Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-05-14


and butter, with trying to be cook,
house-maid, seamstress, nurse, dairy
maid, poultry-keeper. and a multitude
of other things. There is no time for
! dress up i'm the afternoon, no time for
social reading or mental advancement.
When evening comes every one Is too
tired to do aught but drop into chair,
lazily run over the weekly news, then of
to bed. It's stagnation itself. l wish
we lived in town"
thereupon began to dream how lovely
things would be there. NV husband
would find work at a good salary, or
meet with a congenial partner in some
business. I'd take boarders, and make
ten times as much money as l could
fussing with chickens. / would grow
Intellectual and so would the children,
and life would be worth living.
Well, we left the farm and went in
town to live, and this is how IL all
turned out The city was one OF the
big ones, so big we had to rent house
three miles from the center to avoid be-
ing squeezed into no space at all, and to
have the rent reasonable.
i soon found that my shopping trips
must be well considered, for car fare
soon amounted to neat little sum. Our
mother church was located near the
business portion of the town; after walk
i9g the d sta ems Spnda With th
the next, we concluded to give up the
long-wished-for privilege and attend a
church nearer home.
began To be told how unhealthy it
was. had not thought of sickness; at
once was sure one of our family would
be laid away in the cemetery on the hill.
/ begged to move back to the farm, but
just then the children came down with
the whooping cough, and so the poor
dears had To be isolated. There was only
a small yard with no resources; their only
amusement was to sit on the porches and
watch what was passing. How they
longed for the freedom of the farm. where
they could shout, chase the pigs and
chickens, ride horseback. build forts,
dig wells, do so much that suited their
active nature. The plaintive cry was,
81 don't know anything to do" The
little boys around would swear and play
so roughly found l could not encourage
their coming, and when L heard how lit
tie ones were treated at school by the
older scholars, L groaned and declared
they should not go.
My neighbors were very pleasant, and,
not being on a farm / supposed they were
all happy-one especially, who was the
owner of pretty house, well furnished,
q nice turnout, and her children near by;
surely, said, she must be happy; yet,
when remarked the same to her, she
replied, with sad smile, I'm far from
being happy. l lie awake many nights
planning how to make money. l want
to be rich, and can't be; so 1 am just
miserable"
The husband Of my next door neighbor
was book-keeper, so, having a certain
sum to depend upon, l concluded he was
satisfied, but when learned that he left
at a. m, and did not return until 10 p.
m, eating a cold dinner, did not wonder
that he preferred farm life; and late r
they rented a farm.
Another was distracted because he had
mortgaged his farm to buy city lots.
Dull times and no business had used up
everything. and he, too, went back to the
farm. Many others were similarly stu
ated 1 found even those well-estab-
lished businesses worried by failure of
health and the perplexities of hard
times.
The partner my husband sought could
not be found, nor the salary. didn't
think, when IL came to the point, that
taking boarders would DO any more
agreeable or as profitable as raising
poultry. 1 was surprised at the rigid
economy my neighbors practiced. They
dressed well, but had to deny themselves
things / considered essential. Butter,
eggs, and milk, though so poor, cost SO
much when used as freely as l was ac-
customed to.
We returned to the farm wiser and q
more conten:ed family, and have en-.
deavored to remedy the evils instead OF
running away from them.
To Save Time and Patience.
Here is device for keeping gate
open. The drawing explains itself. II
the gate swings free from the ground
there will be room enough to fasten the