Girl's Room

Depending on family size, if the girl’s room was too crowded, some might share the grandparent’s room. For heat, the occupants often depended on a number of hot bricks wrapped in newspaper and cloth and placed under the covers before time for bed. Many of these homes were not “sealed,” that is, no inner wall to help keep out the effects of the cold weather.

Girl's chores were somewhat different from those assigned to boys. They were to:

  • Make beds
  • Make soap
  • Sweep house and yards
  • Wash dishes and set table
  • Sew, mend, quilt, wash and iron clothes
  • Plow, plant, weed, harvest kitchen garden
  • Slop hogs, milk cows and goats, make butter and cheese
  • Prepare meat for smokehouse, including making sausage
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  • Attend to chickens and other barnyard fowl, gather eggs, care for chicks
  • Look after younger children, care for the sick, administer home remedies
  • Gather and prepare food for cooking, cook, can, bake, preserve wild and homegrown fruits and vegetables