Pastor Carleathea M. Benson nominated Ida Lucinda Heard for this week’s historical figure. The following are Pastor Benson’s own words about her great grandmother:
“My great-grandmother, Ida Lucinda Heard, who I affectionately called “granny”, made sure the professors at Clemson College looked professional in the classroom. Clemson College was an all-male military school. Unlike the casual dress in the classroom today, the male faculty dressed in black pants with white long sleeve, front button, cotton dress shirts. The cadets’ uniforms were laundered on-campus. But, the professors’ clothes were brought to my “granny,” mostly by their wives, for her to wash, starch, and press on a weekly basis. This was manually done by hauling water from the well to her boiling pot and scrub board and to her Maytag Ringer Washer. She used Argo Starch on the dress shirts. She used candle wax on the pants to set the creases. All the ironing was done with a Smoothing Iron, which was heated on top of her wood stove. This was an all-day, many times a 3-day, process. However, every Friday, the clothes were ready for pickup. My “granny” was one of the first in-home cleaners in Calhoun, now Clemson.”