commission check.
Even quarters figured Importantly in
the budget. And high school girl
charged quarter an hour for dish
washing.
At first Jane tried leaving every
thing until after dinner at night and
then drafting Brett as official dish
washer. But Brett was so tired at
night that she found she hadn't the
heart to keep 1t up. 1t would have
been different II he had been dis
agreeable about helping instead of
acting unhappy; she wouldn't let him
do both the washing and the drying,
since he couldn't afford to hire some
one to do the work for her.
Jane tried washing dishes as fast as
she used them. She had read that
some efficiency experts claimed that
WIS the least painful method of deal.
ing with dishes. She tried doing them
after each meal. She followed the ad.
vice of another expert who recon.
mended single session each day with
the mop and rinsing rack. She tried
the d-let-them-stand-to.
Gry-themselves method.
But dirty dishes were dirty dishes |
al any time Of the day, Jane had de-
cded. In desperation she had tried |
prOpping a magazine upon the faucets. |
reading as she dishwashed, hoping |
thus to make the drudgery less dreary. |
But the experiment was II failure. The |
resulting cracks and hicks In plates |
und tunl lers nuIlllird the romance In |
the reading mHtter.
Then came the period when there
were nn cream rims on the dessert
dishes. A Decent tin Of applesauce
served for dessert for the four mem
beers at the family. only the chill. |
drrn's plates were buttery Jane and
Brett tnctfully assured each other they
were both II BIT overweight ana really |
needed tu figcgu cream In their cot.
fee und LIliipr on their tOust.
There had ever been one Sunday
when boiled rice and stewed tomatoes
had formed the main part of the din
Ger with lamb chops crcamcd carrots
and stCwed primes for the children.
Ard Sunday when no bread and