All about Zoar and Lyle Cleaning Her Gun!

I think Lyle was the belle of the ball! (not speaking literally of course) She is really picking up the Infantry stuff really fast! Everyone is impressed! Lily is even cleaning her own gun after use! Here are a few pictures of her first lesson. She was so eager to learn it all. She is so excited to go to events now. Our next event is in Zoar, Ohio. Its our biggest event.

I can't wait for Zoar. Zoar , if I remember correctly, was settled by German Separatists. They borrowed money from their church in Philly and headed out to the Western Reserve. I think the story is that no one told them it was cold in Ohio and also that the foot traffic was zero to none! So there the poor Germans dwelled, almost starving and freezing to death until by the grace of the gods the canal was scheduled to come through. By then the little town had become a communal society to survive. Everyone worked, everyone got the same food, cloth, fuel etc. Soon the young men and women started to marry and stop working in favor of raising their families. That caused a severe man/womanpower issue resulting in a ban on marriage. And also, of one had a child over 3 years old, the poor kid was forced away from Mom and Dad to live in a dormitory, one for boys and one for girls. Can you imagine? Talk about living in Suckville. Well the folk in town were paid to dig their part of the canal and they made enough cash to pay off their debt. However, being exposed to the the people who came down the canal enlightened the young men and women to the 'real world.' They wanted their freedom and later the communal community was disbanded. I'm sure there is more to it but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. The buildings and stuff have all been restored and its really a pretty cool place to visit.

Anyway, I guess I'm alone in Suds Row for the rest of the summer and fall. It's no big deal, the amount of people who stop by are really interested in hearing about the Company Laundress is unreal. Very few people walk away before I'm finished and there are always questions. I get kind of a high when a spectator stops by and knows nothing about the Company Laundress; The first woman with official status in the U.S. Army. Men and women alike, they want to know more!

Anyway, I still don't know why the gun thing is such a big deal. I mean...everyone had toy guns as a kid right? Everyone has played with a toy gun! Old news! How many people get to play with Lye soap? With wash tubs and with an honest to goodness yoke to haul water...huh? Huh? We laundresses have LOTS of fun! TONS of fun! I mean when you think of fun the first thing that pops into your mind is the washboard! Yup! Not only does it have a mundane job during the day, it's part of the music scene at night!