BONNER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM
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Stocking Stretcher
In the first half of the 20th century, when a housewife did laundry, she had to first count how many sock/stocking stretchers she had before tackling the job.  If she “only” had four pairs, she could not wash more than eight woolen socks at a time because if socks were not stretched out while drying they might shrink.
By the time of World War I stretchers seemed so important for sock care that the Red Cross and other people knitting socks for soldiers sometimes sent stocking stretchers along too.
After World War II, when a few more sock stretchers were provided to the troops, there was exciting news of socks that would not shrink. American ads stressed that you could now manage without the hassle of using sock stretchers.
     "Throw away those annoying sock-stretchers — just wash Sarfert Socks in the usual way. They’ll not only keep their            knitted size after many washings, but they’ll wear longer and stay soft and pliant as when new."   (1947 ad)
     "DuPont nylon will keep their shape, looks, and smartness for a long, long time. Throw away your sock stretchers too
      because under normal washing conditions these new Bear Brand honeys won’t shrink, won’t stretch, they’ll always
      fit." 
 (1949 ad)


Donor: Leona Judge
Adopted by:
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  • About
    • Mission
    • Donors & Sponsors
    • Board & Staff
  • Visit
  • Exhibits
  • Programs
    • Signature Events
    • Education Programs >
      • School Tours
      • Traveling Trunks
      • At Home with BCHS >
        • Young Explorers (0-10)
        • At Home Historians (11 and up)
      • Project-Based Learning
    • Oral Histories >
      • Submit Your Story
    • Historic Driving Tour
    • Historic Walking Tour
  • Collections
    • Connecting the Past to the Present >
      • Publications
    • Podcast: North Idaho Nuggets
    • Object Identification
    • Newspapers of Bonner County
    • Special Collections
    • Collection Based Research
    • Historic Preservation
  • Support
    • Membership
    • Sponsorship
    • Volunteer
    • Shop Museum Guild
    • Donate an Artifact