how did our ancesters deal with the HEAT

[Jeannie in NJ]

we are going to be having our 2nd heat wave tomorrow, sat and sun high 90's close to 100 and HUMID. We do not

t have central air but we do have window units and ceiling fans. We still whine about it so I was wondering what people did before ac or fans and they sure wore a lot more clothes than we do. Did they go down to basements or root cellars, did they lay in cold creeks lol.

[VeritasMama]

Caves are pretty cool, usually.

 

We just read Farmer Boy, and they had plenty of ice cream and iced lemonade in the summer made from ice from the ice house. They also had iced egg nog as a drink to help them cool off while doing field work, it seemed odd at first but it makes sense, plenty of carbs and protein and nice and cold.

 

The heat wave is a great excuse to sit around and eat popsicles!

[LaxMom]

I imagine the same thing our Amish friends do: open the windows, move at a slower pace, and sweat.

 

That's what I do, too, but my house was built by Victorians and those Victorians took house ventilation Very Seriously. So, I can refuse to put in the window AC as long as there's a breeze.

[Lisa in Jax]

In my great-great-grandfather's memoirs, he wrote about the house he built in 1871, saying:

 

"It was mentioned that our house was made of timber, but that the 'level below' had clay walls and a clay floor, with a window opening in the door, in other words a 'dugout.' And oh, how wonderful I felt down there, hidden from the burning sirocco winds and the body, spirit, soul and bone chilling snow storms. We prepared and ate our meals down there, as well as baked, washed, ironed, patched and brewed."

 

He also talked about plowing in the heat -- while wearing a shirt but no pants. ;)

[Rhonda in TX]

I think I'll ask my dad. He grew up in the Houston area. He was born in 1931, so there was definitely no a/c.

[Melissa in Australia]

I have no air conditioning, But we don't get humidity, just very dry heat that sucks your body dry of moisture. Sort of like stepping into an oven.

 

Air conditions in areas like cities actually make the area hotter. Plus pollution in humidity adds to the discomfort.

Edited June 28, 2012 by melissaL

[Spy Car]

Mine did it my living in Northern climes. Not me :D

 

Bill

[mo2]

They tried to do the *really* hard labor in early morning or late evening hours. Took afternoon breaks under the shade trees. Drank a lot of water/lemonade/iced tea. Opened the windows at night and then closed the house up tight first thing in the morning. My grandmother-in-law slept in the storm cellar during the summer. Same stuff we do now, basically. (Except I won't sleep in the storm cellar. There are some scary big spiders down there, and the occasional snake!)

[Jeannie in NJ]

oh, so maybe I could move into our under the house crawl space . So what if it is only 3 ft tall and tons of spiders, bugs and who knows what else. Our next house is going to have a basement.

[Liz CA]

 

He also talked about plowing in the heat -- while wearing a shirt but no pants. ;)

 

:lol:

We live in a 1915 built farmhouse and there is a root cellar. Dh and I joke that when it gets super hot, we should spend a few hours down there with the old mason jars and spiders...

[Liz CA]

oh, so maybe I could move into our under the house crawl space . So what if it is only 3 ft tall and tons of spiders, bugs and who knows what else. Our next house is going to have a basement.

 

Build a root cellar where you can stand up.

[nono]

Jeannie, c'mon! Have you been in the water this week? It's FREEZING (I finally got in for the first time yesterday!). Like under 70F. Jump in a couple times, and get your core cooled down. You'll be fine for the night.

 

I'm sitting here still drying off from swim team, and I'm in long PJs. NO air conditioning. I feel great, and the pool temp was much higher than the ocean temp. As long as you are still on the island, utilize what's right there!!!!

 

P.S. Think boat drinks (that is, if it's in accordance with how you live your life!)

 

:grouphug:

[Kathryn]

I imagine the same thing our Amish friends do: open the windows, move at a slower pace, and sweat.

 

That's what I do, too, but my house was built by Victorians and those Victorians took house ventilation Very Seriously. So, I can refuse to put in the window AC as long as there's a breeze.

