Wasn't there really a good deal of nonsense about the pies that mother used to make--I wonder?
There were perhaps in every community women who were natural cooks, but our Mary used to drive grandfather crazy with her saleratus biscuits and greasy doughnuts.

A good cook in the old times was famous all over the community because the general level of cooking was so low.

Women used to take great pride in their preservings and jellyings, but at the present prices of fruit and sugar a city woman would lose money making such things.

It's largely because this work can't be done at home that girls such as we have at Elizabeth House have no sort of manual dexterity and have to earn a poor living doing something badly that they're not interested in or fitted for.

Women have one terrible handicap in going out into the world to earn their living; it's the eternal romance that's in all of us," said Sylvia a little dreamily.