The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1883-05-18
An American Girl Heard From.
From the Rural New Yorker,

From the Rural New Yorker.
am another one of those girls who,
like "Annie Winfrey," do not think
homework SO very charming. If the
able writers who often take US for SUBJ
ject would only say: "Get the girls in.
terested in housekeeping" could agree
with them, for every girl should know
how to keep and manage a house.
Housekeeping means the management
of domestic affairs which acquire great
skill and judgment; and while it may be
construed to mean a performance of
many household labors it does not nee
essarily mean all the downright hard
work of a house. But, instead Of house
keeping, they say: sect those girls in
terested in housework," which means
all the work of the house, washing, iron
ing, scrubbing, cleaning, cooking, etc.,
and if we dare ever so family say we do
not like this work they glare at us with
open disapproval. Now, I think we
girls are greatly abused. If you choose
to look the country through do not be-
lieve you can find one girl in thousand
sits down, leaving her mother to do the
work alone.
Yet the papers of to-day TEEN with ar
ticles accusing us of not working. You
can hardly find one of us who does not
do all in her power to tighten her moth
er's work, and we deserve more credit
than is given us for doing so much that
is unpleasant. Not that homework is
degrading, but hard and disagreeable.
Still we do this work willingly and cheer
fully because we consider it our duty and
are interested in our labors to this ex-
tent, we know the work must be done
and it is our place to do it and more sat
isfaction is given when work is done
we'll than otherwise. This is not saying
that we like the endless round of house,
work, and why should we? Why should
we like to soak our hands in dish-water
three times day, steam ourselves over
ironing-table and roast ourselves oyer q
cook stove until our faces are scarlet,
gradually deepening to royal purple
very beautiful color in its place but not
often admired in the face. Are we vain
because we do not like to do work that
makes our hands rough and our faces
coarse? To say nothing of backaches
and weary limbs.
Wonderif there are many women who
can truthfully say they would rather do
homework than anything else?
To country girls heusework frequently
means, in addition to the above, feeding
pigs and chickens, and sometimes even
milking the COWS, and always getting the
vegetables from th81] garden, picking
berries and hundredss of other things
not thought of until they turn up to be
done. In Mrs. Annie L. jacks charm
ing stories there is always ut least one
servant to do the drudgery. 1 can see
how homework in that way could be
made very pleasant, but doing it alone
is different thing. Perhaps not one of
these writer's who take us to task so
often ever went into kitchen and did
the work week after week, year after
year, or they would not think it so
strange that we dislike it. Since consid-
ering this subject I have taken some
pains to consult my girl friends who I
know do great deal Of house work and
have not found one who says she likes
the work, still does it conscientiously
and cheerfully.
ofcourze lam speaking ofpeople whose
their women to do the work. If one can
have plenty of servants I don't blame
the girls for not going into the kitchen.
There must be some way of learning to
keep house we'll and doing homework
in case of an emergency (such rs marry
ing poor MANI, without lifetime of
practical experience. There may be
some girls in poor circumstances who
let their mothers do the work in order
to preserve their own beauty but 1 am
sure they are few compared with the
number of girls in the world. These few
are probably so hardened that no adj
vice can touch them; therefore why lee
ture and scold US all so often when so
few are the sinners and they evidently
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