Trautman Stories - Saturday Night is Bath Night!

We took baths on Saturday night. Remember, there was no bathroom. There was, however, a round, steel, galvanized tub. These are dimension approximations: 3 feet diameter, 2 feet deep.

The tubs doubled as summer swimming pools.
Kay is in one, Jimmy and I in the other.

I think we had a water heater so that water didn’t have to be heated on the stove. If it was winter, and cold, mom turned the oven on and opened the door to keep us warm. The tub was moved to the kitchen and about a foot of water was added. All three of us children were bathed in the same water. I don’t know if Mom and Dad got fresh water or not. I hope so.

I remember once being terrified that the oven was going to blow up and kill me while I was in the tub. I must have heard something somewhere about a gas explosion. Mom was not very patient with fears like that. (With 3 small children within 3 1/4 years, who would be!?! [Can you imagine, being pregnant 27 of 46 months?!])

I have a photo of myself in the tub on one of those occasions. Boy, I was awfully rotund and chubby! I look like a toddler, must have been 3-4 years old. If I can find the photo, and get it posted here, I’ll do so.

Galvanized steel tubs had lots of uses. (They were manufactured to serve as water and feed troughs for livestock.) There is a summertime photo of Kay, Jimmy and I in those tubs on the lawn playing in the water. I don’t remember that, but I’m sure it was not uncommon. Cheap entertainment. Oddly enough, the three of us look like we’re having a good time. No one is fighting!