And just as a little thread of gold, running thru a fabric, brightens the whole garment, so women’s work at home, while only the doing of little things, like the golden gleam of sunlight runs thru and brightens all the fabric of civilization.
As a Farm Woman Thinks (21)
July 1, 1923
At a gathering of women the other day, a subject came up for discussion on which I knew the opinions held by several present as they had expressed to me privately.
It happened that a woman who held the opposite opinion to theirs led off in the talk and a number followed her lead; then these women who differed, fell in with what they thought was the popular side and by a few words let it be understood that they were in accord with the opinion stated and so what might have been an interesting and profitable discussion became merely a tiresome reiteration of the same idea.
I knew those women had been false to themselves but was not surprised, for I have been observing along that line recently and have seen so much of the same thing. As people are pretty much the same everywhere I do not think that this spirit is shown in one community alone.
For fear of giving offense many persons agree to anything that is proposed when they have no intention of doing it and will find an excuse later. They join in with what they think is popular opinion until it is almost impossible to tell where anyone stands on any subject or to do anything, because one cannot tell upon whom to depend. This disposition is found everywhere from social affairs to the man who agrees to come and work.
Have you not found it so? Of course it is easier, for a time, to go with the current but how much more can be accomplished if we would all be honest in our talk. And how much wasted effort would be saved! We all despise a coward but we sometimes forget that there is a moral as well as a physical cowardice and that it is just as contemptible.
I am sure that moral cowardice is responsible for a great deal of the trouble and confusion in the world. It gives unprincipled persons an opportunity to “put things over” that they would not have if others had the courage of their convictions. Besides it is weakening to one’s personality and moral fiber to deny one’s opinions or falsify one’s self, while it throws broadcast into the world just that much more cowardice and untruth.
We all know who is the father of lies and a lie can be acted as well as spoken, while an untruth is often expressed by silence. It is not necessary to be unpleasant if we disagree; an opinion supported by a good reason kindly stated should not offend, neither should a pleasant refusal to join in anything proposed. We may be friendly and courteous and still hold frankly to our honest convictions. But—
“This above all to thine own self be true
And it will follow as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”3
As a Farm Woman Thinks (22)
August 1, 1923
Out in the meadow, I picked a wild sunflower and, as I looked into its golden heart such a wave of homesickness came over me that I almost wept. I wanted mother, with her gentle voice and quiet firmness; I longed to hear father’s jolly songs and to see his twinkling blue eyes; I was lonesome for the sister with whom I used to play in the meadow picking daisies and wild sunflowers.
Across the years, the old home and its love called to me and memories of sweet words of counsel came flooding back. I realized that all my life the teachings of those early days have influenced me and the example set by father and mother has been something I have tried to follow, with failures here and there, with rebellion at times, but always coming back to it as the compass needle to the star.
So much depends upon the homemakers. I sometimes wonder if they are so busy now, with other things, that they are forgetting the importance of this special work. Especially did I wonder when reading recently that there were a great many child suicides in the United States during the last year. Not long ago we never had heard of such a thing in our own country and I am sure that there must be something wrong with the home of a child who commits suicide.
Because of their importance, we must not neglect our homes in the rapid changes of the present day. For when tests of character come in later years, strength to the good will not come from the modern improvements or amusements few may have enjoyed, but from the quiet moments and the “still small voices” of the old home.
Nothing ever can take the place of this early home influence and, as it does not depend upon externals, it may be the possession of the poor as well as the rich, a heritage from all fathers and mothers to their children.
The real things of life that are the common possession of us all are of the greatest value; worth far more than motor cars or radio outfits; more than lands or money; and our whole store of these wonderful riches may be revealed to us by such a common, beautiful thing as a wild sunflower.
As a Farm Woman Thinks (23)
November 1, 1923
While driving one day, I passed a wornout farm. Deep gullies were cut thru the fields where the dirt had been washed away by the rains. The creek had been allowed to change its course, in the bottom field, and cut out a new channel ruining the good land in its way. Tall weeds and brambles were taking more strength from the soil already so poor that grass would scarcely grow.
A STRANGER’S OPINION
With me, as I viewed the place, was a friend from Switzerland and as he looked over the neglected farm he exclaimed, “Oh, it is a crime! It is a crime to treat good land like that!”
The more I think about it the more sure I am that he used the exact word to suit the case. It is a crime to wear out and ruin a farm and the farmer who does so is a thief, stealing from posterity.
We are the heirs of the ages, but the estate is entailed as large estates frequently are, so that while we inherit the earth the great round world which is God’s Footstool, we have only the use of it while we live and must pass it on to those who come after us. We hold the property in trust and have no right to injure it nor to lessen its value. To do so is dishonest, stealing from our heirs their inheritance.
The world is the beautiful estate of the human family passing down from generation to generation, marked by each holder while in his possession according to his character.
Did you ever think how a bit of land shows the character of the owner? A dishonest greed is shown by robbing the soil; the traits of a spendthrift are shown in wasting the resources of the farm by destroying its woods and waters, while carelessness and laziness are plainly to be seen in deep scars on the hillsides and washes in the lower fields.
