May 14th 1935, was ironing day in Palmer. The recent arrivals from Minnesota had taken advantage of the May sunshine to string clotheslines between tents and do laundry the day before.
Meanwhile out in the states, the colonists from Michigan and Wisconsin were riding the rails towards Seattle, there to board the St Mihiel for Seward. The drawing to find out where each family would farm had to wait for their arrival, still more than a week away. So, while their future neighbors crossed the continent, the earlier arrivals made themselves at home in the temporary tent city in downtown Palmer.
Clipping from the Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 14th 1935
“Wash Day – ARRC Colonist Project”
Hewitt’s photo from the PMHA Wimmer collection
“Mrs. Sjodin of Minnesota smiles gaily as she runs the wash through her gasoline driven Maytag washing machine”
From the official ARRC album, Mary Nan Gamble collection, Alaska State Library
“Most of the women used washboards, for only a few brought power washers.” –AP report
Washboards, tubs, and agitators on the porch of the Colony House Museum
This hand-cranked wringer from the PMHA collection attaches to the side of a washtub with clamps.
“Colonist women hanging out their wash”
From the ARRC album
“Mrs. Grant Kenser (Minn.) doing her ironing with a gasoline heated iron.”
From the ARRC album