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SO 026 474

Ruth, Amy, Ed.Making A Living.Iowa State Historical Society, Iowa City.

ISSN-0278-02089633p.; For related issues, see Ed 370 864 and ED 380381. Photographs may not reproduce well.Goldfinch, State Historical Society of Iowa, 402 IowaAvenue, Iowa City, IA 52240-1806 (subscriptions, 4

issues, $10).Collected Works Serials (022) Guides Classroom

Use Instructional Materials (For Learner) (051)

Goldfinch; v17 n4 Sum 1996

MFOI/PCO2 Plus Postage.*Child Labor; Elementary Education; Family History;Local History; Oral History; Social History; *SocialStudies; State History*Iowa

This theme issue of "The Goldfinch" presents thestory of Iowans at work beginning with the Ioway Indians before 1830

through the Great Depression of the 1930s. One article looks at howchildren worked to help their families buy food and clothing.Organized labor helped all workers in Iowa by proi/iding betterworking conditions. Women in Iowa's workforce demonstrates how hardwomen worked in factories and also worked raising families. The GreatDepression hurt many Iowa farmers because they were not able to payback their bank loans. Stories from children currently living in Iowaand examples of the kind of work they do today conclude this issue.

(JAG)

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Iowans at workNs if ,

1 owans work around the clock, creating, serving, repairing,)) and generally taking care of business. No matter what one'sjob, compensation, or work environment, all Iowa workers

contribute to the state's economy.

`industryIn the mid- to late-1800s, when coal mining was a major

in Iowa, boys as young as nine labored alongsidei grown men in the mine shafts. Digging for coal was exhaust-ing and dangerous work. In Iowa, one in ten miners died in

mining accidents.E.A. Carter was 11 when he first went to work in coal mines in

Mahaska County. "In those years, working was ten or more hours aday," he recalled later. "We couldn't do much except work andsleep."

Work was different for middle-class men and women who ownedshops or were doctors, lawyers, teachers, shop clerks, and book-keepers.

In the early 1900s, young Charles Hance loved to sit in the backof his father's barber shop and watch him work.

"His work-week certainly totaled between 80 and 90hours," he wrote years later. "Although a barber wasn't busyevery minute of the time, he was on his feet a torturing

number of hours and usually ended up with flat feet or ulcers."Farm families also experienced different kinds of work. They

labored long hours to keep their farms running smoothly. Farm kidshelped with chores and housework and even in the fields.

Lizzie Fellows Heckart, a Van Buren County farm girl, remem-bered some of the chores that kept her busy in the 1890s. "Bythe time I was nine or ten, the setting of the hens and caringfor them and the little chickens was my job," she said.

In this issue of The Goldfinch you will meet other Iowa workersthroughout the state's history. You'll learn how men and womensupported their families and what they did when there were no jobsto be found. Make a time card to track the work you do and checkout our hard-at-work puzzle. It's all waiting for you in this issue!

The Editor

2 The Goldfinchcompensation money

earned3

fr7F----97 CHr---))`k! VILEJ b

Gi5ldfinchVolume 17, Number 4 Summer 1996

Winner of a1995 Parents'

Choice Honor AwardEducational Press Association of

America memberEDITOR: Amy RuthPUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR : Marvin Bergman, Ph.D.FICTION EDITOR: Steven BlaskiEDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Linzee Kull McCray andTodd NordenRESEARCHER: Peter HoehnlePROOFREADER: Claire DixonILLUSTRATION: Mary Moye-Rowley

CONSULTING EDITORS: Karen Conant, IowaDepartment of Employment Services; Bruce Fehn,Social Studies Program Coordinator, University ofIowa; and Ralph Schamau, Professor of History,University of Dubuque

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Millie K. Frese, DianeNelson, and Bridgett WilliamsEDUCATORS' ADVISORY BOARD: Betty Arndt,Greenwood Elementary School, Des Moines; GaryCoffelt, Central Decatur Elementary, Leon; andLinda Vandeventer, Harrison Elementary School,Davenport

CHILDREN'S ADVISORY BOARD: Tiffany Bowers,Dubuque; Heather Harney, Oxford; Jennifer Jirak,Waucoma; Bethany E. Moklestad, Des Moines;Logan Swaim, Iowa City; Trevor Vos, Sioux Center

SPECIAL THANKS TO: The Iowa SesquicentennialCommission and Coca-Cola Bottlers of Iowa forfunding this issue; Lance Foster, ISU graduatestudent; Mrs. Kampe and students, ElviraElementary School, Clinton, for being Iowa historymakers; Kevin Knoot, for library assistance, pages14-15; Mason City Public Library for the photographof Helen Schultz, page 19; Gaynell Narcisse, DesMoines; and Mark Smith, Iowa Federation of LaborCREDITS: The characters Wild Rosie and Goldie bySHSI exhibit designer Jerry Brown

The Goldfinch (ISSN 0278-0208) is publishedquarterly by the State Historical Society of Iowa,402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1806(319/335-3916). Second-class postage paid atIowa City, Iowa. Subscriptions are $10 for fourissues. Postmaster: Send address changes to: CarolCarey, subscriptions coordinator, The Goldfinch, StateHistorical Society of Iowa, 402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa52240-1806. © State Historical Society of Iowa, 1996. Noportion of The Goldfinch may be reproduced without priorpermission except for classroom use.

The Goldfinch Is also available on cassettetape for the blind, the visually impaired, thephysically handicapped, and the learningdisabled. For more information contact the IowaDepartment for the Blind, 1-800-362-2587. Orwrite to the Iowa Department for the BlindLibrary, 524 4th St., Des Moines 50309.

HISTORY MYSTERY

In the 1870s, photographer J.P.Doremus photographed equipmentused by workers in one of Iowa'sindustries.

These workers wore spiked shoesto secure themselves. They used polesto steady their cargo as they floated itdown river. Spikes on the end of poleshelped the workers steer. The axeswere also necessities.

What was the industry that requiredthis equipment? (Turn to page 30 forthe answer.)

4

CONTENTSFeaturesIowans at WorkA State at WorkWorking the EnvironmentKids at WorkOrganizing WorkDear DiaryA Neighborhood at WorkWomen at WorkTough Times

DepartmentsHistory MysteryActivity: Hard at Work PuzzleActivity: Who Works Where?Activity: Make a Time CardHistory MakersActivity: Be a Photo HistorianFiction: A Job for the SummerAnswersThe Roost

On the Cover:

al k,

24781014161820

31317232426273031

Workers at Bruce's Oriental GoldfishFisheries sort fish, Thornburg, Iowa,around 1909. Credit: SHSI (Iowa City)

The Goldfinch 3

by Amy Ruth

Iowa: a state at workIowans of all ages have worked throughout the state's history. As

industries, labor laws, and the environment have changed, Iowans haveadapted their skills and talents to make a living and support their families.

The Ioway Indians (alsocalled Iowa Indians) lived

in Iowa before European-American settlers came here inthe 1830s. They lived in villagesalong major rivers such as theMississippi and the Missouri.

