Until the late 1940s, air conditioning was unusual even in cities. Movie houses and bowling alleys were among the first public buildings to have artificial cooling, and that made them very popular.
In small town stores and homes, people cooled off with electric fans. On farms without electricity, you fanned with a newspaper or a cardboard fan passed out to mourners by a funeral parlor. And you sweated and drank quarts of cold water pumped from the well by the back door.
In the evenings, most farm families ended their long days in
the sun by sitting outside. A slatted-wood porch swing—suspended from the
ceiling by chains—was the choice spot because you created your own small
breeze.
Often the house still steamed at bedtime. My sisters and I
sometimes spread an old blanket or quilt on the front lawn. Looking up at the
stars was wonderful, but the chiggers and mosquitoes usually drove us inside
before morning. My older sister would stretch out on the kitchen linoleum, which
felt cooler than any other surface in the house.
My father used an old cooling technique—sprinkling water on
the sheets. That made the bed bearable until the night air cooled.
—Carolyn Mulford
