I'm sitting in my kitchen with my coat on, hood up, a blanket on my lap and gloves on, trying to stay warm while workmen replace our sliding door and several windows--in January. I'm super thankful there's no snow and that the temps have risen to a tolerable 49 from the low teens we had last week.
I was contemplating what to write about for my blog post this month and got to wondering how the pioneers kept warm when so many of them had so little. As a historical writer whose mind is often focused on the late 1800's, I'm tend to compare life now to how they lived back then.
  |
| Sure glad there aren't mosquitos this time of year. |
In bitter conditions, some people stayed in bed as much as possible in order simply to stay warm. “Cabin fever” was widespread during long snowstorms. One diary entry states that a man suffered a frozen big toe when it poked out of the covers one winter night.
The cabin’s fireplace was the center of attention in the home and created warmth when a person was close, but it did little to heat the corners of the home. Larger homes had a fireplace or woodstove in each room. In the evening, people would sit around the fire, talking and working on small tasks and hand-crafted items.
There are four main ways that people stayed warm in earlier times:
1. Heavy bedding and thick curtains.
Down comforters allowed families to sleep in comfort with their body heat held in by the covers. Beds were piled high with quilts and comforters in an attempt to keep warm. Children often sleep several to a bed to help them all stay warm. Heavy night clothing gave them an additional layer of insulation against the cold, and most people slept with stocking caps to keep from losing heat through the top of their heads.
Bed curtains were an added source of warmth in cold weather. The extra layer of fabric used for the curtains would help hold a person’s body heat in the bed area.
2. Bed warmers
A covered copper or brass pan with a long handle served as a bed warmer. Holes would be punched in the lid, creating a design, and the pan was filled with heated rocks. The warmer was slid between bedding layers using the long handle before the family retired, thus warming the bed quite effectively.
There are four main ways that people stayed warm in earlier times:
1. Heavy bedding and thick curtains.
Down comforters allowed families to sleep in comfort with their body heat held in by the covers. Beds were piled high with quilts and comforters in an attempt to keep warm. Children often sleep several to a bed to help them all stay warm. Heavy night clothing gave them an additional layer of insulation against the cold, and most people slept with stocking caps to keep from losing heat through the top of their heads.
Bed curtains were an added source of warmth in cold weather. The extra layer of fabric used for the curtains would help hold a person’s body heat in the bed area.
2. Bed warmers
A covered copper or brass pan with a long handle served as a bed warmer. Holes would be punched in the lid, creating a design, and the pan was filled with heated rocks. The warmer was slid between bedding layers using the long handle before the family retired, thus warming the bed quite effectively.
3. Foot warmers
The foot warmer was similar to a bed warmer but also different. They usually consisted of a wood-framed tin box with a wire handle on it. Heated rocks were also placed inside the foot warmer. It was then placed beside the feet, under a blanket and often left there until the rocks cooled.
The most common use for foot warmers was as a heater in the family wagon when going places. Some of the more wealthy churches had boxed-in pews, and they allowed families to bring in their foot warmer and lap blankets to keep warm during the service. Many times, the foot warmer was the only heat to be found on a chilly Sunday morning.
4. Soapstones
An alternative to a bed and foot warmer was a soapstone. Soapstones would be placed in the fire to heat and use directly in the bed or wagon. They were usually wrapped in rags to prevent burns from the hot stones. Due to their mass, soapstones were often more effective than a foot warmer. The more massive the stone, the more heat it held.
I'm sure the pioneers had other creative ways to stay warm, but these four methods were most often used. I'm typing this with my coat and hood on, a blanket on my lap and gloves while the men work on our windows. Have you read a book or diary that mentioned another way people stayed warm in cold weather?
Stained Glass Mandalas contains over 50 unique designs. It also features fascinating vignettes about the history of stained glass and interesting facts about tools, technique, and the glass used in creating the colorful projects. These optically engaging patterns stimulate the brain and induce creativity.
Bestselling author Vickie McDonough grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams penning romance stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West. Vickie is a best-selling author of more than 45 published books and novellas, with over 1.5 million copies sold. Her novels include End of the Trail, winner of the OWFI 2013 Booksellers Best Fiction Novel Award. Song of the Prairie won the 2015 Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Gabriel’s Atonement, book 1 in the Land Rush Dreams series, placed second in the 2016 Will Rogers Medallion Award. Vickie has recently stepped into independent publishing.