In this tribe, work wasdivided between clans. "Everyclan, Bear or Buffalo for ex-ample, had a special job to do,"said Lance Foster, a graduatestudent at Iowa State Universityand a member of the Iowaytribe. "The Bear Clan wouldlead people in hunts and also actas police. The Buffalo Clantended to be farmers. Althougheveryone planted something,the Buffalo were the leaders."

In the Ioway tribe, specialistsworked at different tasks. Somepeople made arrows and othersmade drums. "Usually you paidthem in something like horsesor goods," Foster said. 'Therewasn't any money. It was allabout trade."

Women were the caretakers

4 The Goldfinch

of families and the farmers whocultivated the fields. 'They wereconsidered the heart of thenation," Foster said. "The menwere mainly for the defense ofthe tribe."

Children were given respon-sibilities when they were asyoung as five years old. Boyshunted birds and rabbitsfor food. Girls helpedtheir mothers in thefields and learned to sewby making doll clothes.All children were madeto feel good about theircontributions, Fostersaid.

'The most respectedpeople were the oneswho worked for the goodof all people," Foster toldThe Goldfinch.

Today, members ofthe Ioway tribe livemainly in Kansas, Ne-braska, and Oklahoma.They work in a variety ofjobs on and off the reser-

5

vation, but still have responsi-bilities to the tribe.

"They always try to maketime during pow wows, ceremo-nies, and funerals for traditionalroles of work," Foster said.Some people cook feasts whileothers might be responsible formaking drums or other objects.

I;-

In the Ioway tribe, work was dividedbetween clans.

reservation an reserved for

Native i\rnericans

New workers arriveThe United States govern-

ment moved Native Americantribes out of Iowa by the mid-1830s and European-Americansettlers moved in.

Most early industries werehome-based, and revolvedaround agriculture. Familiesfarmed and grew or made whatthey needed to survive, includ-ing most of their food, soap,candles, and clothes. Farmerstraded their produce and cropsfor sugar, coffee, and otheritems they could not grow.

As more and more settlerscame, they needed lumber forconstruction and fuel. Thelumber industry grew quicklyuntil forests were depleted.

As towns sprung up aroundthe state, businesses and ser-vices grew, too. People foundjobs in general stores, smallworkshops, saloons, and hotels.Some worked as teachers,lawyers, carpenters, doctors,blacksmiths, mill workers,hatmakers, and dressmakers.

Stores would often open asearly as 6 a.m. and some daysmight not close until midnight.A farm family might come totown once or twice a month and

would spend theentire day shopping,trading, and socializ-ing. After 1910, thecar made it easier totravel and ruralfamilies came to townmore often. After1950, the televisionkept people at home.Many businessesadjusted their hoursto keep up with thechanges brought bythese inventions.

Town kids oftenworked in the familybusiness after schooland on Saturdays.They might sweepshop floors, runerrands, and wait oncustomers. Farm kidsalso worked longhours in their parents' business

the farm. Most parents didnot pay their children for work.A child's labor was often neces-sary to the financial well-beingof the family.

In the late 1800s, farmfamilies employed hired handswho helped in the fields or withdomestic chores in exchangefor wages, room, and board.

EMPLOYERS' REGISTRY.

The American Emigrant Company has Agencies widely ex-tended through Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Frans"Belgium and Switzerland, which enables it to plaoe any informa-tion regarding America or American affairs directly in the handsof the people of those countries.

Ore= amobers ef Lampe.. Workiwea, laelroo of emigartthil a Amor....v.= hammod of the Month. la width they ma so= prollably =ale Memel.==al Merkantil* todwresseato wrath =meal dhstrielo pram= der the emMeymeat oftheir ahoy. Mom ether., remprairgy the marl deamble rams of MeeMkti ram

dithawi di Mealy. mal therefore IN wool prermerseia le their =tar =wary,are martillag to some I. the Vatted Mat= Mama the ammeamee of goaded a.=payment, the roadillome cad =maim= of Iasi= will be delmlIely =Maimed sadgmomialeml le these =dire May Ma=

T. meet Ole oesamoily, the Amara= gragramt Compass, Imo determined te op=Begat= at lie =Mom Ageaeles, la which will b. =forded dearriptiom ef the

clam a= somber of mem routed by the employees of labor I. Amerles whothearrora ea of IL Tramarriplie of ado Registry ran be tomarailaed a ibe ramie=Cemlral A iffl.tie* Of the (=mama, la Europe. rod by them alienated throw= ailtheir iadwAgoselem. fly *big mega. gammas =elms= will be imihrsoN. mat may ofthe pares where lbeir lab= la mart demanded awl the wag= it emiammads, bar of arevery Cossarmiess or individuate who are ready to employ ther

The American Emigrant CompanyAI la Craig.' °Sae. I. A ew Verb. receives all lasigmalla, =Wag to as ow. eatheir arrival, and drawa them 1. lbeee =eta= or the amain is le bleb spatiemag=Ihr labor base be= =Me, god the mos lima direeled he gives =Yam will be di=Irian= through the Vim pis karat Agora irr ithroMM mvPIMamThe OM= sf Ihl. marem will be to =tare =may of the amwial MEI of labor mom

Mad I. =eh separate nestle,. sad lei Wad =moth= of a better A= lbw =dim=lily earnests. le =are le are Waited 'Mae.

T. wreath. the Mary rent of OM roamer= ormagieeat. by whieb the emlire'reeking =potation M Fore= to spproothal ..d =dreamed by tmerlees employers.sod immediale emoomimleallom lo opawed bell. = Ike portleam email ef won=Amur lbe garb workman applied for mins liberal =darting* is ea.. of Large mombeam le demanded. MY prow= whielt will are be macre= to my the =Ma ea.pear attemawg the =irking of the loam= graellimory employed. will br ebeerfalamade by any Maniocs' employer who =ma =poly of good labors or Vi 11.

Imes, or emmmomities may read fem.= wombised pplicidloos far operativesla mob a way as weoa, at 1.101a1 1, P 6.11, i of the llowaltilwarea most wromily reqmired. Or, nose who theme we base mmaracia =dr is 1..rep. .Ilk emitgrama =math le lids coastry ea their mar sea= before they leavetheir boa= by .bleb Mete servie= earl be womord Ilse eves time after their sea-m! here. Or. the people of epeeist teemillas eam gamin= lie roatroctim is Min wayfor numb= of =Mimeo to be employed Is tbs. awlllles. Or. I aCividsala. mei=imam= or =mammal= elm have arty somber or sanely of workmen armasbed by=roaring the =promo of thole emigratimm =Mr the law to =emirs= isartilamIlea."

The Agra= of the Chew., win eapial W ireadlthrmi ire wrack Me= aerie==esteem will he =oder=

F. C. A Ma Agent, Des AlebeeL

This 1860s poster advertises a kind ofemployment agency that matched immigrantworkers with available jobs in Iowa and therest of the country.

6

Industrialization in IowaAfter the 1870s, industries

and work changed even more inIowa. The state's expandingrailway network meant moreproducts could be transportedquickly and more efficiently toother parts of the country.Refrigerated rail cars keptproducts from spoiling. Soon,booming businesses and major

C3PY AVA LAKE

The Goldfinch 5

industries grew around the stateas people manufactured goodsand shipped them across thecountry to be sold.

