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| Cover photo, The Farmer's Wife, 1922. Typical farm wife? |
Here's the prompt that the editors of the magazine provided to its readers, as found on page 10 of The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: "'If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in the light of your own experience, want her to marry a farmer?'" The participants were asked to "'consider this question in all its angles. Talk it over with your husband, your children and your friends. Consider not only the financial side of the question but the moral and physical viewpoint and the things that make for real happiness.'" Ms. Hird tells us that the editors were overwhelmed by the response to the contest from over 7,000 readers. The book is a compilation of excerpts from some of the winning entries, of which there were sixty-eight, each page illustrated by a classic quilt block.
I am impressed by the question itself. Do you want your daughter to live the same kind of life you're living? Think it over, consider it well, submit your conclusions. It invites a rather intellectual exercise when the stated perception is that the farm wife is not educated and perhaps not capable of expressing her thoughts in writing. But those who responded – at least the winners – did so articulately and with passionate defense of farming as a way of life. The magazine editors reported that 94 percent of the respondents were in favor of their daughters marrying a farmer.
But – after perusing this little book, I had to wonder just who the respondents were. Were they typical farm wives? Some of them spoke of modern farm equipment, electricity and modern conveniences in the home, cultural opportunities in the city and the ability to reach those with a car. Several said they approved of their daughter marrying a farmer if he were an educated man. Certainly not all entries but many had an underlying tone of education and affluence. I just can't think that the farmers' wives of Gilbert would have written that way.
Grandma Ina doesn't list The Farmer's Wife amongst her favorite reading materials: "We do enjoy our evening's reading," she wrote in 1935. "We have a lot of Geographics to read – also Collier's, the Post, Ladies' Home Journal, three Copper monthlies, Pathfinder, Daily Chronicle, Clearwater Tribune, and M.W.A. monthly. Also Christian Herald." I wonder if she knew about The Farmer's Wife and if so, what she thought about it. In her letter dated January 12, 1936, she wrote: "I'm so tired of all the magazine advertising that that alone makes the [Reader's] Digest a treasure. Don't you get tired of looking at pictures of blasé men and wanton women, whose only idea is to look 'smart' and show their clothes . . . and offering a cigarette?"
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| Farmers' wives at Gilbert, Idaho, 1919. Typical? |
What do you think about all this in light of the picture of Gilbert farm wives taken in 1919 – less than three years before the editors of The Farmer's Wife presented their contest question? What do you think these wives would have said about their daughters marrying a farmer? KW
[A link to Ms. Hird's blog can be found under "other interesting sites" on the right.]
12 comments:
Wow! What an interesting question. A thoughtful response Kathy. Since I am not and was not a farmer's wife, I could not give a qualified answer. As I said before, tho', I think the ladies look satisfied with their lives and do not have unhappy countenance that I've seen in some historic photos.
Very interesting post. I would guess most of them would have said "no".
If a person has never known modern luxuries, then life without them is probably not so bad. It's often only when you know there's something better that you become dissatisfied with what you have. It would be much harder to have a life with plumbing, electricity, etc. and THEN move to a life without it. I just don't know. There are probably a lot of factors in whether the farmer's wife was happy.
I continue to think on this topic. My thoughts are probably better stated in another post. I'm glad to see followers are interested in the topic.
I question that we can rely on these contest entries to give us the true picture of farm life. I think many farm families are struggling in poverty -- and by 1930, many more will be.
Hmmm, I've put off commenting on this post because I've never been a farmer's wife let alone lived on a farm. But, I'm in agreement with Hallie. What you know is what you know. They couldn't see into the future, only had the present; and in comparison, life was not so different for many "town" people in the area. My Dad grew up in homes without running water (there was a faucet in the yard though) and of course no "indoor plumbing" (as in potty). They gardened and canned and hunted. Jobs came and went. Life was a lot of work for everyone in very rural states of those days.
I think most farmers' wives probably expected their daughters to marry farmers. And it was probably more than okay.
You touch on something I have been thinking, Chris -- that you don't have to be a farmer's wife to appreciate the issues. Even though we were "town kids," we were still rural kids. And looks who's pursuing the "rural home arts" -- all of us. Your dad probably did his share of splitting wood and carrying water -- just like my dad, who was a generation older. Rural electrification and modernization of homes did not reach all of us at one time.
You're so right. As a matter of fact, Dad was up today and we were talking about your post. He recalled his maternal grandparents often using kerosene lanterns because their $1.50/month electric bill was a little too dear at times. He said they had four lights hanging from the various ceilings and that was all. He said there were no outlets--they had nothing to plug in.
What fun that you shared with your dad! I don't know when my mother's parents got electricity, but apparently when they had electricity they also had outlets. Mother told me that she and Uncle Porkie (her brother) used to play with electricity. As I recall, this consisted of putting forks in the two kitchen outlets and watching the electricity arc between them. I said it was a wonder they didn't kill themselves -- or burn the house down. She sheepishly agreed.
When I was a child, I understood that my dad was comfortable with kerosene lanterns, dealing with the wood stove, etc. But that my mother knew how to do it was a surprise. But of course, her early home life was without electricity and she knew how to cope.
My mother was raised on a farm, but her mother was a teacher who was also a farmer's wife. She was born in 1913 and was a teenager in the '20's. She endured her family's financial reversals during the Great Depression as a young adult and became a teacher herself. She married a man who left the farm to become a college educated man, engineer and researcher. I remember her definitely telling me "Don't marry a farmer. It is too uncertain and insecure as a way of life. Get an education and move to the city." That's what she and my dad did, and so did I, but down deep in my heart, I think I am a "farmer's wife" after all. I would like nothing better than living on a farm. I like to cook, bake, sew, garden, can food, and enjoy the feeling of space and the great outdoors whenever I can be in a rural area.
Thanks for sharing some important "retro" advice from your family, Joanne. Farming is an uncertain way of life.
Hi,
Do you know that the woman of this "Farmer Wife" cover is Margaret Kelly (neé Majer), the mother of Last Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco? She was model before marrying with John B. Kelly and she also worked as teacher of phisical education in the Penn University for Girls in last 20s.
Amazing!
Welcome, "My Dear Lady," and thank you for sharing the model's identity. Well, that proves one thing -- she was a model and not the typical farmer's wife.
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