Reality#4 Water Pail

Reality#4 Water Pail
Because there was no running water, no fridge, water was kept in containers in the kitchen for every need. The tea kettle was full of water, the resevoir in the wood stove held water, and there was a pail of water for washing, drinking, and cooking. A dipper (a metal cup with a long handle) was used to ladle water out of the pail for use. This dipper was also used to drink from when someone was thirsty. The water in the pail sat on a cupboard beside the sink until it was empty. Then the pail was refilled by walking out to the Well House pumping water into the pail and walking the water pail back inside. In summer the water was warm quickly, so everyone wanted a drink of fresh water when it first came into the house cold from the well. When people washed in the wash basin, the water was not discarded until it was very dirty. Water carried inside was not wasted. When the wash basin was empitied the water went into the slop pail under the sink. Water was drained into the slop pail the same way we would empty a sink except the water went into a pail and not drained out of a drain pipe. Other discard items also went into the slop pail so it was quite putrid on it's way out the door. When the slop pail was full, it was dumped into the pig trough to let the pigs snort out tid bits of food and slurp up water. I don't recall the water pail having a cover over it. It just sat open in the kitchen until emptied.