A PILOT STUDY OF PATTERNS IN HOME MANAGEMENT
OVER A PERIOD OF THREE GENERATIONS IN A
SELECTED GROUP OF FAMILIES

Thesis I0! II» Dogm oi M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Pamelia Lott Miliar
1959

v

v

 

 

A PILOT STUDY OF PATTERNS IN HOME MANAGEMENT
OVER A PERIOD OF THREE GENERATIONS IN A

SELECTED GROUP OF FAMILIES

by

PAMELIA LOTT MILLAR

AN ABSTRACT

Submitted to the College of Home Economics
Michigan State University of Agriculture and
Applied Science in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Home Management and
Child Development

1959

Approved: ~S2 [:‘éc a ~y<£¢fif£v€c91_.

 

PAMELIA LOTT MILLAR ABSTRACT

It is generally assumed that if girls have the manip-
ulative skills of homemaking the ability to manage their own
homes will come naturally. This study was undertaken to ”
seek indications as to whether homemaking skills and manage-
rial patterns tend to be passed on from mother to daughter
or whether certain basic family values which affect manage—
rial practicgs‘are passed on.

The selected sample consisted of six families in each
of which grandmother, mother, and daughter were managing
their own households. No attempt was made to secure a
random sample. The case Study procedure was followed.
Information was obtained from unstructured interviews with
the eighteen homemakers. A general outline was used to
guide the interviews.

‘ Data were organized to compare the six families as
to continuity in the process of management, the decision-
making process, goals and values, and management of home
resources. The three generations were likewise compared
in these same areas for indications of a general trend in
change of these patterns over the years.

None of the families showed complete continuity in
the management aspects compared over the three generations.
There was evidence of a more than fifty per cent carryover
of ten selected family values, namely: comfort, health,

ambition, knowledge, love, play, religion, art, efficiency,

PAMELIA LOTT MILLAR ABSTRACT

and security. In one—half of the families studied there was
continuity of some skills. This seemed to suggest that
homemakers do not acquire management patterns with acquisi—
tion of skills, but that skills and values persist from
generation to generation in a family while patterns of
management tend to be influenced by the times and culture.

In comparing the three generations with each other
two trends were verbalized by the respondents: (1) an
increased tendency in the second and third generation to
include children in the family decision—making, and (2) to
give children an allowance.

The limited nature of the study precludes any definite
conclusions. However, support was indicated for two
hypotheses, namely: (1) that certain family values persist
from generation to generation, and (2) that home management
practices of a given generation tend to be shaped by the
culture of their own generation rather than by the practices

of the preceding generation.

A PILOT STUDY OF PATTERNS IN HOME MANAGEMENT
OVER A PERIOD OF THREE GENERATIONS IN A

SELECTED GROUP OF FAMILIES

by

PAMELIA LOTT MILLAR

A THESIS

Submitted to the College of Home Economics
Michigan State University of Agriculture and
Applied Science in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Home Management and
Child Development

1959

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to express her appreciation to the
following people without whose help this thesis could never
have been written:

To Dr. Irma H. Gross, head of the Department of Home
Management and Child Development, for her interest and
supervision until the time of her retirement;

To Dr. Alice C. Thorpe, who succeeded Dr. Gross as
acting head of the department, for her encouragement and
helpful suggestions; .

To Dr. Beatrice Paolucci for her supervision, advice,
and guidance throughout the writing of the dissertation;

To Mrs. Thelma Dunn for her suggestions and help as
a member of the advisory committee;

To friends of the author who helped locate suitable
families;

To the eighteen homemakers who so graciously supplied
the data which served as a basis for the study;

And to her family and friends for their understanding

help and encouragement.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1V

LIST OF CHARTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
CHAPTER ‘

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . 1

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . . . 6

Review of Research . . . . . . . . 6

The Case Study Method . . . . 9

Development of the Interview Schedule. . 11

Summary of Review of Literature. . . . 14

III. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . 16

IV. CASE STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . 21

V. FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

The Home Management Process . . . . 89

Decision-Making in Home Management. . . 96

Goals and Values. . . . . . . . . 104

Management of Resources . . . . . . 110

Summary of Findings. . . . . . . . 117

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. . . . . 120

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

APPENDIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

iii

Table

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Age of Respondents. . . . . . . . . . 19

Number of Generations of Each Family
Indicating Evidences of Management Steps . 94

Number of Women in Each Generation Indicating
Evidences of Home Management Steps . . . 94

Number of Generations Using the Steps of
Decision-Making. . . . . . . . . . 100

Number of Women in Each Generation Using the
Decision-Making Steps. . . . . . . . 102

Number of Persons Making Family Decisions in
Each Generation of the Six Families Studied 103

Percentage Carryover of Ten Selected Values
and Five Indicated Goals in these Families. 110

Number of Generations in Each Family Managing
Time, Energy, Money, and Skills . . . . 115

Comparison of Generations in Management of

the Resources of Time, Energy, Money, and
Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

iv

Charts
I.
II.

III.

IV.

LIST OF CHARTS

Page
Indications of Home Management Steps. . . . 91

Evidences of Use of the Steps of Decision—
Making 0 o o o o 0 o o o o o o o 98

Indications of Certain Selected Values in
the Three Generations of the Six Families . 107

Goals Indicated by These Families. . . . . 108

Home Management of ReSources . . . . . . 112

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Home management, as defined by Gross and Crandall,

consists of a series of decisions making up the process
of using the family resources to achieve family goals.
The process consists of three more or less consecutive
steps; planning; controlling the various elements of
the plan while carrying it through, whether it is
executed by oneself or others; and evaluating results
preparatory to future planning.

It is always a mental means for reaching toward some
end, which may be clearly defined or only vaguely felt.2
Frank says:

Problems of home management are concerned with ways
of meeting the fundamental and unchanging needs of
human beings, considering the rapidly changing tools,
equipment, technics, and housing, and fostering as
well the human relations in the family.3

The family is the child's first teacher. By a process

which we call acculturation, children learn their language,

manners, values, preferences, and aversions from those with

 

lIrma H. Gross and Elizabeth w. Crandall, Management
for Modern Families (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts,
Inc., 1954), p. 4.

 

 

2Irma H. Gross,‘"Home Management in Family Living,"
Marriage and Family Living, XIII, No. 3 (August, 1951),
p. 104.

 

3Lawrence K. Frank,'"The Philosophy of Home Management,"
Seventh International Management Congress: Home Management
Papers, VII (September,1938), p. 5.

 

 

1

whom they associate in early life.1 As a child grows older
many of the responses he adopts are the result of imitation.
Boys play at driving cars or smoking pipes in imitation of
their fathers and little girls dress up and play house in

imitation of their mothers.2

Children are most likely to
identify with the persons whom they esteem most highly, be
they parents, teachers, or peers. Myers says children are
'"the mirrors of their mothers.”3

It seems possible, then, that patterns of home manage-
ment and the process by which decisions regarding the use
of resources in the home are made, may be shaped in child-
hood as mothers teach their daughters to cook and sew, or
as daughters identify with their mothers. There appears
to be less emphasis on teaching management in the home than
on teaching manipulative skills. Parents seem to feel that
once these skills have been acquired the ability to manage
will come naturally.

0n the other hand, David Reisman theorizes that the

present generation in the United States takes its direction

 

lHoward Lane and Mary Beauchamp, Human Relations in
Teaching (New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1955), p. 12.

 

2Paul Henry Mussen and John Janeway Conger, Child
Development and Personality (New York: Harper Brothers,

1956). p. 131.

 

3Gary Cleveland Myers, The Learner and His Attitudes
(New York: Benjamin H. Sanborn Co., 1927), p. 241.

 

from mass media, and members of this generation tend to
conform to the patterns of their peer-group rather than
the patterns of their parents.1 Seeking insight into the
causes of Juvenile tensions in our culture, Margaret Mead
in Coming of Age in Samoa says:
We must turn all our educational efforts to training
our children for the choices which confront them.
. . The children must be taught how to think, not
what to think. 2

This study will seek indications as to which of these
opposing positions applies to home management practices.
Very little research has been done on continuity of values
and nothing has been done on continuity of home management
patterns. This pilot study was undertaken in the hope that
it would shed light on continuity in two particular areas:
(1) values, and (2) patterns of home management as indicated
by decision—making in use of resources.

The word "pilot" means to steer or direct the course
of, to guide or conduct through unknown places. A pilot
study, then, conducts the researcher through unknown places.
It is a pioneering effort to secure information on some
subject not heretofore investigated. Its purpose is to shed
light on the subject, to suggest possible hypotheses, and

to open avenues for further study. Jahoda classifies

 

1David Riesman, Nathan Glazer, and Reuel Denney, The
Lonely Crowd (Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1955)

 

2Margaret Mead, Coming_of Age in Samoa (New York: The
New World Library of World Literature, 1928), p. 161.

 

research according to its purpose as "formulative" or
'"exploratory" when its purpose is to gain insight. Such

a study is characterized by flexibility of approach and
intensive study of a wide variety of materials. It provides
information about existing situations but does not attempt
precise measurement of the factors involved.1 This pilot
study will seek information on continuity of values and

home management practices.

Value is defined as that property of a thing by virtue
of which it is esteemed, desirable, or useful. A value
brings satisfaction. Different persons may hold different
values, or the same values in varying degrees of importance.
There are many possible lists of values. One proposed by
Parker includes love, health, comfort, ambition, ethical
value, knowledge, and wisdom, technological interest or
efficiency in work, play, art, and religion.2

Patterns or practices of home management, as used in
this study, denote the typical configurations of activity
by which the family moves toward value-inspired goals.

Two hypotheses suggested by readings in Lane, Mussen

and Conger, Myers, Reisman, and Mead, are these:

 

lMarie Jahoda, Morton Deutsch, and Stewart W. Cook,
Research in Social Methods (New York: Dryden Press, 1951),

pp. 28-33.

2DeWitt H. Parker, Human Values (published by George
Wahr, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1944, by permission of Harper
Brothers, New York, 1931), p. 46.

 

 

1. Certain family values tend to be passed from one
generation of a family to the next.
2. Home management practices of a given generation
are shaped by the patterns of their own generation
rather than by the practices of the preceding
generation.
'Thepurpose of this study is to seek evidence in support
of these hypotheses by tracing patterns of home manage-
ment found in the same family, for three generations, and
by comparing the three generations with each other for
indications of a general change in home management patterns
and values over the years. It will seek to provide insight
into values and goals of these families, and their processes
of home management as indicated by their decision-making intflua
'use of thespecific resources of time, energy, money, and
skills.
A pilot study can do no more than indicate possible
trends by disclosing what appears to be true for a particular

sample, and suggest topics for further research.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Literature was reviewed with three purposes in mind,
(1) review of previous research on continuity of family
values and patterns of home management, and on the process
of decision—making in the family; (2) selection of the
most appropriate method for this study; and (3) development

of the instrument for securing data.

Review of Research

 

Studies of home management patterns in a particular
stage of the life cycle have been made, but no research
could be found on continuity of home management practices
from generation to generation. very little has been done
on continuity of values and attitudes.

Research by Fisher in California compared two gener-
ations of the same family with respect to a wide range of
attitudes and investigated the intra-family correlations.
Data was secured from five hundred four students. Results
showed that for most attitudes mothers were more of an
influence on their daughters than on their sons. It was

decided that inter—generational differences might be due

either to changing pressure from the social environment,
or to a complete change in total social environmental
pattern.l

Hirschberg and Gilliland studied the attitudes of two
hundred Northwestern University students and their parents
toward religion, the New Deal, and fascism using question-
naires to secure information. In these attitudes there
was a carry-over from parent to child, with the mother having
greater influence than the father.2

Research on methods of managing the family income
was not reviewed because this study was concerned with the
process of management and decision-making rather than with
method.

In 1953, Denise Francq Moore at Michigan State
University sought information as to the role of high school
students infamily financial decisions. She interviewed
students and parents in twelve upper-middle class families
and found that, to the majority of persons interviewed,
'"family financial management" meant only the first step

of the management process, the planning or budgeting. They

did not consider the other two steps, controlling the plan

 

1Sarah Carolyn Fisher, Relationships in Attitudes,
Opinions and Values Amonngamily Members (Berkeley and Los
Angeles: University of California, Publications in Culture
and Society, 1948), No. 2.

 

 

2Grace Hirschberg and A. R. Gilliland,'"Parent-Child
Relationships in Attitudes," Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, Vol. 37 (1942), p. 130.

 

in action and evaluation as part of the financial management.
Furthermore, in most cases "family" was ignored completely,
few recognizing management of family income to be a project
in which the entire family cooperated. Money management
habits of the parents tended to differ from those with
which they had been familiar in childhood. Many of the
students had no interest in family finances unless they
were directly concerned with the decisions. Even then they
were likely to help select only the physical characteristics
of the purchase while monetary details were left to the
parents.1
Wittler, in 1952, studied a method of identifying
home management problems at Iowa State College and, in the
course of this research, brought out certain information
about family decision-making and home management. Out of
ninety-nine families having children over the age of six,
more than one—third made family plans together. In seventy—
eight per cent of the total one hundred fifty—two families
studied, the father and mother decided together how to
spend the family income. Nearly eighty-three per cent of

the women conserved time and energy by preparing food for

 

lDenise Francq Moore, "Roles and Attitudes Toward
Their Roles of Selected Upper~Middle Class Families,
Particularly the Junior and Senior High School Students, in
Family Financial Management," (unpublished Master's thesis,
Department of Home Management and Child Development, Michi-
gan State University, 1953).

more than one meal at a time, and over ninety per cent of

them did some advance planning of daily activities.1

In 1956 Margaret Steckle at Cornell University tested
five techniques for studying decisions in household
processes. Questionnaires administered to fifteensmudents
in a class in "Management Problems in the Home" showed that
in most of their families actual decision-making was limited
to one or two persons. Steckle summarized as follows:

The study is not large enough to draw any conclusions;
however, it does raise some questions. Does it imply
that good decision-making is vested in one or two
persons in the home? We tend to think of our family
as a democratic organization with the children parti—
cipating; can a family group actually make a good
decision, or does the family merely set the stage for
the decision-maker to make the good decision? Is it
the nature of the decision-making process to be
personal?2

The Case Study Method

 

According to Jahoda the case study is an appropriate
procedure for evoking insights both because of the receptive,
seeking attitude of the investigator and because of the
intensity of the study of each individual.

One attempts to obtain sufficient information to
characterize and explain both the unique features

P

lWaneta A. Wittler, "Development of a Method of
Identifying Home Management Problems of Farm Families"
(unpublished Master‘s thesis, Department of Home Management,
Iowa State College,l952).

2Jean Margaret Steckle, "Five Techniques Tested to
Study Family Decisions in Household Processes" (unpublished
Master's thesis, Department of Home Economics, Cornell
University, 1956), p. 29.

10
of the case being studied and those which it has in
common with other cases.
This may entail not only a study of the present situation,
but also the past history of the individual.

The interview approach is more flexible than the ques-
tionnaire, and gets more responses. Questions can be
rephrased if not understood, or probed for further infor-
mation. The interview is a far superior technique for the
exploration of areas where it is difficult to know exactly
what to ask or how to ask it to bring forth the information
desired.2 Disadvantages of the interview which are pointed
out by Jahoda are these: the questionable accuracy of the
respondent's memory, the time required to talk with each
case, the difficulty encountered in classifying the wide
variety of response, and the fact that the personality of
the interviewer enters into every interview.

The Steckle study testing five techniques for studying
family decisions in household processes pointed out that the
unstructured interview with homemakers offered great poten—
tialities for securing new information about decision-

3

making. The informal nature and lack of structure of the

 

lJahoda, Deutsch, and Cook, op. cit., p. 43.

2Ibid., p. 157.

3Steckle, op. cit., p. 24.

