(Edited to add: I neglected to mention that when I talk about heat and humidity, I'm also including the effects of a high dew point which, I think, is the true culprit in how the air feels on our bodies. A dew point above about 60o, in combination with high humidity, can make the air feel sticky. The higher the dew point, the more humid it feels. With a dew point of 76o or above, the air feels miserable, almost like you're trying to swim in the air or walking into a soft, moist, invisible wall. I'm sure our ancestors were affected by high dew points though they may not have understood the concept at that time.)
During this summer's awful heat and humidity in Central Ohio, I can't help thinking about my ancestors who lived before electricity (think fans and air conditioning), or indoor plumbing (think running water and showers). How did they manage? I know most people of earlier times were hardy but even so, it couldn't have been easy.
I have farmers among my ancestors as well as a gardener, coal miners, carpenters, and other laborers; other families had blacksmiths (oh, the heat with that job!), farriers, builders, etc. The coal miners who were below ground probably weren't bothered by heat, but the others.... I used to think I would enjoy living in the world and times of some of my ancestors but these days, I lean more toward gratitude that I have so many modern conveniences.
How did our ancestors cope with severe heat? I've collected a few ideas from historical books I've read, from visits to historical villages, from common sense, and a few from the websites at the end of this post.
Keeping Homes Cool
-- Windows, especially second story windows, were opened at night if the outside air was cooler than inside. Downstairs windows were opened in the early morning to let cool air flow into the house and closed before the temperatures rose too high.
-- In the heat of day, windows were closed and blinds/curtains were drawn to keep out the heat.
-- Some homes were built with summer's heat in mind and were located with trees to shade the house; with windows placed to create cross-ventilation. High ceilings allowed warm air to rise.
-- Awnings shaded windows from the hot sun.
-- Porches or verandas offered shade in the heat of day.
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| Summer kitchen at Slate Run Farm |
-- Some homes had a summer kitchen, a small building with windows and chimney, a few steps from the house.where food was prepared to keep the heat out of the main house. That kitchen might have had its own stove or the kitchen stove from the house might have been moved both spring/summer and fall/winter. Without a summer kitchen, hot food would have been prepared early in the day to eat later. You can sometimes still see summer kitchens when driving in the country. If you see a home with an outbuilding (that's not a garage) near the house, it's very possible it was a summer kitchen at one time. The one at right is spectacular because it has an extended roof where laundry, preparation for canning, and other chores could be done protected from both sun and rain. (But not protected from the heat and humidity!)
-- Some homes had sleeping porches or screened in porches where family members could sleep almost outside. It's usually cooler at night though possibly not less humid.
Keeping Food Cool-- If a home was located near a spring, there might have been a spring house, a small building built over the spring. The spring house usually had shelves where food could be placed to keep it cool (but not cold), and may have had shelves almost at the level of the water.
-- Food might also have been submerged in a spring or a nearby stream to keep it cool.
-- Some communities, and possibly companies, cut ice from lakes in the winter and stored it for use in the summer, especially important after ice boxes were invented.
Keeping the Body Cool
-- Work that didn't have to be done in midday heat was done in the cool of the morning or later in the evening. People often rested during midday or performed tasks that could be done in the shade or in a lower level of the house or barn where it would have been cooler.
-- People wore cotton and linen clothing that was lighter in both color and thickness during the hot days of summer.
-- Men and women and some children wore hats to shade their heads and faces.
-- People might have worked under a shady tree, or rested or cooled off after they'd finished a bout of work. At right, my father rests on the picnic table after some laborious work around the house. From the spots on his flat cap it looks as though he may have been painting, possibly interrupted by rain. Notice the wet driveway.
-- People moved more slowly.
-- They used hand fans. (In particular I recall our church having hand fans with images of the Savior and quotes from the Bible in the hymnbook holder in each pew.
-- And certainly people knew the need to drink plenty of water.
-- Children might have enjoyed playing in a stream, creek, or lake. Adults may have done likewise. Or they may have taken off their shoes and socks to cool their feet in the water which would have cooled their whole bodies.
My Own Experiences with Summer Heat in the 1950s
I grew up without air conditioning. In fact, we didn't live in a home with air conditioning until 25 years ago. What a thrill it was when we first moved here. We thought it a luxury then. Now we think it essential.
When I was very young there was no "city water" in the village where we lived. My parents bought water by the truckload and had it delivered and poured into a cistern near the house. It almost seemed as though my mom tracked every drip of water, so there was no outdoor water play---no hose to spray each other, no washtub to sit and splash in, not water balloons. Just heat and humidity. Several summers my parents rented a cabin for a week at a nearby lake. Gosh, that seemed like heaven with the water so near.
I don't think air conditioning had been invented by the 1950s, or if it had, it hadn't reach any of the places we lived or shopped. Even the large city department stores had huge fans on long poles close to the ceiling that circulated the air. In our home, we had one or two fans. Our upstairs consisted of one hallway with four rooms opening off it. My mom put a fan in the hallway where no one could feel it. I would have laid in front of it in the hall if my mom would have let me.
On the first floor of our house, the only window that opened (or, at least, the only window I ever saw open) was above the kitchen sink. This meant that the windows could not be opened at night to let the cool air in. There was not much ventilation on the first floor. But but it helped a little to turn on the fan.
Mom closed the curtains downstairs during the heat of day. She believed that would keep the afternoon heat out and help the house feel cooler. It might have worked if it was just heat, but we also contended with high humidity and dew points. On the days she closed the whole house, it seemed stifling, confining, and sweltering to me!
We did have a great front porch. It faced south and was shaded by a large maple tree. We kids spent a lot of time on that porch playing cards or other games. And it was a great place to watch the storms and rain and feel the cooling breezes.
The last cooling method I can remember is ice cream and popsicles. I could walk a quarter of a block to Main Street, turn left, walk a block, cross a side street, and find myself at
Isaly's. It was an ice cream and sandwich shop. A single dip of ice cream in a waffle cone was a nickle, a double dip in a cake cone was a dime, and I can't remember the cost of a skyscraper cone. Popsicles were a nickle, too. Those treats were not daily occurrences (our mother was careful about sweets and our teeth) but they were welcome when she did give us permission to go to Isaly's. (If you go to the Isaly's website linked above, our store looked very much like the Pittsburgh-branch store in the cluster of six photos.)
Do you have stories of ancestors and how they stayed cool in the summer? How did you and your family stay cool if you didn't have air conditioning? I wish I had family stories of my own. I can imagine my Aunt Dot (Doris Meinzen Dray, born in 1921) saying, "We just lived with it."
Resources
11 Ways People Beat the Heat Before Air Conditioning by Elizabeth Yuko
https://www.history.com/articles/11-ways-people-beat-the-heat-before-air-conditioning
“The heat is beyond your conception:” Staying Cool in 18th-Century Virginia
https://livesandlegaciesblog.org/2017/08/31/the-heat-is-beyond-your-conception-staying-cool-in-18th-century-virginia/
Spending Time in an 18th Century Summer
https://passionforthepast.blogspot.com/2020/06/spending-time-in-18th-century-summer.html
—Nancy.
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