Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-02-25
DELAWARE COUNTY FARMERS
INSTITUTE.

OGAA w AM SOUN1 CANluEN y
INSTITUTE.
Continued fr ON last week.
Children in Country Homes.
By Jennle Jones.
appreciate the honor conferred up
on me by your program committee
when they invited me to write paper
to read before this gathering of intel.i-
gent farmers and their accomplished
wives and daughters
1t is said that a foolish person can &C.
cept an honor, but that it takes wise
one to know how and when to refuse,
and this committee as well as the
audience present, will no doubt wish,
before take my seat that had been
endowed with wisdom enough TO re-
fuse their request. However l feel
grateful to the committee for making
some suggestions as to my topic, else l
might have attempted to write on the
questions of "How to raise the hest
quality of wheat?" or "Does it pay
for the average farmer to raise blooded
stock?" / can assure you my friends
that you have cause to be thankful
that you are not obliged to listen to my
opinions on those or similar topics.
have chosen to talk a few minutes
on "Children in Country Homes" L
don't mean the bachelor uncle or aunt's
children, as perfect as they may be, but
real live everyday kind of children, such
as some of we mothers have had half
dozen of in our homes at one time.
You notice l say children in country
homes and | have q reason for this
In town children are commodity you
can borrow from your neighbors, and
sometimes you can have your house and
even your yard full without borrowing
at all. really want to talk to you of the
blessings of children in country homee,
for l can scarcely picture more lonely
life for any couple than those on the
farm with no children; isolated as they
are from their neighbors, although they
do cssp all of theAs bread fertile acres
of typical Iowa farm. l don't see
how people can get real happiness from
wealth or great possessions. l would
rather be like the mothers pictured in
the popular stories of "The Widow o.
Cslagan's Boys or "Mrs. Niggs of the
Cabbage Patch" and have my treasures
of untold riches in my boys, than to
own one of your best Delaware County
farms and live with no children to make
the home bright and joyous.
feel like congratulating every farm
er and farmers wife here today who
are 80 rich as to have family of good
children; and to those of you who have
none, ask you to think if you would
not do good to yourself as we'll
as to the child, if you should take into
your hearts and homes one of the home
less little ones who are easily found in
any of our cities or larger towns,
l said family of good children, and
surely all children raised in the country
ought to be good, for the parents have
great advantage over their city brothers
and sisters in bringing up their children.
You in the country have something
for your children to do when out OF
school. There ARE SO many different
kinds of work about the country home
and each child can have his or her por-
tion of this work be 1t great or small
and this is the custom generally; the
child is taught here more easily thai
every one in life has certain duties tc
perform, ana that these duties come be
fore pleasure. If 1t is the small boy or cir
and their work is to care for the chick
ems and pigs, while learning their duty
they are also learning humanity toward
animals, each profitable lesson sure
And these same lessons are learned O
should be with the older children, witt
more duties and heavier work; you Sc,
there is enough for each and every
member of the household to have som
cares and responsibilities of their owl
and the work is or should be divided il
such way that the father and mothe
would not be overburdened with worl
and could have some time for pleasur
and recreation.
Children in town or city homes do no
have these advantages for there is no
work enough about the home for eac
child to have sufficient amount to d
: tokeep them out of mischief, and idle
ness generally breeds mischief and mis-
chief is quite apt to lead to sin an
vice.
Country children have better chsnc
to build up strong healthy bodies wit
outdoor exercise and pure air whic
> makes ones nerves tingle with healt
aid strength. A strong and health
body is possession worth striving fo
, and 9 boy or girl who is endowed wit
good muscles and good morals is we
equipped for the battle of life, althoug
he or she hasn't dollar in money; ant
my friends, your boys who are to leay
their country homes for life in the cit
are much better prepared to resist th
o temptations which are sure to bese
l them If their souls are fortified wit
/ strong robust bodies.
= = Why are so many of our boys, an
girls too, so anxious to leave their goo
n comfortable homes for the drudpery {
# city life9 Don't think for momeI
: dear friends, that 1 imagine myse
o competent to answer such an impol
n tant and often discussed question;
= only wish to give you few of my ow
u u ideas and If they should be Of profit ,
!. one family here today my time an
yours will not have been wasted.