Farmerettes Real Thing - Go to Work at 5:30 in Morning and Earn 85 Cents Per Day

Marietta Daily Times, August 13, 1918

"Farmerettes are a reality and not an experiment," H. G. Chamberlain of Muskingum Road told Mrs. George H. Matson Tuesday morning as she and her two daughters left for their home at Columbus. Mrs. Matson is the chaperone of the Dorothy Dawes farmerettes unit of Columbus, which has been working this summer on various farms up the Muskingum.

Here is Mrs. Matson's story:  "My two daughters, Ethel and Louise, were not even allowed to touch the lawn mower to cut the grass on our small lawn in Columbus, but when the farmerette question was raised, since it was a patriotic move, all were in favor of it.

"Miss Dawes and her family are friends of ours and we came to Marietta and to the truck farms. There were about 12 of the girls all together. They began working on June 24."

Mrs. Matson went on to explain that the girls each received 85 cents per day which went toward paying railroad fares. An additional small amount was received for lunches and board.

"The girls were in the field at 5:30 in the morning" said Mrs. Matson, "and quit work at 2:30 in the afternoon. Twenty minutes was allowed for lunch. At 8:30 all lights were ordered out and suitors were required to leave for their houses."

"I picked 4,000 pounds of tomatoes each day I worked in the patch," said Miss Louise Matson, pretty and sun-burned. "And one day," she added, "I helped pitch straw."

"And we worked in the morning dew until our overalls were soaked with water and people said we would have colds," said Miss Ethel. "But we just kept on," she continued, "and paid no attention, but just worked."

The girls who have been working at the truck farms are nearly all students of the Ohio State University. Some were from the Smith College, Lake Erie College, Bangs Whiton School, and National Park Seminary.

There are still two girls employed on the farms, one from this city and one from Indiana. The latter is working until she has gotten together enough money to return to her home. She is also a student of the Ohio State University.