Very appealing...

...so my colleague found this book that his Uncle had from when he was in grade school. It was his text book and the name is: "Nova Scotia at Work" - by H.P. Jenkins, published in 1931.

According to this book, less than 3% of the women in Nova Scotia worked outside of the home. This book goes on to describe the job of the 97% plus women in that time did so to entice more to join that line of work....take one guess what that employment was...Homemaker!

Here's exactly what the book says regarding this occupation.

" The homemaker requires a wide variety of arts, skills and knowledge. She should, first of all, be a good psychologist, in order to understand and sympathize with the members of the family group. She must be a dietitian and skillful cook in order to select and prepare the proper foods to keep her family healthy. She should first be a good nurse, for she is often called upon to render first aid to members of her family or to care for them during periods of illness. In order to keep her family well and attractively dressed, she should be a dressmaker as well as a skillful seamstress. This also requires considerable artistic talent. To keep her household clean and sanitary, she has to act laundress and sanitary engineer. To keep the home attractive and comfortable she must be an interior decorator. In order to properly train and look after her children, she must be a child welfare specialist and teacher. In order to operate and adjust the various household appliances and labour-saving devices, she should be somewhat of a mechanic and electrician. She is also usually the chief gardener of the family.
In order to look after the finances of the household, the homemaker should be a good business manager. Practically every homemaker is the purchasing agent for the household.
The sociable side of homemaking is also very important. She should be a good hostess and entertainer. And much of the happiness of the whole family depends upon her being a good companion.
In all of these branches of her profession, the homemaker must make plans and organize her own work and the work of her helpers. That is, she must be a good executive.
In addition to the branches of homemaking already mentioned, many homemakers add to the comfort and beauty of the home by practicing various household arts and crafts, such as knitting, weaving, embroidery, mat hooking, etc. Pickling, preserving and canning of the fruits and vegetables are other household arts of great value. " - "Nova Scotia at Work" by H. P. Jenkins, pages 21-23.

Sounds appealing, eh? No wonder there was a shift after that where more women worked outside of the home....it would be a heck of lot easier than staying home with that job description!! Women have said for years that staying home is the hardest job and now here it is in print....apparently people knew that back in 1931 too.

"It's been a hard days night and I've been working like a dog..." - The Beatles