The Old Treadle Sewing Machine

Submitted by Mary Lea Burlison Thanks Mary Lea!

Many happy and precious times were brought to mind in trying to recall my earliest memories of our old, New Home treadle sewing machine. It was manufactured in 1891 and is still in excellent working condition. The original instruction book and the accessory parts, stored in a black metal, ornately decorated box are still in one of the drawers. Its wooden oak cabinet grows more beautiful as the years pass and the patina darkens. At this writing, (9-2000) it is 109 years old and still loved by the family.

Most of all, I remember my grandmother, Emma (Casey) Craig sewing on this old treadle sewing machine. After visiting with my mother, Jewell (Craig) Glover, who is 86 years old, I was able to recall many memories about its use by our family and of other sewing machines in my life.

Grandma Emmie once told me that she and her sisters, Alsey (also known as Elsie) and Martha Jane, (Janie), learned to sew when they were very young girls living on the ‘the mountain’ in Newton County, Arkansas in the Quincy community. She related a story to me about her father, Thomas Benton Casey and her grandfather, Captain C. C. Casey making a winter trip into Russellville, Arkansas for the family’s winter supplies. They traveled in a wagon which was to be used to bring the supplies back to their homes on the mountain.. There were many things to purchase for the family. They would not be returning for necessities again until the spring trek. When only the men went for supplies, the trip took at least two days, each direction. Allowing for at least two days of shopping, they knew the men would be gone the better part of a week. The folks at home anxiously awaited their safe return knowing that many dangers lurked along the way. Among the supplies purchased on winter trips would be such things as food staples, medicines and new shoes for the children and the much awaited, candy treats. Most impressive to the Casey girls this particular trip was the ‘surprise’ the men brought for their mother, Mary Alice (Cherry) Casey, known as Mollie to friends and family. It was a new treadle sewing machine which was purchased at the Russellville Montgomery Wards store. I have often wondered whether Great grandmother Mollie had ‘wished’ for a sewing machine, or if the men folk got carried away with their shopping and decided, on impulse, to buy it for her. Grandma Emmie told me that her mother was so busy with motherly duties, having a new baby about every 14 months, she did not have time to devote to using the new sewing machine. The young girls were delighted that they were allowed to learn to use it. Alsey, Janie and Emmie’s half sister would have been 12 or 13 yrs. old, Emmie and Janie, 8 and 10 years old that winter. Their grandmother, Kissie (Wright) Casey, who lived nearby on Falling Water Road, taught the girls to make patterns for clothes they wanted to sew.

Mollie (Cherry) Casey did sew when time allowed in the following years. The ‘mountain’ treadle sewing machine’ stayed in the family and was shared by the eight daughters of Thomas and Mollie Casey. My mother, Jewell (Craig) Glover says that Great Grandmother Mollie’s Singer treadle machine was at our home for a time, too, before I was born in 1937. During the early 1930's, Tom and Mollie Casey decided to go to California for several months. They left the sewing machine with my mother and Grandmother Emma. It was reclaimed by Great grandmother Mollie when they returned to live in Oklahoma and continued to be used by Mollie and her daughters through the years. We have lost track of that particular sewing machine. I would love to know if it is still in existence.

During the depression years, my father, Lawrence Glover used his cattle truck to transport cattle for area farmers and ranchers. He usually picked up their cattle from the McAlester, Oklahoma stockyard and delivered them to the slaughter house in Oklahoma City. He always liked to attend the weekly household auctions held at the McAlester Stockyards. Frequently, he brought items home for our family. We lived on a farm near Savanna, Oklahoma, Pittsburg County in the late 1930's. Many people suffering from the effects of the Depression and the aftermath of the Dust Bowl days were selling off their household goods and using the proceeds to finance moving to the west coast where they hoped to find jobs. My Dad purchased the 1891, New Home treadle sewing machine at one of these sales. My mother used it to make things for our home, clothes for me, herself and my brother.

