Home Ec


Marion Ricker, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1917

Marion Ricker, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1917
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The Household Arts courses first appeared at Farmington State Normal School in fall 1911 and the classes were part of the normal school curriculum.

However, increased demand in public schools for teachers trained exclusively in the domestic arts led to F.S.N.S establishing a program specifically for training such teachers.

Marion C. Ricker was hired as the first director of the Household Arts Department at F.S.N.S. She was also State Director of Home Economics at the time and often traveled statewide to advocate for home economics courses in the public school.

Her dual position meant she was well aware of the skills necessary for normal students to meet growing interest in Home Ec in the public schools.

Home economics cottage, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1940

Home economics cottage, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1940
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The original location for the Household Arts Department was the Norton house. It was purchased, renovated and christened "The Annex" by the students.

It was cold, drafty and a bit cramped until some renovations provided bigger space for sewing classes.The kitchen was crowded, but the cooking classes were popular, so students took it in stride.

By 1915, there were 30 girls in the program and admission was refused to others due to space limitations. The program had outgrown its Annex and the school purchased the Leavitt house, which became known as "The Cottage," and served as a base for the program beginning in January 1916.

Home Economics food laboratory, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1916

Home Economics food laboratory, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1916
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Two upstairs chambers of the Cottage were used as sewing rooms and the barn, which became the new "Annex," remodeled into two labs: one for cooking and one that could be used for cooking or sewing.

It was a vast improvement from their old quarters.

Food demonstration, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1916

Food demonstration, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1916
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The two-year course consisted of two fundamentals, cooking and sewing and allied branches.

The first year included classes in elementary cooking, with emphasis on marketing, household accounts, and household management and housewifery, as well as basics of table service.

The second year included courses in elementary sewing, garment making, and dressmaking.

Domestic Science class, Farmington, ca. 1917

Domestic Science class, Farmington, ca. 1917
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The third year consisted of advanced work, including advanced cookery and sewing, food production and manufacture, dietetics, laundry work, millinery, theory and practice of domestic science, practice teaching and academic work.

The goal of the third year was to prepare students to be supervisors and special teachers of household arts in public schools.

Here a Normal student is giving a recitation as teacher Emma Polackawich and classmates look on.

Powder House Hill graduation picnic, Farmington State Normal School 1914

Powder House Hill graduation picnic, Farmington State Normal School 1914
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Initially, entering classes in the Household Arts program were limited to 20 students so that the supply of teachers met demands in the State for Domestic Arts educators.

The first class to graduate from the Household Arts as third-year students was in 1914.

Home Economics picnic, Farmington State Normal School, 1914

Home Economics picnic, Farmington State Normal School, 1914
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The third-year students took a week-long trip to Boston in the spring where they visited schools, a chocolate factory, a tea and coffee mill, a bakery, a laundry, the Walker-Gordon laboratory, which made baby formula and milk for invalids, a nutrition laboratory, and the American Sugar Refinery.

When they returned to campus, they celebrated their graduation with a picnic at Powder House Hill in Farmington on June 6, 1914.

Home Economics students, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1916

Home Economics students, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1916
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In 1915, the cookery curriculum was revised and the focus shifted from food principals to meal preparation, including instruction in table service and menu making.

According to the 1916 F.S.N.S. Catalog, students were also required to dress in white for cookery lessons. A plain tailored skirt, plain tailored shirtwaists with three-quarter sleeves and soft or stiff turn over collars were their uniform. Two plain gored aprons with bib and pockets and two plain white linen towels were also required.

Home Ec Cookbook, Farmington State Normal School, 1922

Home Ec Cookbook, Farmington State Normal School, 1922
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This cookbook of favorite recipes was compiled by Junior and Senior Home Ec students in 1922. It contains many cakes, puddings, and ice creams, but other dishes and seasonal menus as well.

A recipe called "English Monkey" is a cheese sauce to be served with crackers.

One of the students who worked on the cookbook, Thelma "Jerry" Lawrence, went on to become an instructor at the Amoskeag Mill Cooking School after graduation; perhaps she taught some of these F.S.N.S. recipes to her students there.

Helen Lockwood, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1936

Helen Lockwood, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1936
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The next major changes occurred in 1924. There were new faculty, including Helen Lockwood as director.

Home Economics was also expanded from a two year to a four year degree program to comply with new federal standards under the Smith-Hughes Act. The Act required students be provided with vocational or practical experience in homemaking.

Miss Lockwood was instrumental in getting the program redesigned to a four year degree under the new requirements.

Home Economics class, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1924

Home Economics class, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1924
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By 1925, the advanced Home Economics program began offering new courses in psychology, economics, sociology and institutional management. The total number of credits for the degree was 124 and no provisions were made for electives.

Also, practical experience was a growing part of the curriculum with students being required to spend one month during the summer between their sophomore and junior years managing a home and cooking for a family group. Students also received practical training during their Senior year stay in the "practice house" or Cottage at F.S.N.S.

Home Economics Class, Farmington State Normal School, 1927

Home Economics Class, Farmington State Normal School, 1927
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In 1927, the State of Maine granted the Normal School authority to grant a Bachelor’s Degree to graduates of the four year courses, including Home Ec.

