The record-union., 1899-05-01
DONATION PARTIES.
An Institution of American Coun-
try Life.


The donation party is one of the
American institutions which is I'M
| known to the majority of city bred"
people, and known best to those who
have passed beyond that uncertain
period known as middle life. 1t is a
country institution more than a hum
| dred years old, and its origin has been
ascribed to various causes and condi-
tions. 1t probably originated from the
same causes that made it necessary for
the early country school teacher to
board around The teacher was
wanted in the community, there was lit
tie money to induce him or her to re-
main, and living was made cheap by
| the custom of boarding around" by
| which the burden was divided among
several members of the community.
The donation party was also the result
| Of poverty, and a desire on the part of
the poor people to help the parson make
| ends meet The congregation which had
money enough to do so paid its minister
a living salary, but in country towns
where there was little money the min
| lister usually kept his eye on the dona-
| ton, because the regular salary was
small and uncertain. Farm products,
hoop-poles and coonskins were legal
tender in the early days of the donation
party; the congregations were small,
money was scarce, and on the day after
the party the preacher often became a
trader and carried some of his donated
goods to market, where they were sold
or exchanged for more desirable mer-
| chandise.
| The articles were contributed volun-
tarily, and in order that there might be
good show, and that the element of
good fellowship and the New England
! neighborly feeling might eclipse any
mblance of charity, the donors went
to the parsons house in a body with
their gifts and gave him surprise
party" for which he had looked anx-
iously. While the poor minister was
usually pleased with the arrangement,
and accepted with gratitude and pleas
ure the gifts of his neighbours he often
wished that the articles might have
been been sent by messenger-a hired
man or a hired girl-because the party
| often caused more trouble and entailed
more expense than the donation was
worth
| The old custom has not changed in its
! general character since it was intro
duced. 1t is the same to-day as it was
then, except that the character of the
donations has changed with the times,
and while the donors of a hundred years
ago trampled upon and ruined old
fashioned homemade rag carpets and
criticised the blue china on the shelves.
the present-time donors deal in like
manner with more modern articles.
The same difference exists in the
character of the donations. The col
lection of articles which finds its way
| into the home of the country parson
with donation party is usually high
ly interesting one because of its variety.
There is everything, from wooden
clothespins and kindling wood to angel
cake and plush Misunderstanding, soap,
pickles and live chickens, patent medi-
cinss and wallpaper fruits and vege-
tables in cans, and sofa cushions, bags
of beans and books of poems, things
that are useful in any household, and
others that were in the way in the
houses of the donors, and will remain
| a nuisance in the parsons home until
he changes his field of usefulness, when
he may forget or lose them without in
curing the displeasure of a member OF
his flock
But the donations party does not enc
with a donation to the minister said