Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 8

Nordic Life
Flour Sack
Refashioning
BY JEFF M. SAUVE
F
or her high school graduation, 18-yearold
Margaret Doxtad wore her fi rst
store-bought dress. Growing up in Emerson,
Neb., during the Depression, her family,
like many other Norwegian-Americans,
economized out of necessity by repurposing
cotton fl our sacks into a myriad of items.
Uses for fl oursacks included blouses,
curtains, toy sails, table coverings, pillow
cases, dish towels, handkerchiefs, overalls,
quilts, wedding dresses and underpants.
Regarding the last item, recollections of
uncomfortable homemade undergarments
include the anonymous poem, " Depression
Flour Sack Underwear, " which captures in its
selected lines what many experienced:
With many kids and Dad's poor pay,
We had no fancy lingerie.
One pair of panties beat them all,
For it had a scene I still recall-
Chickens were eating wheat
Right across my little seat.
Rougher than a grizzly bear
Was my fl our-sack underwear.
Flour sack dresses, 1910.
Preparing fl our sacks involved various
concoctions including bleaching by boiling
with lye, lard or soap until the lettering
came out. Manufactures realized additional
business by offering colorful calico
printed fl our sacks, suitable for the budgetconscious
dressmaker. In addition, sewing
contests, pattern booklets, and traveling
fashion shows promoted the use of recycled
fl our sacks.
A typical fl our sack yielded one square
yard of fabric, and according to one source,
" a typical women's dress took three sacks. "
(Saying you were a two-sack woman gave
you bragging rights.) Unfortunately for Miss
Doxtad, her graduation dress did not fi t.
It was purchased by mail order and in her
words, " since we'd never bought me a dress
before, nobody knew what size I was. "
Jeff M. Sauve serves as an archivist for
the Norwegian-American Historical
Association in Northfi eld, Minn.
Holt Novels Adapted for TV
N
winning producer Graham King, who's worked on fi lms such as
" Argo, " " The Departed " and " Hugo, " has purchased the rights
to develop the series. Holt has sold more than 6 million books
worldwide. Prior to her successful writing career, Holt was a
minister of justice, police attorney and journalist. Now she can
add television producer to her resume.
8 VIKING AUGUST 2013
sonsofnorway.com
orway's popular crime novelist Anne Holt is embarking into the world of
television. Her Hanne Wilhelmsen detective series, which includes eight
novels, is set to become an American television show. OscarIMAGES
COURTESY OF (TOP) MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY (MIDDLE) NAHA / NORWEIGNA-AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

http://www.sonsofnorway.com

Viking Magazine - August 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - August 2013

Contents
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - Cover1
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - Cover2
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - Contents
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 4
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 5
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 6
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 7
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 8
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 9
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 10
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 11
Viking Magazine - August 2013 - 12
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Viking Magazine - August 2013 - Cover3
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