Saturday Night Bath

      With no running water or bathroom, bathing was quite a chore. First, water had to be heated on the kitchen stove. A round galvanized wash tub was brought into the kitchen. This was the same tub we used to rinse our clothes. I don't know how large this tub was, but surely it was not over two feet across. For a kid like me it was not difficult to sit in it, but the adults must have had a tight squeeze. 

      In the winter, the tub was set fairly close to the kitchen stove so we would be fairly warm. Hot waster was put in the tub and I will remember it was always too hot. I squealed like a pig under a gate, but it did no good. I just knew I was going to be scalded. 

      Being the youngest, I usually was the first one to take a bath. I believe the others used the same water and just added a little more hot water. It must have been pretty dingy by the time the last one was finished. Maybe they refilled the tub with fresh water but I don't remember that it was.

      One cold Saturday night, I finished my bath and was drying myself with a towel. I was standing close to the stove because I was freezing. I bent over to finish drying my legs and feet and would you believe, I backed into the hot stove. That really got my attention and I can still remember it quite vividly today. I had a fairly severe burn on my back side and it took some time for it to heal. In fact, for many years I had a scar which helped me to remember that Saturday night bath. 


-An excerpt from Gene Marti's book, The Lord Was Our Shepherd, The life and times of Gene Marti and Mary Steiner Marti. pg 52