By 1942, jobs were becoming increasingly more difficult to find in Oklahoma, so my parents joined the many folks going west, looking for better opportunities to work. They sold most of their furniture and household items. It was hard to part with things they had managed to accumulate since their marriage in 1933. Years later, they lamented selling some things that were precious to them. However, for some reason, they did not sell the New Home treadle sewing machine. They left it with my grandparents, Floyd and Emma Craig who were living at Savanna, Oklahoma at that time. My Dad did find a good job in Arizona where we lived for awhile. We returned to Oklahoma when the job market improved. My Mother also wanted to be near my grandparents while my Dad served with the Marines in WW II.

My grandfather, Floyd Craig was always known to the family and his friends as a ‘good manager’. He and Grandma Emma lived comfortably when others were struggling. He was careful with his money and was able, even in that time of hardship for many others, to build a new home for himself and my grandmother. He took pride in his carpentry skills and built a modest, comfortable, home at Savanna, Oklahoma in the late 1930's. I am proud to say that this house is still a good looking home, standing near Highway 69. To me, that house continues to be a testimony of my grandparents’ perseverence and steadfastness when there were difficult economic situations all around them.

In 1940, the year I was three, my baby brother was ill much of the time. My mother was busy taking care of him, both at home and sometimes in the hospital. During that time, I spent many happy days and nights with my Grandpa Floyd and Grandma Emma in their new house. It had a metal ‘ tin’ roof. If you ever have had the pleasure of hearing rain drops on a tin roof, you will never forget the comforting sound. I can report that tin roofs are durable, too, since it is still in good shape some sixty years later!

During one of these visits, my grandfather bought a little butter churn for me, the old pottery type, gray with dark blue rings on it, complete with wooden ‘dasher’. I remember playing with it on the back steps of their home. Grandpa Floyd also built a bed for my dolls to sleep in and painted it bright red. Grandma Emmie made bedding for the bed and let me keep it in the living room where I spent wonderful hours playing. I loved and used that doll bed from many years. I don’t believe I ever looked at it without seeing my ‘Grandpa’, and remembering those days spent with him and Grandma Emmie.

By the mid 1940's my grandparents and my parents had moved to McAlester, Oklahoma where Grandpa Floyd was to built two more homes for himself and Grandma Emma. Both of these homes were within a block of our home, so I was with my grandparents most every day of my life. When I was growing up, I associated the New Home sewing machine almost completely with my grandmother, although technically it belonged to my mother and was in our home from time to time, it was usually at Grandma’s house. In my memory, I can see Grandma Emmie sitting at the sewing machine where she spent many happy hours working on quilt tops, making aprons, tea towels, clothes for my dolls and dresses for my cousins who lived in western Oklahoma. Now that I am a grandmother, I know that sewing for her grandchildren who lived far away was Grandma’s way of staying connected. When she mailed them a box of clothes, it represented her love for them.

Grandma Emmie also sewed dresses for herself. In the early springtime she and my mother would go shopping for ‘material’ (fabric) to make two summer dresses for Grandma. She would carefully choose two ‘voile’s (thin fabric), usually florals on white back grounds. The same process was repeated in the early fall when she would choose two nice plaid fabrics for her fall and winter dresses. Most of these dresses were made from her favorite pattern which had a shirt top, button front, and four gore skirt. She changed the appearance by doing different things with the collars, sometimes adding lace and other trims. She always purchased the belts for these dresses with care, usually choosing white patent leather for summer and black patent for fall. Occasionally, of course, Grandma would buy ready-made dresses. I can’t remember how those store bought dresses looked, but I remember the things she sewed for herself.

Grandma always bought very nice leather, shoes with medium heels, white for summer, black for winter and considered she was well prepared for the current season. Grandpa Floyd delighted in taking good care of his ‘Emmie’ and did encourage her to ‘splurge’ on a few items. She always had nice winter wool coats and sometimes a fashionable new hat. During the 1940's and 50's large silk head-scarfs were fashionable for ladies to wear to keep their hair in place. Grandma always had a pretty head-scarf, which she carefully folded when she got where she was going and put in her coat pocket. She always carried dainty embroidered handkerchiefs in her leather purses, along with her little snuff box. Grandma did not have much jewelry; a nice watch, her gold wedding band and some small pins, usually given to her by my mother as birthday gifts. She had the ability to appear neat, well dressed and proper in a very modest way, for all occasions.