 

:iagree: the way houses are built makes a big difference. All the houses built around here for decades now have been built with central A/C in mind, so absolutely no way to properly ventilate without it.

[joannqn]

I don't know but I can tell you how we survive.

 

We live in Western Washington where very few have air conditioning. Thankfully, it rarely gets super hot here, but a few years ago we had a heat wave with 106 degree temps and more humidity than we're used to.

 

We drank a lot of water. The kids played in the kiddie pool or with the hose/sprinkler. When not in the water, we wore wet baby blankets around our shoulders or laying across our chest. When they got too warm, we ran them under cold water again, rung them out, and wore them some more. We slept under the blankets too.

 

For dinner, we headed to the mall to eat at a local buffet place that had air conditioning. There was a line out the door and down the mall corridor, so we weren't the only ones looking to escape the heat.

[tex-mex]

In our area, the local historical museum says most homes had a "summer" kitchen -- a screened porch where canning and cooking can be done without heating up the rest of the home. And many in the old days slept in the screened porch area as it was too hot inside during the humid Summer.

 

I have heard of prairie women in the 1800s wearing only their uh... undergarments when doing work if living out in the middle of nowhere. They heard company calling, and they would put on the dress. ;) And if they worked on the farm, keep in mind work would be done at 5am to 9am before the heat got bad.

 

I do know that adobe homes in the southwest are very cool and comfortable. Also very nice in the winter for heat being retained too. HTH

[Guest]

In my great-great-grandfather's memoirs, he wrote about the house he built in 1871, saying:

 

"It was mentioned that our house was made of timber, but that the 'level below' had clay walls and a clay floor, with a window opening in the door, in other words a 'dugout.' And oh, how wonderful I felt down there, hidden from the burning sirocco winds and the body, spirit, soul and bone chilling snow storms. We prepared and ate our meals down there, as well as baked, washed, ironed, patched and brewed."

 

He also talked about plowing in the heat -- while wearing a shirt but no pants. ;)

 

How precious that you have this bit of history from your family! :001_smile:

 

I grew up with no air conditioning and my parents still don't have it, though they have a window unit for their bedroom. It was so hot trying to go to sleep some nights. I like AC. This was a very good invention.

[Samiam]

I suppose there was a tolerance built up to it as well. Most people who do have A/C throw it on as soon as it starts getting hot so we don't build up much of a tolerance for it. On the other hand, I've noticed when we have guests from other areas of the country, they take the humid heat even worse then we do when they are visiting. So they have less tolerance then us.

 

I personally hate AC and try to avoid it as long as possible each summer, but my DH and children are not able to sleep well when it's hot. Now that we are in the hottest part of the summer, here in the South, we basically don't go out for long periods of time unless there is water involved, ie pool, river, sprinkler, etc. Otherwise, it's house to car, car to store, store to car, car to house. :( But it's the price we pay to enjoy mild winters.

[nmoira]

We live in Western Washington where very few have air conditioning. Thankfully, it rarely gets super hot here, but a few years ago we had a heat wave with 106 degree temps and more humidity than we're used to.

That heat wave was so intense (for our area) it killed one of our big trees. After three days, temperatures fell a bit and it dropped all its leaves... just like that.

 

We don't have AC, but we do have *big* window fans and get the house cooled down at night. I want to ditch them for a whole house fan, which we'll get this summer -- if we have a summer.

[LaxMom]

I suppose there was a tolerance built up to it as well. Most people who do have A/C throw it on as soon as it starts getting hot so we don't build up much of a tolerance for it. On the other hand, I've noticed when we have guests from other areas of the country, they take the humid heat even worse then we do when they are visiting. So they have less tolerance then us.

 

I personally hate AC and try to avoid it as long as possible each summer, but my DH and children are not able to sleep well when it's hot. Now that we are in the hottest part of the summer, here in the South, we basically don't go out for long periods of time unless there is water involved, ie pool, river, sprinkler, etc. Otherwise, it's house to car, car to store, store to car, car to house. :( But it's the price we pay to enjoy mild winters.