11

interview made it possible for the discussion to include
many things which were important, but which might not have
been included if the discussion had been limited to a
schedule.1

A study of three methods of research in home manage-
ment done in 1940 at Michigan State University compared the
personal interview, the questionnaire, and the diary methods
for obtaining information. Fifty rural women took part in
the study, which covered money management, use of goods
and services, use of time and energy, and long-time plans.
Results showed the interview to be the most satisfactory

method for obtaining home management information.2

Development of the Interview Schedule

 

Two Michigan State University studies investigated
management of time, energy, and money, and were, therefore,
helpful in planning the interviews. Thorpe and Gross in
1950 investigated the managerial practices of married stu-
dents at Michigan State University. Data were gathered by
means of questionnaires from four hundred eighty-four

families living in the university trailer camp. Aspects

 

1Ibid., p. 19.

2Irma H. GTOSS:.EE.EI°: A Studygof Three Methods of
Research in Home Management, Michigan State CollegeIAgricul-
tural Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 171, February,
1940, p. 19.

 

 

12

covered were management of money, time, and energy. No
information was sought on values and little was forthcoming
on the decision—making process. Most of the students had
goals of home ownership and raising a family. In general,
financial plans were made by the husband and wife together.1
In 1955, Gross compared home management practices of
working and non-working mothers. After interviewing twenty-
two families of working and twenty-two families of non-
working mothers of small children, Gross concluded that
there was great similarity between the two groups in amounts
of household equipment owned, in household routines, money
plans, and life insurance of the husband. The working
wives were able to spend on the average between one and
two hours a day with their children exclusive of physical
care, whereas the non-working mothers averaged more than
two hours, but more of these mothers mentioned becoming
upset due to children‘s behavior.2
Possible ways to secure information on values and
goals were suggested by another Michigan State University
study. Van Bortel and Gross compared home management in

two socio-economic groups. In so doing, they investigated

similarities and differences among forty-six women equally

 

1Alice C. Thorpe and Irma H. Gross, "Managerial Prac-
tices in the Homes of Married Students at Michigan State
College," Michigan Agricultural Experiment Sta. Quarterly
Bulletin, Vol. 32, No. 2 (February, 1950), pp. 288-306.

2Irma H. Gross, "Home Management of Working and Non-
Working Homemakers with YOung Children," Michigan

l3

divided between the upper-lower and upper-middle classes
with regard to: (a) how they carried out their managerial
responsibilities, (b) their use of time, (c) the goals and
values which affected their managerial activities, (d) their
concept of what it means to be a homemaker, and (e) the
satisfactions and dissatisfactions associated withrnmemaking.
Data were collected by interviews, projective instruments,
rating scales, and time records. Sentence-completion tests,
direct, and open-end questions were methods used to obtain
information on goals and values. The concept of values was
so vague in the minds of the women questioned that for the
most part it was found necessary to deduce the presence of
values from the goals which resulted from them. The list

of values used by Van Bortel and Gross was modified from

the one suggested by Parker as being "major values which
guide human conduct.“1 The modified list included: love,
health, comfort, ambition, knowledge, technological interest
or efficiency in work, play, art, religion, and security.
Both groups of women were found to consider these values
important. Managerial activities compared were making

budgets, planning menus, planning work schedules, making

 

Agricultural Experiment Station Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 37,
No. 3 (February, 1955), pp. 324-334.

 

1
Parker, op. cit., p. 46.

14

shopping lists, shopping, banking, and supervising help of

hired assistants or family members.1

Summary of Review of Literature

 

The literature reviewed was divided into (1) that
which dealt with continuity of values and home management
practices,and with decision-making in the family; (2) that
which concerned methods for exploratory studies in the
field of home management; and (3) those research projects
which offered helpful suggestions in developing instruments
to secure data in this field.

Nothing could be found on continuity of home manage-
ment patterns and very little oncontinuity of values. That
research which had been done on value carry-over, covered
only two generations. A study of the role of the high
school student in family financial management showed that
in most cases the father and mother made the financial
decisions with little help from the high school student.
Another study found that in more than one-third of a group
of families having children over six, family plans were
made together.

Review of literature dealing with methods showed the

case study to be recommended for exploratory research. The

 

lDorothy Greey Van Bortel and Irma H. Gross, A Com—
parison of Home Management in Two Socio-Economic Groups,
MiChigan State Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical
Bulletin 240, April, 1954, pp. 19—21.

15

interview approach was found to be the best method for
obtaining home management information, with the unstructured
interview offering great potentialities for securing infor-
mation on decision—making.

Three Michigan State University studies proved helpful
in developing the plan for the unstructured interview. Two
of these dealt with management of time, money, and energy.
The third investigated the values and goals which affected

managerial activities.

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

The case study was selected as the most appropriate
method for research involving an intense study of each
individual. Because of its flexibility the unstructured
interview seemed the best instrument for securing data.

A plan for the interviews was needed although the
information was to be secured insofaras possible from free
conversation. It was essential that information be secured
on the topics of values and goals, and management and
decision-making in the use of the resources of time, energy,
money, and skills in the home. To insure productive inter-
views a list of questions was prepared, not to be asked
directly, but to serve as a guide in order that desired
information would be secured and nothing overlooked.l

Families were selected on the basis of four require—
ments: (1) there must be three generations of women
represented; (2) grandmother, mother, and granddaughter
must each be managing her own household; (3) their place
of residence must be within accessible driving distance for
the interviewer; and (4) the persons must be willing to

cooperate.

 

1Outline for interview appears in Appendix A.

16

17

Families who met the above requirements were suggested
by persons interested in the study. The homemakers were
contacted by telephone. The reason for the callwas explained
and they were told who had suggested their names. A brief
explanation was given of the study and of the type of infor-
mation desired. If they were willing to cooperate, and if
all three generations were available, an appointment was
made for an interview. Six families were selected.

All interviews took place between January first and
July first of 1958. They were held in the homes of the
respondents and were, in most cases, private. Small children
were present during two interviews and in two cases the
husband was in an adjoining room. At no time did anyone
other than the woman herself enter the conversation. The
answers, therefore, were her own. Interviews averaged
about an hour in length.

Notes were taken during the interviews. Each woman
was asked about the other two generations of her family.
First and second generations were asked about both past and
present patterns of management, and whether they could see
carry-overs in their daughter‘s patterns from their own.
Second and third generations were asked what practices
they thought they had copied from their mothers.

When conversation lagged the interviewer undertook to
revive it by asking a question from the interview plan.

Before closing the interview the plan was checked to be

sure all topics had been covered.

18

After going over the data obtained from the inter-
views it was decided that more information about past
history would be helpful in indicating the presence of
values and goals, so second interviews were arranged with
at least one generation of each family.1

By the second visit, the interviewer was lookedluxwl
as a friend and the second meetings proved much more fruit-
ful than the first. The women talked freely and many clues
to values came out in their conversation. Most of them
appeared to be genuinely interested in the study and some
of them asked to be informed "what you find out." One
telephoned later to offer additional information which she
thought might be valuable.

Each of these eighteen women was managing her own
household. None had hired help, although one grandmother
with failing eyesight had a hired companion. One grand-
mother, one mother, and one granddaughter were holding
full-time jobs outside the home. Six of the eighteen
had worked at some time since marriage but were not employed
at the time of the interview. One mother and two grand-
daughters said they occasionally worked part-time.

For convenience throughout the study these women have
been identified by letter for family and number for gener-
ation. The six families have been designated as A, B, C,

D, E, and F. A11 grandmothers have been designated 1, their

 

1Outline for second interview in Appendix B.

f

19

daughters 2, and granddaughters 3. Thus, the grandmother
in the first family interviewed has been called Al and so
on.

Table 1 shows the approximate age of each respondent

by decade,--2O indicates that her age fell in the decade

between 20 and 30, and so on.

TABLE 1
AGE OF RESPONDENTS

 

 

 

Families
Generation A B C D E F
1 80, 7O 80 8O 7O 6O
2 5O 5O 50 5O 40 40
3 2O 20 2O 2O 20 2O

 

A spread of more than twenty years lay between the
youngest of the first generation, who had just reached
sixty, and the oldest who had passed eighty. In the second
generation there was a spread of about fifteen years. All
of the third generation were between twenty and thirty years
of age. The elapsed time from the early housekeeping days
of the grandmothers to the present, ranged from about forty
years for the youngest, to about sixty-five for the oldest.
These years covered a period of rapid change in "tools,

I

equipment, technics, and housing,‘ to borrow a phrase from

Frank.1 Because of the intervening years it is quite

 

lFrank, op. cit., p. 5.

20

possible that some of the responses by the older women
concerning their former home management practices were

not entirely accurate.

CHAPTER IV
CASE STUDIES

This chapter contains the case studies of the six
selected families which have been designated by the letters
A, B, C, D, E, and F. The generations have been numbered
1, 2, and 3. The grandmother of family A has been called
A1, her daughter A2, and so on.

The outline for the interviews is given in the
Appendix. Information was secured through free conversation,
the outline being used merely as a check to be sure all

topics were covered.

A1 Age: 80's Family Unit: Self and hired companion

Al was a spry little lady, quite stylishly dressed.
She wore her white hair curled softly around her face,done
in a knot on top. She was a little hard of hearing, and
because of failing eyesight, her family insisted that she
have a hired companion. It was hard to find a suitable
person, she said. Some had taken advantage of her poor
eyesight by petty thievery. She liked to have a companion
with whom she had something in common intellectually and
whose personal appearance was reasonably attractive. Such
persons were seldom looking for a position as companion.

She could, however, "put up with anyone if they were honest"!

21

22

The first interview was on a cold winter's day, but
the inside front door stood open to permit admiration of
a new storm door installed that morning. Because the top
of the door was curved, the storm door had to be made to
order. Al was well pleased with it. A fat friendly cat
dodged in when the door was opened, making himself perfectly
at home. He belonged to a neighbor, she said.

A1 had lived all her life in the vicinity of the same
large city. She completed ninth grade, went to business
college, then took further business training at Ypsilanti,
and went to work in a lawyer's office. For about two years
she worked for a lawyer in Petoskey (the only period of her
life when she was away from home) but returned to be near
her family.

Her father operated a Grange store at the edge of
town. It was here she met her husband. He was from Vermont
where he had attended an academy and Middlebury College.

He had come to Michigan to teach a course in apiary at the
state agricultural college. He walked from the college
town six or seven miles to give a talk about bees at the
Grange Hall. In the store above the Hall he met the
manager's daughter.

Al's father died when she was 21 and she took over
management of the family finances because her mother was
"no business woman." By that time they had moved to the

farm just outside the city and her father had built the

23

house there. After her father's death they continued to
live on the farm. Al was the manager and her brother worked
the land.

She was married when at 24. Her husband wanted to go
back to Vermont, but she felt she could not leave her
mother, so he opened a store and they all lived in the
house her father had built. The family consisted of A1,
her husband, her mother, a sister of her mother, and her
brother. The latter was a restless fellow who cameand went.
He decided to go west to seek his fortune. After his de-
parture they rented out the acreage because Al's husband
could not run his business and work the farm, too. After
a few years they moved into the city so he could be nearer
his store, renting the farm house as well as the land. A1
continued to manage her mother‘s business affairs and those
of her own household. In those days stores kept open
evenings and her husband had little time at home, so she
made most of the decisions alone, consulting him only on
major issues. Her daughter said, "Mother has always managed
everybody."

After her husband‘s death Al moved into her present
smaller house. She missed her piano, which was stored at
her daughter‘s because the living room was small for a
piano.

The house was two-story, neat in appearance, and

located in a good neighborhood. There was a large super

24

market just across the street on the corner. This was handy
for Al to purchase her groceries. She said she did most

of the shopping weekly, but could run over any time she
needed perishables. The carry—out boys brought her pur—
chases home for her, she said, and were very accommodating.
However, convenient as the market was, she would have
preferred to have the corner remain as it was when she

moved into the neighborhood. Then the lot was occupied by

a large home with landscaped grounds and Al liked to look
across at this pleasing sight.

The furnishings of her house were of very good quality,
but appeared to have been in use for some thirty years or
so. They were a bit large in scale for the rather small
rooms. She had a radio and television. She had purchased
both on the advice of someone whom she considered to be an
expert in the field. She did not look at any other makes,
and she was well satisfied, in fact, she highly recommended
both as the best available.

She had an automatic washer, which she preferred to
use once a week on Mondays. She sorted the clothes and put
them in; her companion hung them up. She planned the meals
mentally, but she did not like to cock. She preferred
management activities and had always directed others in
carrying out her plans.

She did not remember ever being tired from doing house-

work. She had her mother and aunt to help, and then her two

25

girls, and hired help at times when there was illness in
the family or extra work for some other reason. They had
bought labor-saving appliances as they came on the market.

The girls did not have an allowance and were not in—
cluded in family planning. They were not expected to help
much at home, but were given music lessons and encouraged
in their social life and educational pursuits.

A1 kept detailed financial accounts. She said that
she missed this activity since failing eyesight had nec-
essitated turning it over to others Their savings had been
invested in real estate which she held jointly with her
husband. At his death she was left "comfortably situated."
A1 went by plane every winter to visit her daughter living
in Texas. She never stayed very long because she always
felt that she ought to‘"get home to see to things."

When the children were small the family spent summers
at her mother's cottage on a nearby lake. After her mother's
death, the cottage went to her brother. He burned to death
there shortly after. The cottage was never rebuilt, because
by this time the girls were grown. They sold the lot.

A1 had never become accustomed to using frozen foods
or mixes. She bought them sometimes at her daughters sug-
gestion, but she could not seem to remember to use them.

She used her automatic washer Just as she had grown accustomed
to use her old one, doing several loads on Mondays rather

than distributing the work over the week.

26

Her daughter said she objected to having her companion
attend church with her because the companion did not dress
tastefully, and "What would people think!" A1 had always
been interested in social events and community activities,

and liked to keep up appearances.

A2 Age: Between 50 and 60 Family Unit: Self and husband

 

A2 was a woman of medium height, slim and energetic.
Her graying hair was worn in a casual style. She said it
had been auburn when she was younger. She was dressed
neatly, with more thought for comfort than for style.

As a girl she lived in a city not far from a college
town. She lived at home and attended college, going to
classes by street car. (She said her expenses for fees and
books for the year of 1916 were $99.00,-—quite different
from current costs.) She graduated with a B.S. in Home
Economics and taught eight years before her marriage.
During this time she attended summer school and got her
Master's degree from Columbia.

Her husband had a B.S. in Agriculture. The first six
years of their marriage they lived in a large city where he
worked for a seed company. They lived first in an unfurnished
three-room apartment, then a four-, and finally a five-room
apartment after two children were born. Family ties were
close and they spent the week-end with her family at least

once a month.

27

In 1933 the company for which he was working went
bankrupt, owing him $1000 insalary. For a time he worked
at tree trimming with a W.P.A. crew, then got a job with
another seed company. They rented a five-room house in
the city where he worked. It was sold over their heads
within a year, just about the time the third baby was born.
Inasmuch as they had to move anyway, theymoved to an ad-
joining state where he was able to get a more remunerative
position. They rented a six-room house, but the location
on a busy street did not seem safe for small children, so
they found a large, old-fashioned house in a nearby town.
Her husband had to go eight miles to work, but they enjoyed
the quiet neighborhood. The house was roomy and only one
block from school. The fourth baby arrived while they lived
here.

In 1940 they returned to the city where she grew up.
He took a position with the State Department of Agriculture.
The family moved into her mother‘s house on a farm just
outside the city. The acreage was rented, but they kept
chickens and a cow. The boys were active in 4H Club. They
put quite a little money into repairs to the house which
had been rented for several years. They had a big garden
from which she canned over three hundred quarts of produce
a year. A2 remembered the twelve years they lived there
as a time when she worked from dawn to dark. They were

happy years. She said,'"It was a good place for children to

grow up;"

28

The city expanded around them. The farm land was sold
for building lots. A2's mother sold one area very cheaply
for a school site because she wanted to further good edu-
cation in that neighborhood. Eventually the old home too
was sold. A2 and her husband purchased their present home
for cash. Her mother advanced them the money because they
had invested so much in repairs to her home.

