Washtubs, hail storms and streakers

Washtubs differ from bath the same but the circumstances are different.

Washtubs were used by most of the people in my age bracket for that Saturday night bath, even if you tried to convince your mother you didn't need it.

Often times they were in a secluded room or even a shed. The water was usually rain water and the soap was often times home made or Blue Barrel laundry soap. I believe I was 13 years old when we finally moved to a home that had a bath tub.

Hail storms seemed to be much worse in the childhood years of our life. Maybe it was the tin roofs that gave them such an ominous sound. It just seemed like you rarely had a heavy rain storm without some hail. We always thought that a hail storm somewhere cooled off the whole area. If it got cooler someone would always remark, “It hailed somewhere around here.”

Streakers burst onto the scene around 1970 and faded out about five years later. Streakers were mostly men with a few women getting into the act occasionally. Often times at football games or other sporting events a “streaker” would streak out of nowhere and run across the playing field, often times stark naked. He would have police or deputies fully clothed streaking after him in some cases. Other times he would streak across the field and disappear or get into an accomplice's car and vacate the area. I guess as long as the streaker kept moving he wasn't breaking any law. I can not recall any “streaker” ever going to court for streaking. We did have a lady shopper, naked to the waist, in the store I was manager of. She did not streak she leisurely bought groceries, paid for them and left.

My older brother might have been one of the earliest streakers. He was taking his Saturday afternoon bath in our wash tub. He was in a granary about 50 yards from our home. A sudden rain storm hit that turned into a heavy hail storm. The granary roof was tin and the hail sounded even worse than it actually was. In the summer we used the granary as a bath room.

He grabbed a scoop shovel, put the shovel over his head and ran for our kitchen door. I was standing in the doorway and watched as hail ricocheted off the scoop shovel. He reached the kitchen door on the dead run. Mom had a blanket waiting to wrap around him. I have no idea how old he was at the time but I think he must have been about 10 or 11 years old.

Washtubs have faded into history. Streakers like all fads just ceased one day. Hail storms are still with us. I can still see my brother streaking for our kitchen holding a shovel over his head I think Mom had the blanket around him before he got rid of the shovel. I don't think he ever finished his bath and I don't think anyone asked him why he didn’t wait until the storm was over.

For nearly 25 years, until his death in 2015, retired grocer Don Behm wrote a column for The Storm Lake Times, “Cracker Barrel.” Don’s everyman view of everyday life was a favorite of Times readers. This was first published on June 7, 1995.