Because the new standards for Home Economics education required students have hands on experience working with children, two major changes took place in the curriculum: a nursery school project and the arrival of the "cottage babies."

The incoming students in 1927 would be some of the first to earn the four-year degree, participate in the nursery school project, and care for a Cottage baby.

Playschool, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1940

Playschool, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1940
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The nursery, or playschool as it was originally known, was started in 1927. Twice a week in the mornings for 6 weeks, the Home Ec students had the opportunity to observe and work with children 2 – 5 years old.

By 1930, the Cottage was used exclusively for house practice and the nursery school was moved to the Junior/Senior residence, Card Hall, which had a living room with piano and Victrola and toy cupboards in the dining room.

The Department purchased outdoor equipment, including a swing, teeter totter, slide and double trapeze.

By 1936, the nursery school had moved to the Annex.

Home Ec students with Cottage baby, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1939

Home Ec students with Cottage baby, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1939
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In 1918, educators in Home Ec teacher training programs were developing curriculum intended to combine the "science" of the home with practical experience, including child care.

The use of a real baby as a part of the curriculum immersed students in homemaking in a way not achieved by standard course work.

The idea was, in order to truly understand the science of home economics and be prepared to teach others, students needed the real life experience of managing a household and caring for a child.

The first "practice baby" arrived at F.S.N.S. in 1927. He lived in the Cottage and was cared for by students under the supervision of the practice house director.

Home Ec Formal Dinner, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1942

Home Ec Formal Dinner, Farmington State Normal School, ca. 1942
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Practical experience was not limited to the classroom, practice house and Home Ec labs. In addition to formal dinners and teas at the Cottage, students put many of their classroom skills to good use elsewhere on campus.

They assisted with punch preparations for the B Hop and other dances, helped with morning food preparation in the South Hall kitchen and dining room, and prepared Wednesday night dinners for the students housed in the Willows dormitory.

In 1925, students started a Health Club to provide school lunch for underprivileged Model School students. The hot food was prepared at the Cottage and then served at the Model School.

Home Economics initiation, Farmington, ca. 1950

Home Economics initiation, Farmington, ca. 1950
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The Home Economics Club was founded on March 10, 1916. The club provided opportunities for students and teachers to socialize and raised funds for furnishing the Cottage, adding to the Cottage library, and equipping the labs.

With the inception of the Home Economics Club in 1916, students in the program began to seek ways to reach out to the community. Two long-standing traditions were the club's annual Thanksgiving baskets for area families in need and a Christmas party for local children.

Home Ec students knitting, Farmington State Normal School, 1940

Home Ec students knitting, Farmington State Normal School, 1940
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During the 1940s, Home Ec students' community service efforts focused on the wider world. Students knitted socks, scarves, helmets and sweaters for the British war relief program and made pajamas and nightgowns for children using material contributed by Miss Lockwood.

Red Cross relief efforts also included collecting old clothes and rejuvenating them.

They also sold China Relief Christmas cards, collected knitting needles to be made into darts for USO games, and salvaged silk and nylon stockings.

Many students took work home over the summer to complete and contribute the following school year.

Home Economics students, Farmington State Teachers College, ca. 1947

Home Economics students, Farmington State Teachers College, ca. 1947
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Home Ec courses also underwent change to meet new needs during wartime. Greater emphasis was placed on nutrition programs, conservation in the home and community, care of preschool children, family physical and mental health, and effective home management.

The students also canned food and made jellies in their cooking classes as part of the food conservation program, which helped stretch the Cottage food budget and were used for catering and other Home Ec Department food needs.

Farmington State Teachers College Food Lab, ca. 1955

Farmington State Teachers College Food Lab, ca. 1955
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On February 26, 1945, the Cottage caught fire. The fire was believed to have started on the porch and spread to the laboratories. The clothing lab was damaged the most. The kitchen, laundry and dining rooms were burned and blistered.

The school's food lab remained intact and was considered to be state of art by the 1950s.

Mabel Hastie, Farmington State Teachers College, ca. 1954

Mabel Hastie, Farmington State Teachers College, ca. 1954
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In 1948, Miss Lockwood retired as director of Home Economics and Mabel Hastie became the new director.

Miss Benjamin, Farmington State Teachers College, 1952

Miss Benjamin, Farmington State Teachers College, 1952
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In 1949, Miss Evelyn Benjamin took charge of the Cottage and cared for the baby while the students doing their Cottage rotation were in classes.

The senior students spent nine weeks living in the cottage. Cottage duties included cook, assistant cook, upstairs housekeeper, downstairs housekeeper, laundress, and nurse of the baby.

Each duty lasted 10-11 days. The cook's budget was 70 cents per day per person and they were often able to stay on budget with the generous donations of fresh vegetables from Mr. Whittier of Tarbox and Whittier Drug Store.

Home Economics students grilling, University of Maine at Farmington, ca. 1971

Home Economics students grilling, University of Maine at Farmington, ca. 1971
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The 50th graduating class of the Home Ec program graduated in June 1964.

In the spring of 1991, the program was suspended as a part of budget cuts.

In 1995, the Home Economics program was eliminated at the University of Maine at Farmington.

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