I 



Legislation Affects 

 The Farm Home 



'That's Why We Women Must Study ctnd 

 Understand It," Says Mrs. Mollis Boardmon. 



<^' 



.RS. MOLLIS BOARDMAN 

 of Cordova, Rock Island 

 county, newly appointed leg- 

 islative chairman of the State Federation 

 of Home Bureaus, does much of her leg- 

 islative thinking while assisting her hus- 

 band and son with their herd of pure- 

 bred Holsteins. 



"Women's interest in current aflfairs 

 and current legislation has grown with 

 the years," said Mrs. Boardman recently. 

 "Attention given to legislation at the re- 

 cent Home Bureau conference in Spring- 

 field is evidence of that. We must take 

 an active interest in law. Women are 

 responsible for spending a large per- 

 centage of the family income and we 

 must understand legislation that influ- 

 ences taxes and the cost of things we buy. 



"Women spend or control 85 per cent 

 of the nation's income. They also own 

 a large per cent of the property in the 

 United States. To study the legislation 

 in which we are most interested Home 

 Bureau and the League of Women Voters 

 have joined hands. Child welfare, 

 schools, and home problems are naturally 

 women's concern. But practically all 

 legislation affects the home, and we 

 should understand it." 



Born in Rock Island county, Mrs. 

 Boardman attended Port Byron high 

 school and the State Normal school at 

 DeKalb. Then she taught for three 

 years. She married Mr. Boardman 20 

 years ago and three years later they moved 

 onto their present farm. 



"We think it's a pretty good record 

 to rent the same farm with the same land- 

 lord for 17 years," admitted Mrs. Board- 

 man. "We use the share method straight 

 through. We recently purchased an 80 

 acre farm adjoining this one. We expect 

 to retire on it when our children are 

 through college. 



"We are diversified farmers, our chief 



interest being a herd of purebred Hol- 

 steins. We milk from 16 to 20 cows by 

 hand. When the hired man quits or my 

 husband is ill, I am perfectly able and 

 glad to take a hand and milk seven or 

 eight of them. Our milk is picked up 

 each morning and taken to the Quality 

 Milk Association in Moline. 



"We also raise corn for our market 

 hogs and chickens. We sell enough 

 fryers to buy a coat or two," she smil- 

 ingly said. 



"My husband was a Farm Bureau 

 member when I married him. He still 

 is. We both firmly believe in organiza- 

 tion whether you are a farmer, home- 

 maker or bootlegger. It is the only way 

 to get anywhere in your chosen profes- 

 sion. 



"If there is one thing Home Bureau 

 teaches," Mrs. Boardman said, "it is that 

 women must make an effort to under- 

 stand what is being said and written and 

 apply it when making their own deci- 

 sions. Home Bureau endeavors to present 

 the best that is done in cooking and 

 cleaning. We shall endeavor to do the 

 same in law-making." 



The Home Bureau plans to sponsor 

 lectures in counties over the state this 

 fall and winter. These will be based on 

 talks presented last July at the citizen- 

 ship school in Springfield under sponsor- 

 ship of Mrs. Elsie Mies. 



"We agree with a recent editorial in 

 a newspaper which said that babies and 

 biscuits are not enough brain work for 

 1936 women. It is true there was some 

 excuse for such limitation when homes 

 were real industrial centers. Home Bu- 

 reau women do not allow limited view- 

 points." 



Mrs. Boardman quoted from a news- 

 paper article she had saved to illustrate 

 what she meant. " 'I believe every normal 

 woman's heart centers in the home," " she 



4-H CLUBBERS ALL 

 JanSc* has • trombona, Marlon a clarinat, 

 William a cornat, and Eunica a Holrfein haifar. 



read, " 'but the 20th century wife who re- 

 fuses to have any interest outside the 

 cradle and kitchen sink is not devoted. 

 She's plain lazy and dumb. Her . . . 

 sentimentality is as great a blight to her 

 home as ants in the sugar or rats in the 

 cellar.' 



"That is rather strong, " Mrs. Board- 

 man laughed. "Nevertheless, the woman 

 who wrote it certainly agrees that the 

 successful homemaker does not limit her 

 outlook to her walls and recipes." 



Mrs. Boardman is a homemaker in her 

 own right. She is the mother of four 

 children. Janice Ann, 17, a freshman at 

 Western Illinois Teachers' College; Mar- 

 ion, 15, a junior in Cordova high school; 

 and William, 14, a freshman. Eunice, 

 10, is in sixth grade. 



All the children have taken an active 

 part in 4-H Club activities. Janice fin- 

 ished six years of clothing, winning 

 prizes each year, and has assisted in lead- 

 ing a clothing club this year. She also 

 has been in agriculture, showing in the 

 dairy class. Marion has had five years 

 of clothing, one of foods and four of 

 showing in dairy classes. She was a 

 member of a winning demonstration team 

 this year. William has had four years of 

 showing dairy stock and Duroc-Jersey 

 pigs. Eunice starts this year in 4-H with 

 a dairy heifer selected from the family 

 herd of Holsteins. 



Besides this, the girls sing in the high 

 school glee club and play in the band. 

 Janice plays a trombone, Marion a clar- 

 inet, and William, a cornet. 



"You see now, don't you," sighed Mrs. 

 Boardman, "why I do some of my think- 

 ing and planning while quietly milking 

 a cow.'" 



Mr. Boardman has been a member of 

 the high school board for 14 years. Mrs. 

 Boardman served on the local school 

 board for six years. All of the family are 

 members of the Methodist church. Mr. 

 (Continued on page 29) 



OCTOBER, 1936 



