Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-04-07

himself Men and women, strong, no
bug of common life and desired to es-
cape it, came to him. Petty, pitiful.
conforming common life held no resting
place for them. 1t ridieuled them, per
secuted them even. They gathered
themselves together and fed to Vine
land, the place of refuge for persons
who thought~for themselves.
In nearly every case those who loved
freedom found there was something,
there was much in their ideals, The
ideal of combined city-country exist
ence wrought itself into manifestation
in Vineland Today it is a forty light
mile square tract of blooming, fruitful
orchard and garden, and in the whole
farm city no intoxicating liquors are
or ever have been sold
+ Among the pioneer women of beauti-
full Eineland was Miss Susan Fowler
She was not strong in health and the
world of petty conyentionality forced
upon her much that she would fain be
rid of One of the things was long
heavy skirts, She yearned for the free
use of her lower limbs. the nghtness
and freedom that release from petit
coats gives Miss Fowler sped to Vine
land and clad herself in boomers
None said her nay, none even ridiculed
her Were they not all in one way or
another plisoned souls. searching for
freedom? 4 crank may not ridicue
another crank. may he?
Miss Fowler took a fruit and yegeta
Bile farm and began the productive till
ing of it. She wore her knickers in
peace and comfort, and does SO still.
and raised great quantities of Vine
lands famous product-sweet potatoes
She planted peach and apple orchard
and in due time ate the fruit thereof
and also marketed much of it. She
did and does to this day with her own
hands all the work. light and heavy.
upon that patch of ground, and in the
doing of it health, natures royalest
gift to living creatures came back to
her. In the eyes of the woman whose
skirt is a street sweeper Miss Fowler's
boomers are not pretty But beauty
of attire is a matter of taste, and that
dress is handsomest which is best
adapted to the wearer's use. In her
convenient boomers Miss Fowler, forty
years ago, became very handy at trim
ming fruit trees. digging potatoes, load
ing her fruits and vegetables in
wagon. mounting its seat and driving
to market, independent as boy.
Yet has the Nineland woman farmer
not spent all her time in the grinding
toll supposed to be the working agri-
| culturist's lot Yineland soil is fertile,
and Miss Fowler has farmed it intelli-
gently She has had especial objection
to having IA man around even to
work for her 1t is said the one
anxiety of her life, now at the age of
eighty, IS that she will decline physic-
ally so as to be unable to do all the
farm work herself, and at the close OF
her long and independent career at last
be obliged to have a man around" If
this would distress her let us hope she
will be spared it.
Generous crops have rewarded Miss
Fowler's up to date farming. and she
has found time to read and think, also
to write. She has published several
books. Through the more than forty
years of her lone farm life Miss Fowler
has been very good company for her
self. Removed from the poultry like
cackling and chatter of world she
left nearly half century ago, Susan
Fowler has experienced like Sweden
borg and the prophets, the noble joy
of thinking out her world problems un-
disturbed. she is naturally deeply in
terested in woman questions. She says
lit is her mission to SOW thought
seeds Naturally. too. she finds that
THE world thinks too much of dress
and too little Of the real life
DORA BELLE DENiSoN.