Sad Iron excavated from 1222 Howard/LaSalle Street

The common “sad iron”, meant to be manually heated on a stove and used to press clothing, served as an essential tool for a laundress like Minnie Puckett. Heavy and unwieldy, this item made piece work like laundry strenuous. Not only did Minnie work as a laundress, but her family remembers stories of her using spare time to go and sell foods she prepared at the docks on the riverfront to earn extra money.