 

Yup. I grew up in Maine. My dad doesn't have AC. he refuses to visit us in the summer, and has even complained about our cold. A man who reports -40F at his house on occasion finds our damp 34F offensive. (I don't blame him, I do, too, but it's still funny)

 

Our house actually has a sleeping porch upstairs. We've never used it.

[joannqn]

That heat wave was so intense (for our area) it killed one of our big trees. After three days, temperatures fell a bit and it dropped all its leaves... just like that.

 

We don't have AC, but we do have *big* window fans and get the house cooled down at night. I want to ditch them for a whole house fan, which we'll get this summer -- if we have a summer.

 

 

Wow!

 

I can't tell you how hot our house was because the thermostat didn't go up that high, but I can say it was noticeably hotter inside than outside. Given that I had given birth just two days prior, I spent most of that time in doors laying on the couch since we had no suitable place outside for me to sit or lie. It was awful, but the wet baby blankets definitely were a huge help, which is why I mentioned them.

 

Our bedrooms on the second floor always got hotter in the evening so it didn't cool down much, which is why were were sleeping under wet blankets.

[sleeplessnights]

We keep our house around 80 in the summer, and I find that it helps the kids adjust to the outside temps better. The problem we have is going to an air conditioned restaurant and we're all freezing. How cold do they keep those places?

[nmoira]

Wow!

 

I can't tell you how hot our house was because the thermostat didn't go up that high, but I can say it was noticeably hotter inside than outside. Given that I had given birth just two days prior, I spent most of that time in doors laying on the couch since we had no suitable place outside for me to sit or lie. It was awful, but the wet baby blankets definitely were a huge help, which is why I mentioned them.

I can't even imagine. :blink:

 

We practically lived those three days in a secluded and lesser-known "wading" pool on the PSU campus... deepest one in town.

[justamouse]

Yup. They built with cross ventilation inmind. We have 24 windows. There's a constant breeze through our house.

 

Its horrible to clean thouggh. :001_smile::001_smile:

 

I imagine the same thing our Amish friends do: open the windows, move at a slower pace, and sweat.

 

That's what I do, too, but my house was built by Victorians and those Victorians took house ventilation Very Seriously. So, I can refuse to put in the window AC as long as there's a breeze.

[Annie G]

Our house was built in 1880 and has ceilings that are 10 feet high, and tons of windows that are nearly 8 feet. The house is nearly 3000 square feet and we cool it all with 2 window units- one of which is only rated for a small room.

 

The thick plaster walls help, too.

[Farrar]

We lived in our house without a/c through one of the worst heat waves ever and survived fine. And I made it through the heat in Guangdong without a/c much of the time as well.

 

This is a Wapo article from a couple of years ago that I always think of when the heat kicks up. The idea of having to flee to West Virginia and making Congress adjourn and making everyone be more social... well, I like my a/c, but they do make it sound not just doable, but kind of enjoyable.

[LibraryLover]

What else could they do, really? Find water, some shade, rest if they were able/allowed.

 

I have a close (US) friend who worked (not high finance) in India for 3 years. She said she tried to avoid any buildings with AC unless necesssary. She swore she built up a tolerance. She stayed hydrated, and slowed down when it was on the brink of getting to be too much etc. My friend swears that any time spent in an AC building (certain hotels, embassies etc) set her staminia too far back, so she made a point of avoiding AC whenever possible.

 

She says she was not above dumping water or down her back or head when able. She laughs about sometimes putting ice cubes in her bra. Certainly not haute couture, right? lol

 

Where I live, it could be 100+ degrees, and even with high humidity, the ocean is still refreshing, That does help! Just dipping in the toes helps! Having a cool shower, or squirting yourself with the hose when watering the garden also brings great relief. lol I did that today. Good thing I didn't actually have to be anywhere later needing to look presentable. ;)

Edited June 29, 2012 by LibraryLover

[KatieJ]

Ancestors? I lived without A/C the first 30 plus years of my life.

Survive. My dad would put a hose into a tree and we would run thru it pretending it was a waterfall. We did go to the lake or local swimming pool, but not often. I don't remember what we ate, or how Mom cooked, but I think it was very little food and more liquid. We had an old 2 story house that was beastly when it was hot. We would camp out on the living room floor with a fan blowing on us.

