The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-10
DINING CARS OF The PRAIRIE
Rural Pullman mat Fsils~s The
ThFeshinE Crr~ HraSty Neal. mat
vary Little Three Tianss . DaJ Tb-
Problem OF Hrlp Inrreastngiy tiara

ABILENE Kan. July : Busy H...
arr ths-s Tor the farmers wife - '..
wheat helt u IL harvest tins. brtnsiuF
from Sax Il ton strange men a. even
meal They come u breakfast az sAN
again t. dinner az noon and to supp~t l.
= IN th" evening They are raveno,s,
hungry. devouring tho ~ntahle- az rat,
that Would make q ctty woman Eas,
but they must h. fed
1T ~ difiicIlt - make Iaopl., real
why We - dread ~ soc harvest ttr...
come said the woman On a central kar
SIS farm. The men desir. clear I.f
weather and d. not mind the heat wh.r
they ar. m the fields; but they do Oct
think Of the weary women toiling uysr
hit stove indoors.
-Sincr harvest began Il s~ems as th1ug
would mover get enough bread and but
TER made I USED q bake and churn once
a week. but now twice or even thr.,
times are often not enough
4 little later in the season the mem, ~
Of harvest days seems merely pTepari.
tim for the increased labor that thresi
ing brings. because It II cheaper 10 feed
the men On the farm where much ~ h.
necessary food u produced than u hiry
cook shack crow tho struggling fArm.r
boards the hands Chickens. eggs
milk. vegetables and fruit from the pla,'
are always ready. besides the fresh meats
ihomcmads butter and canned fruits IN,
woman from town would have 10 buy
The farmers wife must feed the twelve
men composing the thrcshing Grew and
the six hired men who haul the grain from
separator u granarIes or to town.
a.
time. but H. the summer the farm
woman only resource h the neighbof
girl Fortunately this IL available when
the work IL the hardest. This IL the way
! the country correspondent for the county
seat papsT puts 10: Lucille Wilson l.
helping Mrs. Elmer johnson during
harvest That is society news ami
every ore in the neighborhood u inter
estei IL i
At meal times the workers. eighties
coatless. blue overallei men. come tramp
| ing into the diEing room. having -washe 1
aud combel- out OF doors. All cit down
! together. for no one il nee lei to wait
on the table. Everything u arrange! 40
/ that each can help himself The menu Is
something like this Chicken pie. potatoes
and gravy. hot biscuits and butter. sweet
corn, canned tomatoes. watermelon
pickles. honey. baked apples. pumpkin
/ pie, coffee.
how who IA ,riei il sail 1 never realize
| what good cooking was until ] spent a
summer Oh Kansas farms, helping M
the harvest.
Every farmers wife has at least one
dream. For some Il has alrea ~ mate
rializeI: for many IL will soon be reality
one woman said: We want to build d
tenant house where the older barn now
stands. The man will help my hushana
aud be oversecr whel uecc.SAry. hi'
wife will boar aud room all the men, q,
the Washing aud help me wheu nesi her
We can get away from here then and shal
take our Iostuorci welding trip,
out ~ desperate need one solution o
the vorran harvest problem has come
II 5 the cook shack, or IN other words IN
dining car Of, the plains. The thre.hini
outHt YOU see Chugging along the dust
road dra,ys along in the rear one OF thes'
moving kitchens. Prom the tune th'
first wheat - cut until the middle
Nu,sTh her u moves from farm 10 farm
| su.,ilv its mistress ~ the wife Of tn
threshing machine owner. and she TAX -
as much interest IN u - in her home
. stationed out in a yellow rea OF stIbbl'
one such manager pointed proudly 70
vas built along the lines ~ a Pullman
a. wide and nearly a. long. the roo
y,ntilr;ad. the only door az the side.
LIS mistress led u her boudOir Tbs
room was eight feet square. containing
folding bed, washstand. mirror and
. chair Two small closets and two Win
. dpws COMPLETED its furnishing. The din
ling room ~ the centre NJ the car NAA
~ ice as long AZ the bedroom. bott
sid.sz 81 the car " ere made mp OF " indnNi
, two feet sluarc. The shelf tables a, e1ci
sid. covered with white oilcloth Ner'
spotlcs- The kitchen at the other enc
: also " 90 square 4 large, neW range "a
? at the end. porcelain sink With drAI
b vas ~ one side and the remaining space
exCept tNo windows was taken M bl
ctiphoardS For a cellar she had large
long box built on the under side OF IN
car \ small door in the outside wall o
the shack covered n mirror, several comn'
: and roller towel
Hearing a -hrill whistle the mistress
hurr'c- ~ hey kitchen. The tables ar
',ad.d bv the time the men have Hnishe'
| their informal toilets and have rIshed v
THEW seats The menu Of the dinner Q
4 N.',,I ham. PORK and beans. hoiled 70
'atocs canned tomatoes. fried Saiierkrani
hot biscuits molasses. preserved apr
Il cots. raIsln pie and black oohee. ms
Il plenty ~ characteristic ot every Uieal y
harvest TIME and all might a. well ~
| called dinVer Even breakfast dos no
differ much from the others.
/ The moving kitchen has become =
necessary tina: in a few years every Whea
cutting crew as well as every threshinI
/ machine out7t will carry one II y
l abo'lt tho only real relief yet invenie'
i for the farmers wife. IL ranks with IN
i farmer = self -rlnder and the wind starNr
Il of the thrsshing separator. But '9r
Il and the good Offices Of the ne ghhor-
harvest on the hg wheat farms WOMB -