In farm work of yesteryear, practical men realized that sometimes they needed a Clydesdale and sometimes a Percheron.
So reads a paragraph in Heavy Burdens on Small Shoulders: The Labour of Pioneer Children on the Canadian Prairies.
“While some men seek nothing but the grooming and the harness, a more sensible man would select his ideal type, then look for good lungs, with good staying powers, good limbs, good feet, good heart action; in fact a well developed and proportioned body, with enough fat to show an appearance of being well nourished,” said Mrs. M.E. Graham, circa 1901, as quoted in the book.
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But she wasn’t talking about horses.
She was talking about how a farmer should choose a wife.
The labour of sturdy women and children was vital to development of the Prairies and author Sandra Rollings-Magnusson provides fascinating examples of work done by children during the opening of the West.
She makes no judgments, but it’s plain from the anecdotes she has compiled that children from the late 1800s and early 1900s were called upon to do work that few parents would ask of children today.
Hand-milk 11 cows twice daily? Cut sod blocks for houses? Drive a herd of cattle for 60 miles, on foot, at the age of 11? Arduous tasks undertaken by children, documented in the book, and no longer required.
Children on prairie farms were expected to work, plain and simple. That’s still true today. See if this quote from the book resonates: “One suggestion common to the proper upbringing of both boys and girls was to make children responsible for the performance of duties on the farm, such as caring for one or more animals from birth.
“It was believed that children in this position would develop a sense of responsibility and devote themselves more full to the farming lifestyle …”
That belief is still strong on prairie farms and it is worthy. There’s a lot of value in learning responsibility and the rewards of jobs well done. Early responsibilities probably make for better adjusted adults equipped to make their own way in life.
That’s why farm kids make such good employees. And employers. And business people. And friends.
Last Wednesday, Nov. 4, was Take Your Child to Work day. We had a few Grade 9
students here at the Producer, so I asked Olivia Dyck, daughter of copy editor Bruce Dyck, about her views on whether kids should be made to work.
She has the situation well assessed.
“I think you should have to do something. Kids that are raised and don’t have to do anything are not very pleasant to be around.”