 

When I got married, our first 13 years we lived in homes without a/c. The summer of 1988 I was pregnant with our third and we did have a window unit on the first floor of our house. I claimed the sofa sleeper that summer. It was a horrid summer. Everyone's grass died. The only house I recall that had green grass was spray painted. (He was wealthy and his wife was an invalid who never left home.)

Our first home had a semi finished basment and we slept down there when it got hot. We bought a small swim pool for our girls, but occasionally DH and I would sit with our feet in it too.

I learned to drink Iced Tea without sugar in it, as it quenched thirst better.

 

Now, I am thankful for A/C and a husband who can service it when it goes out.

[justamouse]

Our house was built in 1880 and has ceilings that are 10 feet high, and tons of windows that are nearly 8 feet. The house is nearly 3000 square feet and we cool it all with 2 window units- one of which is only rated for a small room.

 

The thick plaster walls help, too.

 

I've found that the plaster walls are incredible. Ourwas built in 1880 too and every year er live here i learn something else about what makes for sustainable architecture. I think now they assume people will just have ac and not plan the houses well. People not having ac should be something builders take into consideration.

 

What else could they do?

 

I have a close friend who worked in in India for 3 years. She said she tried to avoid any buildings with AC unless necesssary. She swore she built up a tolerance, and stayed hydrated, and slowed down when it was on the brink of getting to be too much. My friend swears that any time spent in an AC building (certain hotels, embasseys etc) set her staminia too far back, so she made a point of avoiding AC whenever possible.

 

She says she was not above dumping water or down her back or head when able. She laughs about sometimes putting ice cubes in her bra. Certainly not haute couture, right? lol

 

I have to admit i hated it at fiirst. I hated sweating. But now the opposite is true. I can't stand being in ac. After an hour i have to get out. I freeze, get headaches and hate the way breething feels if that makes any sense.

 

Typos on tablet..srry

Edited June 29, 2012 by justamouse

[SquirrellyMama]

In college I lived in a house without a/c. At night I would put ice cubes on my stomach and point the fan at them. I grew up in a house that didn't have a/c but had lots of big windows.

 

Kelly

[Whereneverever]

I don't have ac. I'm pregnant and we are having a heat wave. You drink a lot and build a tolerance. And open windows when there is a breeze.

[Jeannie in NJ]

actually when I was a kid, growing up in North Texas we only had a wall unit in my parents bedroom. In the middle HOT part of the day, my brother and I would sit in there and play board games. We would eat supper around 9 pm and then all the neighborhood kids and us would play outside until late and the parents would sit out on the front porches. We sometimes slept on pallets on the floor of my parents bedroom on hot nights. We went often to the city swimming pool. We played in the water hoses a lot in our yard. So I guess I did survive, but I will be glad to get a house with central air some day.

[LaxMom]

I've found that the plaster walls are incredible. Ourwas built in 1880 too and every year er live here i learn something else about what makes for sustainable architecture. I think now they assume people will just have ac and not plan the houses well. People not having ac should be something builders take into consideration.

 

Ours dates to the 1860s. I love our plaster walls. I think you're right about poor planning, too. There seems to be the same heat/air plan whether there is installed heat/air at all around here. I remember a friend house hunting and being completely aghast at the number of houses she saw where the only heat source was a fireplace. In MD. Crazy. (the houses were all mid-20th century to 10 years old)

 

I have to admit i hated it at fiirst. I hated sweating. But now the opposite is true. I can't stand being in ac. After an hour i have to get out. I freeze, get headaches and hate the way breething feels if that makes any sense.

 

Typos on tablet..srry

 

I have to wear a fleece at work in the summer. It's ridiculous what I pile on / strip off at each end of a shift.

 

We also find, here in the House of Doors and Windows, directing fans in on the cool side of the house and out on the hot side keeps a nice interior temp.

