Our Schools in War Time—and AfterDean, Arthur D. (Arthur Davis)
History
Our Schools in War Time—and After
Dean, Arthur D. (Arthur Davis)
Education -- United States; World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Schools
A large milk-distributing corporation offered to take every one of his
boys, but he argued that it could afford to hire men and did not need
boys, as did the farmers who could not obtain other help. It is evident
that large farmers have capital and backing, while it is the individual
farmer struggling with hard conditions who must have help.
Most of the boys who are with farmers by the month come back to the
main camp every Sunday morning for physical examination, general
assembly, and to go to church. This coming back to the camp keeps
before them the idea of a camp for farm cadets. They return to their
work Sunday night. For those boys who go out by the week the teacher
makes an arrangement whereby the farmer brings them back to the camp on
Saturday night and comes for them the following night.
The people in the community in which the camp is located have
established a nonsectarian church in an old cheese factory which has
been purchased for $200. Occasionally a minister from a near-by town
comes and speaks.
The camp has a professional cook, who was obtained from a college
fraternity, and the boys pay pro rata. The first expense was about
$2.50 a week for each boy, but prosperity has provided means for the
boys to spend more.
All vegetables which the boys raised and which they did not use on
the table were canned by the cook and Mrs. Rexford, and they will be
used in the early part of next year, before the fresh vegetables are
available.
Local store men have coöperated in giving the lowest prices, feeling
that otherwise the trade of the camp would go to the city, and
therefore choosing the opportunity of large business with aggregate
large receipts on small profit.
Breakfast consists of fruit, cereal or eggs, and milk, cocoa, or
postum, and sometimes corn bread or griddle cakes. The boys carry a
cold lunch with them, consisting of a pail of cold cocoa; four good
thick sandwiches of peanut butter, meat, or jam; a piece of frosted
cake; and a banana. Sometimes they take a pot of jam, which is disposed
of by the group. For dinner they have a roast or steak; potatoes and
other ordinary vegetables (beans, peas, lettuce, carrots); shortcake or
pie or pudding; cocoa, postum, or milk.
The boys take care of their own beds, wash the dishes, and keep the
place clean.
They have a study hour every evening from eight until nine, and the
same is true of the boys placed out with farmers. One boy, going
to Princeton in the fall, kept up his studies and took the Regents'
examinations at the country school, passing them with as good a mark as
he would have obtained at his home school.
After drill on Sunday morning the boys at camp have a baseball game.
They have had entertainments for the benefit of the Red Cross. In the
group at camp are the gold-medal orator of the school, two excellent
pianists, four mandolin players, and a whistler. All the boys are good
singers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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