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Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Janie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. She and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes? Available now on Amazon.com and and Amazon.ca
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Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery
by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Janie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. She and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes? Available now on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

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Obsolete Occupations of the Netherlands

© Cor Snabel

Bleacher (bleeker)

The materials used to weave cloth always had a variable grey to yellow color and to give it the desired shining white surface, people developed a special washing process and needed the help of sunlight. Bleaching fields were found everywhere and even in the 20th century people occasionally used their grassland to bleach their laundry. Due to the combination of the soft water from the dunes, the filtered sunlight and the sea wind the most important professional bleaching fields were found along the coastline of Holland and especially around the city of Haarlem. This made Haarlem to an important textile center; even English merchants bought linen, which was produced and bleached near Haarlem, sold it in England or exported it to their colonies. Thread was imported from Silesia, twined in Haarlem, used to weave cloth in Brabant and transported back to Haarlem to be bleached. When the textile industry of Haarlem declined in about 1650, the bleaching industry around the city survived and even flourished like never before.

For the bleaching process the bleachers not only needed the soft water, but also starch, bluing, soap, buttermilk and whey. This mixture was dumped in the ditches and polluted the water around Haarlem in such a way, that the bleachers soon had a conflict with the brewers, who needed the water as clean as possible. After the special washing process, the cloth was spread out on the fenced bleaching fields, guarded by special trained dogs, which were on a leash during the day, but patrolled the fields at night. After bleaching the cloth was ironed, folded and packed up. It’s obvious this was a flourishing business, but it was typical seasonal work, it only lasted from March to September.

If you want to see a picture of the bleacher go to: http://www.geneaknowhow.net/in/beroepen/luyken/bleker.html

>Choose from the following ancient occupations

Baker | Beachcomber | Beguine | Candlemaker | Dumpman | Executioner | Fanmaker | Fireman | Gravedigger | Innkeeper | Laundrywoman | Nightwatch | Peddlar | Porter | Seat Caretaker | Ship Shanghai | Soapmaker | Streetpaver | Tolltaker | Pharmacist


 
 

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