"There's a fly in this room." A book by Erma Bombeck relating all of the happenings and announced after that statement, each Spring. House Cleaning, windows, screens, all the things that had to happen as the household entered, Summer.
It was that way, way, back in the 30's, at 319 South Brown Street in Dayton, Ohio, where I lived in my early years, '32 to '43. I knew it was Spring when I got home from school and the aroma of "wallpaper cleaner" hung in the air. I loved that aroma, can almost smell it now. All of our walls were papered, so all needed cleaning because of the old coal furnace in the basement that, along with the heat, deposited soot on all the walls.
Wallpaper cleaner was like an eraser, I think it evolved in to Playdoh, it had the same qualities. I loved to play with it, I loved the feel, the "squeesh" of it. Mom and Sadie would have the ladders out working the high spots. We had very high ceilings in that old house, I think 12 or 14 foot, making ladders a necessity.
It also meant taking the storm windows out and putting in the screens, which in itself was a chore. Many, many windows, and I think, the second floor windows had to be changed with the help of a ladder, outside, not inside convenience like today.
All the loose rugs were taken outside and "beaten" with the old "rug beater." Windows had to be washed, inside and out, Winter blankets put away in the Cedar Chest with "mothballs," and a variety of other things had to be done to get ready for Spring and Summer. It was a busy time of the year, all because, someone spotted that fly.......................
