Thelma and Lowell's Diary: September 9, 1943

Ironing is on her mind; post-war primer helped housewives do it better

Lowell was again on second shift, and Thelma spent the afternoon after he left for work ironing and listening to the radio. There were four networks serving New Orleans at the time and, according to the schedule in that day’s Times-Picayune, Thelma had a wide variety of choices regarding programs, from war news to a performance of Strauss waltzes to soap operas like “Stella Dallas.”

Surely that helped make the drudgery of ironing a little more bearable. She was probably dealing with an older model of iron, because factories that made consumer goods before the war were churning out airplane and tank parts and the like in 1943.

I recently came across a Betty Crocker Ironing Primer for a nifty little iron General Mills began producing in 1946, and was so enchanted I’ve ordered one of these almost 77-year-old babies from a dealer on eBay. The dealer says it still works.

To learn what advice Betty Crocker offered a post-war housewife using her new-fangled iron, you’ll need to be a paid subscriber. I promise you it’s worth your 16 cents a day! Click below to subscribe.