Biaking the Farm 



Woman^s Task Easier 



By NELL FLATT GOODMAN 



Man works from sun to sun, 

 But u/omen's work is never done. 

 — Anonymous 



V^^V^HE man on the step ladder 



^^T^ stopped pounding when he 



\J saw me standing outside the 



screen door. He clambered down and 



answered my inquiry at the same time. 



"Mrs. Edna Jenkins.-' No, she's not 



home, but I'm Mr. Jenkins, can I help 



you.'" 



"See her kitchen.' Sure thing! Come 

 right in!" he exclaimed as he swung 

 the door wide and motioned me to 

 come in. "We're proud of our kit- 

 chen," Jenkins asserted. "She planned 

 it and I'm building it. The wall used 

 to be here," he indicated, "but there 

 wasn't room for cupboards so I built 

 this wall out, like a bay window, put 

 the sink in the center under the win- 

 dow and built cupboards and cabinets 

 on each side." 



MRS. EDNA JENKINS 

 "Sh« looks upon !t as a form of liberal 

 education." 



Several years ago, when Mrs. Jenkins 

 was chairman of the Better Homes 

 committee in Vermilion county, the 

 Home Bureau conducted a home im- 

 provement tour. Everyone who was 

 interested, members and non-members 

 alike, visited homes which had been 

 improved in some way. On the trip, 

 Mrs. Jenkins picked up a number of 

 ideas which she thought might be 

 adapted to her kitchen. That was the 

 beginning of her study of convenient 

 kitchens. 



"We talked kitchens at breakfast, 

 dinner and supper from then on," 

 Jenkins continued. "So you see we had 



pretty well worked out ways to im- 

 prove our kitchen before we made any 

 changes." 



Since Mrs. Jenkins looks upon pan- 

 tries as mere catchalls, the Jenkins' 

 pantry was the first of the old order 

 to be eliminated. The refrigerator, an 

 electric one, was set into the pantry, 

 the front even with the kitchen wall. 

 Into the space, too, went the utility 

 cabinet and the wall was built around it. 



Mrs. Jenkins likes the convenient 

 arrangements, they save time and allow 

 her to do more for the Home Bureau. 

 Women who stay home and who can't 

 see further ahead than the washing 

 and ironing get into ruts, she says. 

 Home Bureau work gives them a broad- 

 er vision. 



"Here in Vermilion county the 

 Home Bureau has been studying how 

 to do things in the simplest way in 

 order to have time for other things. 

 'Choosing essentials' Edna calls it," her 

 husband went on. "According to Miss 

 Rutherford, our home adviser — and 

 she's a dandy too — we make some 

 sort of choices every day. The point 

 is to make the choices that will give 

 us the most satisfaction." 



An incident which is an example of 

 how Mrs. Jenkins chooses essentials 

 took place on Mothers' Day. She was 

 asked to make a talk at the Mother- 

 Daughter banquet. Although the Jen- 

 kins home presented a typical remodel- 

 ing scene, with rugs rolled up and fur- 

 niture pushed into corners, Mrs. Jen- 

 kins attended the affair and made, ac- 

 cording to reports, the most impres- 

 sive speech of the evening. She chose 

 the essential thing ■ — the task that gave 

 her the most satisfaction. 



It is interesting to note in passing 

 that this farm wife derived the most 

 pleasure from doing the thing that 

 would mean the most to others. 



Mrs. Jenkins is the organization 

 chairman for the Vernjilion county 

 Home Bureau. Only two of the 20 

 units in the county were organized 

 without her help. She has divided the 



THE JENKINS KITCHEN 

 "The pantry was the first to be eliminated." 



county into four districts, each with 

 a chairman. All campaigns requiring 

 organization are, like membership 

 drives, fully planned well in advance 

 by these four women and Mrs. Jenkins. 



Under the able guidance of Miss 

 Rutherford and her organization work- 

 ers, the Home Bureau in Vermilion 

 county grew from a group of 80 to 

 one of the strongest rural women's 

 societies in the state. The present 

 membership is around 600. 



Home Bureau work has meant much 

 to the Jenkins family in general and 

 more to Mrs. Jenkins in particular. 

 She looks upon it as a form of liberal 

 education. Through its influence she 

 has revalued the elements in her life. 

 Instead of falling into a rut which 

 makes drudges of so many women, 

 Mrs. Jenkins has planned her work 

 and her life in such a way as to get 

 all her housework done yet have ample 

 time for the things that mean broad- 

 ened horizons of thought to people 

 the world over. 



When asked how he likes the Home 

 Bureau, Mr. Jenkins asserted with a 

 twinkle in his eye, "When Mom went 

 to the hospital last fall — she had a 

 major operation — I said 'Mom, I guess 

 I'll have to go to board meeting for 

 you.' Our daughter, who is married 

 and lives next door, is a member, too. 

 That gives you an idea about how we 

 feel regarding the Home Bureau." 



Home Bureau indeed! More like 

 a better living bureau. 



Mrs. Edna Jenkins of Vermilion Connty, Believes 



that Choosing Essentials is Important in 



Making Farm Life Happier 



JULY. 1937 



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