How Did Our Ancestors Cope With....?????
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
July 24, 2010 6:19pm CST
Scenario:
It was hot, steamy, sultry...a typical New York City night in the summer. The humidity was so thick, a haze seemed to permeate the air of her living room, making it hard for her to breathe. Beads of water came from every pore of her body as if she had just taken a shower, yet it was her own sweat and despite there being a fan blowing nearby, there was no relief from the heat. She was miserable and wished it were winter again.
Okay not Shakespeare...LOL. But this pretty much describes how I'm feeling. It seems the older I get, the summer weather bothers me more and more. I feel sluggish, drained, no energy and complete brain fog. I have to keep running to the kitchen and dunk my head under the cold water to get some kind of relief from this oppressive heat and humidity. Ah, alas, I have no air conditioning (too expensive), so only have one pukey fan going full blast on me, and that still doesn't cool me down. And YES, I really do wish it were winter again--LOVE cold weather. Here in the NYC area we're experiencing hotter and more humid weather more than usual
Anyway, this all got me thinking...how the hell did our ancestors cope with hot weather?? I always remember my grandmother telling me that when my great grandmother was young, she wore to the ankle, long-sleeved dresses, and underneath the full regalia of corsets and petticoats. Not only that, these were the days before air conditioning and EVEN fans and yet she still would be in the kitchen cooking over a hot stove and oven. My great-grandmother would not only cook each and every meal everyday, but make and bake the bread, cakes or pies for the day. Like sheesh...I cab barely drag myself in the kitchen and only have energy enough to cut up some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe make up some tuna salad during the summer.... In other words, I hardly cook at all during this kind of weather.
So just wondering. As you get older, does the hot weather seem to bother you more, are you coping? Do you wonder too, like I do, how our ancestors managed to tolerate such hot weather? Could you imagine yourself wearing so many clothes during the hot weather, or being able to cope cooking over a hot stove/oven WITHOUT even a fan like our ancestors did?
5 people like this
20 responses
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I'm putting up with it as best as I can. I keep a cold, wet facecloth by me and put it around my neck to keep cool. And yes, I dunk my head too like you do.
I can't imagine how our ancestors cooked in this heat with all those clothes on, I'd be passing out for sure.
I had to walk to the store today and thought I was going to fall over. And it's not even that far, just a few blocks but far enough.
Yesterday I put on my tiny fan (no AC here either) and the dang electricity went off for about an hour. I can't win, I swear. Cassie had an air conditioner for me but I can't afford the electricity until I find work. This just plain stinks already.
Yes, the older I get, the worse it gets...but then again, I don't like Winter at all anymore here, they're too bad. I guess if I had a really nice car that went through the snow well, and warmed up fast, and didn't break down all the time (lol!), I wouldn't mind it. Right now, no car either. I feel doomed.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I had to go out today too, and like you only a few blocks, and in direct sunlight, as no shade...even the stores didn't feel too cool once inside. My cat Kissy is smart...LOL. She likes sleeping behind the toilet and on the bathroom tile floor which is cool, or at least cooler than the rest of the apt.
I don't mind winter at all...I find it easier to warm up than cool down--there have been times where there wasn't any heat on in the apt during the winter but didn't feel unbearable
1 person likes this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
25 Jul 10
Thanks Hatley but I've tried everything and I've come to the conclusion it's my age. Plus, I don't have my car anymore, I had to sell it and I can't go far. Everyone I know is on the lookout for me. I just had an interview last week and I was all excited. Well, I had to lift #50 and if I would have known that, I would have never went to the jobsite to check it out. I have a really bad neck too so I am very limited. I hate getting old, it's no fun for me at all.
Pye...you're right about it being easier to warm up than cool down. My apartment is very warm though and I can actually wear shorts in here so I'm quite comfortable. It's going outside that I don't like, or trying to drive in it when the streets are all icy...ugh. Or wondering if I'm going to even get home without getting stuck somewhere. That's the part I don't like. If I didn't have to worry about going out anymore, it wouldn't bother me.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
25 Jul 10
You deal with any situation if you don't have a choice. Our ancestors used to have different lifestyle. I don't have air conditioning in my car and driving in the past few weeks is harder than ever. Maybe hose riding is not bad in hot weather and maybe seating close to water is cooling. Living away from big city is also easier. Our ancestors didn't deal with overcrowded cities.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
25 Jul 10
Urgh--this is the second attempt to answer here...my first went to MyLot heaven....LOL
You're right about our ancestors not dealing with overcrowded cities. My great-grandparents were in the Brooklyn area of NYC and it was still pretty much farm land areas
@BarBaraPrz (48244)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
25 Jul 10
It wasn't as humid back then... except maybe over a steaming pot.
