I was very fortunate that my grandmother (half German, half Irish) compiled a collection of stories she remembered about her family, my grandfather's family (French-Canadian), their family and family legends she heard growing up as a child. My grandmother passed away this last April. I hope you enjoy a couple stories she related in her notebook of stories, "Recollections and Other Stuff." My Special Washday Dress It was back in the days when I washed with a wringer washer and hung clothes on the line. In order to save my pretty starched housedresses, I had a special outfit I wore on wash days that consisted of an old blouse whose ornate collar and sleeves had been cut off, over which I wore a tattered jumper whose suspenders were so ragged they were held together with safety pins. I usually had the whole wash on the line by the time the older children came in for lunch, and as soon as they left I bedded the little ones down, took a bath and put on fresh clothes, so my husband had never seen me in the old shabby outfit. His job kept him out of town during the day. He made an unscheduled stop at noon one wash day, ook one look at me and burst out laughing, "Throw those clothes in the rags so I won't have to look at them again." I laughed along with him but ignored his directions and continued to wear them. Several weeks went by and, on a wash day, he stopped in again at lunch time, saw me standing by the table, and in mock horror exclaimed, "I told you I didn't want to see those clothes again!" He pulled the blouse at the back of my neck, tearing it off, yanked the suspenders of the jumper, and ripe to the hilt, it tore into several pieces, leaving me standing in my slip. All the while, the children were falling off of their chairs with laughter. A few days went by and one evening as we were sitting around the livingroom, our second oldest son, about 8 or 9, started to chuckle, buiding up to an uncontrollable giggle. His father asked him what was so funny. Gasping, he said, "I was just thinking about how Sister Mary Gerald laughed when I told her you tore Mama's clothes off." (c)1992 Lillian G. Merkle Hebert