Evening star., 1937-03-21
Fun in the Home Is
Recovering
BY FREDERIC J. H4SKIN

lloCiilS SIdIe OF social COntentment
which, in turn, has been presumed to
bespeak at least partial economic con-
tentment. 1t was Thomas CARLYLE who
declared that the stanza in Robert
Burns "Twa Dogs" describing a home
party represented the very acme OF
human contentment, even though the
description dealt with poor people.
The rule is good one, and what is
regarded as a significant DEVELOPMENT
on the American scene today IS the
rapidly growing social activity Of
families and small community groups in
the way OF social entertainment During
the dull days Of the depression, with
the head OF the family and often all the
other normally working members out Of
employment, a sad dOurneSS was the
usual rule, save among those rare people
who have the faculty of enjoying ad-
Versity. That now there has been a
revival of merriment, of the giving Of
parties is taken as sure indication Of
the advent Of better times.
The development does not refer to the
PoI ILtO VI lIlt llCH. lIuP, LDplp were
comments when Mrs Edward B. Mclean
gave S50,000 party to 1000 guests re-
Gently, after having suspended such
parties during the depressed years. to
the effect that that was sign of re-
covery But, in general, such parties
can scarcely be held reliable guides to
the condition of people.
In France, during the reigns of the
late Kings Louis, the most eXtraVagant
parties were given. Their cost was on
such scale as to appal the thrifty
trading classes and infuriate an under
privileged peaSantry. In England. in the
reign OF Charles II, similar parties we're
given, not only by the King but by the
great mobiles In these cases no index
OF national prosperity was implied. In
fact, a deCadence was foreshadowed.
In contrast, where the people in their
own homes and in small neIghborhood
communities throughout the length and
breadth Of the land turn TO merrimont,
after long period OF something akin
to sllllenneSs. a different story is told.
That is the story which is being told IN
America today. There seems TO be a
turning back to earlier days,
In pioneer America-and that period
IS not long paSt-there was all manner
OF loca. merrlment. The house raising
or the barn-TalSlng was a neIghborhood
affair OF great sOcla! significance When
newcomer 10 a region appeared cleared
his land, and was ready to raise house
and barn, all the neighbors for miles
around were invited and came. The
man, with or without help would have
heWn his tlmbeTS shaped his ridgepole
and his ratters. and put them together
as far as possible in a manner after
which modern pre-fabrcated buildings
are constructed. Then. when all was
ready, the neighbors would come.
The hardy hands. with the physical
strength created by semi wilderness
life would heave amain and. in almost
no time. the structure would be raised,
the ridgepole placed. the rafters laid, the
studdlng, plates and braclng put in
place. There would stand a skeleton
structure which a man could complete
single-handed.
While the men were at work, the
women would be preparing a great feast
of Thanksgiving abundance, with every
type of frontier food and cider and other
drinks. Then there might be dancing.
These were great times and every one
joined with a will. 1t was not only a
rural policy OF reciprocity, because each
man who helped a neighbor raise a
structure knew that he would be helped
when his need came, but it furnished an
occasion of true merriment
HuSklng bees and grain threShing fol-
lowed the same system while, among
the women, there were quilting bees
Spelling bees were a great vogue and
then there were what used to be called
school exercises, attended by parents of
the pupils, where the youngsters went
through their more or less scholarly
PAGES. Many a man who later made
the halls OF Congress ring with Oratory
attained his first stage presence at school
exercises. And each of these occasions,
whether OF physical or mental effort,
had its social aspect. The school house
was gathering place for square dances.
During the period leading up to the
World War there was something OF a
decline in the rural gatherings save,
perhaps. at county fair time County
seats and other towns did indeed have
weekly assemblies dancing parties, and
there were various church affairs such
as strawberry festivals and dinners for
the benefit Of foreign missions, to build
a new steeple or help lift a church
mortgage. but much of the old random
life was gone.
Parties practically as simple were
held in the cities Many millions had
gone from the farms to the cities taking
their social Simphcities with them.
High school dances were held and there
were card parties, but gone were the
barn raiSingS and the huSking bees AS
suburban communities grew, they were
the especial locale Of unpretentious
parties. AS in rural communities these
suburban neighborhoods we're places
where every one knew every one else.
There we're always Halloween parties
where apples were bobbed for. These. as
frequently as not, had the added gayetv
dances, Christmas and New Year parties
and George Washingtons birthday often
was socially observed while st. Patricks
day was made social occasion in many
communities.
Then came the World War. and fol-
lowing it an age Of social sophistication,
even among the young. The motion
picture had developed into a major
source of entertainment, and the auto
mobile had almost put an end to the
old home merriment. Unrural country
clubs had risen all over the face Of the
land. With the days of roaring pros
perity between 1920 and 1880, simplicity
seemed To have deNartp6 Elaborate