“Pioneer women contributed monetarily to the family's income. They did what they could to raise money to help with expenses. One woman, Mrs. J. M. Stickney, "sold her silk dresses and mantle, hand embroidered skirts and most of her jewelry to the teachers in the vicinity to help meet living expenses."
Other women made what was called "butter and egg" money. Although they did sell their butter and eggs, they also raised and sold other food, poultry and goods such as geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens, eggs, garden produce, berries, fruits, and nuts picked from the wilds; homemade items of fancy work, including quilts, feather pillows, clothing, butter and baked goods. Selling those items was a way a woman could make money that not only helped pay household expenses but also gave her a sense of personal accomplishment.
Ottilie Schwinghamer Young describes such money-making endeavors in the early 1900's. ‘Each week Mother rode horseback into town to sell her eggs and butter, and some ham and bacon. Eggs brought ten cents a dozen, and butter sold for eleven cents a pound.’
The money she made usually went for the family's good. However, a woman might occasionally feel self-indulgent as was the case with Katherine Rausch, daughter of Peter and Anna Rausch. Unfortunately, the end results were not what she expected. Katherine's son, John Kindler, narrated this story:
| ‘Someone had passed a remark that you could buy a bustle in St. Joseph for three dozen eggs. On this remark Katherine built a dream of a fine young lady with a beautiful bustle, the model of feminine attractiveness. Saving all the eggs possible from the family rations, she finally accumulated the necessary three dozen, and one fine morning started walking to St. Joseph. Katherine arrived in the village some seven miles distant and, after several timid inquiries discovered that three dozen eggs weren't nearly enough to produce a bustle. Filled with disappointment, Katherine traded the eggs for groceries and started the weary trek back home thoroughly educated in the authenticity of hear-say.’ " |
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1. Have you ever wanted something as badly as Katherine that you were willing to work for? Were you successful, or did you learn a lesson like Katherine? |
In communities all across the United States people still make "butter and egg" money. Instead of selling dairy and poultry products to make ends meet, people now sell home-made or grown items at craft fairs, farmers' markets, and garage sales.
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2. Have you ever participated in a garage sale? How did you decide what to sell? |
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3. How do today's methods of raising extra money differ from the pioneer women's methods? |
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4. What does the expression, "one person's junk is another person's treasure" mean? |
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