The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1914-05-21
Home Industry

Mr.. Editor: | wish to say
few words to your many read
ers about home industry. We
are making progress along this
line but the thing we need is tc
make more progress. It would
be well to consider the adva zee.
ment we haye made, for it will
serve us as an inspiration tc
higher and nobler things.
It has been only a few years
since people were blowing with
wooden foot plow stocks. They
made a little corn crop, that is,
the average man raised hogs
and cattle, he made corn whis-
key and fed his hogs with the
slop, etc. We lived in little log
houses, the cracks lined with
split boards, stick and clay
chimneys and the roads ran
straight up and down the hills
without any grade whatever.
We didn't have any such
things as daily mail, piano or
telephone. The idea those days
was, that the farm was made
only for negroes and mules to
work on to keep them out Of
meanness. The man who was
able to educate his children
would say, now children I
want you to go to school and be
somebody When they enter
ed school the teacher would tell
them that the thing they need
ed to do was to get through
school and be a lawyer, doctor,
merchant. politician or in some
professional business. A great
many of them made that kind
of men. The girl that went to
school made the wife of the doc
tor. merchant or lawyer, but
the poor mans children would
marry and build a little log hut
down on the branch, coon and
possun1 hunt for a living. But
thank God, we have seen the
light at last, we have learned
thai we are all Adams children
and big and little you are al
most a thing of the past. The
poor man can educate his chill
dren these days and educate
them right, too. Now the school
teacher will teach your children
that the thing to do is,get thru
school, go back to their old COM
munity and make a home, build
up their country and be some
body. This is the right idel. it
is the proper vision of life. Pro
fessional business is all right.
but the merchant, lawyer or
doctor are no better than other
people. It is just as honorable
to be a blacksmith, if a man
fills that position honestly, as it
is to be governor of any state.
Since we have learned these
things we should be careful to
keep humble and true to God
and each other.
We have nice homes on the
farms, good roads, improved
faems, telephones, nice horses,
buggies, farming tools Of var
ious kinds, automobiles and, it
seems, almost anything heart
could wish. We have better
churches, good comfortable
school houses and almost every
thing to make home life sweet.
But it seems that some of our
young folks can't see anything
in life but a bottle of whiskey,
cigarettes or something like
that. The parents work to edu-
cate and train them up to make
and be something in the world,
and the children will idle
away their time. If the devil
don't get such boys as that, he
is off his job.
Since we have so many riding
plows and farm machinery, the
boys don't have to work like
they used to. It seems to me
that we have reached crisis,
when there must be something
done to save our boys.
But back to our subject. The
man whoB has a 4C-acre farm
and it improved is the man
who has an ideal home. He is
the man who lives and enjoys
life at home. May we all learn
and study home industry and
try to make a home that is
pleasant and happy.