The Coolidge examiner., 1932-10-28

early in the morning, before he goes
to his job in the city, and when he
returns in the afternoon, he joins
his wife in hOeing the vegetables,
training the roses over the doorway,
cultivating the dahlias, pansies, vio-
lets and sweet peas.
Garden Prizes Awarded.
Toward the end of the summer
the housewife is kept busy canning
and preserving the produce of her
dollhouse garden, while the husband
concentrates his efforts upon the
flowers.
On the appointed Sunday in Au-
gust each family takes its prize
products - blossoms, fresh and
canned vegetables, and fruit-to the
blue room. Here the women, ar
rayed in the peasant attire of their
native provinces, display the results
of their summer recreation and di-
version.
These wOrkingman gardens were
introduced during the pinching years
of the World war, when Sweden was
more or less isolated and when all
food products commanded fabulous
prices.
| Although the emergency no longer
exists, the gardens are continued,
not only because they are fnan-
| cially successful - the vegetables
raised each year are valued at more
| than half a million dOllars-but be-
! cause they have promoted the health
and happiness of the working classes
and have contributed materially to
the attractiveness of the capitals
environs.
The little farms" are a special
boon to the children of the work
ing classes, who must store up en-
ergy for those long, dark hours of
fall, winter, and spring schooling.
Judged by American standards, the
lot Of the schOolboy or girl in Stock
holm is one of the most unenviable
in the whole world of education.
School life begins at the age of
six. The hours are trying, and
Saturday is like every other week
day. In winter, of course, the pu-
| pill must get up and dress by arti
fetal light, and he starts for school
while the street lamps are still
burning. He begins his days task
at 7:45; at 1925 he goes home for
breakfast, returns to the classroom
at noon, and is dismissed at 2:33
or 3 80, according to his age. In mid
winter it is dark at the later hour.
Under such circumstances, it is
natural that the children of Stock
holm should take their studies some
what more seriously than children
in American cities; yet. when the
summer vacation season arrives, no
youngsters in the world enter upon
their outdoor frolics with greater
Joy. The children of the wealthier
classes accompany their parents to
summer homes outside the city, many
of them situated on the countless is
lands which dot Sweden's Baltic
short line; yet even here they pur-
sue their studies in natural history
with the zest of sport.
Fond of Study and Sports.
One Of the distinguishing charac-
teristics of the Stockholm youth Is
his fondness for sports, with a spe-
cial prediction for that most
graceful of all exhibitions of skill.
javelin-throwing. Association ball
(playing with a round foOtbalD. in
which the head is used very largely
/ as the propulsive force, is the ma
tive sport of the country, while hi
cycle endurance races, skiing and
skating, and boating in summer are
also extremely popular.
When the long days begin to
grow short, when the well-tO-dO
middle class and the aristOcracy re-
turn from their country estates.
when the autumn rains set in. and
the lights begin to twinkle in apart
ment windows in the early after
noon (only the very wealthy can af-
ford to live in private homes in
Stockholm), the social life Of the
city awakens from it's summer
sleep.
Then comes a long succession Of
dinners, musicales, theater parties,
opera parties and suppers. At least
one feature of this Stockholm So
cial life must meet with the
hearty approval of the average
American man of affairs: there Is
no such obligation as dinner call.
Swedes do not visit informally, nor
would it ever occur to a Stockholm
woman to telephone a friend and
say that she expected to call. One
goes to friends home only when
he or she has been especially in
vited; but, having accepted such an
invitation, he obligates himself to
reciprocal entertainment. Thus the
to many-weary winter round be-
gins.