Grandmother Emma believed it was a wrong to waste any piece of fabric. She made only a few ‘fancy’ hand pieced quilts over they years, but for the most part she was busy making nine block comforter tops with 8 inch squares and smaller 6 inch, nine blocks for quilts. To be able to use even smaller scraps of material Grandma made strip blocks pieced on 12 inch newspaper squares for quilts tops. These ‘strip’ quilts are some of my favorites. The paper was ripped off when the block was completed, a chore I always looked forward to helping with. I guess these quilts could be called ‘utility’ quilts because she made them to be used daily by the family.

Grandma always ‘saved’ every old sheet, blanket or bedspead that became thread-bare for the interlining of the quilts and comforters. When she made a ‘fancy’ quilt she did purchase quilting cotton for the interlining. She spent many winter afternoons ripping apart clothing the family no longer wished to wear, carefully cutting them so as to have as many quilt pieces as possible. She separated the heavier fabrics such as wools and corduroy from the cottons so those could be made into comforter tops. The back linings for many of the cotton quilts were made from white cotton sugar and flour sacks which had been saved, bleached and stitched together.

In the mid 1940's Grandma Emmie taught me to ‘thread’ the treadle machine. I must have been eight or nine years old when I first attempted to make doll clothes and things a little girl of that age had in mind. I’m sure I tried her patience many times, having to have help with ‘winding the bobbin’ and placing it correctly in the shuttle. Later, she taught me how to piece some of the nine block quilt squares. I still love to sew when time allows. Sometimes, I wish for the more uncomplicated times when we could enjoy those wonderful ‘soul soothing’ activities.

Following the close of WW II, my mother had acquired one of the much coveted, ‘feather weight’ portable, Singer sewing machines. When I was married in 1956, Mom sent me to my new home with that ‘feather weight’, and purchased another one for herself. Of course, Grandma Emmie still had the old ‘New Home’ and continued to use it.

In 1959, our family was blessed with a little daughter and I enjoyed sewing things for her. When she was born, Grandma Emmie told me to start saving the scraps from the clothing I made for her. When Jana was ready to begin school, her Great Grandmother Emma made a ‘log-cabin’ pattern quilt from those scraps I had saved. That quilt is still treasured by our daughter and her teenage daughters. Jana is a wonderful seamstress. When she was in college at Oklahoma State University she was awarded the Golden Thimble, a tribute to fine seamstresses who are chosen and presented in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper of Oklahoma City. She also has had much pleasure sewing for her daughters. I like to think she inherited this love of sewing from her Great Grandmother Emma (Casey) Craig.

I am fortunate to have in my home some of Grandma Emma’s quilts and comforters. I refer to them as my ‘memory’ quilts. The ‘Cherokee Star’ fancy quilt is special to me, but I truly love the quilts made from the fabrics of our ‘everyday’ lives! When I look at them I see bits of my clothing and am reminded of childhood times. I am transported back in time when I see scraps of my brother’s shirts and pieces of my mother’s dresses. I fondly remember my Grandpa Floyd’s ‘blue Serge’ suits which he so proudly kept in perfect condition to wear to church. Alas, when they grew old and were replaced with new ’duds,’ as he referred to them, industrious Grandma Emmie cut the discarded wool coats and trousers into quilt scraps! When I examine the quilts, I also see fabrics of the first things I tried to sew. I am reminded of Junior High and High School Home Economics classes where I made my first aprons, blouses and skirts.

When discussing the materials that were available to my grandmother for quilt making, I must not fail to mention the ‘feed sacks’. During the 1940's my parents and grandparents kept nice flocks of chickens. The chicken feed came in colorful fabric sacks. These sacks were made of rather loosely woven cotton, but some of the prints were pretty enough to use for making summer dresses and children’s clothing. It was not unusual for neighbor women to help out a friend by buying the same print sack, and swapping it out, so one of them would have enough fabric to make a dress. One sack was not quite enough for a dress, as I remember, so they would wait until they had two or three of the same print collected. Grandma let none of these ‘feed sacks ‘ go to waste. If some of the sacks were of a print that she considered not attractive enough for dresses, she made “ever-day” [everyday] aprons, pillows cases, etc. She also put some of these into the quilt box . She always said that even the more unattractive prints made up pretty in a strip quilt! Grandma and her friends would be truly amazed to know that now in the year 2000, those ‘feed sack’ quilts are very collectable, costing hundreds of dollars in antique shops.

