| Description |
cleaning must go on. Each dish, lid, dripper, and pan could he returned to its original place. Windows gleamed from the polishing they got from elbow grease, rags, and crumpled newspaper. Walls, ceilings, and floors were scoured. The bright colorful pattern of the linoleum was almost lost from the scrubbing it received. Bedding was stripped from the beds. All flannel blankets, sheets, pillow cases, and anything washable was thrown into the wash tub of hot sudsy water to be scrubbed on the scrubbing board, rung out, dropped into (he tin boiler of hot boiling water, stirred with a wooden stick, rung out again, dropped into a clear rinse, and again in yet another rinse - this one with bluing added. Finally the sparkling white bedding was taken out side to be hung on long clothes lines to dry in the fresh clear air. NO germ or bacteria escaped this antiseptic treatment. Braided rugs and woven carpets were rolled up, taken outside, hung on the clothes line, and beaten furiously until not a speck of dust would puff out from the depths of the heavy fabrics. Clothes lines were used a lot those days and non-washable bedding had its turn al it. Every quill and blanket was taken out to the clothes line, stretched along it, and pounded and shaken until do dust would appear. Even the bedsprings themselves were hauled outside and thoroughly washed. But still to come! Those insidious, crawly, itchy, mite-size, horrible, dreaded, never-to-be-touched Bed Bugs crept in! Not only the Peterson home but every household in the valley was invaded by these horrible insects. Long before pesticides or insecticides were discovered, every remedy tied proved fruitless. And so it was with great excitement that Peter Peterson hurried home from the barbershop with a magazine article telling the good news of a one hundred percent guaranteed remedy that would kill bed bugs! Just send in two dollars to the company back East and the wonderful miracle would be sera to you by return mail Finally, after days of anticipation for this marvelous modern remedy, the long awaited package did arrive. Now, and at last, to be rid of this wretched nuisance forever was almost too good to be true! The package was opened. Inside were two flat, smooth, square pieces of wood. Each (wo inches square. The instructions read: "Place bed bug on one block of wood. Press firmly with other block of wood! Guarantee: Bug will be dead!" 124 |