It should be a matter of pride to keep our own farm, that little bit of the earth’s surface for which we are responsible in good condition passing it on to our successor better than we found it. Trees should be growing where otherwise would be waste places, with the waters protected as much as possible from the hot sun and drying winds, with fields free from gullies and the soil fertile.
As a Farm Woman Thinks (24)
November 15, 1923
We are inclined to think of Thanksgiving day as a strictly American institution and so, of course, it is in date and manner of celebrating. But a harvest feast with the giving of praise and thanks to whatever gods were worshiped is a custom much older than our Thanksgiving that has been and still is observed by most races and peoples.
It seems to be instinctive for the human race to give thanks for benefits bestowed by a Higher Power. Some have worshiped the sun as the originator of blessings thru its light and heat, while others have bowed the knee to lesser objects. Still the feeling of gratitude in their hearts has been the same as we feel toward a beneficent providence who has given us the harvest as well as countless other blessings thru the year. This is just another touch of nature that makes the whole world kin and links the present with the far distant past.
Mankind is not following a blind trail; feet were set upon the true path in the beginning. Following it at first by instinct, men stumbled from it often in the darkness of ignorance even as we do today, for we ha
ve much to learn. But even more than for material blessings, let us, with humble hearts, give thanks for the revelation to us and our better understanding of the greatness and goodness of God.
What Makes My County Great
And Why I’m Proud to Be a Citizen
December 1, 1923
When we came to Missouri in 1894, we were looking for a place where the family health might make a good average, for one of us was not able to stand the severe cold of the North, while another could not live in the low altitude and humid heat of the Southern states.
It was before the days of “Tin Can Tourists” and we traveled with a team and covered wagon. It was rather unpleasant journeying in the heat of the summer, but as we climbed into the hills this side of Springfield, the air grew fresher and more invigorating the farther we went until in Wright County we found the place we were seeking, far enough south so that the winters are mild; high enough for the air to be pure and bracing; sheltered in the hills from the strong winds of the west, yet with little breezes always blowing among them; with plenty of wood for fuel and timber and rocks for building; with low lands for cultivation and upland bluegrass pastures for grazing; with game in the woods and fish in the rivers; and springs of pure, cold, mountain water everywhere.
“ATOP THE OZARKS”
Here on the very peak of the Ozark watershed are to be found good health, good homes, a good living, good times and good neighbors. What more could anyone want?
Wright county is the highest part of the state south of the Missouri river. Its surface is a broad plateau broken by hills rising from it and by valleys and ravines thru which flow the numerous spring branches, creeks and rivers seeking the waters of the Missouri and the Mississippi.
The rolling hills and fertile valleys are beautifully wooded, except where cleared for agricultural purposes. The trees are of many different kinds, Black oak, White oak, blackjack, maple, cherry, ash, elm, sycamore, gum, hickory, walnut, butternut, persimmon, redbud and linden give great variety to the forest foliage and furnish timber for every use. A peculiarity of the country is that springs break out near the tops of the hills as well as on lower ground and wells of good water on the high lands are only from 40 to 60 feet deep.
In the early days all the large game lived here, except buffalo. Deer fed on the hills and in the valleys; bears and panthers denned in the many caves, while wolves and foxes hunted their prey where they might find it. Even yet a panther or wildcat appears now and then while at times wolves are reported killing the sheep.
There is no record of an Indian settlement in Wright county, but the Delawares, Shawnees and Pinkashaws wandered over it hunting and fishing. Their stone arrowheads and clubs are still frequently found.
The first Americans to settle in Wright county came from Tennessee, Kentucky and the Carolinas. The first settlement was made in 1836 and there were seventy slaves in the county at the beginning of the Civil war.
Wright County was organized January 29, 1841 and the court house was built in December, 1849. The county was named for Silas Wright, a leading New York politician, and the guiding spirit of the life of Bart Baynes, the hero of “The Light in the Clearing,”4 which many Ruralist readers will recall.
The first vote of the county was taken in 1844, the total number of ballots being 583; 97 for Henry Clay and 486 for James K. Polk.
The first church was organized in 1842 and the first school in 1848. The first road thru the county was the old trail from Union to the Fullbright settlement and the pioneer newspaper was The Southwest News, established at Hartville in 1869.
There are many amusing stories told of Wright county’s earlier law courts, one being of a certain judge who adjourned without observing the proper formalities and when one of the lawyers protested, exclaiming, “You can’t do that! You can’t do that!” replied, “Well, by ——— I have done it!”
This is the spirit in which many things have been done in Wright county until what seemed impossible of accomplishment has become a commonplace.
We were told that motor cars could never be used in our hills, now nearly every farmer owns and runs one.
We were told that we never could have good roads, but there are now 53 miles of state road in good condition and more building. The very best of materials for permanent roads lie all along the highways and are being used in the construction of these roads.
