The Bessemer indicator., 1894-02-24
WORK IN THE OLD DAYS.
OUR oRANDMorHERs WEREN'T
BROUGHT UP IDLE.
Jousshoid Ways and Means In the Coun.
try Before Modern Ideas Came In and
When Poverty md ECONOMY Were Not
Regarded As Unmixed Evils.

Most old people are inclined TO
"Reminiscences, and my hostess aged
mother is no exception to the rule,
says Philadelphia Times writer.
She recently said: children aren't
trained to work in these days as they
were whom l was young. There were
nine children in my fathers family
and / was the firstborn. so l had o
good chance to help bring tho
younger ones up. Father WAS q tailor
by trade md always had his shop In
the house we lived In. Mother used
to help him sow. You wonder how
she could find time to do 1t with such
. large family? Well, in the busiest
times she had hired girl to do the
housework and we children had to
begin to help as soon as we were out
OF arms, almost. / learned to sow
and made u mans coat all alone be-
fore was twolve years old. My sis
ter. next younger had to take care OF
the smaller children. and the others,
as they camo along. did their share
in enc way or another until father
got to be little forehanded and set
out to educate them. After that thoy
didn't amount to much In the way OF
help.
''Besidos our largo family we
always had two apprentices to cook.
wash, iron. and mend for. These
apprentices had to sorve five years
for the trade. During that time
father had to board and clothe them
and when their timo was out give
them a freedom suit and pair OF
cutters shears You can imagine
there had to be considerable cooking
done for such u large household.
Mother and used to get up ut Ave
O'Clock. summer and winter, and
hurry tho housework out OF tho way
so that We might begin to sew as
soon as possible. People didn't make
Is much fuss over their cooking and
housework in those days as they do
now. 1t seems tom We always had
plenty to cat. though. for father was
Pennsylvania Dutchman, and you
know thoy are good livers Mother
was neat housekeoper. too, but
she didn't have many fancy fxings
around. Instead of lace work, GRO
cheting and embroidery we had to
put In our time, when wo weren't
sewing. in knitting stockings for our
selves and tho children and socks
for the men
Father used to do q great deal Of
work for farmers. In tho fall they
would bring him great rolls OF cloth
-butternut-b brown homespun and
London brown factory-fulled cloth
to be cut and made up for their
families They generally had two
suits apiece all around for the men
and boys, the homespun for everyday
wear, and the factory cloth for best
suits. The farmers usually paid for
the greater part OF their work in
produce, and besides we had large
garden. In tho winter we always
bad barrel OF pork and barrel OF
sourkraut in the cellar, and plenty OF
sorned beef, homo dried beef, lard,
sausage, and all sorts of vegetables
Having survived to this dyspeptic
day and generation. l am filled with
wonder and amazement that we ever
lived through 1t when look back at
The things that formed our staples OF
diet. Perfectly indigestible they
would be considered now. Buckwheat
cakes. fried pork or sausage, fried
sourkraut and potatoes. with coffee
and fried cakes or doughnuts, gen-
orally formed our breakfast in win
ter. Then we would have what we
called boiled dinner'-cabbage,
potatoes. turnips and u large piece
Of pork or corned beef, all cooked
together in the same kettle. Some
times 1t would be varied by sour
kraut. meat. potatoes and sort of
aumpling boiled together. A Dutch
mess you sayP Well. perhaps. but
1t used to taste very good.
"ln the spring we used to make
soap enough to last through the
Vear. We never had to buy any ma
terials for it. We got tho lye by
teaching wood ashes saved from the
6res, and the fat was saved from
meat rinds, odds and ends of tallow,
ste. We always made our own can
dles, too. Did it all up at one time
10 last year. In making SO many 1t
VAS too tedious task to cast them
In molds, so thcy were dipped. A
great quantity OF wick was cut into
proper lengths. hung Mt proper dis
;anoes apart over small wooden rods,
Ind then dipped in a kettle Of melted
tallow and hung away to cool tho