Keeping Clean Along The Way

[Sam Talley]

                                                 KEEPING CLEAN ALONG THE WAY

Western Washington settler and journalist Ezra Meeker traveled the Oregon Trail on several occasions prior to 1900. In one of his diaries, he mentioned bringing White brand soap to the state. I found that in 1887 the name was changed to Ivory soap, the first commercially mass-produced soap in the country. I was wondering what other national brands, which are still in existence today, are mentioned in wagon train traveler’s journals.

 

[Sam Talley]

If the 'decent' women wouldn't expose their legs or arms to men, I can only imagine how hard it was to get private time to bathe.

I vividly remember the 20 team Borax ads on Death Valley Days. I think it was introduced in the late 1800s. I can visualize, in the ads, the mules hauling the borax out in the desert someplace down south.

[anthony martin]

  Sam,

    I have one of those ornate Victorian wrapper bars of Ivory just like the one in your photo. Mine is asymmetrical as they used to cut Ivory out of scored slabs rather than individually casting for the first 3-4 years of production.Have you read the account of how Ivory floating soap was accidentally discovered?It seems a worker took a too long beer and lunch break down at the old corner saloon and allowed excess air to get whipped into the batch.He was sure that he'd be fired but it was a very happy accident!

   Colgate's Cashmere Bouquet dates from around the same period and is still around,as is Fairy Soap but is only made in England now.Back then there was a wide variety of glycerine,oatmeal,olive,cocoanut and palm oil soaps as well.A big rival of Ivory was Bubble and other companies soon got on the floating soap bandwagon.Some other 19th century brands were Kirk's,Brag,Wonder,Coal Oil Johnny's Petroleum Soap,Congo and my own personal favorite-Dr.Raub's Celebrated Cutaneous Soap!Pears,an old English brand enjoyed brisk sales here mostly because of aggressive marketing and endorsements by celebrities of the day.We don't tend to realize just how long so many proprietary items we still use today were around then.

[Sam Talley]

When I read up on White soap the source said Ivory was the first mass-produced bar of hand soap. By reading these entries it obvious there were many other brands. I'm wondering what 'mass-produced' meant. I'm starting to think it was an opinion or just another ad gimmick. They wouldn't want to just put a feather in their cap, so to speak, would they?

[Stan H]

Well, among many, a bar of soap would have lasted a good long time. The cowboy may take a bath if he was going to town on payday.

 

I recall visitng my kin in Oklahoma back in '49 and they all took a bath once a week, on Saturday night. I guess this was so they would be clean for church on Sunday. My Great-Aunt would make her own lye soap, which was very common in the old west also.

 

The concept of daily bathing is relatively new in this old world.

 

So, I would suppose making soap was not a huge business for a long while.

[Stan H]

this thread brought back this memory:

 

Do you remember grandma's lye soap?

Good for everything in the home

And the secret was in the scrubbing

It wouldn't suds and couldn't foam

Then let us sing right out for grandma's, for grandma's lye soap

Used for, for everything, everything on the place

For pots and kettles, the dirty dishes

And for your hands and for your face

So we'll now sing the second verse.

Let's get it with great exuberance, let's live it up.

It's not raining inside tonight.

Everyone, let's have a happy time.

 

Are we ready? All together, the second verse.

Little Herman and brother Thurman

Had an aversion to washing their ears

Grandma scrubbed them with the lye soap

And they haven't heard a word in years

Then let us sing right out for grandma's, for grandma's lye soap

Sing all out, all over the place

For pots and kettles, the dirty dishes

And for your hands and for your face

Well, let's sing what's left of the last verse.

Let's have a happy time, everyone.

The last verse, all together.

Everyone!

Mrs. O'Malley, out in the valley

Suffered from Ulcers, I understand

She swallowed a cake of grandma's lye soap

Has the cleanest ulcers in the land

Then let us sing right out for grandma's, for grandma's lye soap

Sing right out, all over the place

The pots and, the pots and pans, oh dirty dishes

And for your hands and for your face

 

(Johnny Standley, 1952)

[Stan H]

One more to continue the humor

Water in the well gettin' lower and lower

Ain't had a bath for 6 months or more

But I've heard it said and it's true I'm shore

Too much bathin' will weaken you.

 

 

(LIFE GETS TEE-JUS, DON'T IT ? Carson Robison - 1948)

[Sam Talley]

Monthly curse? That is best left to those directly involved.

[Sam Talley]

My grandmother talked about it. Nuff said.

[Gay Mathis]

Sentenced to Wash Face--Macon Telegraph-1904

[Sam Talley]

A lucky jailer(turn key) who watched her bathe? Just like men assuming she was as cute as a pin when she MAY have looked like an old bulldog. No offence dog lovers.