In Shamokin. Pennsylvania, a small coal town there were all kinds of factories along with the coal mines. They had shoe factories, dress factories, shirt factories and apparently noodle factories. For one day Mother came home with boxes and boxes of small white round rings of cloth called noodles, I thought she lost her mind. “What in the world are we going to do with those,” I thought
I soon found out she had big plans and an idea in mind but wasn’t sure yet what it was. She filled big pots with boiling water and put a different color dye in each one. My brother Gary, and I were helping her put noodles in the pots and dyeing them all different colors, red, yellow, green, blue and purple. She wanted to keep some white too. When they were finished dyeing we hung them on the broom handles to dry that she had hanging all over the yard. I never thought so much work could be so much fun. My brother and I were having a ball. Seeing thousands of different colored noodles hanging all over our little yard was exhilarating. We would remember this forever even though we still didn’t understand what in the world we were going to do with them.
Daddy was busy in the basement making little wooden square frames with nails in them. He painted them different colors so Gary and I would know whose were whose. He gave me a red one and Gary the blue one. She showed us how to string the noodles across the wooden box which Dad called a Loom. Then she showed us how to weave in and out different colored noodles to make a little square pot holder. They were so neat to do and as we got better at it, we created some beautiful ones. Everyone in the neighborhood had a pot holder to remember us by. We made hundreds of potholders that summer and it was one of the best summers of my life.
I will keep that day in my heart for as long as I live, for it was one of the best days of my childhood. So if you ever think that asking your children to help you with big projects or work around the house, think again, for you will be robbing them of wonderful memories they may cherish forever.
Written by,
Bonnie May
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Reviewed by 000 000
12/7/2008
Interesting and a lovely memory. Thank you for sharing.
CarolHawks
The only noodles I remember when I was little was those from the China Restaurant with those red hanging lamps (which one of my spinster aunts mistook for a "house of ill repute") but I remember the words in the window "chicken w/noodles"
Yes, good poem and memories of childhood are great too. I do remember making these and we made plenty for all our Aunts and Mother and friends. Still sell kits in store to make them. Great pasttime for children and not too hard to learn. I still have some of the potholders in my kitchen drawer too. Thanks for bringing back this good memory. You said it all. Love, Lois
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