They were living on five acres about a mile from town.
Some of it was planted to small fruits. The house had been
the farm house. It was spacious, two—story, set in pleasant
grounds. The house had been remodeled by the former owners.
It had good storage and the kitchen was as convenient as
limitations of the original plan would permit. There were
four bed-rooms and bath upstairs; kitchen, dining—room,
living-room, work-room, and toilet facilities on the first
floor.

A2 had an automatic washer, dryer, and freezer in the
work-room. Furnishing were good quality, comfortable and
well cared for. They were probably about fifteen years old.
They had television, radio, her mother's piano, mangle,
electric sewing machine, and vacuum cleaner.

Both daughters were married, one son, who was in
college was about to be married and only at home week—ends.
The other boy was in the service.

A2 had done quite a lot of substitute teaching of

Home Economics and English since the children were grown.

29

I
She had been an Extension leader, and was interested in

community affairs, politics, church, and P.T.A. She tiled
the bathroom herself. She sewed for herself and the grand-
children, liked to bake, cook and can. Since they had the
freezer, she froze some things instead of canning. She
kept baked goods and casserole dishes in the freezer.

There was an outdoor fireplace in the yard where both
they and the children liked to entertain informally. A2
served tea and cookies to the interviewer at the kitchen
table, from exquisite china cups.

She was accustomed to marketing once a week after
making general plans for the week. She watched for good buys
and if she had an unexpected opportunity to get into the
city she liked to "pick up something" there. She usually
bought at a supermarket because she felt it was less expen-
sive. She read labels and compared weights to be sure she
got her money's worth.

When the children were small they helped around the
home. She posted jobs on a kitchen bulletin board. They
were given an allowance, and were encouraged to have money—
making projects when they were old enough. A2 said they
had a general spending plan, but did not keep detailed
accounts. They had insurance and retirement, but no other
plans for the future. She said she supposed that now they
did not need such a big house, but they had made no plans

to find a smaller place. '"It is nice to have the room

30

when the children come to visit," she said.

She used to wash on Mondays and iron on Tuesdays when
the children were small and before she had the automatic
washer. She liked to clean near the end of the week when
the family was larger. Since the children had left home
and she had been doing substitute teaching it had been more
convenient to follow a more flexible plan. She"picked up"
a little every day and cleaned thoroughly about once a week.
She did laundry whenever a washer load had accumulated if
she was going to be at home. It was no longer quite as
necessary to get everything done. She did not consciously
plan her energy, but admitted that she alternated sit-down
tasks with more strenuous ones, and spread the work through-
out the week.

She and her husband made decisions together after
considering several alternatives. They were usually satis-
fied. The children were included when they were home if
they showed any interest. She said, however, that about all
they were interested in was selection of their clothing and
redecorating their own rooms. She expressed the opinion
that while children should not be excluded, most decisions
in the average home tended to be made by the parents.

When asked how her mother had influenced her manage-
ment, she said her mother had taught her NEVER to run up
a grocery bill, or buy on time any item that would be used

upty the time it was paid for. She said her mother was so

31

superstitious she would not go back after a forgotten item
if she had started on a trip, nor would she begin any job
on a Friday. She, herself, on the other hand did not feel
that way at all. She also mentioned a difference in atti-
tude toward the children‘s friends of the opposite sex.
Her husband had never been permitted to stay at her house
over night when he visited her before their marriage. He
had to go to considerable inconvenience to get a room nearby.
Their children‘s friends had often spent the night in their
home. It seemed perfectly proper to her as long as the
parents were present.

A2 mentioned that she, her mother, and her daughter
were inclined to use the very same decorative design on
pie crust. This was the only three generation carry—over

she could think of.

A3 Age: Early 20's Family Unit: Self; husband, baby

A3 was an attractive young woman, with a poised and
gracious manner, neatly dressed in slacks. She had finished
two years of college as a clothing major, before dropping
out of school to follow her husband during his military
service. For a time she lived in a small furnished apart-
ment in Phoenix, Arizona, then he was transferred to Maine.
She had a small apartment in Bangor, Maine, which was within
a few miles of his parents' home. The baby was born in
Maine. After his discharge from the service they spent

one summer with her parents until he entered college again

32

in the fall and they moved into student housing. He was a
junior in electrical engineering.

Their quarters were in the barracks, all on the first
floor, small, but fairly convenient. She said storage was
adequate. The only new furniture they bought was a sectional
davenport. They refinished an old kitchen set of her
mother's, a second—hand desk, and a bed that was given to
them. Her husband had made a good—looking square step-table
to fit into the corner between the two sections of the daven-
port. They had a small television and a radio. The furnish-
ings showed evidence of good taste in color co-ordination
and careful planning to make the best use of limited space.

A3 went to her mother's to do laundry. Because of
the baby she needed to wash every four or five days. She
and her mother had a good visit on laundry days while the
appliances were running. They sometimes entertained at
her mother's because their quarters were too small to do it
at home.

She bought groceries once a week after partial planning
of the week's meals. The store was chosen for convenience
and a good selection of foods. A3 watched for good buys
and tried to adjust her menus to foods that were plentiful
and cheap. Her husband liked to cook--he had learned at
camp—-and he was ahe to help her in almost any capacity
when needed. She said he was particularly good with the

baby. She enjoyed baking pies and cakes. When baking she

33

planned to have the oven full rather than baking just one
thing. She also thought she would like to can, but they
had been moving about so much she had not had a chance to
try.

She did a thorough cleaning once a week, and "picked
up toys all the time." Their home was neat and attractive,
showing evidence of interest and care. The little girl
would help when she was old enough, partly to learn how
to keep house. They wouldgive her an allowance and help
her go to college if she wanted to do so. If the child
was interested in music they would give her musical training.

A3 sometimes made lists of things to do, especially
when entertaining. They liked to entertain. She was a
gragarious peson who loved social contacts. Her husband
was inclined to be shy, according to her mother, but she
was able to draw him into the group and make him feel at
ease. She planned to read or rest while the baby took her
nap, and she saved time by ironing while she was baking
cookies in the kitchen.

They did not have a budget; they had barely enough
money for necessities while he was in school. They hoped
to buy a home after he was established in a job. They
wanted a large lot with trees. Both enjoyed out-of-doors
activities—~sports, fishing, and camping. 0n vacation

they liked to visit some place of interest.

34

They made decisions together after careful consid—
eration of many alternatives. They made a "sort of mental
list" of requirements and tried to select the alternative
which came nearest to filling them. So far they had been.
well satisfied.

When asked what she did like her mother, A3 mentioned
the habit of sitting at the breakfast table for a last cup
of coffee and a chance to read the paper after the men of
the family had gone to work. It was a good way to start
the day, she said. She thought that differences in their
way of doing were caused by her lack of space and equipment,
and the fact that she had a small child. The possibility
of finishing her education was suggested, but she did not
seem enthusiastic. This appeared to be a slight differ-
ence in values from her mother who seemed to feel that

education was very important.

B1 Age: Between 70 and 80 Family Unit: Self

B1 was short in stature and somewhat plump. She was
neatly dressed and wore her gray hair short and curled.
She had been a widow for two years.

Her education ended with eighth grade. She was
married young to a neighborhood boy. They lived on rented
farms until they had saved enough money to buy their own.
Houses on the rented farms were old and not very convenient.
Bl worked hard. They raised eleven children, seven boys and

four girls. The children helped in the house and on the

35

farm and boys as well as girls learned to cook and do
housework. They did not have allowances, butzs soon as
they were old enough they were encouraged to go to work for
others and their wages were their own to spend as they
chose. Tasks around the home were not assigned, but mother
and children worked together at the job of the moment.

They had a garden and used to put up over 1,000 quarts of
food annually. There was much baking, cleaning, laundry,
and sewing to do for such a large family.

At first they did not have money for labor-saving
equipment, but she resolved to get it as soon as they were
able. She said they went into debt and'"worked themselves
out of it." At her husband's suggestion she took over
management of the family finances early in their marriage.
She bought groceries once a week, without a list because
she had a good memory. She shopped around carefully for
clothing and food in order to stretch their income. They
did not have a money plan, but bought necessities as they
were required. There was not much left over.

She did not have any work schedule, and did not recall
ever being very tired. If she did become tired, she was
quickly rested.

When they bought their own farm, she planned remodeling
the kitchen for greater convenience. The woman who was
living in the house at the time of the interviews (A2) felt

that, taking into consideration the limitations imposed by

36

the original plan, Bl had done a very satisfactory job in
making the kitchen as convenient as possible. Bl enjoyed
planning color schemes for the rooms, and selecting harmon-
izing draperies and furniture. She said that visitors to
her home had often commented favorably on her selection.
These decisions were largely her own. Her husband was
willing to help carry them out but was not much interested
in the selections. He was handy with tools and did much of
the remodeling work himself with the help of the sons. The
children were not included in the decision—making. B1 did
not say whether they were not interested, or whether they
were not invited to participate.

After the children were grown the parents sold the
farm, reserving several building lots along the road. On
one of these lots they built the house in which B1 was
living at the time of the interview. It was planned by B1
and her husband and constructed by their sons and her husband
of the very best materials available. No expense had been
spared to make it exactly as they wanted it. Her daughter
said they had put "all the money from the sale of the farm"
into that house and its equipment. It was an attractive
one-story home. There was a stone fireplace in the living-
room. Each of the two bedrooms had a tiled bath. She had
a tub in hers; his had a shower because "that was what he
liked." The kitchen was convenient and well equipped. She

had an automatic washer, dryer, and freezer, besides the

37

usual stove and refrigerator. All appliances were new at
the time they moved into the house six years before.

New furniture in the house was fine quality and
harmonious in color and design. A few pieces brought over
from the old house were large in scale for the rooms. Bl
proudly displayed two end-tables made by her husband which
were beautifully executed and finished.

The grounds surrounding the house were large and land—
scaped with care. There was a two—car garage attached to
the house by a breezeway which was screened in summer and
enclosed in winter.

Since her husband‘s death Bl’s income had been very
limited. He left only a little insurance. She could not
afford to hire the yard work done in summer, and the upkeep
of the house was becoming a burden. She had offered the
home for sale, but her family was doubtful that she could
get her investment out of it. The house had been built
around the needs of a specific family and would not appeal
to everyone. It was several miles from a small town and,
as she had no car and could not drive, she was dependent
on neighbors or her daughter who lived about twenty miles
away for transportation. Her children said they knew she
would hate to give up her home, on the other hand they did
not see how she could afford to remain there.

People who had known B1 for years said she had always

been inclined to have what she wanted for herself, even when

the children went without.

38

Cleanliness was very important to her. B1 said she
did not "merely slick up” the house, but always did a
thorough cleaning. The house was spotless at the time of
the interview. She said cleanliness was also a factor in
her selection of a grocery store.

Child training was important to B1. She told of
visiting school one day and being shocked at the lack of
respect for authority and bad manners exhibited by some of
the children. Her daughter told that she had caused hard
feelings by telling her sons—in-law to wash their hands
before eating.

When their children were old enough to leave alone,
B1 and her husband took trips for vacations. She would
like to travel now, she said, if she had the money. Since
her husband's death she had become interested in the women's
organization of the church, an activity for which she never
found the time before. She made paper flowers, crocheted,
worked cross word puzzles, and watched television to pass
the time. She displayed a chair she had re-upholstered.

All the children who lived near enough came home for
all the holidays, Mother's Day, and her birthday. Their
gifts to her were usually money because they knew she

needed it.

39

B2 Age: About 45 Family Unit: Self and husband

 

B2 was a small, dark-haired woman. She was neatly
dressed. Her manner was pleasant, but she was not entirely
at ease with a stranger. During the interview she occupied
herself with hand sewing. She said she had made the living-
room curtains and made cotton dresses and aprons for herself.
She did not attempt anything beyond simple sewing.

She had completed eighth grade. Her husband went to
high school and then took further work in chemistry. He
had worked as a chemist in an automobile factory ever since
their marriage.

Their first home was a rented two-story house located
about a block from the one in which they were living. They
had bought their present home seventeen years before. It
was probably five or ten years old when they bought it.

The neighborhood was a quiet one in which all the houses
were of moderate cost and kept in good repair, however, B2's
house stood out as being particularly well-kept.

In the early years of their marriage they bought a
'"houseful of furniture" on contract. When they owed only
$100 on it her husband was laid off and they could not meet
the payments. All the furniture was repossessed. The
company gave them two months to pay the bill. They were not
able to do so. Since that experience they had bought nothing

on time.

40

They did not have a written money plan. They kept
records, however, and cancelled checks. The children, a
boy and a girl, both married, were brought up to help at
home. When they were old enough they worked outside to
supplement their allowances. The boy went to college for
two years; the girl did not wish to. B2 said their daughter
did a better job of managing her family than their son who
was inclined to spend too much time reading.

B2 had worked part time in a neighborhood drug store
when the druggist needed someone to help out. She did not
particularly care to work outside the home, nor did her
husband especially wish to-have her. Of course, they could
have more nice things if she worked, she said, but she was
satisfied to stay at home with what she had.

They went to church, but she had never been active
in church or community affairs. She liked to visit with
her friends and enjoyed playing bridge. They did little
entertaininglecause he came home from work tired and wanted
to watch television. (The television was turned on during
the interview.) He liked to fish, so every summer they
spent one week of his vacation with a group of friends
fishing in the Upper Penninsula. The remainder of his
vacation and summer week-ends they went to their cottage.
When the children were young they used to spend their
vacations camping. One summer they were taking care of a

younger child for relatives and felt they could not manage

41

the camping trip. It was at that time that they bought the
cottage. Her daughter met the boy she married while staying
at the lake one summer.

B2 said she did not plan her house work, but did
things‘"when she took a fancy;" She had a conventional
washer and a dryer. When the washer gave out she planned
to buy an automatic. She washed once a week, but not on a
regular day. She bought groceries once a week, planning
meals from day to day around "the meat, the weather, and
what was left over." She selected the market for its con-
venience. She did not shop around or watch for sales; she
felt it cost as much in gasoline to go to a distant store
after a bargain as she might save on the price. She did not
do much canning because she thought there was not enough
saving when one had to purchase the food to can. She said
she was not fond of baking as some women are, but she did
what was needed for the family. When asked if housework
tired her, she said she was always tired, then laughed and
said, "Or maybe it's lazy?" During the conversation she
showed no enthusiasm for any phase of homemaking activity
that was mentioned. The appearance of the home indicated
an interest in order, cleanliness, and attractive color
combinations.

The furnishings of the home were of good quality but
appeared to be at least fifteen years old. Furnishing were

comfortable and looked well cared for.

42

They were remodeling the kitchen a little at a time
as plumbing or equipment needed replacement. A new sink
had been put in not long before. They hired a contractor
to do most of the work after they had worked out the plans.
Because B2 was quite short, they were lowering the work
surfaces. The next project would be the side of the kitchen
where the refrigerator stood; they would do this when they
bought a new refrigerator.

When they made a major purchase they looked around at
several possibilities together. After they made a decision
he was satisfied, but she kept wondering if another selection
might not have been more satisfactory.

They had "all kinds of insurance" and he had retire-
ment where he worked.

B3 Age: Early 20's Family Unit: Self, husbandyygirl 2,
boy 3 months

 

 

B3 was a slim, neat appearing young woman. She was
dressed in clean, casual clothes. Her light hair was neatly
arranged. She was taller than her mother and had a warm,
out-going personality and friendly manner.

The children were immaculate. Their clothes indicated
that their mother took pride in their appearance. Neither
child showed any shyness.

Both B3 and her husband had high school educations.

He was employed at the city utility company. She had

learned to operate a key punch machine and worked until the

43

babies came. She had recently begun working three nights
a week at the Service Bureau "to keep her hand in;" Her
wages went into savings.

