Q Dear Miss Abigail: What did children do for fun in the late 1800s and early 1900s? Were there some games that were popular? My daughter’s class is studying the lives of immigrant children in the years 1880 to 1920. I suspect we can’t find much because there isn’t too much on the subject. Life […]
Tag: 1920s
Books
And now, an ode to books. This is from Edith Mae Cummings’s book titled: Pots and Pans and Millions: A Study of Woman’s Right to Be in Business. 1929: Books Books are often the best companions. They make it possible for us to walk through the streets of ancient cities, to talk with scientists and philosophers, […]
Fear Not, Retiring Woman
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I am eligible to retire but cannot get myself to “drop my papers” as they call it in my business. For one thing I am afraid. I have no life. I cannot get any of my friends or acquaintances to bike ride, canoe, go for walks in the woods, etc. People […]
Why Girls Go to College
Just got back from a jaunt to Southern Ohio to visit some relatives and learn more about our Moore and Patterson ancestors. We visited the old family farms, saw the house where Grandma Bailey was born, and tried to remember who was who on the family tree. Not easy! One favorite ancestor: Mae Patterson, who […]
That’s What Friends Are For
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My best friend is acting really strange. She started hanging out with an old friend who always manages to get her in to trouble. I am really worried about her. Could you please help me find a way to tell her how I feel about her new old friend without hurting […]
Earning, Spending, and Saving
Financial woes ~ we are all familiar with them. With the new year upon us I’ve tried to get a handle on my own, so have done a bit of reading on the subject. Maude Richman Calvert’s First Course in Home Making offered some good tips for future savers, which I will share with you here. […]
The Cost of Clothing
What is it about January that makes me hate my clothes so much? I blame the extra sweets around the holidays. Whatever the reason, my closet just got a bit fuller thanks to a little shopping spree today. I probably should have read the following excerpt, from Mary Lockwood Matthews’ textbook Elementary Home Economics, before I […]
Distressed About Disorganization
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I am completely disorganized and need help bad. Can you help? My house is a mess!!!!! Sincerely, Disorganized A Dear Disorganized: I too am a bit disorganized and sometimes it gets the best of me. It doesn’t help to discover that in the olden days, houses must not have had clutter. […]
Meals Out-of-Doors
Ah, summertime. Hooray for our Red, White, and Blue, and for the season of hot dogs, lemonade, and popsicles. Here’s a few tips about the fine art of eating outdoors, from Mary Lockwoods Matthews’ somewhat repetitive Elementary Home Economics. 1928: Meals Out-of-Doors Most boys and girls like to go on picnics. A picnic lunch may consist […]
The Fireplace
Fall has finally arrived in the greater Washington, D.C., area, and as the rooms get chillier there is a pressing need to have the fireplace and heating system checked out in the new house. Fireplace is done as of this week, heating still to come. As I sit and enjoy the burning logs tonight, read […]