All this humidity is caused by air conditioners, spewing out every drop.
Think about it. Do you feel the humidity when you're on the beach?
No, of course not. Why? No air conditioners.
I got this directly from the head cat on the mother ship...
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
25 Jul 10
My mother and I used to go to Florida during either July or August and I swear as humid as it is there, didn't feel it. Someone was mentioning to me that maybe the "heat" feels worse due to the ozone layer business
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
25 Jul 10
Our ancestors were a whole different bunch. First, they didn't live as long! When I was a boy, 65 was old, (I'm 76 and still working) The men wore a straw hat with a wide brim.( Makes a lot of sense doesn't it)The Queen Victoria woman Types didn't dress for the weather, but for looks! And don't you suppose even those types left off most of the undies on a hot day around the house? My Mom had a summer kitchen out back, with a wood stove to cook on. The food was cooked out there, and eaten in the house where it was cooler. We kids went skinny dipping in the creek behind the house to cool off several times a day. We didn't have electricity on the farm until I was 14, which is why I can't remember ever having a fan in the house, or not sleeping because of the heat. Our family has lived on this farm for 105 years, and only once when it was 104 F. did my father say it was too hot to work outside, so we all sat under the big Maple tree and enjoyed the summer weather.
@Little_Stormy (6883)
• United States
26 Jul 10
It sounds like you had an awesome childhood.. in spite of having to do without the luxuries that we have today and having to work really hard.
I grew up on a farm too! Some of my best memories are of the hot summers and the snowy winters.. ya learned to deal with what you had to, and make the best out of it.. no matter what! We always seemed to find time in the day to have fun without the aid of computers, toys or TV (we only got 2 channels! lol!)... We had imagination! :)
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
29 Aug 10
When I was young, we did lots of things to beat the heat. Like run back and forth in front of sprinklers. My parents would take us camping by the lake, I would go swimming, do something else, then go swimming. My Mom lived on a farm and the farm had a pond. I went to visit my cousins who still live there. They would take a shower in the AM. Milk cows, go for a swim in the pond. Do haying, go for a swim in the pond, etc. Fewer people and in our history books, most towns, Indian villages, etc. had water sources nearby for transportation and probably days like these. Also they didn't have much smog until the industrial era and we haven't had much smog here (fog and wind blowing from alcoa plant and Massena one year and this year, the wild fires caused by lightening in Canada blowing this way are the only experiences I've had with it, but both did go on for days). Smog keeps heat in. Also, I don't remember very many days like this year when I was a kid. Very few 80,90, or 100 degree days. More nowadays, I think. On the other hand, we also had 6 weeks of sub-zero weather a few weeks ago.
@Hatley (163773)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Jul 10
hi pyewacket you sound like a published writer, think about it some day.
I have always wondered that too. Long skirts, huge petticoats and corsets. stockings the whole rigamarole and they must have been so hot, and lots of old fashioned cookstoves making the kitchen into a steam shower. Oh I am so glad I did not live then. YesI am 84 and I really do feel the heat more but its stayed pretty dry here during our recent heat spell in Ca in the US. I have a picture of my gr gr grandmother and she wore a dress with skirts to the floor and collar right up under her chin. She had 13 children and the look on her face was really grim. now I wonder if that
photograph was taken on a hot day too.Of course having thirteen child in fourteen years must not have been a picnic either. he he he. I wonder if
some of our great greats did not sort of fudge a little on the hot long skirts and petticoats and etc. I know I sure would have.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I have glass and tintype photos of my ancestors too...they look like they're right out of the Civil War period. I always remember too, that a "proper" lady back then would always wear gloves while outdoors...yeesh...and yes, the photo I have of my gr gr grandmother she looked rather grim too, and like yours had about 11 children
As for the published author thing...I do have novels on the back burner...hope to get back to them and write again....just never seem to have time
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
26 Jul 10
Well I havent wore all those clothes but I have cooked this way over a wood stove.
had a fireplace too where we did some cooking.
This was in the 60s when I first went back to Tenn with hubby his folks only had eleitic for tv washer and one window fan inthe whole house!
