First you have to have your kids help you carry water from the ditch, then put the boiler on the stove to heat. It is no problem getting the wood burning stove going, because in the winter it is always stoked up. When the water is warm you get that galvanized tub down and place it on the floor. You pour plenty of water in the tub, but not too much, or when the kid gets into the tub the water will slop all over the floor.

        Then you call the girls in and one at a time they are run through the water. The mother will let you scrub yourself and when you are through she will pour a pan full of clean water over you and then you step aside for the next kid. For some reason the girls get to go first. By the time the three boys get in the water is a little murky, but they too get the pan of clean water poured over them so it turns out all right.

        When the seven girls are taking their baths the boys will stay in the front room and then the girls leave the boys alone for their baths. It takes some doing, but eventually everyone gets cleaned up for the next week. Then the boys will have to dump the water outside, where it will freeze, so they shouldn't dump it in the pathway to the outhouse.

        The outhouse is a cold place to go, when you have to, but the kids don't stay any longer than they have to. You have to sit on your hands, or you might freeze to the seat!