Cut From the Same Cloth

• By: MountainFarmgirl
• On: 12/23/2013 05:07:25
• In: Mountain Bounty, Mountain Blessings
• Comments: 0

The Farmgirl bumper sticker on the back my pickup truck turns a lot of heads. Maybe its also the lace curtains in the back window that attracts notice, the wooden spoons hanging on the gun rack, or my Sisterhood necklace swinging from the rearview mirror. Whatever it is, I often get asked a lot of questions in parking lots. I find its a good opportunity to spread the word about MaryJanes Farm and what the Farmgirl movement is all about, and I meet some interesting people in the process. It was a new experience for my husband, however, as he was chased down the road by one of our kindred farmgirl spirits when he was leaving our towns recycling center a few weeks ago. Not that he minded being flagged down by an attractive woman! Naturally he pulled over, and had the opportunity to meet Joan, an interesting lady and farmgirl-at-heart. Whats a Certified Farmgirl? she asked him, commenting on MaryJanes bumper sticker on the back. She was soon to learn that she fit the description to a T!! A couple weeks later, Joan stopped in at the front desk of our inn, asking for The Mountain Farmgirl, and carrying a box with the most interesting contents. A fascinating person in her own right, Joan operates a B&B up in the hills above Jackson. She wanted to meet me and share one of her farmgirl treasures which she thought I would enjoy. She was certainly right about that! Opening the box I discovered a magazine called The Farmers Wife, dated June 1931, and I have been lost in its pages of articles ever since! The magazine, which bills itself as The Magazine for Farm Women, (obviously now replaced by MaryJanes Farm), is a classic. This magazine is full of colored drawings, paintings and photographs from a simpler time in our history, but many things as relevant today as they were then. There were plenty of readers in its day, as the front cover boasts More than a Million copies a Month! From advice columns for mothers and daughters to tips on the Poultry Business, short stories illustrated by pen and ink sketches written in installments, and article on Better School Teachers for the Money The Farmers Wife seems to have something for everybody. There are patterns for the latest styles for teens, a plan for a Modern Comfortable House, an article for newly married farmgirls called When the Honeymoons Over (oh-oh!), farm recipes galore, Home Emergency Tips for burns, a C with a puzzlehildrens page, How To Get 6 cents More for Your Eggs or how to get rid of lice on your chickens! But some of my favorite parts are the advertisements and photos of a bygone era. Frankly it was a trip down memory lane for me, as they reminded me of my old New York farmhouse, which was filled with working antiques such as a 1930s gas stove, an old coil refrigerator, an ice box and a wood cookstove. How I miss my everyday relics which got sold with my home when we moved to New Hampshire but how fun to see them being sold in The Farmers Wife! Heres some eye candy of some of the farmgirl bounty found within its aging pages, as I wish you all a holiday filled with Christmas Blessings and Best Wishes for the New Year. Until next time, Mounty Bounty, Mountain Blessings from Cathi The Mountain Farmgirl