When first married they had lived in an apartment over
his family. Threenonths before the little boy was born they
had moved into a two-story house which they were buying. It
had been built about fifty years ago and needed some fixing
up, which her husband planned to do himself. They had two
bedrooms and bath upstairs, living- and dining-rooms and
kitchen down. The lot was of moderate size with six large
trees. They planned to fill in the back and fence it to
make a safe play yard for the children because their street
was a busy one which would be dangerous for little'folks.
There was a screened porch across the front of the house.
Furnishings were inexpensive and limited in number, but they
appeared to have been selected with care.

There were no toilet facilities on the first floor.
Since this was:hconvenient with the children, they planned
to build on a small toilet room as soon as they could afford
it.

The kitchen was convenient and the house had adequate
storage. The people who lived there before them put the
stove and refrigerator in the back room in order to eat in
the kitchen. B3 preferred to have the stove in the kitchen
and eat in the dining-room. The kitchen was so small it

was still necessary to keep the refrigerator in the back

44

room, but she tried to remember to bring everything she
needed at one trip.

The house was located near a school, stores, and a
city park where they expected toenjoy many picnics. In the
winter they were near a municipal skating rink. They plan-
ned to make the most of these inexpensive recreational
opportunities, which were factors in choosing that location.

They had enjoyed entertaining since they had been
in their house. They did not invite guests to dinner, but
for the evening when light refreshments would be sufficient,
because they had to watch their budget carefully.

They did not have a written spending plan, but‘"Plan-
ned to meet their obligations;" After that there was not
much left to plan. They had insurance and hospitalization.
They would help the children go to college if they wished
to do so. B3 would like to attend night school, she said.
She would like to learn more about cooking and wanted to
learn to swim. She liked to sew and wished she had more
time to devote to it.' She had played the violin in high
school and would like to find time to do that again, too.

She said she needed to plan her work for the week in
order to get everything done. She had an automatic washer
and dryer in the basement. She washed twice a week,aside
from baby laundry. They bought groceries every other week
with a list at a chain store. She thought it was partly

habit to go to a certain store, but she liked the "nice

45

fresh vegetables" and the brands of canned goods they
carried. They did not go to the nearest store--inasmuch
as they took the car it did not make much difference. It
saved time to go where she knew just where to find things.

Her husband was fond of cookies, and so was the little
girl. B3 had made nine dozen cookies the week of the inter-
view. She liked to bake. She was seldom tired and rested
quickly, she said. She dove-tailed tasks to save time.

She planned to have the children help when they were
old enough. The littb girl already tried to help wash
dishes. They would have an allowance and a voice in family
decisions. She had not as a child, but in her husband's
family the children were included.

Her husband was a Catholic and she had joined his
church. As the children became older she expected to be
active in P.T.A.

B3 did not think she did things like her mother-~she
planned more than her mother and she liked to cook better.
She did not think there was much resemblance between her
mother and her grandmother. She suggested that both of
them liked to make paper flowers and watch television.

She felt that her grandmother and grandfather had not plan-
ned well to put so much money into the house which she
could not afford to keep up and which she would probably

have difficulty selling for what it was worth.

46

 

Cl Age: About 80 Family Unit: SelfL husband,1 and sister

Cl was a spry little lady. Her long hair was coiled
on top of her head. She was at work on a braided wool rug
in her cheerful living-room. The west window of her living-
room was full of African violets, many of them in blossom.

Cl had married at 25 after teaching country school
for several years. She had completed high school and passed
teacher's examinations—-the only requirements for teaching
at that time. Her husband left school at the end of the
fifth grade to go to work in the woods. He was interested
in education and wanted to finish school but his father
believed that boys should go to work as soon as they were
old enough. The first three years of their marriage they
lived in a log cabin. In 1906 they moved into the farm-
house in which they still live.

It was a large two-story frame house painted white,
sitting on a slight rise above the road. The grounds and
farm buildings were well-kept. It was located several miles
from a small village.

The original floor plan had been modified to make part
of the first floor into an apartment for a maiden aunt who
had lived there until her death in 1940. C1 had always
planned to remodel the rest of the house for greater con-

venience. After the aunt's death they did the remodeling,

 

1At the time of first interview the husband, a diabetic
who had had an amputation, was alive. His death occurred

before the second interview.

47

making the apartment larger and the kitchen of the other
section of the house more convenient. However, Cl never

had a chance to use the "new” kitchen for she and her husband
moved into the apartment and their son came to work the farm
and live with his family in the rest of the house. During
the years, electricity had been brought into the house and
modern plumbing added, also closets and storage space had
been built in.

The apartment in which Cl and her husband lived was
composed of living-room, kitchen, and bedroom all on the
first floor. They shared a bathroom with their son's family.

Her husband was a diabetic, who had had an amputation,
and was confined to his bed. Cl took entire care of him,
preparing his special diet and doing daily laundry. Her
88-year old sister, a deaf-mute, had a room in the other
part of the house but ate with them and helped some by doing
dishes and preparing vegetables. Cl had a washer-dryer
combination in the kitchen. It had been selected to fit
into the available space, to avoid the necessity of going
to the basement to wash, and to save lifting the wet clothes
from one appliance to another. At that time it was necessary
to wash every day, but Cl said she ordinarily tried to
choose different wash days than her daughter-in-law to avoid
using so much hot water all at once.

Since her husband's illness Cl had not been able to

leave him to do her shopping. She made out a list for her

48

daughter who shopped for her. Before he became ill she had
been in the habit of shopping once a week, at a chain store,
where she knew "just where to look for everything." She
had a large freezer in which she stored large quantities

of fruit and vegetables from the farm, as well as baked
goods.

Her daughter said that every year before her father's
illness, her mother had prepared the family Christmas dinner
alone for about thirty-four persons. She made her plans
early in November and each week she did one special thing
toward the dinner. She kept everything in the freezer until
the holiday. The Christmas their father was in bed, she
planned the meal and told each one what to bring. Before
that she had refused any help saying, "When I need your
help, I'll ask you;" She prepared some specialty every
year—-one5ear it was fancy breads, another year a special
salad. She took great pride in this dinner and always liked
to try out new recipes, or new combinations.

Cl was in the habit of cleaning once a week. She
read articles in women's magazines suggesting new and
easier ways of doing things, and tried to follow suggested
methods for most effective use of her appliances. She kept
hand work to do when she sat down to rest from a heavy job.
She was making a rug to order at the time of the interview
The proceeds were to go to her church circle. She planned

to embroider a lunch cloth to be sold at their bazaar, but

wanted to select a pattern that would not strain her eyes.

49

She had learned upholstering in an Extension class and
re-covered some of their furniture. She sewed for the
children when they were small, but did not sew much any more.

There were five children. Two of them went to college.
One took farming short courses and was running the farm.

One daughter started teachers' college but did not finish.
She said "three or four" of the children had takenmusic
lessons. Her husband had always been interested in educa-
tion and had served as moderator of the school board for
years.

They did not use a written money plan, but kept fairly
detailed records. They had one insurance policy and savings
invested in savings and loan. She said they had always
planned together. The children did not have allowances,
but they helped with the work in the house and on the farm
and were given what money they needed.

Cl said that although farmers do not often have
vacations, they had gone to California three times to visit
a brother and sister there. They made the trip once in the
early years of their marriage, drove out in 1941, and had
gone out once since then.

During her husband's illness Cl had their property
put into joint ownership with rights of survivorship, to
make it easier for her after his death. At the time of
the second interview she was making a good adjustment to

widowhood.

50

Her daughter said that at one time Cl operated quite
an extensive poultry business on her own. It was successful
financially, but she decided it was too hard work. Her
daughter felt that Cl had capabilities which had never been
realized because she was a young woman at a period when
women were thought "forward" if they expressed interest in

things outside the home.

C2 Age: Early 50's Family Unit: Self, husband,teenage son

C2 was a woman of medium weight and height. Her manner
was friendly and pleasant. Her dress and person were neat.
At the time of the second interview, which was a hot day,
she was clad in shorts and sleeveless blouse. The family
had returnedirom a camping trip the night before and she
had been washing. She wore her hair short, in a casual style.

She had finished high school and started teachers'
training but did not finish. She said her health was not
good and after she got to feeling better she was‘"out of
the notion." She married in 1932. Her husband had entered
college, but during the depression left school to work for
$6.00 a week in his father's grain elevator in a small
village.

The first year they were married they lived in this
small village in a small, old house which they rented. The
next year they bought a house behind his father's home and
next to the elevator. This house was built"at least fifty

years ago" before closets and storage space were considered

51

essential, but was light and airy, and they found it a
pleasant place to live. They had two bedrooms upstairs, no
modern plumbing, but a convenient kitchen, and electricity.
In 1940 his father retired. They moved into his house
and rented the house in the back. This house, too, had been
built in the days before closets, but his father had re-
modeled the first floor to add storage space, and had put
in a bathroom. She said some people would not consider it
a desirable location because only a driveway separated the
house from the elevator, behind which ran the railroad
tracks. They were used to the noise, however, and found
it convenient to live close to the business. They owned all
the stock in the elevator, having bought it from his father,
the two houses, and 60 acres of land which was farmed by
their son.
Their home was comfortably, though modestly furnished.
Some of the furniture appeared todate from their marriage.
A new dining-room suite and wall-to-wall carpeting indicated
a desire to keep the home attractive. Everything had the
appearance of being well-kept. They had a television set,
which was not turned on during either of the interviews.
They had an electric organ in the dining-room. They started
with a chord organ replacing it with a better one as they
progressed. It was an integral part of their family life.
C2 had taken piano lessons as a girl. She set aside half

an hour from her housework every morning to play the organ.

52

Her husband played by ear and the two younger children had
taken organ lessons. They used it daily for enjoyment and
musical therapy. At the start of the first interview, the
son was playing softly, butstopped at his mother's request.
The second interview was scarcely finished before the lovely
chords began to float on the summer air. 02 said she
thought the first suggestion that they get an organ came
from her husband. There was "more music in his family,"
she said. He was in the habit of playing for relaxation,
after a busy day. Their daughter came to play the organ
whenever anything bothered her. She was not inclined to
talk about her troubles, but would sit down to play,
stormily at first, then gradually more softly as she worked
off her emotional strain or solved her problems.

They had been trying to plan some way to shut off the
dining-room during the evenings so their son could enjoy
television without interfering with his father's organ
playing. They thought perhaps an accordian door would be
the answer.

There were four children in the family. The oldest
boy was a farmer and had never considered any other occupa-
tion. The second boy was at home temporarily, helping in
the elevator until time to begin an electrical apprentice
course in the fall. He had just returned from military
service and was having a hard time deciding what he wanted

to do. Their daughter was married and lived down the road

53

aboutIuflJTa mile. The youngest son was still at home. None
of the children had gone to college, although their parents
would have been glad to help them had they wished to.

Life had not been all rosy for this family. Their
first big misfortune had been a fire which destroyed the
elevator. Then C2 haden illness which dragged on for about
ten years, with the doctor offering little hope for recovery.
At one time she was not expected to live longer than a year.
She was just getting back on her feet when her husband
required a spinal fusion. She said that only the fact that
they owned their home, and did not give up, enabled them
to come through. However, they had been too engrossed
in their problems to give much thought to the children's
education during the years when they were growing up and
she felt that this had had a great influence on the child-
ren's lives and personalities. She thought it might be
the reason the second sonvas having such a hard time deciding
what he wanted to do, and was perhaps why the daughter
married very young and seemed to be somewhat immature and
lacking in confidence. The girl had to shoulder responsi-
bilities beyond her years at an early age, and her mother
had been too ill to teach her how to keep house, but had
expected her to do what was essential without guidance.

The father had been in his second term as township
treasurer when he became ill and C2 had to help with the

bookkeeping. Then she had been elected to succeed him in

54

office. As the township grew from a rural area to an urban
community the work of the treasurer multiplied until she
needed to take a correspondence course in bookkeeping to

be able to handle the job. She believed that this work and
the necessity for her to help in the elevator office while
he was laid up for a year, were largely responsible for her
recovery because she had been forced to return to contacts
with people at a time when she could have easily become a
chronic invalid.

C2's health appeared to be good, and to all appearances
her life was full and rewarding. She said she was so busy
she made plans while driving or ironing. She planned meals
mentally, about a week ahead, and shopped once a week at a
chain store. She was in the habit of watching for good
buys, especially in meats, which she stored in the freezer.
She always had baked goods in the freezer, too, for unexpected
guests, and preserved fruits and vegetables there. She
liked to bake.

She had a weekly work schedule when they were first
married, but it had become less conscious and more flexible
through the years. She said it seemed to work out better
to do laundry the first of the week, and baking and cleaning
the latter part of the week. She had an automatic washer
purchased when her husband was sick. She kept soiled
clothes sorted into white, colored, and work clothes and

when one basket was full, she did that amount. During the

55

time that she spent most of her time at the elevator and at
times when the township treasurer's job was particularly
heavy, she had had hired help.

They kept a general budget. C2 did the bookkeeping,
but her records for the household were not detailed, she
said. They had insurance. The children were expected to
help at home, and were given an allowance. For certain
jobs they were paid extra. During her long illness her
daughter had to take over most of the housekeeping, however,
whether from lack of guidance or because she was unsuited
tempermentally to the job, she never learned to do it well
or easily. Her attitude still seemed to be one of rebellion
and distaste. I

The family planned together. However, in purchasing
equipment her opinions carried greater weight in selecting
the appliances she used and his in selecting television or
radio. They had begun to plan for the future of their
business which was changing with the community they served.
They were trying to foresee what lines would continue to be
profitable.

The family participated actively in church, and

community activities.

9;» Age: 21 Family Unit: Selfy husband! two small children
C3 was a shapely young woman, with a pretty face and
carefully styled blond hair. She appeared to take pride in

her personal appearance. Her children, a boy of one, and a

56

girl of two were clean and well-behaved, but their mother
seemed to take less pride in their appearance then her own.

She married as soon as she was out of high school.
Her mother said she had not known the boy long. He had
finished high school and was an electrical apprentice.

They rented a small four-room house several miles
from the village. It was the only place they had lived
since marriage. With two children, it was crowded. C3 had
an automatic washer in the basement, but as there was insuf-
ficient room to dry clothes there, during bad weather she
had to hang them over bars in the living-dining area. The
winter afternoon of the first interview laundry was hanging
in the dining area. The children were napping. Toys
cluttered the floor, the tables were laden with an assort-
ment of objects and every chair was draped with something.
C3 sat in a rocking chair mending. She showed no concern
for the general disorder. She said, "I can't imagine why
you want to interview me. I am the world's worst manager."

She said she had taken one year of home economics in
high school, but she did not mention the fact that her
mother's illness had made it necessary for her to do house-
work at home.

She said she planned meals partially and shopped once
a week at a chain store. Because she had no freezer she had
'UD rely on canned foods rather than frozen. Her kitchen

“His small, but she found it convenient except that shelves

57

were too deep and she had to reach over or remove the front
items to get at those in the rear. She did not like to
cook and did little baking. She did not can, partly because
she was too busy with the children and partly because she
had little storage space for canned goods. Her mother
theorized that she was afraid of failure and so did not
attempt to bake or can.

C3 had a sewing machine and did some sewing for the
children. Her husband was able to do redecorating and minor
repairs around the house.

They had a "partly written" money plan, but after
paying rent and necessary bills "there was not much left to
budget;" She said she made the plans and he checked them
before they were put into operation. They had a little
insurance and planned to get more as they could afford it.
They wanted to buy a house as soon as they can manage to
do so. When they were older, the children would have an
allowance, be allowed to help choose their own clothes, and
would be included in family decisions. They would like to
send them to college.

C3 Said she had no work schedule, but did things "by
inspiration." She was likely to try to do everything on
one day. She would start more than she could finish and
end up so tired she would have to rest up for a day or two.
By that time everything needed doing again and it was a

vicious circle.

58

Their recreation was of necessity inexpensive. They
went roller skating once a week in winter and summer vacations
were spent camping. Sometimes they left the children with
her mother for a few days to take a week—end trip with
another couple. Lack of space, plus the fact that she did
not like to cook, kept them from entertaining their friends
at home.

