The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1941-04-17

and the first gesture of the mother
of the family was to jerk her napkin
from its silver ring and whoosh
away the flies that had settled on
everything. Nursery cuts were
staunched with the soft cobwebs
which draped closet corners and
pantry shelves.
If small scared girl of nine knew
who had committed an atrocity Of
some sort at school, she must pro-
tect the culprit, though all the class
be fearful, imprisoned and pun
ished. To betray him meant a
sound whipping at home. Superin-
tendents at schools did a great deal
of thrashing, even of girls, and
teachers switched arms and legs,
the legs, fortunately, were usually
swathed in long flannel drawers and
heavy cotton stockings.
The WeIl-Dressed Girl.
Girls of IL wore shirts, long draw
ers, white short embroidered draw
ers, corset waists, corset covers,
garters, crochetted petticoats, two
white petticoats, frocks and aprons.
There were no sweaters, no jump
ers or coveralls or Stacks, no sports
clothes at all. Mothers wore SINH
lar garments, but their dresses had
large sleeves with three yards of
material in each, and their long
skirts swept the ground and had to
be rebound with fiber channels every
10 days. Mothers had headaches,
backaches, neuralgia, dyspepsia.
Children all had growing pains.
Nausea was induced by quantities of
lukewarm water and mustard, or
by placing a live spider upon the
shrieking infants tongue.
Women who wanted lucrative en-
ployment or citizenship were dis
missed from polite society as
strongminded. Women bathers did
not dare show themselves on the
beach without neck, arms and knees
concealed, and long bathing stock
ings were part of the equipment.
A few daring women smoked ciga-
rettes, but in public places notices
warned them that the management
did not permit it.
Regular hours for feeding babies
were regarded as ridiculous af-
fectation, soothing syrups had a
good market, and a lump of hard
brown sugar tied in clean rag
was the favorite pacifier. Thousands
of faces were deeply pitted from
smallpox. Butter came in two-pound
rolls and a round cut of it went very
simply on to the table. Beef was
10 cents a pound, my mother pro-
testing against paying $1.20 for the
12-pound Sunday rib roast, and soup
vegetables were thrown in with soup
meat. Calves liver-nasty wet
stuff!-cost nothing, and was cut up
for the cats. Oranges and milk
couldn't be eaten within three hours
of each other, even though quite
small children spooned in sour
strawberries and cream.
Babies Family Matter.
Until talcum powder came on the
market babies were powdered with
cornstarch. An expected baby new
er was mentioned to anyone except
the doctor and the women of the in
innate family circle. The baby ar
rived in his own home, the mothers
room having such preparation as
newspapers, old sheets and kitchen
pitchers and bowls would supply,
the school children romping in to
see the new brother, the cook came
up to ask the invalid if in her opin-
ion the chops weren't a little high.
Well, / could go on for hours this
way, and it might be to some pur-
pose if it helped some of us women
to realize, even in this day of dark
ness and anxiety, that life has inn
proved for us about 80 per cent in
the last so years, that our children
are healthier, smarter, our homes
cleaner, our clothes more comfort
able, our persons more attractive
than they were. We know more
about war than our mothers and
grandmothers did; we are closer to
finding the solution that, shall end
it forever. go go