I had forgotten about...

The Blue Monkey!

LAUNDRY

There were heaps and heaps of soiled laundry each day. It would get picked up and then dropped off the next day ... perfectly folded and smelling of fabric softener. I would throw in a tee-shirt or pair of socks and they too, came back soft and folded and were laid out on a table.

I didn't think about it much back then, but now I remember. A couple of local ladies would pick up the 20+ garbage bags full of laundry each day. They dropped it off at a local prison, where the inmates worked overtime to launder it all, fold it all and pack it into fresh bags for the ladies to pick up and drop off at the barn. A constant supply of clean linens was essential to the animals. The various linens that had been donated were used as bedding and padding for the crates. The thin sheets were used to shelter animals from the sun. Towels were used after bathing the animals. the need was constant and that need was always met. I don't know the names of the ladies who tranported the laundry and I don't know the names of the prison inmates who helped launder... I thank each and every one of them.