Participation in The Community
Life of a Pioneer Child/ July 18th, 2021
Today we will be looking at a number of different ways that children would participate in life outside the house within the larger community. As children got older, their responsibilities increased, but so did opportunities to get out and try new things!
Working Outside The Home
Many children, especially young men, would get jobs outside of their chores at home. In the 1880s and 90s there were not laws against child labour the way that there is now. This meant that it was not uncommon for children, some much younger than you would expect, to be sent to work in mines and factories. In the Madoc area many children would likely have worked in the mines which were abundant during this period.
While gathering firewood was a chore, often one older boy would be hired on to provide firewood at the school. This job would require lots of hard work and would allow the boy to earn around $5 for the whole year. This may not seem like a lot, but any money for spending was appreciated and $5 would get you much more then than it does now.
Apprenticeships
Skilled trades have always been in high demand, especially when it was much harder and more expensive to order things in. As a result apprenticeships were very common for young boys. Once they became old enough boys would often apprentice in their father’s trade, but if they lived on a farm and the farm was prosperous enough, boys would often find an apprenticeship in town, where they could learn a trade outside of farming.
Trades came in many forms, from blacksmithing and carpentry to coopers and tailors.
Fun Activities
It wasn’t all work for young pioneer children, in fact there were many opportunities for them to get involved and have fun in the community!
Downtown Madoc, a popular spot for children to begin to explore as they got older
It was very common for children to spend a lot of their time participating in plays and volunteer work through their church; a topic we will look at more later in the summer. They would of course spend time playing with their friends in town and at each others homes just as we do now.
One especially fun activity would be to go to the local fair! The Madoc Fair, from 1928-64, was a great spot for children to take in some fun, as there was specific programming for the children to enjoy. There would have been opportunities like this prior to the 20th century as well!