Evening star., 1926-11-21
FATHER OF 70 HAS !.
RULESFOR FAMILY
Iowa Farmer Gives Recipe
for Harmony in Household.
Insists on Discipline.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

! Special Dispatch to The Star.
GLIDDEN, Iowa, November 90
The largest family in all Iowa-and
one of the largest in the country
lives out here on farm a little way
from Glidden-the Jan Peters family
| father, mother and 20 children, with.
| out set of twins of triplets among
them-and all church members who
are old enough to join church.
Mr.. Peters is SO, Mrs. Peters is 49,.
They were married in 1896. 80 years
ago. The oldest child is 29. The
youngest is 2. There's never been a
death in the family, and the children
have never had a serious illness
nothing but the usual infantile dis
eases.
Mother Peters can rattle off the
names and ages without missing a
name or a syllable. Dirck, 30; Jakob,
28; Anna. 26; John. 25; Henry, %;
| Hannah, %; Louise, 21: Marie, 20; Will
helm, IS: Frederick, II; Herman, 16:
Hilda, Is; Emma, 13; Alvin, II; Edna.
+, 10; Lorenz, 8; Albert, s; Lillian. 6:
Warren, and Roy, 2. Twelve boys
and eight girls.
Two married daughters, two married
sons and two sons who rent farms all
live within four miles of the old home.
On Sundays the whole flock, father,
mother, 90 children and four children
at-law, all go to the little Lutheran
church about mile away, and then
they all come "home" for a Sunday
dinner.
Claim Peace Obtains.
The Peters family is more than a
family-it is a miniature democracy.
with rules and regulations. Heads of
the government are the parents. Mr..
Peters is "boss" of everything outside
the house Mrs. Peters is head of
everything within the house. There
is never a conflict, they both say.
Raising a family like this is not
hard" says Mr.. Peters. But it must
be done on a farm. Why, I've known
of families in cities with six or eight
children where they actually had
trouble getting enough to eat. All
our children have gone through school
or will go through as soon as old
enough. And all are members of the
church.
IA big family brings happiness,
such as nothing else can. We do not
All the money I ever had is invested
in the children and they are paying
big dividends. What if mama and
had lot of money and no children?
We would be poor indeed"
Peters is a renter. He does not
own the farm.
Explains Discipline Rules.
Discipline is absolutely necessary in
large family, says Mr.. Peters. If
a child goes wrong, don't fly into
rage and start whipping. First, ex-
plain to the child why it is wrong and
exact a promise that the thing will
never happen again. AS a last resort,
a whipping may be advisable, but use
only the palm of the hand and with
out any show of temper. And don't
let the other children witness the
spanking.
'"No favoritism must be shown. All
must get the same treatment"
Orderliness is an important factor
in the family, Mr.. Peters says.
I'm family Of this size there must
be a place for everything and every
thing must be kept in it's place
Every child must take care Of his
own TOYS. books, clothing. etc. Then
each child must have it's daily mental
and physical tasks, according to its
age and strength. After performing
these tasks children enjoy their play
more. There should be enough of
each.
"Our children would rather stay at
home, even when it comes to amuse-
ments," says Mr.. Peters. I'm the
Winter we have so many games that
a large family can play and that are
such fun. ave have bobsled parties
and make popcorn balls and candy,
and play checkers. dominos, cards and
a dozen other games"
Saturday Bath Is Institution.
The Saturday night bath is an in
stitution in the Peters family. There
Is no running water. But huge guam
titles Of water is heated and the bath
ing begins in a great tub-the Oldest
first and on down to the youngest.
1t takes just about the entire eve-
ming.
At meals two shifts are neces-
sary. Father, mother, the older chill
dren and the baby are at the first
table and are waited upon by the
others. Then there is a change and
the older ones wait upon the younger
at the table. And such quantities of
food. Twenty-Five healthy people,
There are no servants, either in the
house or outside. The women do the
work within the house-cooking wash
ing or sewing. Out in the fields the
male members of the family do all
the work, with Mr.. Peters as instruc-
tor Mrs. Peters principal role is that
Of teacher and adviser. She teaches
the girls how to cook and sew and
mend. She also plans the menus.
The "getting.up" process in the
morning Is methodical and does not
vary. At 4 o'clock Mr.. and Mrs.
Peters get up. Then the workers"
are called. The smaller children
sleep as late as they wish to.
And we are all happy, every one,"
SAYS Mr.. Peters.