After my marriage, Grandma Emma continued to make quilts and comforters for the family. When we would visit she hardly ever failed to remind me to be saving all the discarded clothing and sewing scraps. Two of the treasured comforters I have are made of my husband ‘s wool Navy uniforms. One is trimmed and lined in red. She always ‘tacked’ the comforters and this one is done in red yarn. The other is made of the navy blocks, alternated with gray. She told me to ‘save’ these for my sons, which I have done.

The last comforter top Grandma made for me was of brown wools and red corduroy blocks. She did not feel up to finishing it, so I brought it home and lined it in a soft brown cotton and blanket stitched around each 8 inch block. Needless to say, that one is very special to me.

Our sewing tastes and ideas changed with the times. We saw the fabric market saturated with synthetics. In the 1970's, we saw everything from baby clothes to men’s suits made from the popular ‘double knits’. During that time, when the popularity of home sewing again flourished, I bought a new age Singer sewing machine and have used it to make many, many things, including some dresses for Grandma Emma during the last years of her life when she could no longer sew.

Now, our grandchildren look forward to sleeping under their Great great Grandma Emma’s soft, pieced quilts when they come to our home to spend the night. Many times, after their good night stories we talk about the quilts on their beds. These quilts are our family ‘memory bridges’ to the past.

My grandmother, Mary Emmaline (Casey) Craig lived to be 101 years old. She was a simple woman who grew up in a wonderful family, with 11 siblings. They did not have much money, but they were good and descent folks who learned to manage well on what they did have. As I reflect on the legacy she left me and my family, I know I was a lucky child to have had a grandmother like Grandma Emma, always living nearby, involved in my life and loving me unconditionally. Everyone should have the good fortune to have such a ‘Grandma.’

When my parents made a trip to Europe, Grandma Emma, age 95, who had been living with them since Grandpa Floyd’s death, came to visit in our home for a month. During her visit, we prevailed upon her to open up the old ‘New Home’ treadle sewing machine. By that time the ‘New Home’ sewing machine had found a new home with us and was proudly displayed in our family room. We had been using it as a lamp table. We were surprised to see how gladly Grandma consented to demonstrate how it ‘worked’. We had fun that day, and I realized how much she missed her sewing. The next day, I took her to a TG&Y store near our home to shop for several pieces of pretty gingham fabric. For the remainder of her visit, I would find her at the ‘New Home, ’ happily sewing when she felt up to it. Grandma had always worn aprons, and thought everyone should, so she made several aprons for me. True to her life long philosophy, she made several nine piece quilt blocks from the left-over scraps of fabric. We treasure those things she made that summer. Since there were not enough blocks for a quilt, I made them into pillows and doll quilts for my granddaughters. We took pictures of Grandma sewing for us that summer and I am proud to share them with you.

In my researching this story I am indebted to family members who helped me get my some of the memories and history in the correct sequence. I consulted with Margetta (Casey) Johnson, Tulsa, Oklahoma, daughter of Daniel Casey who was the younger brother of my Grandmother Emma and with another cousin, Kenneth Ford and his wife Marie, Oklahoma City and my mother, Jewell (Craig) Glover, McAlester, Oklahoma.

My grandmother, Mary Emmaline (Casey) Craig was born, June, 18, 1891, at her grandparents log home on Falling Water Road in Searcy County, Arkansas. She died at McAlester, Oklahoma, age 101, September 1, 1992. My grandfather, Floyd Craig was born January 14, 1890, Quincy (now Moore), Newton County, Arkansas and died at McAlester, Oklahoma, August 31, 1983. Through out their long lives they never forgot their beloved birth places and family memories of the Boston Mountains of Arkansas.

I am Granddaughter of Mary Emmaline (Casey) Craig and Floyd Monroe Craig

Note: Mary Lea Burlison submitted the above on January 13, 2000...she has since past on.
View obituary of Mary Lea Burlison

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