By the turn of the century,more and more Iowans left ruralareas to find jobs in cities. In1900, Iowa boasted more than14,000 manufacturing busi-nesses statewide. In thesefactories, workers made every-thing from buttons and butter tomeat products and overalls.Factory work was hard andworking conditions were oftenvery poor, leading to manywork-related accidents anddeaths. Workers formed unionsand demanded better wages andworking conditions.Progress and unemployment

Inventions and other techno-logical advances often putpeople out of one line of work,and into another. With theintroduction and growingpopularity of the automobile,blacksmiths and carriagemakers soon had to find otherways to earn their keep. Often,they converted their shops intogarages and learned how to fixcars and motorized farm equip-ment.

Everett Ludley, who grew up

6 The Goldfinch

in northeastern Iowa,remembers how theautomobile changedthe businessesdistrict in Manches-ter, Iowa.

"Hennesey'sLivery Stable wasconverted to a caragency," he wrote in1989. "Billie Burk'sBlacksmith Shopbecame a machineshop. In both, thesmell of horse ma-nure was replaced bythe smell of oil and grease."

New technologies alsocreated new jobs. FrederickMaytag made washing ma-chines in Newton beginning in1909. As Maytag perfected themachines, the demand for theproduct increased, and moreand more people found jobs inthe Maytag factory.

Industries have continued togrow throughout the state'shistory. From coal mining andmeat packing to insurance andpublishing, Iowans have workedin a variety of manufacturingand service positions and havemarketed Iowa productsthroughout the world.

iNFIFINWRIMEIMAIIVIDC11411MINEMINNIMIM

INIPI WI &Wm/ 'W.11111Er"91Lii

New inventions meant new jobs. The car droveblacksmiths, like E. Bennet, whose JasperCounty shop is pictured above, out of businesswhen it replaced horses as primary mode oftransportation.

7

In 1994, 1,508,000 Iowanswere employed in the state.That's enough people to fill theseats in Des Moines' Sec TaylorStadium ten times! Of thatnumber, 94,000 were youngpeople between the ages of 16and 19.

Young people under age 16,who are not included in officiallabor statistics, also work hard.Like kids in the early part ofIowa's history, they do chores athome, hold part-time jobs suchas delivering newspapers andbaby-sitting, and participate inother wage-earning activities. A

by Bridgett M. Williams

Working the environmentMaking a living sometimes means making difficult choices.

Many of Iowa's best-knownindustries are extractive.

An extractive industry takesthings out of the ground orwater that cannot be replaced.

Fur trading is one of Iowa'soldest extractive industries.Native Americans hunted deerand trapped beaver to trade withother groups. As EuropeanAmericans increased the de-mand for furs in trade,overhunting eventually had adevastating effect on wildlife.

The lumber industry alsochanged Iowa's landscape.When Isaac Kramer moved toLinn County from Pennsylvaniain 1838, linn trees grew every-where. Soon, however, peoplecut and sold timber to buildhomes, furniture, fences, andbarns, without replanting. Bythe time Isaac was an old man,the groves of his childhoodwere history.

Iowa's coal mines boomed inthe 19th and early 20th century.Miners either tunneled toremove coal or "churned theearth," turning good soil under-

neath and leaving poor soil ontop where nothing would grow.When coal companies quitbecause there was little coal leftto mine, and better quality coalcould be found elsewhere,miners had to find other work.

Farming can be consideredan extractive industry. Cropstake nutrients out of the soil andfarmers use chemical fertilizersto restore them.Movement and markets

Even the way we connectbuyers and sellers changes theenvironment. In 1846, for ex-ample, there were few roads.Native American traders usedrivers and footpaths to reachcustomers. Canoe and foot travelwere easy on the environment.

European-American settlers,however, wanted to go whererivers didn't. They built roads totransport goods. Herds of cattleand wagons packed down theearth. The dust, smell, andnoise drove away wild animals.To widen roads, people some-times cut down trees. Withouttree roots to hold it, soil eroded.

8

Beaver furs were once made intohats, like the one pictured here.

By the 1870s, railroadscrisscrossed Iowa, creating newjobs and connecting farms andfactories across the nation.Engines burned smoky coal,polluting the air. Sparks startedprairie fires. Railroads alsopromoted expansion of agricul-ture; because farmers couldmove more grain to Chicagoeasily, they farmed more land.

Today, trucks and cars speeddown Interstate 80 and 35,moving workers and what theyproduce around Iowa and thenation. How do highways andautomobiles transform ourenvironment today?

The Goldfinch 7

Kids at workIowa's kids have held all types of jobs, from chores at home

to working on farms, in factories, and in undergroundmines. Their wages often helped support their families.

-

Boys as young as nine once worked alongside grown men in Iowa's mines.

Most kids in the past, likenow, helped out around

their homes and learned byworking closely with theirparents. Their jobs whetherpicking berries for jelly, helpingset fence posts, or watchingyounger siblings made theirhomes better places to live.Everything a kid made, planted,fed, or fixed was one less thingparents had to buy or do.

8 The Goldfinch

Rural families sometimeshired out kids to neighbors whoneeded laborers. Only olderboys usually inherited land ormoney from parents, so otherchildren needed to make theirown way in the world.

Hired girls cooked, cleaned,and took care of children. Theyalso emptied chamber pots, didlaundry, tended gardens, andcanned fruits and vegetables.

9

by Bridgett M. William

7

U

Girls received little pay for allthis work about $1.50 a weekat the turn of the century.

Although girls gave most oftheir money to their parents, theysometimes kept a few dollars forthemselves. Earning moneymade them feel independent.

Hired boys (also known as"plowboys") also received lowwages. Boys chopped wood,hauled water, sorted seed, and

took care of livestock. Theysometimes worked beside theiremployer, planting, plowing,and hoeing. At haying time, theywould pitch hay until everymuscle ached. Still, they hopedto save enough money to buytheir own farm someday.Why work?

Some boys and girls workedto put themselves throughschool. Frank Wilson, a 12-year-old who lived near Sioux City,hated farming. He wanted to goto high school instead. Hearranged to work as a hiredhand for a town family so hewouldn't have to ride his bicycle20 miles a day to school. To payfor books, he took an extra jobat a boarding house. He madebeds every morning and waitedtables every evening. Frankeven found time to write a highschool news column for theSioux City Journal.

Other children, however,were not as lucky as Frank.They worked to earn money sotheir families could survive.Odessa Booker, the daughter ofa coal miner in Buxton, Iowa,peddled fresh vegetablesaround her town for a quarter abasket. Odessa's brothers

started working around themines when they were tenyears old. By the age of 16,they worked undergroundwith their father. All theBooker children gave theirmoney to their parents.Because they started workso early in life, they didn'tgraduate from high school.Farm to factory

City children alsoworked. Some kids had jobsthat did not pay wages.Many kids walked alongrailroad tracks and picked upcoal for the family fireplace.Others sorted through garbagepiles looking for stuff to fix upor sell.

Other jobs paid cash. Boys asyoung as seven years old couldsell papers on street corners.Young girls might sell candy ormagazines. Older childrenworked as delivery boys, clerks,cigar rollers, and soda jerks.

