I really wanted to take Shop class.
Working with power tools. Smelling the aroma of freshly-sawn wood as you constructed your first-ever end table.
Making pottery and jewelry.
A handi-girl's dream.
But in 1970 (yes that's really when I started high school) at Erle Rivers High in Milk River, Alberta girls weren't allowed to take Shop class.
I know. Because I asked.
Moving on . . .
I, and the rest of the girls, took Home Economics. Home Ec., for short.
Or Home Wreck, as it was not-so-affectionately titled.
So we were 'Home-Wreckers'.
The place where we 'learned' to sew.
Cook.
Clean.
And generally find our way around running a home.
Once I got past not being able to take Shop, I really had fun.
I sewed a potholder. An apron.
And a little purple linen dress with the sleeves in backwards.
Sigh.
I baked cookies. Made Chicken-a-la-King served in little toast cups.
And Gourmet Hot Dogs.
I learned the proper way to scour pots (and the sink).
Scrub a floor.
And generally make my house squeaky clean.
Sew straight. Cook carefully. And scrub hard.
I did pass. With unremarkable marks.
And, surprisingly, I actually used some of the things I learned.
And still do today.
There is a codicil:
Now my brother . . .
Yes, they allowed boys to take Home Ec.
For one glorious week sometime during the year.
And yes, I know it wasn't fair . . .
My brother remembers Home Wreck differently. (See here!)
He remembers cooking.
Something he excels at today.
And hunting for mice with frying pans and spatulas.
Boys make everything more fun.
Boy, do I remember this! I love to cook, but what I learned to make in home wreck was THE WORST. It was a waste of time. Which begs the question of why my MIL, who finally got a college degree at age 55 in 1986 chose to MAJOR IN HOME EC! OMG. Who does that?
ReplyDeleteInterested in those gourmet hot dogs! Actually don't mind cleaning and sewing. I also started high school in 1970. One more thing we have in common!
ReplyDeleteHome wreck. Haven't heard that one I graduated from a specialized New York City high school in 1970, and my high school was one of the few that had (mandatory for both boys and girls0 classes in mechanical drawing, woodworking and metal working (long story) and - I hated most of it especially the mechanical drawing - even today I have issues with math and spacial type stuff. But I so enjoyed the chemistry of food and cooking - an actual chemistry course.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that blogger will publish this comment - on my fourth attempt over several hours.
ReplyDeleteSnap. Home Economics was the only option open to the girls, though the boys could pick and choose. I queried it and was shot down. Firmly.
I never understood why the girls HAD to take Home Ec, as if the school thought they wouldn't learn these things from their mothers? Anyway, my cooking was always a disaster, because we were 16 girls in a room with only four ovens so who ever got there first got their cooking done while the rest of us waited our turns, so of course premixed cakes went flat and stayed flat, and our apricot chicken had to be removed from the ovens too early (half raw) because the lesson time was up.
ReplyDeleteHehe. You bring back memories. I began school a couple of years before you did. I too had Home Ec - although it was split in two - cooking/housekeeping which was for everybody, boys and girls - and sewing which was girls only - no boys allowed in.
ReplyDeleteThe sewing teacher and I were not friends, to put it mildly. It ended up with me actually having Shop - woodworking and later metalworking - with the boys! Yay. Our teacher there was mean, real mean. When you had sanded down something, he took your fingers and ran them over the edges. Hard for the boys, soft for me. Leftover burrs or raw edges made blood flow. I learned a lot anyway, and still use it. I have taught myself knitting and sewing when needs arose as an adult ;)
I had almost forgotten. Thanks for the prodding - might be material for Susan's stories later on.
Well, i guess i was lucky, i went to an all girls school that was for college prep, we didn't have home ec.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the odd one out, here - I loved Home Ec and would never have taken Industrial Arts even if we had been allowed. But then all I ever wanted to do was to grow up and have my own house and family. It wasn't that my family of origin wasn't good enough, I just had a strong drive to create my own.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get those sleeves put back in the right way around?