By Our Hands Alone

OUR PLEASURES WERE HOMEMADE

Although most rural families had little time or money for leisure amidst daily chores and farming, they still found ways to have fun in spite of the burden of work. Families often gathered in the evening to sing, play music, and tell stories, or they talked with one another while continuing to work on tasks like sewing. Children in rural areas usually had just a few inexpensive, homemade toys. When they had free time children made their own fun playing pick-up baseball, taking a dip at a nearby swimming hole, fishing, hunting and playing marbles.

On weekends, rural families often visited neighbors or friends or traveled to the nearest town to buy supplies and hear the latest news or gossip. Church services also provided a place for rural communities to come together and break from the daily grind of work. From time to time, rural communities paused to mark milestones in their lives. They welcomed births, celebrated marriages, and mourned deaths. Most rural families worked long and hard just to scrape by, so the few moments when they set aside their labors were important and memorable.