Factory work, althoughdangerous, employed thousandsof Iowa kids in the early 20thcentury. Children routinely lostlimbs and fingers to the whir-ring machinery. The 1902Factory Act prohibited allchildren under the age of 16

1, a

Hired boys and girls often worked for otherfamilies and helped with daily chores. Thisgirl washes dishes, 1910.

10

from cleaning machines inmotion, but allowed most kidsto go on working. By 1915, astricter set of laws made itillegal for most kids to skipschool in order to work. Safetyconditions were not muchimproved, but younger childrenwere barred from factory work.

Today, children work in avariety of jobs. Some work asbabysitters, others mow lawnsand work in fast-food restau-rants. Most kids help withhousehold chores. Their laborcontributes to Iowa's economy,just as it has in the state's past.

soda :leo: clerK at a

soda fountain

The Goldfinch 9

PI

Organizing laborWorkers in Iowa history have joined forces and

demanded better working conditions and wages.

y

iiitaP

by Diane Nelson

In the early 1900s, kid laborers in Muscatine formed a union of their own. Some of the membersare pictured above.

magine that you and your1 family work for one of the 43button factories in Muscatine,Iowa in 1911. If you are a boy,you might spend your days in adamp room pulling shells out ofa tank of stinky water. Any cutson your hands or arms are likelyto become infected by germs in

10 The Goldfinch

the water. You take the shells toa machine that cuts out smallcircles.

If you are a girl, you mightuse a machine to polish thecircles or cut holes in them tomake buttons. The air is dustyfrom all the shell dust and it'shard to breathe. If your machine

11

clogs, you have to clean itwithout turning it off; you mayget cut. When you return homeat night you sew buttons ontocards. Your pay is based on howmany shell circles or buttonsyou make or how many cardsyou fill. You can't watch theboss count what you've done

and you suspect you're beingcheated. You'd like to complain,but you're afraid you'll be firedand your family really needs thefew dollars you earn. What doyou do?

You might join the nearly700 childrenincluding someunder the legal working age of14 yearsin the JuvenileButton Sewers' and Carriers'Union.

A union is like a club. Mem-bers agree to help each othertry to improve the place wherethey work by sharing theirideas and concerns with theiremployer.

Printers formed the firsttrade union at Dubuque in 1855.Their kind of trade union wasvery exclusive; you couldn't joinunless you were a skilledtradesman.

Des Moines miners joinedthe Knights of Labor in 1878.This national secret organiza-tion welcomed all workersregardless of their skill level,nationality, race, or gender.They encouraged the use ofarbitration (using an outsider tomake a decision after listeningto both sides) instead of strikes(refusing to work).

444 of1'

,141011.1.E.L._

ON71,TRIK

WE AR200.000STRONG

12

-42

ABOVE: Until laborlaws cracked down onworking conditions,Iowa workers had toendure dirty anddangerous work sites.Does this Sioux Citymeat packing houselook safe and clean toyou? LEFT: TheseMuscatine workers areon strike, 1950s.

The Goldfinch 11

I

I

I I

I I 1

1 1 . 1

Company owners seldomwanted to listen to workers'ideas. Sometimes they firedunion organizers or temporarilyclosed their plants and thenhired replacement workers(sometimes called scabs) to dothe union members' jobs. In1937, the U.S. Supreme Courtsaid that workers have the rightto organize themselves intounions as long as they followcertain rules.

Bruce Nolan worke iri-aSioux City packing ouse in the1939itHe recl his friendslearned about unions by reading

e newspaper. They useddi>Mct action to get unionreco on. "Thirty-four of usstopped t of 1400workers. 1/Nrefild reementhat after ten minutes ez

back to work. We had 34 workstoppages until we was able to

get the company to agree to sitdown and talk to us."

A Quad Cities worker whojoined a union in 1940 focusedon improving working condi-tions. "Things weren't clean.Lighting was bad. There was noheat. It was terrible workingthere. We got the union in andthe first thing we did was dealthe shop up."

Many unions built_meeting-places where members' fathiliescould go to leamPr be enter_:tained. They shared storiesabout their jobs with politicians-and encouraged them to paSglaws to evfoLkeks gleanerand safer wp.i. conditions./ ,..2.xt, .better payonorebelients. and

)faiDtreatment:r ' .:,:z,.

today, partly became companieshave moved many traditionalunion jobs elsewhere. Butunions are still needed.,Workerswho don't have a signed con-

.%

tract witlVtheir employer can befired with or without a-reason.,Job,related injuriesare stillpossible.

"All workers have:the right tobe treated with digniik_both onand off the job." Mirkginith ofthe Iowa Federation: 0i7told The. Golicifinch::;"Digluty./Comes-froth earnii gnOtigh toProvide for your 444. It alsocomes from.havirig;sciine inputin the decisionsaboutyour workin anon.Worker's-should have:the rightto ask about conditions thatseetrumfair. with- °mingabout loang,theirja s."Bennie Shtick 7memberstreiriecold and hungry wheneilather's Sioux City packing

houSe was on strike. Even so.her advice to workers is. "Getinvoked, because in numbersthere is strength. If you'retrying to fight a battle by your-self, it's almost impossible."

The kids in the MuscatineJuvenile Button Sewers' andCarriers' Union would agree. A

12 The Goldfinch

(We) took the s ut ofshops." says a Watemember. "Without trie labor;movement negotiating forlaterwages and workifitcad.two-thirds of the-people 7:

wouldn't have all the conve-niences they'ie got now. The::American people are muchhealthier now than when I was a-*d"

Union membership in Iowapeaked in the 1950s. About halfas many eligible workers join

13BEST COPY AVAILABLE

l\W\v

Hard atwork

Identify the work-relatedwords and phrases to theright Then arrange the

circled letters in thespace at the bottom of the

page to spell a holidaythat honors workers.Answers on page 30.

1. An organization that helps workers.

2. A girl who goes to work for another family.

3. Stop work to protest poor working conditions.

4. Money earned from work

5. A place where work is done.

6. Name for type of work where workers are paidbased on the number of items they produce.

7. Laws that protect young workers.

CDECENT

\\IORMCONDITIOS,

A holiday that honors workers.

Q0000 00014 The Goldfinch 13

Dear DiaryBy the time he was 17 years old Alfred J.Runkle had worked as a tailor and served in

the U.S. Army during the Civil War.Alfred was born in Pennsylvania in 1846 and

moved to Lisbon, Iowa, when he was nine. Hisfather, Thomas, worked as a tailor, probably out ofhis home, and taught his son the trade. Alfred andhis younger sister, Rebecca, had some schooling.

After he was discharged from the army at theend of the war in 1865, Alfred worked as a clerk indry goods stores in Cedar Rapids, Chicago, andIowa City. He usually lived in boarding houses, butin Cedar Rapids he lived above the store.

He documented his clerking days in the diarypictured above. He wrote about store business,how much he missed his family, and when he sentor received letters.

From his diary, we know what Alfred did on thejob, the hours he worked, and that he workedholidays. We also know that Alfred was often boredwith his work, and hoped to find a position where

Saturday _January 25, 1867Still busy taking stock today andworked this eve until 12 P.M.Bus. [business] dull. I find avery tedious job taking stock.

