The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-12-02
,anized communities Of women only IN

clothing is most popular" Miss Elnora
Baker, county home demonstration
agent, said. "0n large number of
farms the care and raising of poultry
is considered the special work of the
woman, and for this reason she is anx-
ious to know how to Gull out the poor
layers, feed the right sort Of ration,
combat diseases and all that sort of
thing. 1t is part of the home demon
stration agents business to have this
information at hand when she is called
on to give it."
AS little girl Miss Baker always
was more interested in things that
now are called "home economics" than
in music and other things most girls
rate as Accomplishments" 1t was
not strange, then, that when she at
tended Missouri University she could
specialize in home economics or that
she could continue her studies along
this line at Wisconsin University,
from which she was graduated in
1920. Both college training and prac-
tical experience at home enter into
her qualifications.
Clothing Specialist Aids
"Last March we had Miss Robinson,
clothing specialist from Missouri
University, down here" Miss Baker
said. "She held a four-day school in
which she gave special instruction to
two women from each of four COM
munities. Then each one so trained
taught eight others until there were
seventy-two women in the county who
were trained in better methods of
making clothing. Substantial sums
are saved on patterns which we show
the women how to make. With these
they can make more clothing at home
than ever before and have better fit
ting clothes and cheaper. Not. less
than twelve women have been trained
to make dress forms and show others
how. That is one splendid feature
about the work of the home demon
stration agent. AS soon as one wo-
man in community is shown some
new way of doing things, she helps all
her neighbors by telling them, too.
Thus this knowledge keeps spreading
and spreading" a
The interest taken by women in
these things is indicated by the story
of one woman who got up early and
walked two miles with two children to
catch ride to the clothing school.
The ride was eight miles through the
cold, and the woman got home late
that evening, but she said she felt am
ply repaid by what she had learned.
Another woman used her foundation
pattern to make twelve dresses at
substantial saving. In one communi-
ty the women say they saved 500 on
dress forms alone.
At Cartee clothing meetings were
held where short cuts of making but
tonholes, cable stitching, set-in poe
kets, easy packets and simplified
method of sewing on binding were
demonstrated. Other meetings wer~
held at Bismarck, Libertyville and Doe
Run.
The planning Of meals seems
mighty simple thing TO the man who
is used to coming home and finding a
meal on the table. He has p9ver had
to answer every day, year in and year
out, the question of "What shall we
have for dinner?"
So meal planning is another thing in
which the women around here are
much interested. Meetings at which
this was discussed have been held at
Bonne Tarre, Primrose, Hazel Run and
Leadwood. Some women wanted to
know good ways of making desserts
from milk, making junket, baked GUS
tards and foundation gelatine des-
serts. The home demonstration agent
showed how these things might be
done. AS result, eight communities
selected meal planning as their work.
ing project. It's big help, say wo-
men who have received aid in meal
planning.
Tells Mission of Agent
How the knowledge of doing things
spreads about is seen in the case of a
woman who was interested in capon-
izing. After Miss Baker had demon
strated the process for her, this wo-
man then passed along her new knowl-
edge to ten others.
All of which is mere fragment of
the many helpful things the home
demonstration agent does in the
course of year.
"Some persons have the notion that
we home demonstration agents come
into county with the intention of