Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-08-12
WOMAN BEHIND THE PLOW
UP At THE H!LDENE FARM
Scarcity OF Negro Labor No Bugbear
When the Right Kind OF
Woman Takes Hold.
COOP WORK OF a pLUcKY WIFE

Mrs. Ira T.. Day, Of Hanover County
Sees No Disgrace In Riding the
s'our-Horse Binder and Following
the Plow.
All Virginia is answering the call
OF Uncle Sam TO make things hum
| on the farm and to have every acre
produce more than II ever did before,
and the womenfolks are among those
who arc making the best answers.
Hanover County furnishes splendid
sample Of this spirit.
| Ira e. Day, a farmer near Dosw ell,
in that county. tho husband OF 4 wife
who Is worth a thousand times her
weight In gold and the father of five
children. found himself the past spring
| not In the best of health and deserted
by negro labor which had tramred OF
to the North with the employment
| agents. Mrs. Day. the graduate of one
| of Richmonds schools. came TO the
| rescue, turned household affairs over
| to n tntrteen-year-ol daughter. and
| took to the plow and other implements
beside her husband. and fine crops
have been made and some of them
| gathered.
j. C. Stiles. thp farm demonstration
| agent of that county. wrote to Gov
ernor Stuart about the performances
on Hildene Farm, the place OF AIR.
Day, and the Governor mmediately
| wrote his congratulations to Mrs. Day
and. in cue time, received reply,
which he will probably frame and pre-
| serve. because it shows pluck and de-
termination of the kind that made the
Spartan mothers famous in their day.
SPARTAN WOMAN HITS
Pillow AT PROPER TIME
Mr. stiles wrote the Governor as
| follows:
|
| ty owned ard operated by Mr.. and Mrs.
1. e. Day. of boswell They have
about $50 acres under cultivation. There
are five children in the family, the
/ eldest two being girl OF thirteen and
a hoy of ten. The boy belongs TO the
corn club and the girl to the poultry
club and TO the canning club. Mr..
days of help on his farm this sum-
mer. He has tried hard to find help,
but has been unable to do so.
| Mrs. Day--a woman of about thirty
| five years, born and raised in Rich
| mond. graduate of Richmond Normal
School. and schocl-teacher for several
years-works In the field large part
Of The time while the thirteen ycar-old
| girl keeps house and takes care of the
! Younger children. Mrs. Day has this
season broken eighteen acres of land
| with threc-horsc riding pillow. cut six
| or eight acres OF hay with moving
| machine and thirty acres of grain with
| b!nder--a four-horse binder. with tho
tcn-year-old boy on tn. lead horse.
She has also driven the harrow over
large part OF the fields. now in soy
beans peas and corn. For about two
weeks the boy WAS rather sick with
malaria. when the girl helped in the
Held with her mother. Mr.. Day has
been handicapped this season, since he
has no help but his family. and he
has sawmill on his place cutting lum-
Der Tor barn and Silo. He and the
boy have logged the mill in addition
10 their duties on the farm.
They have grown on this farm this
| year Q l-2 acres Of wheat. Is 1.2 acres
of rye, five acres of oats, four. acres
OF oat hay, seventeen acres OF corn, five
acres of soy beans. twelve acres Of
peas. l-2 acres of potatoes. They
plan to BOW twenty acres of wheat and
seven of oats and forty-fve acres Of
rye.
Our Women's Service leagues and
cur women who spend their time IN
sieeping. dressing and pleasure seeking
might get some points from this LADY,
The Governor Immediately wrote
Mrs. Day letter in which he said
among other things:
am In receipt of n letter from Mr..
j {. stiles. county agent for Hanover
County. In which he gives me a most
interesting and noteworthy account of
the results of your work on the farm.
| l wish TO congratulate you and your
FAMILY. not emitting. of course, MIR.
Day. on this splendid spirit of determi
nation and rcsourccfulness under diff
| fculties."
GRIT THAT OvERcoMEs
| ALL THE DIFFICULTIES
In response TO the Governors ro-
| quest for further particulars Mrs. Day
wrote: We are still on the job There
are one or TWO days In the week that
remain Mt tho house to do cleaning
and baking and mendlng and then the
BOY and the girl take turns with the
| team. either narrowing o. blowing
They do their work we'll and show nr
interest In 1t. much more than a hired
man would.
AT one time Mr.. Day was taken sick
and with no help at al, was In ;
serious situation, but the boy and mn,
ourselves TO the plows and we ca ro'
out all right We wanted to break
ABOUT five. maybe six acres to SOW ~
sofa beans and at the time anew 1,
couid not wait. So we both went II
me heid and kept right at 1t. In goot
t,me we plowed and planted it al
right besides doing several other i'm
portant JOBS between times. / wish &c
.. ." d MISTAKEN luea that il
| 10 disgrace for a woman to go I'm m,
neld. When there is need or it ant
the necessity comes, 1t is most beau,i
luI work and ii Is healthful too fo,
my health has been better .his snn,
mer than ever before"
Mrs. Day was unstinted In her prais,
OF the children and their part in IN,
kood work of overcoming the diGicul
yes OF the scarcity OF labor. Trui,
mat scarcity is no bugbear to pcopI
ike the Days. OF rrildene Farm.
Mnnn TimberInnd- Purchased.