Friday February 8, 1867Bus. dull. We had nothing to do.It made all hands feel blue. I still

:.think a great deal of looking up

IA

Alfred J. Runkle carried this diary with him fromjobs in Lisbon, Iowa, to Cedar Rapids, Chicago,and Iowa City.

he could be more independent.Other historical documents tell us that Alfred

was to get his wish. After clerking in Iowa City, heopened his own dry goods business in Missouriin 1881 and in Cedar Rapids in 1889. Alfredmarried, had two children, and after he retiredfrom the dry goods trade, worked as a life insur-ance agent.

Today, Alfred's 1867 diary reveals what lifewas like for a 21-year-old worker in Iowa's earlyyears. Amy Ruth

some new place so as to bemore independent.

Friday March 8, 1867Robinson informed us of a raisein board this eve to $4.00 to takeeffect next week. I don't like theraise at all and in all probabilitywill leave or change my board-ing place.

Monday April 15, 1867This morning about 2 o'clock a

15

fire broke out in the basementstory of Ely's Block right underthe store. Dr. Ebi was the firstto raise the alarm. I ran down-stairs but found I could donothing to save any goods. I ranback upstairs and got some ofthe clothes in my trunk andtumbled down the stairs as bestI could. Max [a fellow clerk] andI took our things to the EmpireHouse [hotel]. Went to bed

dull slow

around 4 a.m. Could not sleep.Sent a telegram. Loafed aroundthe hotel.

Friday April 19, 1867Maxwell, self were called intothe mayor's office. I was quizzedby 5 of the insurance agents.

When the store burned down,Alfred was unemployed for sometime. He also lost his home andhad to live in the hotel for a littlewhile. In June, he and a fellowclerk, Smith, moved to Chicagoand found jobs.

Monday June 3, 1867I [came] in at work this morn inMandel Bros. store. I gotwoolen and clothes dept. Apretty big job. I got along wellenough for the first day.

Tuesday June 4, 1867I got along much as usual today.But find a vastly different styleof bus. and customers here thanin CR [Cedar Rapids].

Saturday June 8, 1867Business much as before. Didnot get out of the store till 10 1/2P.M. I found my envelope ofwages to contain $12 for the 1stweeks work.

Tuesday August 13, 1867I was in Bus. as usual today. Isent $80.00 home by expressthis morning.

Sometime in September orOctober, Alfred moved back toIowa. He spent some time inLisbon, then moved to Iowa Cityand found a clerking job there,beginning work on October 8.

Wednesday October 9, 1867Work busy as usual all day. Isend shawl and Balmoral skirtto sister. We have a pretty nicestock of goods.

Thursday October 17, 1867Business much as usual. Noth-ing to brag of. I trimmed thenotion window today.

Monday November 11, 1867Bus. as usual today. No specialnews. I done a pretty good dayswork. $72.67 [in sales].

(Thursday November 28, 1867This was Thanksgiving day. ButI spent it at store all day.

Wednesday December 25, 1867We went in store till about 2P.M. then went to BrandingHouse. We had a splendidturkey roast. I carved turkey. AD

16

Alfred'sAccounts

In the back of his 1867diary, Alfred kept strictrecords of how much heearned and how much hespent each month.

Alfred's records tell usthat he was paid everyweek and that he savedsome of his earnings tosend home to his parentsand sister in Lisbon.

From his records wealso know that Alfredearned nine dollars a weekin Cedar Rapids and twelvedollars a week in Chicagoand Iowa City. About one-third of his weekly salarywent for room and board.

Alfred spent little moneyon himself. In addition toroom and board, Alfredbought fuel, a warm wintercoat, sturdy boots, andother necessities. Every sooften, he treated himself toa cigar. On Sundays, Alfredpaid for a shave and abath. AR

The Goldfinch 15

Sr

A neighborhood at worketween the early 1900s and the 1960s, a neighborhood located northwest of downtownDes Moines was home to much of the city's African-American population.

The neighborhood, called Center Street-Sfterthe-area's main street. grew during WorldWar I when the Colored Officers Training Camp opened at Fort Des Moines to train African-American officers. After the war, many officers and their families stayed in Des Moines andsettled near Center Street. During this time, the coal mines in the southwest Iowa town ofBuxton closed and much of that community's black population also settled in the neighborhood.

The black population faced discriminatiiin in housing, education, and business: Theneighborhood was one of the few areas whereAfrican Americans could live and work peace-fully. Center Street was a self-sufficien Iacelhat met the social, financial, educational,and residential needs of 'tie black population. African Americans opened their o.wn,nesses and provided-goods and servicesto one another during a time when white-ownedbusinesses did not want them as customers.

"Some of the buildings didn't stand so-straight and tall, but they fia da 14of personalityin them," said Gaynelle Narcisse, a Des Moines resident who is writing a bookabout CenterStreet.

.

The Center Street neighborhood flourished in the 1940s and 1950s. The area'sbusiness district boasted barber shops;-beauty parlors, restaurants, night clubs, grocerystores, pharmacies, lawyers' offices. funeral homes, pool hallk;hotelsr laundries.?;servicestations. a movie theatre, photography studio, and print shop.:Many neighborhoecibusi-....nesses attracted customers by advertising in The Iowa Bystander, the city's blaCkaeyispaper.

..Some residents operated businesses out of their homes or hired themselves out to

provide services that ranged from delivery to catering."The money stayed in the community and it was able to thrive," Narcisse told The

Goldfinch. "The residents patronized the businesses there andthe neighborhood survived."

In the early 1960s, much of the neighborhood was torndown to make room for a freeway. Many Center Street

residents lost their homes. Businesses closed ormoved to new locations and the city lost a vibrantbusiness district. .1 Amy Ruth

VISIT THE EXHIBIT!The Center Street neighbornood s

is the subject of a museum !.

display at the Historical Building inDes Moines until 1997. For more

information call515-281-6412.

17 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Who worked where?Match the businesses described below with their locations on the map of the

Center Street neighborhood. Answers on page 30.

O Three service stations oper-ated near 12th Street andKeosauqua Way.0 The Community Pharmacy, oneof Iowa's first black-ownedpharmacies, was on the south-west corner of 12th and CenterStreets.O The Community Luncheonettewas next door to the CommunityPharmacy.

O Pauline Humphrey operated herCrescent School of Beauty at1407 Center Street, between 14thand 15th Streets.O Bernice Richmond was acaterer. She lived at 1046 14thStreet, north of Crocker Street.O Robert E. Patten operated hisprint shop on the east side of14th Street between Center andCrocker Streets.

O Ayers Curtain Laundry was on thesouth side of School Street, be-tween 12th and 13th Streets.O Tug Wilson ran Wilson FuneralHome on 14th Street, near thecorner of Center and 14th Streets.It later became Estes & Son FuneralHome.O Ray Lucas offered light haulingfrom his location on 15th Street,between Center and Crocker Streets.

L

The Goldfinch 17

by Unzee Kull McCray

Women at workYou may have heard the saying, "A woman's work is never done." If a

woman enjoys her work, that might not be a bad thing. But in Iowa's past,women's work was mostly time-consuming, back-breaking domestic labor.

TIoday, bothwomen and

men maychoose to workinside or outsidethe home. Thischoice wasn'talways availableto women inIowa andthroughout the United States.

