- By Ben Widmer -
This reporter graduated from high school in Newton, Iowa, home of the Maytag Washer Co. My mother, several other teachers and the city librarian, Blanche Maytag, played cards together.
One evening this group was invited to Blanche’s house for a sleep-over. The other ladies were childless, but Mom brought me along. I got one of the guest rooms in her large home and the bed had silk sheets. I vowed that someday I’d have silk
sheets.
The opportunity came while I was in the service. I acquired enough German parachute silk to make a set of silk sheets.
I was separated from the service in 1946 and engaged in 1947. I told my wife-to-be about the parachute silk and her mother asked to see this piece of silk. I proudly showed her our future silk sheet material. Everyone, including my fiancé, raved about the beauty of this creamy material and thought it would make a beautiful wedding dress. I lost the argument and the sheets. The wedding dress was beautiful.
On the day of our wedding, as my bride was dressing, the room was filled with attendants and friends. Somehow, a bottle of red fingernail polish was on the end of the ironing board and toppled over onto the train of the wedding dress 40 minutes before the ceremony. Polish remover appeared and did a miracle. The red was gone, but the train smelled a little like
polish remover.
The ceremony and reception came off with no more accidents, But I never did get my silk sheets.
Our youngest daughter wore the dress for her wedding and still has it.