Mom and her Mom both had a maid. I had a nanny until I started Kindergarten. The maids came Tuesdays and Thursdays. My nanny came after breakfast a few mornings a week and would stay until I went down for my nap. That left Mom and Grandma time for shopping. My nanny was English. She split her time between 2-3 families. When she was around, I had an adult playmate.
The maids were a mixed bag. The longest tenure was held by Odell, a black woman who worked mostly for my Mom and retired shortly after I went off to college. I remember that the Hoover vacuum stopped working as soon as she left.
Another maid that lasted a while was Kate. She claimed to be of Lithuanian royalty. She did fine until she decided that she could boss my mother around. Mom told her to stick it somewhere. After that, the other Lithuanians vied for the positions. Mom had a Lithuanian maid until she went off to the Home. By this time, I think we were on the third generation.
My other grandma, Dad's mom, had maids. If I remember correctly Kate was one of them. None of them were live-ins. She had employed live-in servants when my Dad and uncles were growing up. This had been a large farm operation, and some of the servants had been distant family members who were brought over as refugees and worked on the farm until they got their feet on the ground. There were accommodations in the house proper and in the lofts of the barns. I know at least one cousin that became a VP at Procter and Gamble was conceived in one of those lofts.
By the time I came around, all that was gone. I think the maids were mostly Lithuanians. Eventually, they were replaced by Grandma's live-in escort about a year after she became widowed. He was named Peter, a swarthy Prussian about 20 years her junior. He was a bit of an inventor and a bit of a writer, but mostly he accompanied Grandma at social events and did the job of a house-husband. It was an unconsummated relationship, and I daresay I never saw any particular affection pass between them. It was all very Continental. There were odd relationships like that all through the gaggle of German ex-pats that hung with Grandma.
Mom and her mom were not idle by any stretch. The maids ran the vacuum, dusted, and did laundry. Mom and Grandma did all the rest. They did the shopping for the households, and they did the cooking and concentrated on certain parts of the chores that required extra skill. They also did all the cooking. I never saw either of them slacking off. What I did see was that our households were heads above those of my school and church friends. Clothes were cleaner and in better repair. The food was always the best. Cakes were scratch. There was always something for dessert.