In the past, most womenspent their days caring forchildren, raising vegetables andanimals, and cooking andcanning. They made clothes fortheir families, spinning wool,weaving it into cloth, sewing itinto clothes, and then washing,ironing, and mending thoseclothes. They swept andscrubbed their homes from topto bottom, and then started allover again the next day.

Women who wove their owncloth at home supported thecarding mill industry throughthe late 1800s. Women sent

i/d tr.

These women are hat makers, around the turn of the century.

18 The Goldfinch

their raw sheep wool or flax to acarding mill where the fibreswere processed into smooth,usable yarn.

Beginning in the 1860s,more Iowa women moved intothe working world outside oftheir homes. The most popularjobs for women were thosewhich used the domestic skillssociety considered appropriate.

By 1870, a total of 23,126women in Iowa were employedoutside the home. In 1880,about half of all women workingoutside the home were "hiredgirls." These workers labored inother people's homes, running

1.9

their house-holds. MargaretBayer, whoworked for afarmer nearIowa City,cleaned house,worked in thefields, andpicked and sold

strawberries in town.Another common occupation

for women was teaching school.Garment and textile factoriesalso employed women workers.

Few women were able to owntheir own businesses. Banksconsidered women to be badbusiness risks and were reluc-tant to loan them money to openshops and start companies. Oneof the few acceptable businessesfor a woman to own was amillinery (hat-making) business.

It was also extremely hardfor women of color to go intobusiness. Many people wouldn'trent business property to

African Americans and otherminorities. Women of colorfaced gender and racial dis-crimination in the workplace.

By 1900, 106,883 women inIowa worked outside the home.Many young women, like 14-year -old Johanna Bushman,found work in Iowa's factories.Johanna rolled cigars inDubuque. Her wages helpedsupport her family.

In the state's button facto-ries, jobs were assigned accord-ing to gender. Men cut buttonsfrom clam shells, and womenran machinery that drilled theholes, pressed patterns, andpolished the buttons.

Women nearly always

Ia

ra

aff---4 'amomma

These workers sort buttons in an Iowafactory at the turn of the century.

received less money for theirwork than did men. Teachingwas primarily a male professionuntil men realized they couldmake more money in factories,and so left the classrooms towomen. A 1913 survey showedthat most Iowa women workingin industry earned less than tendollars a week, while only tenpercent of men in industryearned that little.

Most women were expectedto quit their jobs once theymarried so that they could stayhome and raise their children.

Some women continued toearn money, even while athome. Women took in laundry,rented rooms to travelers, andsold eggs, garden produce, andhomemade jams to increase thefamily income.

Some women did step out ofthe roles that society saw asappropriate and into the worldof work traditionally reservedfor men. Rhoda A. Shelton, acollege-educated woman fromMt. Pleasant, worked as abookkeeper at the Iowa Hospitalfor the Insane in 1866. Thenation's first female lawyer,Arabella Mansfield, also of Mt.Pleasant, passed the bar exam

20

Bus line owner, Helen Schultz, 1924.

in 1869 when she was 23.Helen Schultz started the

Red Ball Transportation Com-pany in 1922, which providedthe first bus service betweenMason City, Charles City, andChicago. Schultz, who becameknown as "Iowa's Bus Queen,"struggled with weather, un-paved roads, and flat tires.

People often have ques-tioned the ability of women toperform well in their chosenprofessions. But thanks toIowa's early female pioneers,Iowa women have more choicestoday about the kind of workthey do. A

bar exam test tobecome a lamer

The Goldfinch 19

Tough times:When jobs were hard to find

2.;

3:

Low prices for farm goods provoked strikes and disruptions during the Great Depression.Above, dissatisfied farmers block a cattle truck by placing a hay bale in its path.

I n the 1930s, the Park familyof Dubuque faced hard times.

Between 1931 and 1936, ClaudPark found only odd jobs.Claud's family wife Marthaand their children, Claud Jr.,Mary, and Dorothy struggledto survive on Claud's meagerwages and the vegetablesMartha grew on a patch of landdonated by the city.

In bad winter weather, thechildren stayed home from

20 The Goldfinch

school because they did nothave enough winter clothing tokeep warm.

Many other Iowans alsoexperienced economic hardtimes during the Great Depres-sion of the 1930s.

During World War I (1914-1918), farmers raised a surplusof food to support Americansoldiers and European families.Banks loaned money to helpfarmers produce more good2.1

by Todd Norden

When peace came to Europein 1918, Europeans stoppeddepending on Iowa farmers forextra food. In the 1920s, farmerscontinued to produce moregoods to pay back their loans.Because of overproduction,farmers were paid less for theircrops. Farmers could not payback their loans. Banks andbusinesses closed down or laidoff workers.

Surplus more, than

what is needed

Farmers made tough deci-sions in the 1930s. Farm ownersfaced bankruptcy. Tenants oftendid not earn enough money topay rent. For some, that meantpacking up belongings andmoving to a new town, city, orstate to start over.

In 1930, the Crumbaughfamily sold their 114-acre farmand moved into the city limits ofDubuque, hoping to find jobs.Mr. Crumbaugh never foundfull-time work during the GreatDepression. Some of his 10children took jobs cleaninghouses, as farm hands, or infactories to help support thefamily.

Others families chose to farmwithout any promise of earningmoney. Farmers tried to growwhat would sell for the bestprice.

In the summer of 1932, farmwoman Clara Ackerman wrotein her diary, "What shall we do,not raise anything? We are stillgetting nine cents for eggs andthirteen to fifteen cents forcream which isn't spent forgroceries except sugar, coffee,and an occasional head oflettuce. Are we tired of our ownproducts? Yes, but we are

Q

L

4 ;

ORK WE MUST WILL TO THE NEEDY,AND WAN AND WEAK,

ATNEI IN WANT AND WISTFULLY

,WISHING THE THINGS THEY SEEK.

PROJECTS PROVIDE FOR THE PEOPLE,I PITY THE PODIVAND THE PLAIN,// PAINTING A PICTURE OF PROGRESS,/ PLANNING RECOVERY AGAIN.

JI/ ACCLAIM THE ANSWER WITH ACTION,

ASSIST' THE APPEALING FOR AID,ADJUST THE MOSES ARISING,

J ./ ACCEPT THE ACHIEVED ACCOLADE.

- ...

RES- COPY AVALABL5 22

The Works ProgressAdministration (WPA)kept Americansworking in the1930s. ABOVE:Webster City WPAworkers repair asewer, 1939. Thepoem describes theWPA philosophy.LEFT: WPA workerstrain to be domesticworkers, DesMoines, 1938.

The Goldfinch 21

willing to keep on in order tobuy the necessities we musthave."

One out of every four Ameri-can workers were unemployedduring the Great Depression. InDubuque, the city's sash anddoor mills laid off half theirworkers between 1930 and 1935.Without jobs, many Iowanswere too poor to buy basicnecessities.

Times got a little easier whenthe federal government steppedin. President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt began the WorksProgress Administration(WPA), the Civilian Conserva-tion Corps (CCC), and the CivilWorks Administration (CWA) togive Americans jobs and wages.

