The Newark journal., 1909-04-02
How | Saved My BOYS.

l want to tell you Of my home and
why moved from town to the country
Some years ago my husband, rail
road man, died in a neighborfng
! State. / was left widow with eight
| little ones. six boys and two girls.
Being far from the land of my birth
and what kindred | had, ! decided to
return to my old home, a thriving city
of South Carolina My husband own
ed some town property at this place,
and fortunately had house untenant-
ed at the time. So, after settling my
affairs, l moved my family there.
Only those who have experienced it
know what sad thing it is for the
widowed mother and grieving wife,
who has to gather her little brood
around her and make new nest. A
new nest, a new home, alasl where
there is no father to love, guide Alright
and protect from all harm. | resolved
with Gods help to raise my little ones
to be a credit to that dear father who
had gone on before.
With heavy heart l tried to be
cheerful and make home pleasant for
my children. My eldest son went to
work in an Office, and the Others, with
the exception of my two youngest,
we're sent to a good school A year or
two passed and my second son decid-
ed that he, too, would go to work. OF
all things he wanted to farm Just
think of it, seyenteen-year-o boy,
reared in town, where we could not
have garden. How can you farm,
son" | asked, with no experience and
no one to teach you? To please him
| rented few acres near town, which
he planted in corn and peas Our
home plot he put in cotton, potatoes
and vegetables | will not go into de-
tails, but with the aid of a good farm
journal he made his first crop-a fair
crop of corn, fine pea hay, bale of
cotton, fifty bushels of potatoes and
plenty of vegetables. This success in
a small way fired his ambition, so /
boguht a small farm seven miles from
town
still he made expenses and cleared q
little money. In the meantime found
that my little boys at home were
growing away from me. In spite OF
my efforts to prevent, they were get
ting in bad company and would go on
the streets. When ! could induce my
boys to stay home the neighbor boys,
good and bad, dropped in. | soon
realized that unless some decisive
step was taken my boys were in fair
way to be ruined But what to do |
cou1u not uecTuc. Y1Ie uaY, WHINE az
the farm, l kept thinking. What can
| do TO save my boys?"
AS / sat there my Idle gaze wander
ed over the quiet fields and green
woods. All at once it flashed into my
mind that here was the solution to my
problem. Then and there l decided
to sell my home in town and build
me a nice home on the farm. My
friends protested, You will be ruin
ed You can't farm You won't like
the country" Every one tried to dis
courage me, but | kept to my deter
mination.
Today | have nice home of nine
rooms, ten foot verandas with colonial
columns. 1t is Finished and as com
Portable as any city home. My child
rem have new piano, graphophone etc
am not making barrels of money,
but am doing fairly we'll with the farm.
70 m
wear and am independent of labor as
| have four boys large enough to work
have a fine vegetable garden and
an acre in sweet potatoes. | have
seven fine hogs and pair of register
ed Berkshires to raise from, and as
fine a mule colt as there is IN the
country. | make plenty of milk and
butter and have an occasional beef TO
sell Have lots of nice chickens, tiocks
of geese and ducks, turkeys, etc.
like the country. Country life | think
the finest in the world. But better
than all. | find that my little boys
are mine again. There is no mischief
for them to get into When there is no
farm work to do, they so fishing or to
that haven of delight for small boys,
the wash hole" Some days they hunt
berries and plums. l am never wor-
| ried about them, nor wonder what they
are doing When night comes every
little sleepy head is ready for bed
II Is such a comfort to have them all
to myself. as it were. We have fine
school near US and this fall want to
send my eldest daughter to college
/ IL, 1.4.1 h.,.e ha1e their friends from