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
31 Jul 10
humans were better off when we were nomadic.we screwed ourselves over
with these "civilized" concrete canyons and 9 to 5's..at least back then if it were too hot,we could pack up the house and move to a nicer place.
but yes,i have noticed the last few years humidity is messing with me bigtime.
i know it has something to do with my blood pressure,i almost whiteout when standing
in the heat.i've always had that to a degree,but never as bad as now.
@4mymak (1793)
• Malaysia
26 Jul 10
i think you pretty 'lucky' that u only need to 'endure' the hot weather for only certain months in a year..
i mean.. there are others who live in the desserts, or some other places with extreme weather conditions, and some of them do put on 'a lot of clothings for protection'.. maybe not from the heat, but from the direct sun or dust or something..
and i think our ancestors may not have such hot weathers as we do now - since we have all the 'Global Warming' issues and all that... 
*not sure if this could help.. but i got this tip from a freind.. hang put a wet towel on a window (open window) - like a curtain - he said the heat / sunshine will dry the towel off, and at the same time, would bring the room temperature down.. - pls take note, that i havent tried this myself.. but it sounds 'logical'... 
*not sure if this could help.. but i got this tip from a freind.. hang put a wet towel on a window (open window) - like a curtain - he said the heat / sunshine will dry the towel off, and at the same time, would bring the room temperature down.. - pls take note, that i havent tried this myself.. but it sounds 'logical'...
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
25 Jul 10
They probably did alot like you are doing as I remember stories from my grandparents and my father....as a kid or an adult in the depth of summer's heat they would cool off in the cattle tank or farm pond...or such things. When my kids were growing up we had no air....I used to take them to the library just to cool down....and another thing...I don't really know if it helped or not but I would take a bunch of ice cubes and put them in a pan in front of the fan...they would take turns laying in front of the cooler air. Keeping your shades etc closed also help...good luck!
@sid556 (30959)
• United States
27 Jul 10
Hi there Pye,
Up until last week I did not own an air conditioner either. I've always just dealt with it. I agree that it is horrible but Your body adjusts as long as you don't go into air-conditioned places. If you do that then you have to start all over. I have to say that I cooked and carried on as normal as possible. In answer to your question, Pye, Yes...it does seem to affect me more as I get older. My brother in law brought me up an air conditioner during one very humid evening. I actually was handling it quite well, I thought. Still, he goes "are you going to let me hook this up or not?" I had to say "yes". I will know next month what it has done to my electric bill. I don't turn it on much at all but my girls have turned it on and love it. I actually get cold and put on a sweatshirt and yet when I turn it off, they complain. Our ansesters were just used to it but I have to say it was unhealthy to them as well.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
27 Jul 10
I don't know how they did, but we are having a cooler than average summer here in California so far, so maybe you should come visit!
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
26 Jul 10
I don't know how they did it either, I know when my mom was a young girl she said they didn't have no A/C or anything like that either, I'm not even sure if they had a fan. She grew up out in the country so at night she said they would sleep outside because it was much cooler than in the house, these days we wouldn't even think of doing that unless we were camping. I'm Native American so I'm pretty sure my ancestor's did all they're cooking outside, and they didn't know what a/c or a fan was anyway. I don't like to do a whole lot of cooking either in the summer, it makes my kitchen hot when I have the stove going, we do alot of grilling outside. I couldn't imagine wearing all those clothes during the hot weather either, but I guess in those days they didn't know anything else, and they were just used to it, they were a lot tougher than we are, I can tell you that much.
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
25 Jul 10
HI, I'm an older folk ! We didn't have AC or fans when I was a kid. We just stood the heat by staying on the porch in the shade.
Chores were done even before the sun came up and then we stayed in the house or on the porch.
grandaddy would go buy us a watermelon.....he like to go...and the we all sat in the shade and kept as cool as possible.
Remember too,there wasn't so much pavement then to keep it hot.
About when I was in high school, we got an old fan. Of course for the longest we did't have electricity either...........so the fan was a mercy !
Then, we got big time and got a swamp cooler ! Yipppeee, with water pouring down the sides of that monster, we were COOL at last.
However going back, cooking was really cooking then with fried chicken, mashed tators and veggies and desert.
Now, we'd all die if we had to do without AC..........
@ElicBxn (63727)
• United States
25 Jul 10
a very good question, I think that they did it because they had no choice and didn't know there was a choice...
also, she probably only did it to her 40's when the whole family was probably out of the house except maybe an unwed daughter to help in the kitchen...
