The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-05-15
CHEAP LIVING.
How to Support a Family Of Four
Persons on Twenty-Five
Cents a Day.
Sunday Afternoon for May. ]

uSuidl anu aTlLuneGiC sic OlO IL.
Her rent was so cents a week, and
there was fuel to buy and oil and
food. This is the way she did it:
she appropriated z cents each day
for rent, for fuel, 2 for oil and 10
for food. Now the oil never cost
quite the daily 2 cents for Sundays
and in summer she used none, so
out of the oil money came the lack
ing cent for rent, and whatever else
was saved out of it went for wick,
a chimney, or something of that
kind. She arranged with a coal
merchant to bring him SO cents
each Saturday evening; her coal
was safe in her cellar, the men
mixed it with coke for her, and in
summer she used so little that her
money accumulated In his hands
and he put fuel in her cellar for it
when fuel was cheapest, and so her
winter supply was sufficient as she
doled it out. AS she had a fire
and conveniences for washing and
ironing, poor woman did her
washing and Mary's together in
Mary's cellar every week and
ironed for both; tub of suds was
left, and at night Mary secured her
room and cleaned her windows and
furniture. Her place was always
clean, so were her children; conse-
quently they were healthy. Ear
ly every morning she sent out
the boy and girl with bag and
basket to pick up bits of wood, pa
per and pasteboard for kindling.
In summer sometimes the supply
was good enough to boil the water
and so save coal. The little chill
dren returned early from their ex
pedition; the boy washed and
hurried to a grocer's, bakers and
a butchers in the vicinity to see if
there were any errands or any side
walk cleaning for him. Regularly
he went each morning and if there
was work he got for it his breakfast
or penny or a stale loaf. The
food thus given him for his work
was the sole Sabbath supply, fol
on Sunday Mary was earning moth
ing. Saturday mornings the boz
cleaned steps or areas for coupl'
of houses in an adjacent street, get
ting for his work soap-fat, of whicl
his prudent mother made her soar
and in quantity sufficient to enabl
her to trade the grocer's wife som
for the lye she used. On Satul
days, also, both the boy and girl e2
tended their fuel hunt and offere
their services at more stores an
stalls for errands, and the pennie
or worn clothing earned in this wa
i supplied the family wardroh'
though it cost the mother many
late evenings work in patching an
turning TO make it do.
Every day the boy and girl wei
to the public school, and, encou
aged by their mother, worked har
as those who knew schooling was
boon and meant something to then
On Sabbaths, clean, if shabby an
thinIy clad, they all four too
the most obscure seat in a missio
. church. They never begged nc
obtruded their troubles on peopl
and 1 doubt if they were known {
ever got any help beyond perhaI
a trife now and then from til
school teacher.
"Still l cannot comprehend ho
r 10 cents al day fed four, even wit
an occasional meal to the boy an
stale loaf"
If "Nor did 1 until 1 got Mary
bill of fare and ferreted out h'
method of making two ends NEE
She always traded at the san
" shops, decent shops, where 81
was known, and carrying some b
IL sin or pitcher of her own for h'
small purchases she saved the sho
keepers paper and string, and
is they did not begrudge serving h
Titles. She asked the butcher #
bones and meat trimmings whit
10 she could buy by the 2 or cent
worth, more to flavor her food th'
to be food. AS she regularly boug
at the same place, she often
a. ceived little gifts or accommod
tions which eked out her store
Miss Help searched in her des
et drew out slip of paper, and rel
this poor woman's method of fee
ing four people for 10 cents da
10 "Monday: One-half pound ba
" lev. 3 cents; half pound corn me
cents; half-pound dried beans,
on cents: scrap meat, 2 cents. L
corn meal made into mush W
their breakfast; the beans, and hi
the scrap meat to flavor them ma
lin dinner: half the barley, boiled WI
little scrap meat, made a supp
You see here were three very who
up some, nourishing, digestible dish
capable of going long way III 81
porting existence. TUESDAY; S
:. pork. 2 cents; molasses, cen
'"' salt. 3 cents; half pound OF &C
meal 9 cents. The barley left tr'
the dav before was, with molass
'D their breakfast; few OF the bea
had also been retained, and Dol
with the pork and some meal wa
md dinner. and corn meal and a Ii,
molasses made their supper. i
salt would suffice them for a we
can and the molasses were not all vi
that day. Wednesday: cents
" notatoes unless potatoes were dc
and if so she bought instead
cheapest vegetables to be had
'no cents for bones or scraps to
with the vegetables; half a pounC
ler split peas, and 2 cents for c.
~ meal. Thursday: cents for pc
i 3 cents for beans, 3 cents for bar
OH and one cent for pepper. Frid
'ou 4 cents for corn meal, 3 cents
molasses, 3 cents for peas. Sat
re day: 3 cents for beans, A cents
= butchers scraps and 3 cents for
OF tatoes. cabbage or some other We
table. Sunday had to take
y chance on a loaf earned by the
on at the bakers or little food sa
'hu out of the week or some gift to
:, boy for running the groeer's
IN rands. If by any chance NJ
'es saved a cent out of her days fc
~ it went into a little box as say
Sne for clothes or. the inevitable SD
-A5 for winter. Their living SCENE
II. l.