The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-01-16
Hobbies As Vocational
Tendencies
RUTH PECK MCLEOD

I'm going to be an astronomer when
| grow up, and I've a collection of all
kinds of maps and books on astron-
omy in my room. And I've a rock
that's really a piece of a meteorite
that fell on my grandfather's farm.
Ny desk is full of all kinds of models
Of the planets that made out of clay
and baked. Mother lets me hang my
maps on the wall so / can study the
stars.
Of course | get interested in other
subjects, too. ! collect stamps and |
have album after album full of United
States and foreign ones, and envelopes
full Of odd ones I've bought, and then
I've box full of duplicates that I
use for trading with the other boys.
And my chum keeps several boxes Of
his over here because his mother
won't let him have so much stuff
around! She says she's planned for
him to be lawyer, and he won't need
stamps to prepare him for that pro-
fession. This friend of mine wants to
be an archaeologist. He has an uncle
versity, and he started just that way,
with stamp collecting Pm glad my
mother doesn't think all my hobbies
and trophies are nuisance that just
litter up the house. Instead of her
thinking Pm bother, she encourages
mo in getting things like this.
Then sometimes | work with my
chemistry set for hours. | did that
after great chemist lectured here at
the High School. Dads a chemist so
he had him come to our house to din
ner, and then Dad told him about my
chemistry set, and that great scien-
tist went down into our old basement
to see what I'd been doing. And he
complimented my mother and father
on letting me have this means Of de-
veloping my talents" as he called it.
He said that his success was due
TO his mother who let him have any
hobby he liked and let him collect
specimens and do experiments in her
old bluing bottles and things like that.
He told US they didn't have chemistry
sets in those days. He said he had
! five boys and that they were all diff
| ferent in what they liked to do, and
he said that he was going to let each
! one be what he wanted to be. He
| said that hobbies always help you to
! invent things and to Create" At first
| didn't know just what he meant by
Create" but he explained that he
meant doing things you thought up
yourself-you know, kind of carrying
out your dreams.
Why, he was quite serious about
boys hobbies and collections and
things like that. He said that very
often hobbies prepare boys for their
| life work. You ought to have heard
him running down the parents who
make fun Of their children's expert
ments.
! | wish Sam Mitchell's mother could
have heard him. Sam wants to be
scientist, and he's always experiment.
ing with all kinds of things, but Mrs.
Mitchell throws away all the stuff he
leaves lying around for she says "The
blessing of the house is order" but 1
can't see any blessing" in destroying
all his experiments. Why doesn't she
give him a place to keep his things?
Our science teacher says if Sam is en-
couraged he ought to make a name
for himself. If he does make sue
cess, think it'll be in spite of his
mother. OF course she's crazy about
him, but she's anxious for him to be
a financial success" she says, "like
his father" who is the richest man in
town. But she doesn't think "a lot of
scientific experiments will bring him
in many dollars"
And that great scientist even went
next door to see the high school me-
chanic's son, Joe making a miniature
automobile, and said that someday the
boy might invent something. And you
could see that tickled the mechanic,
and Joe. too, but it didn't please Joe's
mother so we'll because she's always
wanted him to have white-collar job.
She was afraid her boy might have
to wear Overalls like her husband.
Now isn't that a crazy idea, Some
women seem to think that their sons
will be disgraced if they get little
grease on their hands.
We found out later that this great
chemist had written book on Hob
bies as Vocational Tendencies" and
he is going to send Mother an auto
graphed copy Of it. Oh boy, | felt SO
full of ambition about my profession
after he'd left. He had asked me all
kinds of questions about which observ-
atory I'd like to work in and never
laughed at me like some people do
when | tell them that I'm going to be
an astronomer. His sons will all be
great men because he never makes
fun of them, and he told us his wife
is a good housekeeper, but she doesn't
object to boys having their things
around, as long as they keep them in
good order. That's just like my