Now, from what I've learned, they might've had a dress on and the corset often, but often they were just in their shifts working if nobody was around... if it were really hot, those underthings only went on when it was time for dinner
mind you, when my dad got offered a job in Texas, my mom told him she would only move here if he promised her air conditioning...
@Loverbear (4918)
• United States
25 Jul 10
One thing I would do when I got to the point that I couldn't stand the heat too much longer and only had a fan. I would get a large plastic container like a bleach bottle, cut the top part off and fill it with water and freeze it each night. Then the next day when it was so horribly hot I would get the chunk of ice out of the container and put it in a pan in front of the fan and let the fan blow across it. It was surprising how much cooler it would make things. I would refill the container each night and it would be ready for the next day.
I am having a more difficult time with the heat because of not only the physical problems with my back, neck, and legs but also because of the undue stress that I have been under. This morning I got up feeling so horrible and hurting so badly I took my pain meds and crawled back in bed. I was just dozing off when the phone rang and it was my sister. I finally answered the phone and she asked the typical stupid question of the century...."Did I wake you?" Of course you did was my reply. She then said that she was checking to see if she could get on the internet. (I have dial up and I let her share my account since it is dial up) I'm laying there seething because as soon as the phone rang she could tell I wasn't on line and she could have been really nice and let me rest....then to add salt to the wound she stated "I'll let you go to go back to sleep." Yeah, right! I was awake, pissed, and hot so going back to sleep was out.
One thing I have read is that the multiple layers seem to help keep people cool. I couldn't testify to it as I sit around with as little on as possible during the summer...but it seems to work in the Arab countries. Also, I cook as little as possible as I don't like eating hot food in the heat of the summer. I live mostly on cottage cheese and salads myself. I also drink tons of ice water too.
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I have no idea either, unless maybe the heat and humidity was not as bad..I too don't have AC, only a fan which is better than what they had, no fan and those long dresses, ugh...At least I can go around in my swimsuit and after a cool shower sit in front of the fan, that feels wonderful..:)
@Little_Stormy (6883)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I don't know how they ever survived it! It's hot here too!
I remember my grandmother cooking over a wood burning stove (she wouldn't deal with electric stoves.. even though she had one!) She didn't even have a fan! What she would do is open the back door (it was screened in) and cook away! 3 Meals..... everyday! cooked on that wood burning stove! I kinda think they just got used to it. I think it also helped that my grandmother had low blood.. she was always cold!
My parents move to the mountains during the summer just for the cooler temps.. My mom tells me all the time that as she gets older, her heat tolerance gets lower.. so age might have something to do with it. I've not turned my air conditioner off since I turned it on 2 months ago!
IF I were you.. I'd find me a nice air conditioned library or store to go hang out all day :) It's free! and cool!
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
25 Jul 10
Hey pye! Nice to see ya! As you know I am also experiencing
the same miserable NY weather and it is unbearable. I have
found in the last few years that it has taken it's toll on me
too. It seems the older I get the less I can stand the heat
and this summer has been a horror! I don't even want to eat,
let alone cook. Opening up a can of tuna even is too much
work because being in my kitchen is like being in an open oven.
I have an old stove where there are two pilot lights that are
on all the time and I can cook whatever right on top of where
the pilots are and I'm not kidding. So that makes the kitchen
even hotter all the time! This weather makes me even more lazy
than I already am! My great grandmother was always cooking
no matter how hot it was. She would make her homemade soup,
bake cookies, cook full meals and nothing bothered her and she
was well into her 80's when she passed away. I don't know how
our ancestories managed I guess they didn't know any different
so the just made do. I just sit on top of the fans and hope that
I can catch a tiny bit of cool air and not the hot air that is
circulating around the apartment. I also do the "head dunking"
too! The heat seems to bother me the most at night, of course
when I am trying to sleep?? Try to stay cool! Hugs to you
an Kissy from me Star & Luna.
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I like the hot weather much more than the cold. It has been hotter than normal and more humid. I have air, but don't like to use it much. If it isn't on then I have fans going.
I have often wondered how our ancestors survived both hot and cold weather, and no running water. Maybe back then the temperatures weren't as extreme as they are now.
I don't cook in the summer either. When it is hot, I want salads or something cold. I don't want anything hot that was cooked. Our ancestors cooked full meals all year long. I guess we are spoiled!
