yesterday's tennessee

Bath Springs Home Demonstration Club
circa 1950

from the collection of Russ Tucker

BATH SPRINGS HOME DEMONSTRATION CLUB -- ORGANIZED IN 1929

By Robbie E. Latta, Home Demonstration Agent

The above picture shows the members of the Bath Springs Demonstration Club at a club meeting recently in the home of Mrs. B. E. Crider. The Bath Springs club is one of the first clubs in Decatur County which was organized in the fall of 1929 when Miss Ellen Latting (Mrs. Ellen Rogers, Decaturville) was Home Demonstration Agent.  In the present club there are five charter members of the club:  namely, Mrs. Monnie Davis, Mrs. Maude Tuten, Mrs. Mandy Johnson, Mrs. Rosie Kelley and Mrs. Virginia Tucker.  Here is what Mrs. Monnie Davis a charter member says about Home Demonstration work:  “Back before we had a home demonstration agent there were so many things that farm women did not know about. The women worked hard doing their work the old way and then along came the home agent who taught the women a better way of doing their work and at the same time making their homes more attractive.  Some of the things that we have learned are:  to grow a year-around garden, to can all non-acid vegetables and meats with the use of the steam pressure cook, to plan and cook well-balanced meals, to eat more raw vegetables in salads and slaws, to make cottage cheese, cream cheese, and American cheese, to care for milk properly, to set the table correctly, to make our own cotton mattresses, to bottom chairs, to slip-cover old divans and chairs, to make dressing tables and foot stools, to add more closet space in the home, to refinish furniture, to care for the sick, how to avoid accidents in the home, to make our own Christmas gifts at less expense, such as children’s toy mittens, house slippers and candies, short cuts in sewing, fitting garments, how to dress better, dry clean our own clothes, how to make hats, belts and do all kinds of crafts – such as stenciling, tie-dying, hooking and braiding rugs.  We also learned how to make our homes more attractive by better arrangement of furniture, selection of the right colors and designs in wall paper by rooting cuttings of shrubs and flowers to set out around our homes, to save steps in our kitchens by arranging equipment such as stove, cabinets, and refrigerator conveniently, and now with the coming of electricity we will have more time for recreation and rest and at the same time live better and easier.”

- This clipping came from an unknown newspaper and was found in the collection of Mary Lynn Montgomery Butler. The picture in the article matches the print received from Russ Tucker. The date of the article is unknown but Otto Milam is listed at County Judge in an adjoining article.