Young people also struggledthrough the Great Depression.Some, like the Crumbaughchildren, quit school to supporttheir families. In 1935, PresidentRoosevelt created the NationalYouth Administration (NYA) toprovide work for high schooland college students thatallowed them to stay in school.

Many Iowa youth joined theNYA. Students prepared class-room exhibits and gradedpapers. Young people helped to

22 The Goldfinch

t

:441.1.

WPA workers serve hot lunches in a Mason City nursery school, 1940.

improve roads, install streetsigns, plant trees, and buildbridges. Young women sewed,served school lunches, andworked in libraries and muse-ums. African-American youthsbuilt an ice skating rink in GoodPark in Des Moines.

The NYA program gaveyoung Iowans work experiencethat prepared them for jobsfollowing the Great Depression.They also interacted withchildren from different back-grounds.

In the 1980s, hard timesappeared again for Iowans.

23

Farmers' crop prices were highthrough the 1970s and then fellsuddenly. Farmers couldn't payback loans and many lost theirfarms. Farmers left their farmsto look for jobs in cities. In 1982,there were around 115,000farms in Iowa. Four years later,that number shrunk to 109,000.With fewer jobs in Iowa's farmsand cities, families worked hardagainst tough odds to supportthemselves. They learned tobeat hard times once again. A

5341 window frame

Makea time card

by Todd Norden

Imagine it is 1938. As a workerin Iowa, you make the minimumwage of 40 cents an hour. Yourecord your hours on a time cardsimilar to the one in this activity.

Today some workers still usetime cards to clock in and out oftheir jobs.

This time card will help youkeep track of your hours. Recordhow much time you spend onchores, a part-time job, and othermoney making activities.

At the end of the week, addup your hours. Multiply yourtotal hours by your hourly wage(40 cents). This sum equals howmuch money you would havemade during one week in 1938.

Name of Employee:

-<0z0m

Start Time:

Finish:

Job Description:

Total Hours:

<0coUi

1.-

Start Time:

Finish:

Total Hours:

Job Description:

rcocoLuzot.'

Start Time:

Finish:

Total Hours:

Job Description:

0u)ccm=1--

Start Time:

Finish:

Total Hours:

Job Description:

>-<0iiI-1-

Start Time:

Finish:

Total Hours:

Job Description:

>-<0ccm1--

co

Start Time:

Finish:

Total Hours:

Job Description:

>.<0zCn

Start Time:

Finish:

Total Hours:

Job Description:

Total hours worked this week:

Hours X Hourly Wage of 404'

Ay 24y Mary Moye-RowleyThe Goldfinch 23

by Millie K. Frese

ii

History makersLast year, fifth-graders from Elvira Elementary School in Clintoninterviewed older members of the community and asked what

work they did as kids. They collected the memories in aclassroom publication they called "Stroll Down Memory Lane."

Then they shared their stories with The Goldfinch. Read on to findout how jobs, chores, and attitudes about work have changed.

Every morning I make mybed, make my own break-

fast, and get ready for school,"Anna Grimm, 11, told TheGoldfinch. She feeds the dogsand cats, sets the table formeals, dusts, and cleans herroom, too.

"I do dishes whenever myparents make me," she said ofher least favorite chore.

One job she particularlyenjoys is raking leaves in thefall. "It's fun to make a big pileof leaves and jump in!"

Anna interviewed her grand-mother, Joanne Grimm, 69,about her childhood jobs.

"When I was 14, I babysat,did a lady's dishes and cleanedher house after school," Grimmsaid. "When I was 15, I quit myother jobs and started workingin the dime store."

24 The Goldfinch

110 el) ecca Guilliams, 12,Fikeeps her room clean andhelps her brothers and sistersclean house and do the laundry.She sometimes babysits.

"I like watching kids andbabysitting," Rebecca told TheGoldfinch. As for the rest of herchores: "I don't like any of themthat much, but they have to bedone! My mom always tells meshe had to do more work whenshe was little. We don't have todo that much."

Rebecca interviewed hergrandmother Alice Issen, 64,who started working when shewas nine. "I cleaned an eight-room house and babysat threekids," Issen said. "I did that forthree years. Then I foundanother house where I couldwash clothes, do dishes, iron,and dust for a lady."

25

Jeremy Corr's least favoritechore is drying dishes.

"Washing is better than dry-ing," Jeremy, 11, told TheGoldfinch. But he'd rather beoutside feeding the dogs, cats,and sheep. Shoveling snow,mowing the lawn, and shearingsheep are a few more ofJeremy's chores. In spring, heprepares pastures for thesheep. "The whole family goesout and burns grass the sheepwon't eat so new grass willgrow for them," he said.

Jeremy interviewed hisgrandmother, Virginia Norland,69, who also grew up doingfarm chores. "The family had topick corn by hand," Norlandsaid. "When we milked cows,we separated the cream fromthe milk. We gave the milk tothe pigs and sold the cream." A

Anna Grimm Rebecca Guilliams Jeremy Corr Lindsey Voss Tessa Rutledge Emily Randolph

indsey Voss, 12, helps withthe dishes (her least

favorite chore), laundry, vacu-uming (her favorite), andsweeps the kitchen floor.

"I do each about twice aweek," Lindsey told The Gold-finch. "I don't like doing dishesbecause I don't like washingeveryone's dirty plates," sheexplained.

Lindsey interviewed commu-nity member Bob Goodell, 71.

"When I was a kid growingup in Clinton I had a Sundaypaper route," Goodell said. "Onmy way to deliver my Sundaypapers the janitor came out ofthe courthouse and he askedme if I wanted to wind theclock. He took me up andshowed me how to wind it andpaid me 15 cents. I came anddid it every Sunday." A

Dusting is Tessa Rutledge'sfavorite chore, because,

she told The Goldfinch, "it'seasy!" Tessa, 12, also helpsvacuum and feeds rabbits, agoat, and chickens. She alsodoes the dishes washing,drying, and putting them away.

She thinks kids today have iteasier than when her grandpar-ents were young. "We don'thave to work all day the waysome of them did," she said.

Tessa interviewed hergrandmother, Betty Miller, 72,who grew up in the 1930s.

'There were no jobs," saidMiller. "We lived on a farm. Butin town, jobs were not held bywomen. The only women whoworked were divorced orwidowed who had kids to raise.We even had men secretariesback then."

26

Emily Randolph, 12, lives ona farm. She feeds her

family's dogs, Maggie andMartha, two calves, horses, andher sister's sheep. Inside, Emilyhelps clean house and wash thedishes.

"I like being outside betterthan inside," Emily told TheGoldfinch. Her favorite chore isbottlefeeding new-born calves.

Emily interviewed hergrandfather, Lewis Randolph,71, who grew up on a fruit farmnear Princeton, Iowa in the1930s.

"My father employed most ofthe local teenage girls, school-teachers, and women to helpharvest various types of berriesas they were in season,"Randolph said. "We picked halfof the patch each day." A

The Goldfinch 25

\Be a photo historian

NIA.

Ihese workers pause fromtheir back-breaking jobs to

pose for a photographer inLucas, Iowa, around 1913.

To learn more about theseworkers and others who madetheir livings in similar places,study the photograph carefully,then answer the questions tothe right.

26 The Goldfinch

a

0 Where are these workersand what are they doing?

O What is smeared on theworkers' clothes and faces?