[LibraryLover]

[quote=justamouse;4057281

 

 

Typos on tablet..srry

 

 

 

Ack, typos for me as well! Embassies! Oh gosh, why is typing so much harder than writing?

[AnaShoo]

It's definitely true that you build up a tolerance to heat. We moved to the Caribbean from Western WA three years ago in October. We were frolicking in the ocean all winter, while staring at the people around us who occasionally wore winter coats, and thought they were crazy.

 

Now, WE wear coats in the middle of the winter and only go to the beach to build sandcastles! We have central air, but I keep it a lot higher than I used to, and don't run it much in the winter. We've got a trip planned for the Everglades in July, and when I was looking at the site, it warned northerners to be careful, and possibly not come at all depending on the heat index. I'm planning on bringing a lot of water, and am not really worried about hiking in the heat and humidity.

 

Oh, and we took a trip to Orlando this winter. The week we were there was somewhat overcast and got to 70 tops in the middle of the day. We saw people laying out in the not-so-sunny pool area and thought they were crazy. We were all wearing light jackets.

 

Also, I grew up in New England and didn't have air conditioning in the house. We spent the hottest days in front of a fan with a lot of ice water. It's very humid there, so nights don't cool off, either, so it wasn't pleasant sleeping, but we ran fans over our beds and survived fine.

[JennyD]

I grew up in a house in NJ with no air conditioning. We had fans, and big shade trees, and we spent a lot of time in the sprinklers/at the lake/ on the screened-in porch, but mostly we were hot. I used to take everything off the bed and sleep in my underwear.

[LibraryLover]

I grew up in a house in NJ with no air conditioning. We had fans, and big shade trees, and we spent a lot of time in the sprinklers/at the lake/ on the screened-in porch, but mostly we were hot. I used to take everything off the bed and sleep in my underwear.

 

 

:001_smile: Those are my memories. Fans, open windows, porch, shade, ice cream treats, sprinklers, pools, beach etc. I did not live in a home with AC until I was 27 and very pregnant! lol We rented a small unit from from Rent-a-Center for our bedroom during a massive heat wave. None of the stores had any left to purchase! Before the rental, I remember driving around in my car with the AC cranked, I was so hot. I also stayed at work far longer that I was paid to be there. Driving around in a car to keep cool....that's being a good environmentalist yes? lol

Edited June 29, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Ferdie]

:001_smile: Those are my memories. Fans, open windows, porch, shade, ice cream treats, sprinklers, pools, beach etc. I did not have home with AC until I was 26. lol

 

I remember on really hot night my mom and dad would drive us to the nearest park. They had a water feature and we would fall asleep on a picnic blanket near the water feature because it was cooler than our house.

 

On other nights my mom would wet our top sheet and wring it out. We fell asleep with a damp sheet on us to stay cool.

[Mommyof4ks]

They tried to do the *really* hard labor in early morning or late evening hours. Took afternoon breaks under the shade trees. Drank a lot of water/lemonade/iced tea. Opened the windows at night and then closed the house up tight first thing in the morning. My grandmother-in-law slept in the storm cellar during the summer. Same stuff we do now, basically. (Except I won't sleep in the storm cellar. There are some scary big spiders down there, and the occasional snake!)

 

:iagree: My dad works in 100 degree weather, and he starts at 6am, so he is done by 2 or 3. It does not feel as hot when you start out early and ease into the heat too. We tend to go out around 10am, and by then it is too hot to ease into it.

[A home for their hearts]

The older I get, and I am 33, the less and less I can tolerate heat. We went to Florida on Vacation last month. It felt so hot I kept telling my husband that taking me to Florida was like taking a polar bear to the desert! I swear I almost died a couple of times during the walk from the parking lot to the beach. I'm sure I looked like quite the sight to on-lookers! MUST. HAVE. WATER. I was amazed at the people I saw walking and running in 100 degree temperatures! I kept thinking, do they want to die? LOL This polar bear will take her -15 degree weather any day. Now I can really appreciate people who move up north and never be able to get used to our serverly cold weather.

