Welcome Friends! Dressing up in costume and going trick-or-treating to nearby homes was fast becoming popular in the 1920s however, it was not very feasible in rural areas. Instead, farm families and communities would plan their own kind of Halloween fun. Parties would be held in someone’s home or a community center. Games of every […]
This Club has been the social life of our community. ~Mrs. Frances Sparrow, Piatt County, Illinois Hello, again History Lovers! Club membership provided rural farm women social and enrichment opportunities. Today’s post consists of letters written to The Farmer’s Wife–A Magazine For Farm Women in February 1922 regarding various club activities and volunteer work. Enjoy! […]
Visiting family or friends for the holidays in the 1920s required advanced planning and preparation for the would-be travelers as well as the hostess. Overnight stays were often necessary due to long slow travel times. Being a good house guest (in any decade) includes politeness, courtesy, good manners, and a general thoughtfulness for the hostess […]
Hello, again History Lovers, Today we continue our series of favorite works of art submitted to The Farmer’s Wife–A Magazine For Farm Women by subscribers in 1923. Wishing you a happy Sunday. Enjoy! Christianity and Patriotism Pictures have practical value. When our son was but a boy his father would show him the pictures and […]
This post is the second installment in a three-part series on the Ideal Farm Home competition sponsored by THE FARMER’S WIFE MAGAZINE October 1926. Farm women were asked to describe what would make a farmhouse perfect. Running water was at the top of the list, along with a special washroom for the men, a well-lighted […]
“The minute the biscuit is taken from the oven, it is slathered with butter, and partially crushed berries are ladled over the hot wedges.” ~Marcia Adams, Cooking from Quilt Country 1989 Picking Strawberries Freshly Picked Strawberries When I was growing up, my family lived not too far from a U-pick strawberry farm. Each year around […]
“For those who wonder why cabbage is way out in front as the American vegetable crop, the answer is a…four-letter word: slaw.”~Irma Rombauer The Joy of Cooking 1985 In the 1600s Dutch colonist settled in the new world on the east coast of what would become the United States. Dutch holdings included part of what […]
Hello, again History Lovers, Today a farm woman from Wisconsin shares the two pictures she would love to own, both of which have implied lessons for the beholder. The first picture represents the three greatest things in life–love, work, and religion. The second painting depicts a high ideal in manhood and womanhood. Both are lovely. […]
Finding time is as good or better than finding a dollar. It is the busy people who generally acquire both. Hello, again History Lovers, In today’s world, Mrs. Elizabeth Wright might have posted her cleaning and organizing hacks on TikTok. However, in order to share household tips in her day, she wrote to The Farmer’s […]
The publication The Farmer’s Wife — A Magazine For Farm Women was published from 1897 through 1939 boasting a readership of over one million at its peak. In opposition to “pretty” magazines for women. In October 1926, The Farmer’s Wife’s proclaimed mission was to be the voice of and for farm women in politics, women’s […]
Pandora, the romantic sprite that she is has a soft spot in her heart for old Saint Valentine, and she sends us the following suggestion. It holds with which to help celebrate his day. Hello, again History Lovers! Rural folks in the 1920s often made their own holiday fun and entertainment, and The Farmer’s Wife–A […]
Apricots — the fruit that’s preserved for later. I remember the year I turned eleven as the apricot summer. The neighbor’s lone apricot tree bloomed its heart out and blessed the earth with a plethora of fruit. Everyone around was invited to help themselves to the apricot bounty, but my mother was the only one […]
Heaven is a homegrown cucumber. ~Alys Fowler Cucumbers taste like summertime. Simply sliced with a sprinkling of salt or added to a green salad they are a refreshing bite. We are all familiar with the classic Cucumber Salad made with slices of fresh cucumber marinated in vinegar and salt and pepper. Its a recipe that […]
A witty subscriber from California writes The Farmer’s Wife to share her go-to family meal for the Sabbath – the classic pot roast dinner. She states that with some advanced preparation, she can have a meal on the table twenty minutes after getting home from church, a feat of which her Scottish ancestors would be […]