When asked what she thought she did like her mother,
she said, "Well, not cooking, certainly!" She bought a
washer like her mother's because she had used it and liked
it. She was no hand to bring her troubles to her mother
or to seek advice. When disturbed she played the organ
until she had worked out a solution. Her mother said her
attitude towards the children vacillated between extreme
casualness and smothering them with attention in an apparent
attempt to make up for fancied neglect. This was not good,
and her mother hoped she would soon develop more maturity
in handling them. Moving into each new phase of development
had been hard for her ever since childhood. She seemed to
lack confidence in herself, her mother said.

C3 enjoyed being with people and sometimes appeared
to resent staying at home so much with the children. Her
mother wondered if she would have been hapger in some
career other than homemaking for which she showed little
talent or inclination. She sometimes helped a neighbor who

served smorgasbords and enjoyed that very much. Her husband

stayed with the children while she did this evening work.

59

D1 Age: Widow in her 80's Family Unit: Self and sister

 

D1 was a heavy-set woman with her white hair pulled
into a severe knot at the back of her head. She had been
in poor health and her daughter said she had lost interest
in her personal appearance.

She married young. Neither she nor her husband had
completed grade school. He was a widower with one son at
the time of their marriage. They lived the first few years
in a rented farmhouse not far from a small village, then
moved to another farm in a northern county. That house was
newer and better built, although there was no modern plumbing.
It was fairly convenient, large and roomy, and there was a
pump in the kitchen. The family consisted of three girls
and one boy; the two youngest were born while in this home.

In 1918 they moved back to the vicinity of their
former home and took up residence in the'"old homestead"
which had been in the family over 70 years. D1 still lived
there. It was a story-and-a-half frame building, rambling,
weathered, and unpainted. It was located about a mile and
a half from the village. The yard was a tangle of lilacs
and rosebushes, with a grape arbor and vegetable garden
at the rear. The house was heated with a coal stove. Water
had to be carried from a well in the yard--until two years
before it had to be carried from the well at the old barn

across the road.

6O

Furnishings were old and well—worn. There was little
attempt at artistic arrangement, but the house was comfortable
by standards of the past.

A few years ago the children had electricity put into
the house and got Dl an electric refrigerator. They wanted
to install plumbing, but she objected. She had an old style
washer, which had to be filled and emptied by hand since
there was no running water available. She washed on Monday
and ironed on Tuesday--she always had. She bought groceries
on Saturday night which used to be the only time farmers
got to town. She did not plan meals ahead, but she had
them on time. Bottled gas was used for cooking. She enjoyed
food--the doctor wanted her to lose weight but she could
not seem to diet, she said.

When her family was at home she did a lot of canning
and preserving. She still went out to pick wild berries
for jam.

She had never consciously conserved energy but was
accustomed to work hard. Her sister, who was 68, lived
with her andhelped with the work. Lately D1 had taken to
lying down for a nap after dinner, or sleeping in her chair,
while her sister did dishes. She never used to do this
when her family was at home. She did not recall that she
used to be tired, either. The children were brought up to
help at home, both in the house and on the farm.

They never kept a budget, but she was a close planner

61

and very conservative in her purhcases. The children never
had allowances. They earned their spending money peddling
vegetables from the garden or hiring out to help the neigh-
bors. The family members always had enough to eat and wear,
but very little cash. D1 had always been careful with money
and did not believe in spending it on such luxuries as bath-
rooms. She owned her home and had sold off the acreage of
the old farm at a good price for building lots. She put

the money in the bank, but not trusting investments, she
kept it in a savings account. She never bought on time
because "it cost more that way." She did not believe in
charge accounts and did not have insurance.

The children had talked her into buying a television,
which she watched some, but would not admit she enjoyed it.
She made her selection on the advice of someone whom she
considered to be an expert and did not look at any others.
It suited her as well as any, she said. (Her daughter said
the girls thought their mother was very stubborn and unreason-
able. She would take suggestions from an outsider but never
thought the children knew anything.) Even while her husband
was living she made the household decisions. He decided
about the farm. The children were not included in family
decisions.

Dl had never had a vacation, nor taken part in any
social life or church activities. She had no interest in

new clothes, labor-saving devices, politics, or new ideas.

62

She still worked in her garden and did some canning. She
did not like to see anything go to waste. She was in the
habit of working hard and she could conceive of no other

way of life.

D2 Age: 50's Family Unit: Self and husband

 

D2 was rather tall, with a wholesome face devoid of
make-up, dark hair and lively brown eyes. Her dress was
neat and showed thought for color combination. She had been
cook and manager of the village school cafeteria ever since
it started in spite of the fact that she had no special
training and had not gone to high school. She was under-
standably proud of having held an office in the School
Service Association, which indicated that she was accepted
by persons with more formal training in the field.

When she was a girl she hired out to do housework and
she had worked most of the time since her marriage. Her
husband had a high school education and was employed in a
dairy. He had undergone six operations on his eyes, with
another scheduled in the near future. Until cataracts
impaired his eyesight he had done interior painting and
minor repairs around the house. They had five children,
two boys and three girls, all grown and away from home.

They had purchased a garage when they were married
in 1929 and had made it over little by little as their

family grew,into a comfortable two-story house. It was

63

finished with asphalt shingles and maroon shutters outside.
The large yard was well-kept, although she said they did
not have as many flowers as they had when he could see to
work with them. Back of the house there were several fruit
trees and a big patch of raspberries from which they
harvested about 500 quarts a year.

Their house had a kitchen, dining-room, living-room,
and one bedroom downstairs, and three bedrooms and bath
upstairs. The rooms were small and the arrangement not ideal
due to the limitations imposed by the original structure.
The home showed evidence of taste in furnishings and
decorating. The furniture was of moderate price and quality.
Everything looked well-kept. The kitchen was convenient
and colorfully decorated. D2 had planned it herself and
displayed it with pride. The entire home was the result of
years of planning and working together. They had done much
of the work themselves.

Because of her cafeteria job, D2 had a schedule for
weekly tasks. She marketed once a week without a list,
buying from an independent grocer. She said she did not
have time to "chase bargains" and she felt that sometimes
one used up as much as theysaved. Large equipment was the
only thing they had bought on time. They had a small
freezer in which she kept baked goods in case of unexpected

company.

64

They rose regularly at 5:30 A.M. to have time for a
good breakfast and a chance to read the paper before she
took him to work. She did not like to feel rushed, she said.

When the children were at home they helped around the
house and yard. The family went on camping vacations
together. The children had a voice in deciding where to
go. She used to do a lot of baking and canning, but with
the two of them it was no longer necessary. She did quite
a lot of sewing for the children and looked forward to
sewing again when she retired. Because they never hadrmch
money she felt she had to bake, sew, and preserve food to
stretch their income.

Their budget was a mental one. The children did not
have allowances "because we just did not have the money."
Both D2 and her husband will have Social Security and she
will have school retirement. They were in the habit of
making decisions together after carefully considering alter-
natives and weighing probable results. They weresatisfied
with their decisions.

They had television and radio for recreation at home.
D2 attended church circle and was interested in community
affairs. Most of their entertaining was of family members.
An unusual feature of their family was the large number of
multiple births. One son had twins and triplets, and one
daughter had twins, and there were others among near rela-

tives. Family ties were close.

65

Their concern at the time of the interview was for
her husband's eyesight. They had been told that the next
operation would either improve his sight greatly or leave
him blind.

D2 thought she was much more progressive than her
mother and less miserly and penny—pinching, although she was
careful with money. She thought her daughter was more like
the grandmother, and expressed the opinion that her
daughter's family would be happier if she were less of a
perfectionist.

D3 Age: About 25 Family Unit: Selfy_husband, twin boys 6,
~ boy 4,ygirl 2

 

 

D3 was a slim energetic young woman. She was dressed
in a bright play suit. Her home, the twins, and her person
were all immaculate. She said she could scarcely spare the
time for an interview, however, she agreed to cooperate.

Their home was a story—and-ahalf house in one of the
newer sections of the city. It appeared to have been built
within the last five years. When first married, they lived
in a small apartment. When the twins were born they rented
an older two-story house, and as soon as they thought they
could manage it financially, purchased this home, which had
three bedrooms and a large basement. It was near a shopping
center and school.

D3 had a high school education and did office work

until the babies began to come. Her husband was a mortician.

66

He had completed two years of college, two years of mortuary
training, and one year's apprenticeship.

They lived within walking distance of a grocery store,
but she usually waited for him to take her and look after
the children because she had found it was "next to impossible"
to take them all to the store with her. She planned her
meals about a week ahead and when meal time approached
she planned the rest of the menu around the meat dish. She
shopped once a week for staple groceries. She did much
baking and canning to help stretch the family budget. She
sewed for the children and wished she could find time to
sew for herself. This, too, was done to stretch their in-
come. She said they did not have a written budget, but as
they are buying their home, they had to plan rather carefully
to "make ends meet." She picked up windfall apples to can
for sauce, and salvaged the last of her mother's raspberry
crop to can and freeze. They were trying to save for the
future but had no definite plans for the education of the
children. They had insurance, she said. As the children
got older she thought they would have an allowance, and
they would be brought up to help around the home. Her hus-
band didpainting and minor repairs in his spare time.

She had an automatic washer and a dryer. She washed
whenever the dirty dothes accumulated, and was "never caught
up on ironing." They had recently moved the dryer from one

side of the basement to the other for added convenience.

67

She said she took the children to the basement to play while
she did the laundry. She tried to do as much as possible
during their nap time and was looking forward to the next
year when the twins would be in school all day.

She said she was often tired although she got enough
sleep at night. (Her mother commented that she was a per-
fectionist who wore herself out over details.) During the
interview she continually cautioned the twins not to track
dirt on the freshly waxed kitchen floor. The davenport and
chairs were covered with protective covering "because the
children will climb on them, and I try to keep things nice."
The furnishings of the home were of good quality and care-
fully selected for style and color, but showed the wear of'
four lively children.

The appearance of the home and the woman, indicated
that she appreciated neatness and beauty. If they ever
bought another house, she said, she would like to have a
fenced play area off the kitchen where she could keep an
eye on the children while working. She would like a large
yard and would favor a Colonial type rather than a modern
or randh-type house.

In making any large purchase husband and wife looked
at several alternatives. Price and quality were of prime
consideration to them. She said they were accustomed to
evaluate their purchases and decisions to see if they might

have done better, and also with a View to doing better in

the future.

68

Their entertaining was limited to family and she had
no outside activities. She implied that she did not have
time for outside activities if she kept the house and
family clean and prepared nourishing meals. She thought as
the children got older she would have to participate in
P.T.A. or other things at school.

They had a television set which was on during the
interview although no one appeared to pay any attention

to it.

El Age: Middle 70's Family Unit: Self and roomer

 

Her figure was shapeless, she wore no make-up, but
her fine head and intelligent face gave her a dignity of
appearance. Her head was crowned with luxuriant iron-gray
hair which waved above her forehead and was braided into a
coronet.

Her home was a well—kept one—story, two bedroom house
in a modest section of the city. It overflowed with African
violets, hand—crocheted tidies, and the type of oil paintings
where one fills in the colors according to a numbered chart.

The extra bedroom was rented to an elderly woman
whom E1 described as a pleasant companion who "works right
along with me." El did not like to live alone and tried to
keep the room rented. She liked to have someone to cook
for, she said. Although the doctor wanted her to reduce
she could not resist good food. She said she would consider

marrying again if she could find a man whorad a little more

69

money than she, and who did not drink. She would also pre-
fer a man who did not smoke because she disliked the smell,
but smoking was not as bad as drinking.

As a girl, E1 lived in a small town in northern
Michigan. She quit school after the fifth grade to take
care of the younger children while her mother worked. Her
first husband was a mason who worked away from home much of
the time. They lived in a rented house outside a little
northern town.

After his death she married a widower with seven
children and went to live on the farm he owned near the
little town. She raised ten children of her own and the
seven stepchildren who loved her like their own mother and
still kept in touch with her. She had 69 grandchildren and
119 great—grandchildren.

She lived 39 Years on this farm. The house was large,
two—story, and not new. It was without electricity and
plumbing. The children helped in the house and on the farm.
The older ones took care of the younger ones. They had meat,
fruit, and vegetables from the farm. She canned immense
quantities of food. She sewed for the children, making all
the clothes for the girls and sitting up late at night to
piece quilts from the scraps for bedding. She could remem-
ber that there was a time when she owned only two dresses
so that when she put on a clean one she immediately washed

the other. There was always laundry to be done and she

7O

washed several times a week, scrubbing on a board for years
until they were able to buy a washing machine run by gasoline
motor. Her husband was a good, hard—working man who loved
the children and took much pleasure in them, but he drank,
and she would never again marry a man who drank, she said.

Ten years ago she came to the city (her husband being
dead) to keep house for an unmarried son. She had never
had any new furniture until her son bought a new davenport
and chair. He had died three years before leaving the house
to her. She did not remember ever buying a new dress-—she
wore garments given her by the girls, and she used some
of their discarded furniture.

She had never planned meals more than a day at a time.
On the farm there was always plenty and it was not necessary.
She had a large freezer given her by the children, and kept
it well-stocked with fruit, vegetables, meat, and baked goods.
She lived within walking distance of the store, but usually
shopped once a week when her daughter took her to a super-
market. She preferred a clean store, she said, where prices
were reasonable. She liked to can, and preferred the flavor
of some fruits canned to frozen. Last summer she and her
roomer picked enough strawberries to make 13 pints of jam
and freeze 45 pints. Elliked to work and did not recall
ever being very tired.

She had no written money plan. Her only income was

from her son's disability payment from the government and

71

pension from his job. In the winter when she had fuel bills,
the money just about went around. In the summer, if the
extra room was rented, she could save a little. She kept
her savings in the bank-~there was not enough to invest.

She had no insurance. At one time she had hospitalization,
but when she had to have a gall bladder operation that was
not covered, she dropped the insurance. She said she was
never sick anyway. She had always lived frugally and she
was satisfied.

For a time she offered the house for sale and thought
she would return to the little northern community where she
had lived so long. Many of her children and grandchildren
lived near there. She found, however, that no one wanted
to pay cash or make a large enough down payment to enable
her to feel secure about buying another home up north. Her
present home was on the bus line and if she moved she would
have to depend on friends for transportation. She hated to
leave her church and kind neighbors. She had decided not
to sell.

She had an automatic washer and dryer installed in
her kitchen by her children. She liked to get the laundry
out of the way early in the week and do cleaning and baking
near the week—end. Her kitchen was convenient, and with her
appliances her work was much easier than it used to be.

She said she had no time plan, but she always got up

at 7:00 A.M. and kept busy until 11:00 P.M. In the last six

72

months she had pieced ten quilts. Some of them she planned
as birthday presents for her granddaughters.

She enjoyed the neighborhood children, both white and
Negro. When hers was the only television in the block she
had youngsters sitting in front of it every afternoon and
evening. Her only stipulation was that they be clean and
behave while in the house.

Shesaid her girls cooked and baked the same way she
did. If she and one of them made pies no one could tell
which was which. They would look and taste alike.

When the second interview took place El came in from
working in her roses. She had a flower bed along the drive—
way about 6' x 50' full of all kinds of roses and other

flowers.

E2 Age: About 45 Family Unit: Selfy_husband, and teenage
daughter

E2 had a good figure and luxuriant wavy hair like her
mother. Her personal appearance and that of her home indi-
cated thought for color, balance, and proportion. Much of
the furniture looked new and had probably been purchased
when they moved into the house two years before.

E2 said she married soon after finishing high school.
For the first few months they lived with her married sister
on a farm and her husband drove a milk route. Then they
rented a small house in a small city where he worked in the

creamery. Shortly before the war they moved to a larger

73

city and'boughta.two-story house. Her husband had to go to
the service. His mother came to stay with the two little
girls while she worked in a factory. She missed her husband
terribly, worried constantly, and did not like her job. Her
mother told of seeing her come home night after night to
throw herself sobbing on the floor. He was sent overseas,
but the Armistice came before he saw active service. It

was a joyous day when he returned to his family. Her health,
undermined by a year and a half of worry and loneliness
remained poor for some time. Her mother said her husband
was "the best in the world," in more than twenty years of
married life he had never spoken a cross word to his wife
and they were a devoted couple.

