p. 11 | Aunt Mary's First Meeting by MRS. EDITH E. BRUCE

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 27, 1908

Aunt Mary's First Meeting

By MRS. EDITH E. BRUCE

MRS. EDITH E. BRUCE

THURSDAY afternoon came, a bright, sunshiny day. To Aunt Mary it was a day long to be remembered; for it was the beginning of a time for which she had longed and prayed. To help “the little ones” was to her a great privilege. Many times during the past few days had she sought the Lord for guidance and help. Although this was quite new work for her, she had some good ideas, and was thorough in her preparation. The question was, how to give these dear souls something practical. She realized that she must have something very simple, that each one could easily grasp and bring into every-day life. She was not sure but Mrs. Brown would be her only pupil, but she had prepared for several others who she thought might be present. In this she was not disappointed; for with Mrs. Brown came six other women, who were just as eager to learn as Aunt Mary was to impart. Each received a cordial greeting, and when they were comfortably seated, Aunt Mary began:

“My dear sisters, it is with many misgivings that I attempt to conduct a cooking- and housekeeping class; but if there are any methods that I have learned that will be helpful to you, I shall be glad to give them to you. The Lord has told us that whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, should be done to his glory. He has also said that Christians are his temple, and so how very necessary it is that we should do all we can to keep ourselves in good condition. It is a wonderful privilege God has given us women to keep the home and prepare the food for our loved ones; and a failure on our part to do our very best, is a failure in one of God's great plans.”

“There are so many things to consider in the subject of good housekeeping, or I might rather say, good home-making, which includes good cooking, that I wish we might begin at the very foundation. Before we take up the actual preparation of food in different dishes, we shall consider a few principles which may seem very simple, and yet which I consider of utmost importance.

“First of all there is everything in well-organized and systematic work in the home, as well as in the church, or any other place. Order is said to be one of heaven’s first laws, and I believe the reason for so many failures in housekeeping, and why so many women grow prematurely old and haggard, and have no time for missionary work, or for their own personal comfort, is because of lack of management. In the first place, they start out wrong: they think they must wait on the husband, and later, on the children. Burdens increase without increasing help. So let me say to you, dear sisters, plan your work in such a way that each member of the family may share in the duties and thus partake of the blessings. For instance, here is Sister Brown, with her three children. Let me see, how old is Irene, Sister Brown?”

“Ten years old, but dear me, Aunt Mary, she can't comb her own hair, and she never does any work. Would you expect such young children to do anything?”

“Yes, dear,” said Aunt Mary, “it is not cruel or unjust to teach the youngest child to help himself and to help others. Irene could easily be taught, not only to comb her own hair, but to assist Willie in getting ready for school. Now let us see what a ten-year-old girl could be taught to do without injury to her health or taking too much time from her school work and play time. First she could learn to wash and wipe dishes nicely; but I would not advise keeping a child at dishwashing. She can learn to iron plain things nicely, she can dust, clean silver, clean lamps, set the table, and at that age she should be taught to do simple cooking. These are only a few things that a ten-year-old girl can be taught to do; and what is true of the girl is true of the boy, provided you need his help. Teach the boy that it is a manly thing for him to help mother; that mother has to work for him, and that he ought to work for her. Much could be said on this subject, but I fear I am drifting, and I know that a few hints on this line will suffice. While we are speaking of order, I would like to say, Keep things hung up and in their places. ‘A place for everything, and everything in its place,’ is a good rule to follow. Much valuable time is often lost in searching for things that we should be able to find in the dark if necessary.”

“The kitchen is the place where the average woman spends much of her time, and it should be kept tidy and neat, convenient and comfortable. Cooking utensils are cheap, and the housewife should have plenty to use, so she will not have to stop in the midst of preparing a meal to wash dishes.

“While we are talking of things in general, I want to mention the dish-cloth. I don't suppose I need to mention this, for the benefit of any one here; but you will be able sometime to help others. Do you know that there is typhoid fever, not to mention other diseases, in a dirty, greasy dish-cloth? I am sure that every member of the Good Housekeeping Club will pride herself on having clean, sweet dish-cloths. This can only be done by washing and boiling each day, and spreading out in the sun.”

“But dear me,” said Aunt Mary, “we have hardly begun our little meeting, and here it is time to close. Let us see what points we have touched: First, to keep order in our homes, to regulate our work so that each member can help, to keep a good supply of cooking utensils, and to keep our dish-cloths clean. Next week I feel that we shall be ready to talk about what foods to cook, etc.”

Aunt Mary closed her first meeting with a little luncheon of egg sandwiches, made after the following recipe:—

A loaf of home-made bread, baked in a round tin, was sliced very thin, and spread lightly with butter. For the filling several eggs were boiled one hour, and put through a colander, with a little salt and lemon-juice added. A lettuce leaf was put between, with the mixture, making a very tempting sandwich.

The ladies pronounced them fine, and went home determined to make some for supper instead of cooking meat, as previously intended.

Mussoorie, India.