Sheila's Potpourri - News from Huntington - BY SHEILA SCOGIN

Most of us grew up in the 1940s and '50s and although we lived in nothing fancy, the majority of our friends and family lived in clean houses. Our mothers were always busy at home because they did not work at public jobs. How we kids learned to do things must have been by absorption or the work consumed us. We learned to help in the kitchen but I cannot remember ever being told how to do the dishes, make a cake, or dust the furniture.

The only time my mother ever bargained with us about chores was not begging to get us to do them but she would say along about this time of year that if we did the housework and cooked, she would begin our school sewing. That was fine with me because no needles or sewing machines fit in my world. My sister learned to sew but if I did manage to make a seam, it had to be ripped out of the garment at least ten times. A seamstress I wasn't.

When I think about washing clothes back then, all I can remember is that all of us and our friends and kin were clean. We might wear patched clothes but clean they were. For years before we moved away from our grandparents' "back forty", I would help them take their clothes to the well and water was drawn for the wash pot and number 3 washtubs. The clothes were rubbed on the rub board and that could be tough on the knuckles. Wringing out the clean and rinsed garments was tiring but they had to be hung on the clothes-line to dry and the mess cleaned up. Believe me that first old wringer washing machine was worth at least a million dollars to us girls. Nowadays with all our modern conveniences such as washers, dryers, dishwashers and lots of fancy kitchen gadgets, most folks eat out often. And every time one of us mentions our dust that has collected on anything wide enough to be dusty, we all are in agreement that we have dust, we don't vacuum too much and wash clothes only if we have to do so.

Somewhere in the last 40 years, we lost our desire to be the cleanest woman on the block. Now, we build huge utility rooms to hide the clothes and closets to hide too much junk. And if you keep stuff picked up out of the living room and den and the dishes are kept in the dishwasher out of sight, we can delude ourselves that we are clean folks. To heck with the white glove test on the furniture and once in a while washing clothes will get us by. Everybody has too many clothes or that is a good reason to spend the day shopping. Just remember to have at least four good excuses stacked back when needed and we're in good shape with no guilty conscience. Never fret because you are always in great company.

Leslie Campbell was in Phoenix to visit Nick and Lori Campbell and baby Samuel. Nick is the son of the late Philip Campbell. She brought pictures back of two-month-old Samuel and he is the prettiest baby. You just know he needs to be cuddled and Leslie got to help spoil him lots more.

Pat and Johnny Garrett spent a week in Munich, Germany with Danielle and Reilly Garret prior to Reilly's leaving for Iraq. He is in the United States Army.

Fern Nerren was her usual pleasant self when we met in a crowded store. We had to move slowly but managed to chat while we shopped. Ora Nell Jones was stocking up on Gatorade and such. She was headed to the field for the hay baling to begin.

Our thermometer toppled over 100 degrees that same day so I was thankful not to be outside for anything much less baling hay.

Chrystal Turney Reagan and I were on the same aisle and she was looking for cleaning supplies. I tried to talk her out of doing all that work but she is young and hasn't learned what a waste it is.

Also, saw Steve Phillips with his pretty daughters Heather and Savannah. They were little when I saw them a few months back and they have shot up like sunflowers.

Reba Clark spent some time with granddaughter Melissa Jordon and her little ones Tate and Cade. She enjoyed eating lunch with them and laughing at the boys' antics.