they were gone the Eldress moved one of their girls away "to keep
her out of the trouble she is likely to get in with the Freeman
family." When George and Adella came back in two days, "Almira
made them pack their things and sent off the whole of them."
One of their boys, Frederick, also left, a girl, Minnie Spencer,
was taken to Albany, and Frederick's mother, when she found he
had left, also took away his sister. As Rachel says "That is 12
that have left this week--8 Freemans and 4 others they coaxed
away."
As the number of brothers who could do the physical work required
by agriculture declined, it became evident that the sisters would
have to do more. Typically their work in the past had been heavy
but largely involved with the products of their farms when,
beginning in August, they dried and canned corn, canned tomatoes,
plums, peaches, dried apples and made apple butter right up thru
November. This went on day after day, along with washing and
ironing and entertaining visitors from other Societies. Their
output was in dozens of cans.
By 1882 they were still canning vegetables, recording canning 414
dozen cans of tomatoes on three days in September, and labeling
262 doz. cans of string beans on one day in October, But they
apparently felt they could do something with their idle hands
during the winter and on January 23, 1883, "W. W. Cole of 605
Broadway, Albany came... and brought one dozen shirts to show our
folks how to make trim. We expect to make shirts for his firm."
On January 26th the Eldress and two sisters were taken to Albany
with the shirts and brought out "two new Wheeler and Wilson ma-
chines" (sewing machines, I assume). On February 9th, 14 doz.
shirts and 10 doz. collars are taken to Albany, and 2 doz. shirts
and 10 doz. collars are brought back. From then on for several
years this was a regular winter business.
By the 1880s the strict rules were definitely being relaxed. On
30 May, 1884, the young sisters were taken to Albany to see the
soldiers parade and then Barnum's Circus parade. On January 20,
1891, Eldress Alvira and a sister were taken to Albany to buy a
Brussels carpet for the sisters' room in the Office. In the
spirit of modernization, in June 1892 they had masons build a
water reservoir near the barn which could be filled by a windmill
pump; then in August they laid pipe to bring water to the
kitchen.
By December they had plumbers put in pipes for hot and cold water
in the Cook Room, Bake Room and Dairy. Unfortunately it was a
very cold winter and the pipes froze on January 17, 1893 and were
not thawed out until February 13.
But, carrying on the modernization theme and in line with
equality of the sexes, it is recorded that on June 15, 1893,
Elder Isaac "brought home a new lawn mower for the sisters use."
Their celebration of Christmas shows the gradual relaxation of
strict rules and the influence of the world. In 1864, the entry
is "We keep Christmas today, had a very good free meeting,
considerable speaking among the brethren and sisters; the