HIGHS AND LOWS OF LIVING IN TENEMENTS
Wash day could be hard work but the views were great
THE Times Past postbag has been overflowing with great stories from our readers this week. Don McDonald, who grew up in Govanhill and now lives in Toronto in Canada, recalls wash day in the tenements was often fraught with danger.
“The gas-fired, copper wash boiler was the successor to the wash house which sat out back behind the tenements,” he recalls.
“I remember one Friday night being at a house where the mother rinsed out the boiler, dumped in pounds of dripping and used it to make family-sized fish and chips,” he grins.
“It was later drained and used again for the washing.”
Don remembers his mother taking her turn to use the wash house.
“Whoever had the first morning time had to fill the boiler and light the fire,” he says. “We used to burn everything – wood, paper, cardboard and even old shoes.
“This was a hard way to do laundry, because once the water was heated, you had to put the clothes in and then agitate them to clean them.
“This was human power, no electricity involved.”
He adds: “Then, you lifted them out of the boiler and wrung most of the soap and water out with your hands.
“Now, remember – washing soda was not a beauty treatment. It had some tough side effects.
“Finally, you dumped the clothes into the double concrete sinks to rinse in cold water and put them into the mangle.
“This was one step up from The Victorian Farm.
“You wonder where your mother got her muscles?
“Try doing the washing the way she had to do it.”
Brian Connelly got in touch after seeing our feature with photos taken from the top-floor flat in the St George’s Mansions building at Charing Cross.
The pictures show in rare detail the construction of the M8 as it passes through the city, and had been taken by Kenny Donaldson’s grandparents who lived in the building.
Kenny’s grandfather worked as a typesetter for our sister title, which was known then as the Glasgow Herald.
“Every so often, someone from the paper would come in to take a photograph from the balcony
to use the vantage point,” he remembers.
Brian says: “The photos brought back the time in the mid-70s when I was a foreman joiner with the GDC Building and Works Department based on Parnie Street – the maintenance workshop is now the Tron Theatre.
“We received a work order to repair the window to the balcony mentioned in the story.
“Unfortunately, due to the poor condition of the timbers, be completely replaced.
“Under the supervision of our foreman, George Finlay, the unit was made up in the workshop and assembled on site.
“The joiners fitted it, the council glaziers added the glass and made it watertight and the next day, the painters finished it off.
“I remember thinking at the time how very lucky the tenant was to have such an incredible view.” it had to
What is your favourite view in Glasgow? Get in touch with Times Past and let us know and you could feature in your Glasgow Times.