[Tap]

My parents home was built in the late 1800s. The exterior is thick rock and plaster walls inside. Lots of large windows open and high ceilings allow easy air movement. The upstairs has a door way at the bottom that is kept closed off during the day to keep the heat at bay.

 

My mother has one, small air conditioner that is only used for an hour or two a day. It is the same unit she got the year I was born. LOL She will only need it to cool the downstairs in the late afternoon and then she will turn it off. She will only use it 5-10 days a year.

 

The property has lots of large trees and they help to shade not only the house, but the land also. Current cities are notoriously hotter than the country side by several degrees, simply due to electric appliances, lack of air flow and concrete.

 

In our area, it is not common to have whole house A/C. We put it in our house after we bought it.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Tap, tap, tap

[momtoamiracle]

When I was growing up I don't think it got this hot in Louisiana. I don't remember 100 degree heat like we now have in the summer. We didn't run our air during the day, only at night, and my mom canned all summer long. We played under the trees and had a breeze. We also had more cloudy days in the summer so you weren't baked by the sun.

 

 

I find the weather very different now. We have had droughts for several years straight. The earth is baked, there is hardly any breeze in the summer yet there is constant wind all winter long. When it does rain the humidity is stifling. Usually late at night and early mornings are horribly humid. It gets better after 12 or so when the humidity burns off, as long as you're not in the sun.

 

 

I also think way back when the regular people didn't wear a lot of clothes. I think only the rich wore the corsets, pantaloons and all the furbelows. They also had the huge high ceiling houses with huge windows.

 

 

I turn my air on around April and it will run till November usually. THe humidity gets to be too much. If we didn't run it, everything in my house would be mildewed.

[Soror]

I think a lot is about tolerance, just the same for the cold for those that live more north. I live in the Midwest, we are in the 100+ for the next week. Generally super high 80+ humidity as well, although right now we are in a drought as well. I think a huge part is house design. We have about the worst design possible for keeping the place cool. No shade and windows not in optimal placing. Thank goodness we have good insulation, which certainly helps.

 

We try to minimize use here, yesterday it ended up getting up to 95 but we only ended up running the air 3 hrs in the evening. (It is set at 82-83 during the day and 80 for when dh gets home, so far it doesn't kick on until dh gets home as the cool air from the night keeps it from rising too fast during the day) We generally open the windows at night and close the windows and shades during the day, it helps a ton. Tonight is only the second night this summer that the windows will be closed, as it isn't going to really cool down good until 3am or so.

 

We've been getting up early here and I try to do most work in the early am or evening and we rest in the afternoon. I'd like to sleep in the basement here but we're still not quite finished, hopefully next year, it generally stays a good temp down there, livable anyway.

 

Last year we had the air set on 77 at night and 80 during the day but we pushed it more this year and although we prefer it cooler we are surviving just fine. If we knew then what we know now though we certainly would have designed the house much differently.

[Ibbygirl]

we are going to be having our 2nd heat wave tomorrow, sat and sun high 90's close to 100 and HUMID. We do not

t have central air but we do have window units and ceiling fans. We still whine about it so I was wondering what people did before ac or fans and they sure wore a lot more clothes than we do. Did they go down to basements or root cellars, did they lay in cold creeks lol.

 

I often wonder the same thing. I think about my great grandmother who grew up in Key West, Florida (can you say HOT!) and had to wear all those Victorian type fashions. I have a photograph of her mother with the dress bodice all the way up her neck, long sleeves, those big fulls skirts. :ack2: I think I would have been suicidal in that kind of heat everyday. They either had special ways of dealing with the heat or they were made of a lot stronger stock than I am. :tongue_smilie: I do know that they took siestas during the heat of the day though. :)

[Cricket]

An elderly person who grew up in the Phoenix area told me that he used to sleep on the porch at night. His mother would hang wet sheets around the porch to cool the air. People would swim in the canals during the day.

[sbgrace]

In my great-great-grandfather's memoirs, he wrote about the house he built in 1871, saying:

 

"It was mentioned that our house was made of timber, but that the 'level below' had clay walls and a clay floor, with a window opening in the door, in other words a 'dugout.' And oh, how wonderful I felt down there, hidden from the burning sirocco winds and the body, spirit, soul and bone chilling snow storms. We prepared and ate our meals down there, as well as baked, washed, ironed, patched and brewed."

