Club Minutes: The Home Interest Society, 1931

5. Now the great world war, screaming shells, thundering tanks, submarine bombs, poison gas. Then the (?) and Peace! Now, I can sleep, at last I can sleep. But out of the dim moonlight reached a bony arm. Its claw like talons clutched my throat. A high voice croaked "History is bunk, bunk, bunk, bunk bunk! Came the down and the (nearing?) searchlight flooding my room. Gone were the horrors of that endless night. The grisly ghost of Norris Fussell's nurse and the fearsome spectre from Detroit were but misty memories. Courage returned and comfortably seated at breakfast with a cup of fragrant coffee before me I assumed the air of a (ferverolent?) autocrat and remarked to my long suffering wife, "My dear, Henry Ford was dead wrong. History is not bunk. History is the story of life from the beginning of time. Its laws are (inexcusable?). It makes immortal those whose deeds good or bad, make an imprint upon the sands of time. It is the recorded

6. story of the progress of humanity from savagery to Civilization. It is our one unfailing guide for the present and the future. No, my dear, Henry was wrong. We must read more history. "Very well," replied the mistress of Glenlander with a slight bored expression, I will bring down half a dozen volumes from the attic this very day." "But tell me, what about Norris Fussell's recent attack on Forethought? Was he wrong also?" "The trouble with Norris" I answered in my most convincing manner, "is that he was practicing poetry without a permit." When he referred to Forethought as bunk he was indulging in poetic license, and the license system whether applied to poets or saloon keepers is a (rank?) failure. It leads to excesses and ultimately to an utter disregard for law and order. I am for prohibition and I wouldn't limit it to booze. My dear, remarked the good wife

7 with unmistakeable signs of irritation in her voice, "You are just as wrong as Ford or Fussell. You May pass a law prohibiting poetry, you may even write it into the Constitution but it can never be enforced. Not with Spring less than two months away. I am surprised at you. What the Home Interest Club needs is a rigid permit system for amateur poets and a competent committee of censors." And as usual she had the last word.

2 Duane Stabler has bag of silk pieces for Quilt - 3 Chas. Hartshorne was brought up to keep manure dry, and sprinkle with land plaster to prevent loss of ammonia. Was advised to spread on garden or other ground as made 4 Mrs. Weld - asks the price of chicken manure! Get price from Agl. Deptmt. 5 Lucy Moore ask about use of bricketts as fuel? J. Janney? says can be had from $8.00 per ton. 6 Mortimer Stabler wants to know what the grey beans found on his lawn are? C. Hartshorn says the news paper said they were brought by birds - was asked to bring sample to next meeting. Margaret Bancroft praised? the Sunday night Bible classes and advised attendance. Forethought-committee appointed were Milton Bancroft + Elizabeth Farquhar. It was suggested that owing to the extreme illness of Anna Farquhar, the entertainment be omitted. Then ajourned to meet at Erseldoon the 4th Tuesday in February.

H.H.Stabler, Sec'y.

Feb - 31 Erseldoon - 646 Meeting of the Home Interest Feb 24th 1931. Wm John Thomas in the chair. This home not - only gives a warm welcome to its quests but always provides something special in the way of entertainment, a fire or a flood or something of the sort. This meeting it was the breach of promise (suit?) of one Andrew Brown. The wit, the wisdom and the gallantry of Sandy Spring sat in (?) attention. Children! "Aren't we all?" The meeting was called to order by Wm. John Thomas. The minutes of the last meeting at this place were read followed by the minutes of the last meeting which were approved. The Secreterial mantle descended upon Retreat. It is a (?) off garment which doesn't fit the (?). By (?) of Margaret Fussell the next three meeting places were arranged as follows. March - Norwood; April - Kennet - collages; May - Leacroft; Mrs. Weld for the fragrance comm. reported that the program for the next meeting would be a reading of old letters of the (?) family by Margaret Bancroft. Milton Bancroft gave a report of the library comm., which is herewith appended. The comm. was asked to bring the subject up at the Feb. meeting in 1932. Elizabeth Farquhar read an interesting and varied collection of items for the Forethought Comm. but Milton Bancroft the other member forgot. However the Sec. of the Sandy Spring fire Ins. Co. read some lines on the uselessness of providing for the future. In this your Sec. voted the foolishness of paying insurance on a house which doesn't burn down. Alan Farquahar called attention to the first woman in the Mont. Co. delegation and she Sec. was instructed to send through her a letter to the delegation affirming our interest in and approval of the (bill?) in reference to regulating the use of bill (boards?) Milton Bancroft read the report of the Community Council and it was decided to collect 25 cents from each family in Home Interest to pay $3.00 our dues to the Council and ($1.20?) additional for the Council to use in helping pay its dues to the Civic Fed. of the co. which