Two years ago they sold the two—story house and moved
into a new story-and-a-half home in the outskirts of a
village.

The older daughter had married and only the seventeen—
year old remained at home. The father was a crane operator
and loved his work. It took him away from home part of the
year when the weather permitted outside work, but he nearly
always got home for week—ends. He planned to build a garage
adjoining the house, and finish the basement himself during
the winter. Later he might finish the upstairs, but as
they did not need the room, there was no hurry about that.

E2 said the house was fairly convenient, but the new

one was much better. She had an automatic washer and dryer.

711

She preferred to wash on Monday, and usually had the ironing
and mending done before night. If she were going out in

the evening she postponed some of her scheduled tasks, so
she would not be too tired and she had plenty of free time.
The house was easy to keep clean and she did not ask her
daughter to help because "there was not enough to keep two
women busy."

E2 was active in her church circle, Eastern Star,
P.T.A., and community activities. Her hobby was gardening—-
in this respect she resembled her mother--she enjoyed can—
ning, making pickles and freezing fruits and vegetables.

She did some sewing, she said.

Her daughter came in during the interview to say that
she has secured her first job for the coming summer. The
girl was embarrassed to be seen in old clothes and needing
a shampoo. Her mother said there was not much to keep
the young folks busy during vacation and she was glad to
lave the girl occupied. She said her daughter was not a
good student and did not plan to go to college. She had
not decided what she would do after graduation from high
school.

E2 did not plan meals ahead, but bought groceries once
a week. She was in the habit of driving quite a distance to
a certain store she liked, a large supermarket that carried
good meats. They often bought a quarter of beef at a sub—

stantial saving. She did not particularly look for bargains

75

in other areas. Her family liked everything and was easy
to cook for.

They did not have a written money plan. They owned
their home, and had insurance and retirement. The girls
had always had an allowance.

In making a major purchase they looked at several
possibilities, considered name brands, past performance of
old equipment, availability of service, and price. They
were usually well satisfied with their purchase. They had
a seven year old television-radio-record player combination
which was one of their good buys. It had never needed
repairs.

E2 thought she was like her mother in having "lots of
nervous energy" which required that she keep busy all the
time. Both liked to raise flowers. The whole family en-
joyed nature and liked to go trailer camping on vacations.
They often took her mother with them on trips. Her husband
went hunting every fall. She said their married daughter
also loved the out-doors.

Her daughter said E2 made detailed plans and lists.

33, Age: Early 20's Family Unit: Self and husband

E3 was a pleasant young woman with wavy auburn hair
and a peaches-and-cream complexion. Both she and her husband
were high school graduates. She was working in the office of
a large city high school. He was a painter who worked in

a factory during the winter. They had been married a little

76

more than a year at the time of the interview.

Her husband was the only child of a widowed mother.
The first year of their married life they lived in a small
apartment upstairs in her home. They had recently bought a
house just outside the city limits which had an apartment
upstairs for his mother. She was working full time and
perfectly capable of living alone, but they could foresee
the time when she would need to be near them and had made
their purchase with this in mind.

The house had been built for twenty-five years or so
and needed some repairs and redecorating which her husband
intended to do himself. She planned to make draperies and
recover some furniture. There was room for a garden and
they were looking forward to fixing up the yard. The
kitchen was convenient; she could hardly wait to begin can-
ning and freezing as soon as they could get a freezer.

She bought food weekly at a supermarket, which she
chose for convenience and reasonable prices. She said she
would not go as far to a store as her mother did; while she
was working she did not have time. She planned meals from
day to day. During the week she ate lunch at her grand-
mother's house. Her husband took his lunch.

E3 had an automatic washer and washed once a week,
usually on saturday when she could hang clothes outside.

If they had week—end plans, she washed at night during the

week. She thought they would do more entertaining now

77

that they had more room. She had already given a shower
for a friend. She made lists whenever she planned extras
to be sure nothing was forgotten.

They had a written budget and carriedinsurance. She
thought when they had children they would give them an
allowance and include them in the family planning. E3
thought it was important that‘"boys especially" have a
college education. Her husband regretted that he had not
been ahb to go to college.

They made decisions together. They had recently
bought a kitchen table and chairs. They listed the quali-
fications they wanted and considered several, trying to
choose the one which came nearest to fitting the require-
ments. She believed that too hasty decisions were likely
to be less satisfactory than more thoughtful ones. They were
aware of the pitfalls of installment buying and planned to
save their money to pay cash whenever possible. If they
bought on time they planned to figure out how much they
were paying for carrying charges. She thought a credit
union was the cheapest way to finance large purchases.

Her hobby was collecting china dogs; his, china mugs
Some were souvenirs of trips. They both enjoyed watching.
and participating in sports. They liked camping and travel-
ing to parts of the country they had not seen but did not
care to vacation in large cities. They were not interested

in night clubs, shows, or big city forms of entertainment.

78

E3 thought she resembled her mother in making detailed
plans and lists. Appearances indicated that both E3 and her
mother felt the importance of attractive home surroundings.

The differences in their time planning was due to
E3's job which limited the time she could spend in house—

hold activities

F1 Age: 60 FamilyyUnit: Self

 

F1 was a plump lady, only 4'10" tall, with short,
curled white hair and a pleasant face. She was proud of the
fact that at 60 she did not need glasses for reading.

She married young and had not gone to high school.

Her husband's family came from Germany. His mother ran

a bakery. He learned from her to cook and bake, and always
enjoyed doing it. His mother's mother lived with them over
the bake shop. This lady was Dutch and a "religious fanatic"
who did not miss a Sunday service at the Methodist church

in seventy-five years. She insisted that the entire family
attend services and her strictness was a strong influence

on her grandson in his youth which carried over into his
family life after marriage. He,too,insisted that his child-
ren attend church regularly. He was a sign painter whose
work was irregular and whose income was small. He died

when his wife was thirty-three leaving six children and no
savings.

They lived in a village where everyone knew everyone

else. The entire village population rallied to the support

79

of the widow and helped her keep the family together. She
was energetic and had been brought up to work hard, but
twenty-five years ago, in a small village there were few
jobs available for a woman. She was willing to work at
anything, and did.

An uncle furnished them with meat from his farm.

They had a garden and the children peddled any extra produce
from door to door. They picked berries for their own use
and to sell. They wore hand-me-down clothing passed on from
other families.

F1 always hated to cook. While her husband was
living he did most of it. After his death she turned it
over to the two oldest girls. They baked as many as seven
loaves of bread a day and there were times when that was
about all they had to eat. They canned prodigious amounts
of fruit and vegetables, both from their own garden and from
friends' who gave them what they could spare for the picking.

The girls took care of the house while their mother
went out to work. When W.P.A. came along she got work
sewing in a small pants factory. She was still employed
there.

One girl worked her way through high school by helping
in the principal's office. Two of the six children finished
high school. Theyrever had an allowance, but worked at
whatever odd jobs they could find to earn money for their

clothes and books.

80

In accordance with old German custom, Fl's husband
made all family decisions while he was living. She found
it difficult to take over after his death, but she was
always one to make the best of the situafion. The older
children helped decide the smaller matters. The children
were always sent to Sunday school and Church, but their
mother did not attend. She never belonged to any kind of
social organization. Not long ago her family insisted she
get a telephone. She never wanted one to visit with friends,
but she had used it to call members of the family.

Fl owned the two-story house in which she lived.
Several years before it had been remodeled into an upper
and lower apartment. One of her sons lived upstairs. The
house was neat and well—kept both outside and in. Wall—to-
wall carpeting and nearly-new furniture indicated an inter-
est in comfort and appearance.

Fl took care of the yard herself and had a large
garden every summer which was her pride and joy. She had
a freezer and an automatic washer. Her job made a plan of
work helpful. She planned to do one extra job each day
after work. She bought groceries once a week.

Her granddaughter said she had a "gentleman friend"
of many years standing who took her wherever she wanted to
go, including a trip to the supermarket for groceries on
Saturdays.

Now that the children were grown she did not have

to work as hard, but she liked to be busy. She always

81

walked to work the year around, and might come home and
paint a room in the evening. She said she did not recall

ever being very tired.

F2 Age: 40 Family Unit: Self, husband, teenage boy and girl

 

F2 was a jolly, buxom woman with dark hair and a
friendly countenance. She was dressed in a crisp cotton
housedress and had an air of busy-ness about her. During
the interview she rocked vigorously.

Her father died when she was twelve and she had to
help at home while her mother went out to work to support
the family of six children. She and her sister did the
cooking and housework. They used to bake six or seven
loaves of bread every day. In summer they picked berries
and worked in the garden. She and her sister canned a large
amount of food to provide for the family in the winter.

She worked hard to finish high school and was married soon
after graduation.

Her husband was a plumbing contractor. He, too, had
a high school education. When first married they lived in
a small rented house in a small village, then for a while
they lived with her mother in the big family house in an-
other village. Her husband went to work for his uncle on a
farm and they moved into the tenant house. When he took up
plumbing they moved to a small one bedroom apartment in the
village. The family soon outgrew these quarters, so they

built a cinder—block garage-house with bedrooms upstairs for

82

the two girls. Finally, they bought his mother's home and
were still living there.

This house was an old two—story building, quite
ordinary in appearance, the outside being weathered and
unpainted. Inside, the house was comfortable and welcoming.
The front door opened into a large square room centered by a
big round table. Here the family ate (often with one or
two guests), the children studied, and the mother kept books
for her husband's plumbing business. The convenient kitchen
which she had planned ran across the back of the room and
was only partialy separated from the rest of the room by
work counters. The living-room adjoined. The furniture was
well—used in appearance. The floors were covered with
linoleum. She said they had never had rugs because her
husband "imagined he was allergic" to rugs.

The atmosphere was hospitable, cherry, and informal.
The neighborhood children drifted in on their way home from
school for a snack. She told them to help themselves from
the cookie jar and did not interrupt her rocking or the
ready flow of conversation.

F2 washed once a week. In her remodeled kitchen,
which she characterized as "a good one-woman kitchen" she
had a conventional washer and a dryer. She bought groceries
twice a week, from an independent grocer. Since her husband
was in business for himself they wanted to maintain goodwill

in the community. She planed meals partially, in her head.

83

They were in the habit of having two large meals a day.

She had always loved to cook, she said, and the children
felt free to bring home friends to meals unannounced. She
bought canned goods in case lots when there was a sale, and
they got eggs and potatoes from her brother's farm. She
used to can large quantities of fruits and vegetables, but
since they bought the freezer she had been freezing these
items. She baked her own bread. She said she enjoyed
seeing people eat and enjoyed eating herself, as her ample
figure testified.

F2 belonged to, and was active in, every organization
in the village--church, Literary Club, Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, 4H Club, Eastern Star, et cetera. They took all
the daily papers and the table was piled with magazines.

She said she read them all. She had no work schedule.

Her daughter said the house was always full of people of all
ages, all of whom were welcomed heartily. The table was
always set for one or two extra and food prepared accordingly.
She was not fussy about the house and was never disturbed by
unexpected guests.

Much of the time since her marriage F2 had worked, as
a waitress, in a factory during the war, or taking canaof
children in her home.

Family finances were not rigidly planned. She kept
records. The children did not have an allowance, but were

given money as they needed it. They had worked out rules

84

of conduct for the children. They were permitted one show
a week and there was an understanding as to how often they
could go out and what time they should be home. F2 said
she had found this a satisfactory method for controlling
teenage activities. Sometimes special circumstances re-
quired a modification of the rules but it was good to have
a basis for regulation.

F2 made the decisions for the family. She said the
children were not interested and her husband preferred not
to be bothered with them. The children selected their own
clothes within certain limits. They did not help at home
because she could do things quicker and easier herself.

She did little sewing, but tried to purchase at the
end of the season when prices were most reasonable. Her
talents ran to cooking, and she waS'"in on" all the church
suppers, et cetera.

She could not understand her mother's lack ofsncial
contacts, but thought it was because her mother had been so
busy earning a living for the family she had gotten out of
the habit. She thought there was a great difference between
her ways of doing things and her mother's.

Her husband's hobby was raising riding horses, which
he exhibited at horse shows. The chilren shared his inter-
est. They took camping vacations with the horses in a group
with other horse fanciers. F2 did not care for horses her-

self, but often went along to enjoy the social contacts and

85

to prepare food. Her husband was also fond of hunting, but
she did not share this interest either. She expressed her-
self as being perfectly willing to help him get ready and
then remain at home herself.

Because the old house had sagged and warped they were
planning to build within the next five years or so. They
had been saving for this for some time. Her husband wanted
a location where he could keep horses. If they built in
the village he would have to rent a place for the horses
and go back and forth to look after them. So far they had
not purchased a site for their new home. They had been
thinking about house plans. F2 wanted a family room, and
she hoped she could persuade her husband to try living with
carpeting. She wanted to get new furniture for the new
home. They were still using what they got when they were
married. It was cheap to begin with, she said, and well-
worn through.many moves and the activities of growing
children. She would have bought new before, but wanted to
be sure it would fit into the new house.

Besides the savings for the new house, they had

insurance and hospitalization.

F3 Age: 21 Family Unit: Selfy husband, and small baby

 

F3 was a quiet friendly young woman, neat and pleasant
in appearance. After high school she took a course in beauty
culture and worked at this profession until the baby came,

about a year after her marriage. Her husband graduated from

86

high school and worked in a factory. She said he would like
to find "something better," but she did not specify exactly
what he wanted.

For the first eight or nine months after they were
married they lived in an unfurnished first floor apartment
in the city in which they both worked. They found they
could rent a new bungalow in a village within driving dis-
tance of their work, at a much lower rent. They decided
they could save money by driving back and forth, and made
the change.

It was a small, but convenient two bedroom house.

Their furniture was inexpensive in quality, however, it
appeared to have been chosen with thought for color and
pleasing effect. Everything was sparkling clean. The house
was filled with the fragrance of fresh baking.

F3 said she had never done much baking as a girl at
home and was having fun learning. She planned to try some
canning, too. While she was working she had used mixes
and partially prepared foods to save time, but she thought
it was cheaper to do her own preparation. She bought grocer-
ies once a week from an independent grocer who was a friend
of her family. She made a mental plan for meals before
marketing.

They did not use a written money plan. After allotting
necessary amounts for rent, insurance, and payments on furni-

ture and the car there was just about enough left to buy

87

food, she said. They wanted to buy a house, and when the
furniture was paid for, would start saving for that. She
did not plan to return to full time work although her
mother and her husband's mother were both willing to take
the baby. She thought she might like to work occasionally
to help out her friends or make a little extra money.

She washed every other day, but hoped soon to be able
to get along with less frequent washings as the baby grew
older. She had a conventional washer which they had pur—
chased secondhand, but no dryer, and, as the house had no
basement, drying diapers was a problem in bad weather.

The baby was as clean and fragrant as a little blossom,
and was never left wet for a minute.

F3 was fond of horses and loved to ride, a hobby
learned from her father who raised riding horses. Her
husband shared her enthusiasm for animals. They had recently
acquired a puppy. Both enjoyed sports and the out—of—doors.
They enjoyed camping with the horses, in a group of other
riding enthusiasts.

Husband and wife planned together, and made major
purchases after considering several alternatives. They were
usually well satisfied. She thought they paid too much for
the car and said when they got another it would be a second-
hand or else a smaller car than the one they had.

F3 enjoyed people and missed the contacts she made

while working in the beauty parlor. She attended the women's

88

organization of her church and sometimes went to a show or
a shower with a girl friend while her husband stayed with
the baby. They sometimes got together with other young
couples. Her husband was rather quiet and inclined to be
shy with strangers, she said.

