Friday, November 13, 1936

EDNA STRETCHES CURTAINS ON FRIDAY THE 13TH

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This is Friday the 13th.

Stretching dining room

curtains and other odd

jobs.

Went to Edwinas to

make slips for the chicken

supper.

Morse went to Play Practice

and took Lucille, Clara P

and I to Edwina's on the way.

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Seriously? Stretching curtains! Edna is a beast.

After washing, lace curtains were stretched over an adjustable wooden frame and held in place by pins. Stretching would help to retain shape and eliminate creases and wrinkles.

Chicago seemed to be the epicenter of curtain stretcher production. From what I can tell, the Chicago Curtain Stretcher Company was founded in 1897. I located an excerpt from a book on manufacturing that said the company also sold "the most attractive types of bird houses and flower boxes, besides other woodenware for household use."

Thank goodness curtain stretchers weren't the only product manufactured by the Chicago Curtain Stretcher Company. A revolt of women fed up with stretching their (insert any expletive you would like here) lace curtains was surely on the horizon.

A quick search of the internet doesn't result in much information about the company so perhaps birdhouses, flower boxes and other woodenware weren't enough to keep them in business after women had enough of stretching their freaking curtains.

Curtains aside, what do you think? Was Edna superstitious or not?

She makes of point of noting that it was Friday the 13th. Is that because she thought it was silly or that it had some merit or just because?

Like in 2020, November 13 is the second Friday the 13th of the year. The first was in March. Edna didn't make note of the unlucky date then. For us, we aren't likely to forget that Friday, March 13, 2020 marked the onset of stay-at-home orders and a global pandemic finding its way to our country.