Ms. Evelyn is an extraordinaryly bright little young lady with real sharp wit and humor.  Here's the bi-weekly column that she writes.  Cat

*************************************************

Here and There: New mattresses can't beat good featherbed

By Evelyn Richardson

Featherbeds were once a luxury when compared to a hard felt mattress or a pallet on the floor. They were a definite step up from a straw tick whose stuffing became pulverized by the time the next threshing season came around to provide fresh straw.

We never raised geese, so when we dressed chickens, we gathered their soft breast and underside feathers to fill our featherbed. There was no concern about dander and feather allergies because we had not heard of such.

Not only was the featherbed luxuriously soft but also it was warm. As we lay on it, the fluff came up around us to give us a snugly feeling.

Of course, when the season changed to summer, we didn't want to sink into the featherbed. It was put underneath the mattress next to the open coil springs for storage until the hot weather was gone.

When this switch was made, we took all of the bed equipment outside for cleaning. The sunshine revitalized the featherbed and made the mattress smell sweet.

Dust and lint were thick on the springs and it fell my lot to deal with each coil individually and get them clean. My mother bought a cleaning tool from the Stanley salesman that was especially designed to fit the conical shape of the coils and I welcomed it as a godsend. These were the days before the miracle of running water and the availability of a spray hose to wash away the dust and lint. We propped the springs against a tree trunk and I began the painstaking task.

There was a knack for making up the bed when the featherbed was on top. We lifted, patted and punched the higher spots to redistribute the feathers evenly. When linens were changed each week, we flipped and rotated the featherbed before tucking the clean sheet tightly around the sides.

Blankets and quilts were added and a counterpane was the top decorative cover. Then to make the bed appear perfectly level, we took a broom handle and smoothed the surface, much the same as we would level a measuring spoon of salt with a spatula. We were not allowed to play on the bed when it was made up or to sit on the edge because there was no way to repair the dents without starting from scratch.

Today we have scientifically engineered sleeping foundations, some with pushbutton controls, to give our body the support it needs when we are at rest. Once my father had a severe back problem during the days when doctors made house calls. A new doctor in town visited him and declared that the first thing he should do was to get rid of the featherbed. My father was both angered and insulted by that young whippersnapper. I suppose he took the pills prescribed, but he kept right on sleeping on the featherbed and eventually got better.

Water, foam, air and all sorts of materials fill our mattresses here in the twenty-first century to give us a wide choice. And they cost considerably more than striped ticking that we sewed to make our own featherbed.