Drying clothes on lines was the way it was done in my youth.  T-shaped poles were setup with strings of Number 9 wire stretched between them.  For us kids, running in the dark or just not paying attention could result in a rather painful injury.  Thus we have the expression of being "clothes-lined"

This scene depicts the domestic use of the clothes line.  The mother is hanging the clothes and her little daughter is helpfully handing them up to her.  If all goes well, they will gather them in a couple of hours.  They will talk about how good they smell having been dried in the sun and wind. 

Tempting as it is to be nostalgic about the past, one must remember how it was to hand clothes in the winter and letting the finally freeze dry.  Or recalling that the neighbor had tilled a field that he was usually careful not to plant, plow, disk or harrow on a windy Monday.

Clotheslines have been back in the news.  Some green energy people are suggesting that people use this method of drying to save electricity.  That idea may take some time because many people consider this method unsightly and have community laws that prohibit outdoor drying.  But who knows, as they say, "What comes around, goes around."

© 2001 to 2009 Franklin L. Jensen
All Rights Reserved.
All Original Works Property of Franklin L. Jensen