A Revolutionary Little Machine

 For this fourth installment of A Simple Life's "History of Our Homes" series, I explored how our clothing wove its way from simple garments to today's mass-produced apparel. Along the way, I discovered a treasure trove of information on the impact of the sewing machine, which came on the scene after Americans had been stitching clothing by hand for 200 years. As I state early in this article: "Soon Americans everywhere would come to regard the sewing machine as a thing of technological genius. It changed how clothing was created, helped countless women become entrepreneurs, and even changed how we purchase our home appliances. It could cut the work involved in dressmaking up to 90 percent. On the other hand, the sewing machine helped create the infamous sweatshops."

Fall 2019

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The Challenge of Running Water

Researching the history of indoor plumbing in the American home was startling because I hadn't realized how relatively recent this convenience is for most homes, plus the surprising number of homes that still don't have running water. As with most of our other modern utilities, the idea of indoor plumbing started small and finally became modern in the early 20th century with the invention of the modern bathroom. This article ran as the third installment of the series I've written for A Simple Life we call the "History of Our Homes."

Summer 2019

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A Long Tradition of Medical House Calls

This article gave me the opportunity to answer one of the largest questions about life in early America, which is medical care. Here, I discuss the lack of medical professionals, with care handled by midwives and other local healers familiar with treating sickness and injury. It moves into the era of the traveling country doctor in the 1800s, and eventually into today's world of hospitals, clinics, and specialized medicine where even the traditional house call has all but disappeared. This is the second installment of the "History of Our Homes" series I've written for A Simple Life.

Spring 2019

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Struggling to Heat Our Homes

Keeping a warm home has been a struggle in most of America since the 1600s, with home heating only becoming a routine convenience in the 20th century. This article goes from primitive hearths to fireplaces, iron cookstoves, coal furnaces, and finally to central heating summoned at the flick of a switch. This is the first of several "History of Our Homes" articles I've done for A Simple Life, where readers can learn the historical challenges to many household matters we now take for granted. 

Winter 2018

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