Why do you think the boy(pictured in the middle) is here,instead of in school?

CO What is the man on the farright holding? What kind of

27

_v-,

work was done with this tool?

Do you think this workenvironment was safe forworkers? Why or why not?

® Would you like to do thekind of work pictured above?Why or why not?

Answers on page 30

OCLBounumiz:_li

Millie K. Frese

In the summer of 1920, a young Iowagirl left home to work for a farm family.

Will the experience be a good one?

Lena Richards was going on 13. She'd lived intown all her life, with her parents in the bungalowbehind the creamery her father managed. She'dnever been away from home before by herself. That'swhy Lena was so surprised when her mother camehome with this news:

"Mrs. Graham gave birth to twins last week. She'slooking to hire someone to help out for a spell."

Mama always thought Lena was missing out, nothaving any brothers or sisters around. Working forthe Grahams would be a good experience, she rea-soned. Mama called it an opportunity. Papa, after abit of convincing, agreed.

So that's how Lena found herself in the front seatof Mr. Graham's truck early on the first Mondaymorning of summer vacation. She clutched her suit-case in her lap on the way to her very first job.

"The house sits behind that clump of pines," Mr.Graham said, turning up a bumpy dirt lane towardhis place. "We raise a little of this, a little of that," hecontinued, cheerfully talking about corn, oats, wheat,milk cows, sheep, pigs, and

Chickens! What a cackle they made scur-rying out of the way when Mr. Graham pulled thetruck into the yard.

A wiry old man with a white pointed beardopened Lena's door and reached for her suitcase.

"Pa, this is Lena," Mr. Graham said."She don't look like much of a farmhand to me,"

Old Mr. Graham snapped. "She'll have to earn herkeep around here like the rest of us." Old Mr.Graham didn't mince words and she'd heard that hedidn't waste money. Lena couldn't tell if he was smil-ing or not as he turned away.

"Don't mind Pa," Mr. Graham said as he led Lenaindoors. "It's the roosters you gotta look out foraround here!"

Lena didn't have a chance to ask what he meant. Theywere already in the kitchen and Mrs. Graham, relievedto see her new helper, had things for Lena to do.

"The wash water's hot," Mrs. Graham said, takinga steaming copper boiler off the stove. Lena followed

28

greens, fried chicken,new potatoes and gar-

. den peas, cold milk,warm rhubarb pie,stacks of sliced home-made bread, and pitch-ers of cold milk.

Mr. Graham gavethanks for the meal, forthe land that providedthe food, and for thehands that prepared it.Then they ate until theycould hold no more,with Lena refilling thefood platters for the hun-gry workers. After themen were finished eat-ing, it was Lena and

Mrs. Graham's turn. They enjoyed a quick meal, thencleared the table and washed the dishes.

During lunch, the babies slept; when the dishes weredone, Mrs. Graham fed one while Lena rocked the otheron the shady front porch.

' e always rest awhile after lunch," Mrs. Grahamexplained. "Then it's time to gather eggs." She toldLena where to find the baskets, how to line themwith handfuls of grass to cushion the eggs, andwhere to find the chicken feed.

Lena had never been inside a chicken coopbefore. She stepped cautiously through the door. Afew hens remained on their nests until Lena shooedthem away.

"Stubborn birds," she muttered. The eggs shefound were warm and smooth to her touch. Somewere white, others brown or creamy colored. Soonthe basket was full.

1 e-5, !-1 :' .7.-r,!,- ---.,-v.-

n I s.Y A

1 i

F.

Mrs. Graham to the wringer washer and piles of dirtylaundry on the back porch. She rolled up her sleevesand went to work.

Hot sudsy water splattered the front of Lena'sdress as she washed and rinsed the laundry. Theshirts. The pants. The dresses. The underclothes.The towels. The diapers. Her arms ached fromcranking the washing machine and from luggingfresh kettles of hot water. They ached from stretch-ing to clip the heavy, wet wash onto the clotheslinesout by the vegetable garden. Sweat streaked her face.Damp auburn curls stuck uncomfortably to her fore-head. It was almost lunch time when she finished.

Lena decided she didn't like Mondays on thefarm much at all.

The men came in from cultivating corn; theywatered the horses, then sat down to eat. What afeast! Lena helped serve a salad made with fresh

28 The Goldfinch 29

Lena blinked hard as she stepped back out intothe afternoon sun. In the moment it took her eyes toreadjust, a big black-feathered rooster with a brightred comb collided, scratching and pecking, into theback of her legs. Lena screamed. The rooster crowed.The hens beat the air with their wings.

"Those roosters are mean as the dickens!" OldMr. Graham hollered above the noise. He ran towardLena, swatting the fierce bird with a broom. Lenafought back tears as she saw blood trickle down herleg where the rooster had gashed her calf. She wasafraid to look into the basket of eggs.

"No harm done," Old Mr. Graham said, noticing ahalf dozen or so broken eggs oozing from the basket.He helped Lena to her feet and put his arm aroundher shoulders.

"Next time carry the broom along with you," headvised. "That old rooster doesn't mess with mydaughter-in-law. But the rest of us take precautions."

This time, Lena could see he was smiling.After she had cleaned and bandaged her wound,

Lena carried in wood for the stove and a pail of freshdrinking water for dinner. Mrs. Graham helped hergather the dry clothes off the line. BothLena and Mrs. Graham were glad /wash day only came once a week.

That evening, Lena helpedwash the supper dishes. Whenthe last plate was put away and

I'

everything was in order for the -,--, ,...f

-day to come, Lena fell into bed

, 4;4,

m"aelebone tired. A soft breeze ___., ." -,,,..,.._,...

tickled the thin muslin ---/ ?1,

curtains hanging over,

...,

her open window.Lena Richards knew

she'd earned her keep. .,;,('r .',." / .,,_,

r ir N

.1 Ac k, i 9 't

\.,1;,

AnswersHistory Mystery (Page 3)

Workers used this equipment to float logs down river tolumber mills where the logs were turned into smooth boards.

Hard at Work Puzzle (Page 13)0 Union

o Hired girlo StrikeO Wages

O Factory

o Piece work

o Child labor laws

HOLIDAY THAT HONORS WORKERS: Labor Day

Who Works Where (Page 17)ocOAo B

OD OIOE OHOF OG

Be a Photo Historian (Page 26)0 These workers are coal miners in an underground coalmine.

© Coal dust.

O Children's wages often helped to support a family.

0 Workers used a pick to dig out the coal.

O Mines sometimes caved in and crushed workers. The coaldust workers breathed often caused life-long lung diseaes.30 The Goldfinch

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

31

The Goldfinch wants toknow what you have

discovered about Iowa'spast. Has your class

worked on special Iowahistory projects? Are you

helping to save somethingold? Have you found an oldletter, diary, photograph,or arrowhead that tells

something about the past?

If you answered yes to anyquestion above, we wantto hear from you! You andyour story may appear inan upcoming issue of the

magazine! Upcomingthemes are: Iowa's KidHeroes, Weather, Main

Street, and Newspapers.

Contact Editor Amy Ruthat 402 Iowa Ave., Iowa

City, Iowa 52240.319-335-3930

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