The ~Christian Country Farm~

TRAIL CHORES...

         

HOW OFTEN DID PIONEERS CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES ON THE TRAIL?

           

     About as often as they bathed--not very often at all! Most pioneers wore the same dirt-encrusted clothes day after day. It wasn't easy to find clean water for washing, which pioneer women probably thought was just as well. Laundry was an awful chore that took the entire day.

     To keep their dresses from dragging in the mud, women wore their skirts a little higher than they had back home. A few daring women wore the new fashion of bloomers, or loose pants that were gathered at the ankles. Men and boys wore linen or woolen pants and shirts. To protect their faces and eyes from the sun, men and boys wore wide-brimmed hats and women and girls wore bonnets. Everyone wore sturdy shoes or boots.


HOW DID PIONEER CHILDREN LEARN THEIR LESSONS ON THE TRAIL?


      Since there was no school to attend, some parents gave their children lessons on the trail. Other children just read the few books they brought along, kept journals, and wrote letters to friends and family.

       But even more than spelling and math, children's biggest lessons were probably the ones taught by trail life itself. Pioneer children learned how to identify new plants and animals, how to fix things when they broke, and how to invent and adjust to new ways of doing things {like using buffalo chips for firewood!}.

The following article taken from, "The Pioneers" by Kenneth C Davis

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10:18 AM, Aug. 14, 2006 .. Posted by Emily23

I loved reading your posts. I too have felt that I was born in the wrong time as well. Watching Little House on the Prarie just made me want to be there....lol. I often think about how things were.

Looking forward to reading more.

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11:43 AM, Aug. 14, 2006 .. Posted by thatday

I love reading diaries of these pioneers -

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02:39 PM, Aug. 14, 2006 .. Posted by southernbelle

I too love reading about how the pioneers lived and worked. I have several books of pioneer women's letters and diaries. Thanks for the post about them. I learned new things. : )