 

He also talked about plowing in the heat -- while wearing a shirt but no pants. ;)

 

I know I'm way down thread but I just had to reply. It is very cool that you have those memoirs!

[Oakblossoms]

My grandma is 90. She told me my Grandpa used to wet burlap sacks and put them over the windows. I guess it made a swamp cooler of sorts.

[Mom in High Heels]

In our area, the local historical museum says most homes had a "summer" kitchen -- a screened porch where canning and cooking can be done without heating up the rest of the home. And many in the old days slept in the screened porch area as it was too hot inside during the humid Summer.

 

 

 

My grandfather was born in 1899 and my grandmother in 1905 (they were 50 and 44 when my dad was born) and before he passed away in the late 80's he said people "now a days" didn't know how to cope with heat because they were used to a/c. When he was born a/c wasn't even invented. He grew up in the Mobile, AL area. He said you didn't really know any different so you just dealt with it. They worked in the mornings, sat in the shade and drank a lot of lemonade and sarsaparilla during the heat of the day and went back to work in the evening and swam as much as possible. They too had a summer kitchen and slept on a screened porch. Once a/c became common, he liked it, but said it made people soft. He was a tall, extremely thin man, and when he was in his late 70's/early 80's he was cold all the time and wore one of those old olive green army coats all year, even in the summer. Ack.

 

An elderly person who grew up in the Phoenix area told me that he used to sleep on the porch at night. His mother would hang wet sheets around the porch to cool the air.

 

My grandmother did this too. My dad remembers sleeping on the porch with damp sheets across the screens to help cool it down. My grandfather and grandmother had done this as children too.

 

Personally, I think I would die without a/c. James Bond likes to keep the house cold enough to hang meat though, which is a major bone (no pun intended!) of contention for us. Indy and I absolutely freeze and ofter wear a fleece in the house. Now that JB is in Afghanistan though, I keep our house at a reasonable level.

[Laura Corin]

When I lived in Hong Kong I rarely used the air conditioning at home. My main method of combating heat was cold showers: really cold, and playing on warm places (armpits, etc.) to really cool them down. The children used to have a cool (not freezing) bath each afternoon. They would play in the bath with their toys for hours. We used to go to the pool a lot too - so that would be the watering hole of overheated ancestors.

 

Laura

[Carrie12345]

I grew up without a/c in NW NJ. Our house was very shaded, which made a big difference. Our summer trailer didn't have a/c, either. We kept a site in the woods, where you often needed a sweater until you reached the open area where you could fry!

 

My house does have a wall unit in the main area. We have no attic, and the sun beats down on our high roof. BUT, I have plenty of shade outside that is *almost* always comfortable. On a 100* day, it'll only be comfortable if I'm sitting still, but it's enough that 80-90* days sometimes require a jacket in the shade. Inside, a little a/c relief is necessary.

 

Today, when I pass houses with no trees anywhere near them, I wonder how in the world people stand it, and then realize they probably have a/c.

[Pippen]

They tried to do the *really* hard labor in early morning or late evening hours. Took afternoon breaks under the shade trees. Drank a lot of water/lemonade/iced tea. Opened the windows at night and then closed the house up tight first thing in the morning. My grandmother-in-law slept in the storm cellar during the summer. Same stuff we do now, basically. (Except I won't sleep in the storm cellar. There are some scary big spiders down there, and the occasional snake!)

 

We didn't have AC growing up and the cellar in our old farmhouse wasn't a place we went unless we had to (spiders, salamanders, etc.). We did have a screened in front porch and my brothers and we hung out there during high temps. We just moved the sofa and tv out there and dragged in some sleeping bags. If it was really bad we took the sleeping bags outside.

 

I think mostly we were just accustomed to dealing with it. My van AC is broken right now and I'm totally miserable. And I definitely could do without the rabbit smell in the house, since the heat we're having this week isn't safe for him.