We have no large city within our boundaries, but our towns are good trading points and are developing on a sound basis with the country around them.
Hartville, the county seat, is an inland town, on the beautiful Gasconade river. It is an old town with a history that includes several battles of the Civil war. The fine court house and tree shaded court house square give the town its distinctive character.
Mountain Grove, Mansfield, Norwood and Cedar Gap and Macomb are railroad shipping points.
Mansfield is the heaviest shipping point, save one, for cream between Springfield and Memphis, shipping in the last three months 2,812 cans of cream. Other farm products are shipped in proportion.
In three months, there were shipped from Mountain Grove 68 cars of eggs, valued at $275,000; 14 cars of poultry, $48,000; 45 cars lumber, $60,000; 47 cars ties, $13,000; 26 cars hogs, cattle and mules, $30,000; 1 car apples, $6,000; 1 car butter, $8,000; making a total of $404,600.
There are several farmers exchanges in the county and the one at Mountain Grove did a business last year of $182,640, paying dividends and interest back to the farmers of more than $11,000. For the first half of this year they have returned $5,400 to the 400 members.
The soil of Wright County is a deep, gravelly, clay loam, with a red clay subsoil, having an admixture of gravel which makes it porous and gives good drainage for plant roots.
On the lowlands along the Gasconade river and its branches, Beaver, Elk, Whetstone and Clark’s Creek, are many fine bottom farms, while on the uplands cattle are grazing on a thousand hills rich in many kinds of grasses.
Conditions in the whole county are ideal for the raising of poultry and fruit.
“LAND OF THE BIG, RED APPLE”
Wright county is in the heart of the “Land of the Big Red Apple” and, besides apples, grows peaches, pears, plums, cherries, persimmons, grapes, strawberries, huckleberries, dewberries and currants. We have fruit the year around, for apples keep well, in the cellar, until strawberries are plentiful and then there is a great variety as well as an unbroken succession of fresh fruit.
In 1921 there were 157,755 bearing fruit trees in Wright county.
At the Missouri Fruit Experiment station, located at Mountain Grove, there are being produced 550 varieties of apples, 40 different kinds of peaches, 50 kinds of pears, 40 different kinds of strawberries and 180 varieties of grapes, the largest collection of varieties of different fruits in the United States.
At Mountain Grove is also located the Missouri Poultry Experiment station. The fact that this station, during the years of 1921 and 1922 turned into the state treasury $19,800 from the sale of poultry and eggs, shows that this is a good place to raise poultry.
There are many poultry farms in the county. One deserving of mention is that of Roy Clodfelter near Hartville. Mr. Clodfelter’s plant is modern in every way even to Delco lighting in the hen house. He raises White Leghorns and keeps on hand 1,200 laying hens, raising 3,000 chicks each spring.
Mrs. Rippee near the same town raises Barred Plymouth Rocks bred for laying as well as size. She has some 200 egg hens in her flock.
Then there is Mrs. Wilson of the Wilson Farm who specializes in Mammoth Bronze turkeys, making a profit of more than $1,000 a year from them, but who does not believe in putting all the farm business eggs in one basket, even tho they are turkey eggs, and so keeps 100 head of purebred Shorthorn cattle for which the Wilson Farm is known all over the Middlewest.
There are several herds of purebred Jerseys in the county. Near Mansfield, herds are owned by Joe Westbrook and Fred Oetting. Mr. Oetting was selling $300 worth
of cream a month from his cows last summer.
One particularly attractive thing about our county is that while so much has been done and tho, by date of settlement, it is an old county, still it is practically a new country, for its resources and possibilities have only been touched. There is still plenty of opportunity for young and old, on the land and in the openings for factories and manufacturing plants to care for our products and furnish us the things we need.
There are several wholesale houses and a few manufacturies in our towns and at Cedar Gap are the Erb Fruit Farms, with their own packing house, cold storage and vinegar plant. These and our canning factories, busily canning and shipping tomatoes and fruits, show what can be done along these lines and point the way to larger things.
The growing of tomatoes and grapes is on the increase, the conditions of soil and climate being particularly favorable for them and also for the growing of sorghums; our sorghum molasses having an especially fine flavor.
And besides all these things, Wright county has valuable mines of lead, zinc, coal and onyx, which tho not fully developed are worked at times.
With such diversity of products, so many different branches of agriculture, Wright county offers to everyone a chance to follow their own especial taste in farming—poultry, dairying, fruits, beef cattle, horses and mules, sheep, goats, hogs, grain, hay and bees—one can make his own choice of what he will specialize in, or by raising all on the same place, as is usually done, there is the finest sort of diversified farming one could wish and each member of a family may work at the thing he likes best.
While attending to other growing things, the children of Wright are not neglected, our schools are good.
There are fine high schools in Hartville, Mansfield, Mountain Grove and Norwood. Each year for five years there has been a school fair at the Hartville High School, at which each school in the county makes an exhibit from the year’s work in manual training, agriculture and home economics.
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist Page 38