She did notruunaaconscious time plan, but did "try
to see that things got done.", She said she "could never
stand" having people drop in on her at all times of day as
they did at her mother's house. She thought she did things
quite differently from her mother. She liked more order
and system to her life, she said.

She had no conscious plan to conserve energy. Before
the baby was born she got very tired, but ordinarily she

was seldom tired, and rested quickly.

CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS

The Home Management Process

 

The home management process consists of a series of
decisions concerning use of family resources to achieve
family goals. There are three steps to the process; plan-
ning, carrying out the plan or controlling it in action,
and evaluating results with a view to future planning.1

In this study planning was said to have taken place
when the family used a money plan, when the woman planned
menus ahead, shopped with a list, followed a weekly or
daily work schedule, or said she had mentally planned some
course of action.

The second step in home management involves activating
the plan--making it work. In this study evidences of control
of the plan were found in the following situations: Shopping
for a piece of equipment with a list of the requirements
they would like to find, but facing the fact that they
might not be able to find all desired characteristics in
one item; remodeling the kitchen a bit at a time as appli-

ances or plumbing needed to be replaced, hiring some work

 

1
Gross and Crandall, op. cit., p. 4.
89

90

and doing the rest themselves; postponing some scheduled
household tasks on a day when the homemaker wanted to go
out in the evening without being too tired to enjoy herself;
and other similar activities.

This step includes an evaluation of the plan when it
is partly carried out which may bring about a change in the
original plan. Thus, the steps controlling and evaluating
often overlap and it becomes difficult to categorize these
steps.

The third step, evaluating, is looking back over what
has been done to see whether progress has been made toward
family goals. Satisfaction expressed implies that progress
has been made. Any verbal expression of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction by a respondent was considered evidence of
evaluation; as, for example, "I was left comfortably sit-
uated at the death of my husband" implied satisfaction
with the money plan used by this family. '"Remodeling the
house gave us better storage" showed evaluation of the
plan and satisfaction with results. "Next time we will buy
a used car or a less expensive make of new car; that car
threw our budget out of kilter" was an example of evaluation
showing dissatisfaction with the plan followed, and a
definite influence on future planning.

Chart I gives the indications of the three steps of
home management planning, controlling, and evaluating, as

they were found in the interviews with the eighteen women.

l

9

 

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92

 

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93

 

ACHmC on

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mmscfipsoo--H amaze

94

Table 2 shows how many generations of the three in

each family showed evidence of these three steps.

TABLE 2

NUMBER OF GENERATIONS OF EACH FAMILY INDICATING
EVIDENCES OF MANAGEMENT STEPS

 

 

 

Families A B C D E F Total
Planning 3 3 3 3 3 3 18
Controlling 2 2 2 l 3 2 12
Evaluating 3 2 2 O 2 2 ll

 

It was noted that all eighteen women did some con—
scious planning for the use of resources. Without exception
they used some type of money plan, but their responses indi-
cated that they were less conscious of plans for use of
time, energy, and skills than of material resources. Some
of their patterns, however, showed unrecognized planning in
these areas.

Twelve of the eighteen, or two-thirds, showed evidence
of controlling the plan in action but did not appear to be
aware of this step as part of the home management process.

Eleven women expressed verbal satisfaction with the
results of their plans. However, few of them showed a con-
sciousness of the aid of evaluation to future planning. One
woman said they would not repeat the mistake of paying such

a high price for a car.

95

None of the six families had continuity in all three
steps of the home management process throughout the three
generations. Only one family showed indications of con—
trolling the plan in each of the three generations, and
only one of evaluating in each of the three generations.

Table 3 compares the three generations as to evidences

of planning, control, and evaluation.

TABLE 3

NUMBER OF WOMEN IN EACH GENERATION INDICATING
EVIDENCES OF HOME MANAGEMENT STEPS

 

*t
1

Steps of Home Management

—-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generations
Planning Controlling Evaluating
l 6 2 4
2 6 6 3
3 6 u u

 

In comparing the three generations planning was the
one step common to all the women in the three generations.
There was greater evidence of controlling in the second
generation than in the first or the third. It is possible
that the older women experienced difficulty in recalling
how they had put their plans into action in past years.

There did not appear to be continuity from generation
to generation in a given family, nor wasthere an observable
pattern of development from past to present across the three

generations.

96

Decision-Making_in Home Management

 

As a further comparison of the home management of
these women, their decision-making wasflinvestigatedx;
Decisions take place in every step of home management process.
For the purposes of this study the process of making decisions
was divided into four steps: seeking alternatives, thinking
through each alternative, making a choice of one alternative,
and finally accepting the consequences of this choice or
finding satisfaction in it. Decision—making so defined was
a new concept to these women. To make it easier for them
to discuss this topic, the questions were centered around
a certain choice they had made, such as purchase of a major
piece of equipment. They were also asked who usually made
the family decisions-—the mother or the father, the mother
AND the father, or mother, father, and children.

In several of the third generation families the
children were as yet too young to have a part in decisions,
but parents were asked if they planned to include them when
they were older.

In some cases the women gave examples of their use of
the decision-making steps, in others they merely answered in
the affirmative. Two of the younger women told of consider-
ing two or three items before purchasing one. El had plan-
ned to sell her home and move "up north" where she used to
live. Moving meant leaving her present church and friends

in order to be near relatives. She lived on the busline and

97

if she moved she would have to rely on her neighbors to take
her to church and after groceries. If she sold her present
home she wanted to get a large enough cash payment to make

a substantial down payment on a new home. This was not
going to be easy because her present home was small and not
new enough to appeal to the average family having sufficient
money for a large down payment. After thinking through
these alternatives and the probable results of staying and
of moving, she decided not to move. She said she was glad
she had made this decision.

Chart II shows how these families made their decisions
and who made them. An x indicates that the woman replied
in the affirmative, but did not give an example. A blank
space shows that no definite response was elicited.

Decisions to purchase equipment had been made by these
women in three ways: (1) by considering various possibili-
ties, looking into the future to predict the probable results
of each course of action, selecting one, and evaluating the
choice for satisfaction; (2) on the basis of previous experi—
ment; and (3) on the advice of an authority. Method (1)
carried through the steps of the decision—making process.
When (2) was followed, it was necessary to evaluate previous
experience to ascertain that it had given satisfaction, and
to weigh this satisfaction against the possible satisfaction
resulting from a different choice by looking into the future.

Thus (2) included all the elements of (1). When method (3)

98

 

 

 

 

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99

 

 

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UmSCHpCOUIIHH Bm¢mo

100

was followed the process called for the evaluation of
authority, evaluation of the homemaker's past experience in
this area, weighing her knowledge against that of the auth-
ority and predicting which would be more likely to bring
her satisfaction. Again, the four steps of the decision-
making process were involved.

Two women of the first generation said they had made
their choice on the advice of someone whom they considered
to be an authority. They had not considered any items
other than the one advised, and they were well satisfied
with their purchases. C3 bought a washer on the basis of
past experience. She had used her mother's washer and liked
the way it performed, so she purchased the same kind of
machine.

Table 4 shows the number of generations in these

families who said they used the steps of decision-making.1

TABLE 4

NUMBER OF GENERATIONS USING THE STEPS OF
DECISION-MAKING

 

 

 

Decision-Making Families
Steps A B C D E F Total
Seeking alt. 2 3 2 2 3 2 14
Thinking through 2 l 2 l 2 2 10
Finding satis-
faction 3 l 3 3 3 2 15

 

1There are actually four steps of decision-making as
defined in this study: seeking alternatives, thinking

101

None of the six families showed continuity in the
process of decision—making throughout the three generations.
It appeared that thinking through probable results of the
various alternatives was the step most often neglected.
This step may be the most difficult to accomplish because
it involves a look into the future and forecasting future
events. It seemed significant that all of those who did
think through alternatives were among those who expressed
verbal satisfaction and twelve of the fifteen who were
satisfied usually considered several alternatives.

One woman said she was not satisfied with results of
family decisions and'"kept worrying about it and wondering
if another choice would have turned out better," but her
husband never gave it another thought after the decision
had been made. It was concluded that this reaction was due
to the personality of the woman rather than to an unsatis—
factory decision.

Table 5 shows the number of women in each generation
who sought several alternatives, thoughtthem through, and
evaluated results when making decisions concerning home

management.

 

through the probable results of each alternative, making

a choice, and finding satisfaction or accepting the conse-
quences of the choice. Because the discussion in these
interviews centered around a choice which had been made

by the homemaker, that step was omitted from the tabulation.

102

TABLE 5

NUMBER OF WOMEN IN EACH GENERATION USING THE
DECISION-MAKING STEPS

 

 

 

Steps _4_
Seeking Thinking Finding
Generations Alternatives Through Satisfaction Total
1 3 2 1+ 9
2 6 4 5 15
3 5 4 6 l5

 

The older generation may have had difficulty under-
standing this unfamiliar concept clearly or in recalling
how they had made decisions. In comparing the generations
there was no trend toward increased or decreased expressed
use of the steps of decision-making. The third generation,
however, expressed greater satisfaction with their decisions.

In addition to information about the steps of the
decision-making process, each woman was asked how many
persons in the family, and which ones, usually made the
family decisions. This information is summarized in Table 6.
The number of persons is shown, with "2+" indicating that
children were included if they were interested, or would be
included when they were old enough.

This table clearly indicates a trend to include more
persons in the decisions from generation to generation.
All of the women in the first generation said they had made

most of the family decisions alone, the father being content

103

TABLE 6

NUMBER OF PERSONS MAKING FAMILY DECISIONS IN
EACH GENERATION OF THE SIX FAMILIES STUDIED

 

 

 

 

Families
Generations
B C D E F
l l l l l l l
2 2+ 2 2+ 2+ 2 2
3 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2

 

to make only those decisions concerning his business. There
was one exception, Fl, whose husband came fromzi European
heritage in which it was customary for the father to make
all family decisions. However, he died while the children
were young and the mother was forced by circumstances to
take over the decision-making.

It appears significant that the third generation showed
a tendency to include the children in family decision—making
and this generation expressed greatest satisfaction in their
decision. However, all of the children in the third gener-
ation families were as yet too young to actually participate
in family discussions. Of greater significance is the fact
that the second generation of families A, C, and D had in-
cluded the children in family decisions, had considered
several alternatives, and thought them through, and these

families had found satisfaction in the results.

104

Goals and Values

 

A goal is something definite toward which the family
works. Goals grow out of values.1 For example, a family
which values security may have a goal of home ownership.
Goals which became evident during the interviews with these
families were: home ownership, raising a family, providing
pleasant home surroundings in which the family members
could enjoy emotional security and find fulfillment, edu-
cating the children so that they could become independent,
and being of service in the community. Home ownership was
a goal growing out of the value of security to each of these
families.

Values are vague and in most cases must be deduced
from the appearance of the home, the personal appearance
of the woman, and clues picked up from her conversation.
When a goal is expressed it is sometimes possible to guess
at the values behind it.

There are many possible lists of values. For this
study the author has taken the one used by Van Bortel and
Gross in their comparison of home management in two socio—
economic groups. These ten selected values and some of

their indicators noted during the interviews were:

 

1
Gross and Crandall, op. cit., p. 37.

105

Comfort--Interest in improving the home, new furniture

or equipment.

Ambition--Interest in getting ahead, savings, interest

in work, social advancement.

Health--Health insurance, interest in mental health,

cleanliness, nutrition.

Knowledge—-Education of parents and children, interest

in adult education, teaching.

Love--Close family ties, gregariousness, community

responsibility, child training.

P1ay--Recognition of need for recreation and creative

expression.

Religion--Interest in religious groups, churCh atten—

dance, religious training of children.

Art-—Artistic appearance of home, handicraft, personal

appearance, music.

Efficiency—-A work schedule, use of appliances, inter-

est in up—to-date methods, orderliness.

Security—-Home ownership, insurance, savings.

At the outset, this list of values appeared to be
quite comprehensive, but during the course of the study
values were revealed which did not seem to fall logically
under any of these headings. Items which proved particularly
puzzling were love of nature, orderliness, conspicuous con-
sumption, and miserliness. In view of the difficulty of

classification one might question whether the findings

106

represent a true picture of the values of these women.

Chart III shows indications of these ten values in the three
generations of the six families studied. In some cases the
value may have been present, but if no clue indicated its
presence, it was not checked. The presence of a value is
shown by +3 indications of its absence by -. Since a value
may be present in varying degrees, ++ indicates that it
seemed particularly strong. Absence of any sign indicates
that there was no observable evidence either for or against
presence of that value.

Ambition, love, and security appeared to be values of
seventeen of the eighteen women. Sixteen valued play, as
evidenced by their recognition of the need for recreation
and creative expression. Fifteen valued health and art;
fourteen, efficiency; and thirteen, religion. Knowledge
was valued by seven, and to four of these it was a very
strong value.

Chart IV shows five goals--home ownership, family,
home atmosphere, education, and community service as they
were indicated by each family interviewed. Values contri-

buting to these goals might have been as follows:

 

Goal Value
Home ownership . . . . . security, ambition
Raising a family. . . . . family affection, love
Home atmosphere . . . . . comfort, health, religion,
art, play
Education . . . . . . . knowledge, efficiency
Service. . . . . . . . love (in the broader sense),

religion

107

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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108

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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m + + + + m.
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m + + + + m
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m + + + + m
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COHmeome mEom oEom
ooCCE

 

mMHHHSdm MmmmB wm QMB<OHQZH mHCOw
>H Bm<mo

109

Home atmosphere refers to both the physical attrac-
tiveness of the home and to the mental and spiritual climate.
As in Chart III, if there was no definite indication that
the goal was there, it was not checked, although it might
have been a family goal less obvious than the ones indicated.
Some of the grandmothers, although they might have been in
sympathy with the education and community service, had lived
during the early years of their marriage under conditions
which made it quite difficult, if not impossible, for them
to further their education or participate in community
affairs. Habits established in the past may have hindered
them from renewing these_interests when conditions changed
to make participation possible.

Chart IV shows that all eighteen families shared the
goals of home ownership and raising a family. Fifteen set
a high standard for the atmosphere of their homes. Seven
stressed formal education and keeping up-to-date on home-
making information. Ten participated in community affairs.

Charts III and IV show carryovers in these families
of the ten selected values and five family goals. These
have been summarized in Table 8, which expresses the carry-
overs in terms of percentages.

Comparing the three generations as to values, there
appeared to be a slight increase in the value of health,
education, of recreation, and of art from first to third

generations. There was no observable pattern of change in

110

TABLE 7

PERCENTAGE CARRYOVER 0F TEN SELECTED VALUES
AND FIVE INDICATED GOALS IN THESE FAMILIES

 

 

Families A B C D E F Average
Values 80 5O 70 3O 7O 5O 57.3
Goals 100 60 4O 4O 6O 40 56.6

 

goals from generation to generation. The second generation
showed greater participation in community service-—possibly
because these women had more time than their daughters and
more energythan their mothers. The second generation also
placed greater stress upon the atmosphere of the home. No

explanation for this has been suggested.

Management of Resources

 

The resources considered were time, energy, money, and

 

skills. Infithis.study—it—was assumed that managemEHt’had
taken place when one or more of the steps of management was
apparent, or when the respondent said she had performed one
of the steps of management; planning, controlling the plan
in action, or evaluating results.

Indications of management of time were weekly or daily
worksrhedules, dovetailing tasks, or making lists of things
to be done. Management of energy was indicated by such
practices as alternating heavy tasks with lighter ones,

taking rest periods, remodeling for greater convenience, or

111

using labor-saving appliances. A budget or spending plan
indicated conscious management of money. Work schedules,
lists, and budgets could be on one of three levels: written,
verbal,1 or mental. Each level could vary in amount of
detail. Use of family skills to achieve family goals indi-
cated management in this area. The women frequently spoke

of using their skills to save money. For instance, canning
garden produce saved on grocery expenditures, sewing provided
garments at less cost, doing their own painting was cheaper
than hiring a painter. Use of skills required a greater
outlay of time and energy, so these resources were inter—
dependent and plans for the conservation of one often in-
volved plans for expenditure of another.

