The Power of Starch

 By Melissa Hart

 

Starch was a staple growing up.  My mom would spend a few afternoons every week standing over an ironing board making sure all of my dad’s clothes were starched and looking crisp.  She didn’t stop there, she would starch her clothes, dad’s hankies, her aprons, doilies, cloth napkins that were used on special occasions and especially the tablecloths that donned the dinner table on Sunday afternoons when we were likely to have company for dinner.

Seeing my mom set up her ironing board in the kitchen was a normal part of growing up and I thought all moms did that, until I found out they didn’t. But I did.  Early in our marriage I had a big pile of ironing, just like my mom.  And within the pile, along with my husband’s shirts, his Wrangler jeans, and crocheted doilies were pillowcases.  Again, I thought everyone starched their pillowcases, until I found out they didn’t.

This led me to asking mom why on earth we starched pillowcases?  It was simple, it protected the pillowcase from the dirt and grime that can ruin or stain it. Also, it prolongs the life of the pillowcase or anything else that could be starched.  This made perfect sense, and so I continued to spray starch on the pillowcases, napkins, white shirts, doilies, and Wrangler jeans.

As the busyness of a family encroached on my available time to starch the family dress clothes, the pressed pillowcases went by the wayside. I haven’t starched a pillowcase in 25 years. But my mom on the other hand, still takes the time to carefully spray the starch on and press in the satisfying creases.

In a recent conversation the subject of pillowcases popped up when she had come across a set that were given to them as a wedding gift.  That means those pillowcases were 65 years old and still going strong, thanks to the starch. Then she told me this story; when she and my dad were newlyweds, she had just changed the sheets and as they crawled into bed he smelled the pillowcase and asked why she starched them. She explained why and he replied, “Whenever I smell the pillowcases it makes me feel like someone cares.”  That simple statement filled her up 65 years ago making her feel like she had done something right. And today, every time she starches a pillowcase that memory floods her mind and soothes her grieving soul that misses the man she loved and who’s pillowcase she starched for over six decades.