Chart V shows indications of management of the resources
of time, energy, money, and skills by the three generations
of the six families.

All of these women consciously managed money by means
of a more or less detailed spending plan. They made most of
the family purchases, which was, in effect, controlling the
plan in action. They also did a certain amount of evaluating
as regards their purchases. They were less aware of manage-
ment of time, energy, and skills. Those who held jobs out-
side the home or had small children seemed most likely to

budget their time, probably because they felt the limitations

 

lA verbal plan implies that the woman talked it over
with other family members.

 

ComeoCo

 

 

 

 

112

 

 

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115

of it most keenly. There was a tendency for women with
abundant energy to use it freely, while those in poorer
health were inclined to think about conserving energy.
The limitation of a resource requires more conscious manage-
ment. Skills were managed for two purposes, to stretch
another resource (usually money), or for the satisfaction
derived from creative expression. It seemed significant
that the two women who said they were always tired were
the only two of the group who showed no enthusiasm for any
phase of homemaking, and both these women said they did
household tasks whenever the notion struck them without
any plan.

Chart V also shows that Some skiIB were common to
all three generations of families A, B, D, and E. This
seemed to indicate that daughters tend to acquire the skills
of their mothers.

Table 8 shows how many generations of the three in
each family showed evidences of management of the resources

of time, energy, money, and skills.

TABLE 8

NUMBER or GENERATIONS IN EACH FAMILY MANAGING
TIME, ENERGY, MONEY, AND SKILLS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a? { '—‘ —’ :===:
Resources Families Total
A B C D E F
Time 2 l 2 3 3 2 l3
Ene ray 3 3 2 2 1 2 1
Money 3 3 3 3 3 3 1
Skills 3 3 2 3 3 3 1?

 

116

No family showed complete continuity; families A and D came
very close. All eighteen women consciously managed money.
Seventeen of the eighteen used their skills to move toward
family goals. There was continuity in management of skills
throughout three generations in five of the six families.
Table 9 shows how many women of the six in each
generation showed indications of management in the areas

of these resources.

TABLE 9

COMPARISON OF GENERATIONS IN MANAGEMENT OF THE
RESOURCES OF TIME, ENERGY, MONEY, AND SKILLS

 

 

 

Resources _
Generations
Time Energy Money Skills
1 LL 3 6 6
2 4 6 6 6
3 5 4 6 5

 

There was no marked generational trend from past to
present. One more in the third generation planned for use
-of time and one less in the third generation planned for
use of skills. More women of the second generation planned
use of energy.

As a particular phase of money management, each woman
was asked if the children were given an allowance to spend
as they chose. In comparing families it was found that

none of these families followed the same plan through the

117

three generations. In comparing generations, it seemed
significant that none of the first generation gave the
children allowances, four of the second gave allowances,
and five of the third generation planned to do so. One
member of the third generation was not sure yet what they
would do about it.

No conclusive evidence of continuity of the practices
of management of the specific resources of time, energy,
money, and skills was found. There was no evident pattern
of change with the passing of time over the three gener-
ations. There were, however, definite indications of an
increasing tendency to give allowances to the children.
This change in patterns of the families interviewed was
from none in the first generation to five out of six in

the third generation.

Summary of Findings

 

All of the eighteen women did conscious planning for
use of resources. They were familiar with planning for
material resources, especially money, but less aware of
plans for use of time, energy, and skills. Two—thirds
showed evidence of controlling their plans in action in
their patterns of home management, and eleven of the eighteen
showed evidence of evaluating. They were less aware of the
controlling and evaluating steps of the management process

than of planning.

118

None of the six families showed complete continuity
of home management patterns throughout the three generations.
In comparing the three generations, there was a slight
increase from the first to the third in the total number
of women giving indications of controlling and evaluating
(eleven in the first generation, fourteen in the second and
third). This might be attributable to inability of the
older women to recall how they managed their households
in the past.

None of the six families showed complete continuity
in the decision-making process. Fourteen of the eighteen
women sought several alternatives, fifteen expressed satis-
faction, and twelve were common to both lists. The ten
who said they thought through several alternatives were
all satisfied with their decisions. This may be an indi-
cation that those who consider several alternatives and
think them through tend to make more satisfactory decisions
than those who omit these steps. Only one family approached
continuity in the number of persons who made the family
decisions.

Generationwise, there was a slight increase from
first to third generations in the total number of women who
showed evidence of the varioussmeps of decision-making
(nine, fifteen, fifteen), which might possibly have been
due either to lapse in memory of the first generation or

to better understanding of the process by the younger women.

119

There was a trend in these families toward including more
persons in the family decisions. This could have been due
to a change in the general social pattern.

There was a definite indication of carryover of the
ten selected values in the three generations of these six
families. Five of the six evidenced continuity in half or
more of the ten values. All six families, likewise, passed
on goals from one generation to the next. This was not
surprising since goals stem from values.

All of these women consciouSly managed the resource
of money; all but one of the eighteen made use of their
skills in moving toward the achievement of family goals.
They did less planning of time and energy and were less
aware of the need to plan in these areas. None of the six
families showed complete continuity in patterns of manage-
ment of resources throughout the three generations. Skills
appeared to go from generation to generation in four of
the six families, either by teaching or by imitation.

In one particular phase of money management, that of
giving an allowance to the children, there appeared to be
a trend to do so increasingly, from none in the first

generation to four in the second, and five in the third.

CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The hypothesis that certain values tend to be passed
on from one generation of a family to the next was supported
by the study. Five of the six families showed evidence that
half or more of the ten values studied had been carried
over through the three generations.

The hypothesis that home management practices of a
given generation tend to be shaped by the patterns of their
own generation rather than by practices of the preceding
generation was supported by evidence that home management
practices were not passed on in these families. Two prac-
tices in home management, giving an allowance to children
and including children in family decision-making appeared
to be somewhat dependent upon the patterns prevalent at a
given time. There was some evidence that skills may have
been passed on.

In view of the difficulty encountered in categorizing
values, further study in this area is recommended. The
investigator needs to probe deeply and intensively to
become aware of the presence of values because people seem
to have difficulty stating what they esteem, consider
desirable, and find useful.

120

121

From this study it seems possible that certain values
may be acquired from the parents early in life. Further
research might be able to establish this as a probability,
and shed light on the manner in which these values are
transmitted. Is it by example, by admonition, or other
means? Do values tend to undergo a change as a child grows
older? What factors in the environment are most influential
in the acquisition and/0r modification of values?

Home ownership was important to all these families.
The question may be raised as to whether home ownership
tends to be a primary goal for families living in a certain
geographic area. Is it general for the United States? Or
is it related to the economic status of the family rather
than to the geographic location?

If, as this study seems to indicate, home management
practices are not learned at home, how and where are they
picked up? Not all girls study home management in school,
yet most women do eventually manage a home. Do they learn
by trial and error, from mass media, from other homemakers,
or some other source? Frank says that fostering human
relations in the family is a problem of home management.1
The present wide—spread concern about Juvenile delinquency
and mental health calls attention to the home as a place in

which family members should be able to find a climate

 

lFrank, op. cit., p. 5.

122

conducive to personal fulfillment. If research can estab-
lish the source or sources of home management patterns a
channel will have been provided for bringing to the home-
maker helps for strengthening the influence of the family
for good.

Management in the financial area was common to all
three generations of these six families. This study did
not investigate the mechanics of budgeting and bookkeeping
employed. A study of methods used might show a continuity
of pattern.

In the third generation of these families the children
were as yet too young to help in family decisions. Five
of the six families, however, said they planned to include
them when they were older. A later study of these same
families when the children are older could ascertain if
the parents followed through with their plans, and whether
they found satisfaction in decisions made by the entire
family group.

To summarize--evidence was found in support of both
hypotheses stated in the introduction, namely:

1. Certain family values tend to be passed on from

one generation to the next in a family.

2. Home management practices of a given generation

are shaped by the patterns of their own generation
rather than by the practices of the preceding

generation.

123

From the findings of this study further research in

these fields is suggested:

Values.--Very little is known about values. Infor—
mation is needed as to (a) how they are acquired; (b) how
they are transmitted from one person to another; (0) whether
values undergo changes during the life cycle of the individ-
ual; and (d) if changes take place, what factors are influ-

ential in bringing about these changes.

§g§l§.-—This study raised the question of the rela-
tionship of the goal of home ownership to geographic loca-
tion. It is possible that economic status has a relationship
to this goal. Further study could shed light on these

points.

Home management practices.-—Research is needed to dis-

 

cover from what sources homemakers derive their patterns of
home management. This study seems to indicate that girls

do not learn from their mothers. Since all girls do not
study home economics in school, they must acquire their
patterns from some other source. If, then, helpful infor-
mation on home management is to be disseminated, it is
necessary to know through what channels to provide it. This
implies a study of the influence of mass media upon home

management patterns.

124

Continuity in the methods of budgeting and bookkeeping
within the family.--This study seemed to indicate a contin—
uity of money management in these six families. No attempt
was made to compare methods of budgeting and bookkeeping
from one generation to the next. It would be helpful to
know whether these were carried over, whether attitudes
toward money were passed on, or whether bookkeeping was done
in all these families merely because income tax reports make

it necessary.

Decision-making.--Further study is needed to ascertain
possible relationship between the number of persons making
family decisions and the satisfaction derived from these
decisions. There are indications in this study that degree
of utilization of the steps of decision-making influences
the degree of satisfaction derived. This hypothesis might

be tested in a later study.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bartley, S. Howard and Chute, Eloise. Fatigue and Impair-
ment in Man. New York: McGraw—Hill Book Co., 1947.

 

 

Bratton, A. and Bratton, Esther C. '"Decision-Making In Home
Management," Proceedings of Home Management Conference.
East Lansing: Michigan State University, Department
of Home Management and Child Development, July, 1955.

 

Feldman, Frances Lomas. The Family in a Money World. New
York: Family Service Association of America, 1957.

 

Fisher, Sarah Carolyn. Relationships in Attitudes, Opinions,
and Values Among Family Members. (“University of
California Publications in Culture and Society,"

Vol. II, No. 2) Berkeley and Los Angeles: University
of California Press, 1948, 29-100.

 

Frank, Lawrence K. '"The Philosophy of Home Management,"
Report of the Seventh International Manggement
Congress, VII (September, 1938), 5-6.

 

Goode, William J. and Hatt, Paul K. Methods in Social
Research. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1952.

Gross, Irma H. "Home Management in Family Living,"
Marriage and Family Living, XIII, No. 3 (1951), 104,

 

. "Home Management of Working and Non—Working Home-
makers with Young Children," Michigan Agricultural
Experiment Station Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 37, No. 3

(February, 1955), 324-334.

Gross, Irma H., Aiken, A., Tordt, T., Zwemer, E., and
Baten, W. A Study of Three Methods of Research in
Home Management. East Lansing: Michigan State College
Technical Bulletin 171, February, 1940.

 

 

 

Gross, Irma H., and Crandall, Elixabeth W. Management for
Modern Families. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts,
Inc., 1944.

 

 

Herbert, E. S. ‘"She Doesn‘t Keep House the Way I Did,"
McCall's, Vol. 80 (June, 1953), 40-43.

 

125

126

Hirschberg, Grace and Gilliland, A. R. '"Parent-Child
Relationships in Attitudes," Journal of Abnormal and
Social Psychology, vol. 37 (1942), 125-130.

Jahoda, Marie, Deutsch, Morton, and Cook, Stewart W.
Research in Social Methods. New York: Dryden Press,

1951.

Lane, Howard and Beauchamp, Mary. Human Relations in
Teaching. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1955.

Liston, Margaret. "Interrelationship of Values and Decision-
Making in Home Management," Proceedings of Conference
on Values and Decision-Making in Home Management.

East Lansing: Michigan State University, Department
of Home Management and Child Development, July, 1955.

McKee, William. '"Values in Home Management," Proceedings
of Conference on Values and Decision-Making, in Home
Management. East Lansing: Michigan State University,
Department of Home Management and Child Development,

JU1y,l955-

Mead, Margaret. Coming of Age in Samoa. New York: The New
World Library of World Literature, 1928.

 

Moore, Denise Francq. ‘"Roles and Attitudes Toward their
Roles of Selected Upper-Middle Class Family Members,
Particularly the Junior and Senior High School Student,
in Family Financial Management." Unpublished Master's
thesis, Department of Home Management and Child
Development, Michigan State University, 1953.

Mussen, Paul Henry and Conger, John Janeway. Child Develop-
ment and Personality. New York: Harper Brothers,

1956.

Myers, Gary Cleveland. The Learner and His Attitudes. New
York: Benjamin H. Sanborn Co., 1927.

Parker, DeWitt H. Human Values. Published by George Wahr,
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1944, by permission of Harper
Brothers, New York, 1931.

 

Pike, James A. "Some Hints on Making Decisions," Detroit
Free Press, March 28, 1958.

 

Riesman, David, Glazer, Nathan, and Denney, Reuel. The
Lohely Crowd. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and

Company, 1955.

 

127

Steckle, Jean Margaret. "Five Techniques Tested to Study
Family Decisions in Household Processes;" Unpublished
Master's thesis, Department of Home Economics, Cornell

University, 1956.

Thorpe, Alice C. and Gross, Irma H. "Managerial Practices
in the Homes of Married Students at Michigan State
College," Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station
Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 32, No. 3 (February, 1950),
288—306.

Van Bortel, Dorothy Greeyand Gross, Irma H. '"A Comparison
of Home Management in Two Socio-Economic Groups,"
Michigan Agricultural Experimental Station Bulletin,

April, 1954, 240.

Warren, Jean. ‘"Use of Time in its Relation to Home Manage-
ment," Cornell Universitkaulletin, No.734 (1940).

Wittler, Waneta A. ‘"Development of a Method of Identifying
Home Management Problems of Farm Families;" Unpub-
lished Master's thesis, Department of Home Management,
Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, 1952.

APPENDIX A

OUTLINE FOR FIRST INTERVIEW

Time:

Do you have a time plan orwork schedule? Daily? Weekly?
Complete or partial? Written? Lists of tasks to
be done?

Do you make it alone? Consider plans of other family members?

Do you dovetail tasks?

Do you find time for hobbies? Social events? Community
activities?

Do you often feel hurried?

How often do you market? Do laundry? Clean?

Do you plan meals before marketing? Shop with a list?

Energy:

Do you often feel tired? Do you get enough hours of sleep?

Do you take rest periods? Alternate heavy Jobs with light?

Do other family members help?.

Do you use labor-saving equipment? Have you remodeled for
more convenience or better storage? Do you have
adequate storage?

Money:

Do you use a financial plan? Complete or partial? Written?

Do you have plans for the future? Retirement? Insurance?

Who makes the financial plan? Do children receive an
allowance?

Do you plan for future education of children? Do children
help make the financial plan?

Do you keep records? Complete or partial?

Do you watch for sales? Buy in large quantity?

Skills:

Do you bake? Sew? Preserve food? Make a garden? Redecorate?
Do family members help with maintenance and upkeep of home?
Do you work outside the home? Entertain much?

Decisions:

Who makes family decisions? Children included?

Do you investigate alternative choices? Many or few?
Do you evaluate decisions with a view to improvement?
How do you select an item of household equipment?

 

128

129

Values and Goals:
Do you plan to educate your children?

Do you own your home? Have savings? Take vacations?
What kind?

What type entertainment do you enjoy? Attend church?

 

General Information:
Family composition, education of homemaker, age?
Type housing? How long at this residence?

APPENDIX B

OUTLINE FOR SECOND INTERVIEW

Occupation of husband?

Description of woman--home, et cetera
Education of both husband and wife?

Living quarters throughout marriage.

Conscious carryovers from preceding generation?
Conscious changes from preceding generation?
What does your daughter do like you?

What does she do differently?

130

 

 

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