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SISTERS IN TOIL: THE PROGRESSIVE DEY ALUATION AND DEFEMINIZATION OF ONTARIO DAIRYWOMEN'S WORK AND TOOLS, 1813-1914 by © Meredith Leigh Quaile A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History, Faculty of Arts Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador June 2010 St. John's Newfoundland & Labrador Abstract In nineteenth and early-twentieth century Ontario, dairywomen toiled daily with cows and manure, sour milk and greasy butter, yet without improved apparatus, agricultural education, or male support. On the provincial family farm, milking, cream separating, and butter-making chores included various time-consuming steps, physical labour, and an array of task-specific objects. This thesis analyses agriculture, and dairying in specific, as it began the transition from traditional to industri al, and consequently from female to male. This dissertation touches on particular topics relevant to farmwomen's labour, including: agricultural education and improvement through science; public debate and perception surrounding gendered work; the government's role in promoting industrialization and thus defeminization; the concept of the dairyqueen in technological advertising; and, in particular, real farmwomen. These dairying 'sisters' include the well known , like Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Trail! , Laura Rose, and El iza Jones, and the unknown, such as Mary Newsam and the Hallen sisters, wh il e focusing on Lamira Billings and her daughters Sabra and Sally. This qualitative study reveals that by empl oying common dairy tools as a dominant, primary source, there are alternative perspectives from whi ch to consider rural women's ex peri ences. Analysis of material cu lture objects, li ke milking stools and pails, butter bowls and scotch hands, shallow separating pans and tin creamer cans, also all ows for exploration of the tensions between projected male ideals and tangible female work a question central to understanding gender and labour within a social hi tory context. In ii .------------------ -------------- addition to technologies, sources like The Fanner's Advocate, the photographs of Reuben Sallows, and early dairy advertisements, add to our understanding of the concerns surrounding dairywomen's labour during the period discussed. Historians have suggested that dairy work was removed from the female sphere before the turn of the twentieth century in Ontario. Male agriculture authorities, scientific experts, and government officials, indeed initiated a conscious devaluation of farm women's work, oriented toward the defeminization of dairying. Rather than being removed from dairy work, however, Ontario's farmwomen continued separating cream and making butter between L813 and L914, habitually and simply equipped with their two hands, their mother's knowledge, and their grandmother's tools. iii Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to my Grandparents- Eldon and Iva Quaile, and Nelson (and Lyla) Patterson. Devoted to dairy farming and family, their hard work gave me an interest in agriculture that has extended throughout my life. Thank you to everyone who made this study possible. Without the help of my supervisors, everyone at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, all the historic sites and museums, the University of Ottawa History department, my wonde1ful friends and family in Ontario and Newfoundland, and my incredible husband, Brad, nothing would have been researched, written, edited, or completed. I truly appreciate my graduate supervisors; Linda Kealey, who patiently co supervised from across an ocean; Andy den Otter, for his advice and editing expertise; and, Gerald Pocius, for his encouragement and support in publishing my first article. Each ensured that l remained realistic and focused on my dissertation. Their combined efforts made completion of the following chapters possible. Thank you to the supportive administrative staff at Memorial's History department: Fran Warren for all her attention, Beverly Evans-Hong, Betty Ann Lewis, and Renee Lopez. Also, thanks go to the staff at Memorial's library, where they always found me the right book, article, and office space. All the places I visited, where people ceaselessly opened files, libraries, warehouses, back barns, basements, and attics, for my interpretation and study - their guidance was invaluable. It was extraordinary to get behind-the-scenes tours at: Upper Canada Village, Milton Country Farm Park, Henry Stahl's barn, the Osgoode Township IV Historical Society Museum, The Billings Estate Museum, The Central Experimental Farm Agriculture Museum, and the Agricultural Collection at the National Museum of Science and Technology. Such access allowed me to study nineteenth- and earl y twentieth-century dairy objects in detail , which helped shape this argument and made all the research hours worthwhile. Thanks in particular to: Franz Klingender from the National Museum of Science and T echnology; Lynn Campbell and the McLaughlin Library staff from the University of Guelph; Henry Stahl and his amazing agri culture collection from Russell, Ontario; Brahm Lewandowski and Ashley Stevens from the Billings Estate Museum; Reg Cressman, at Milton Country Farm Park; and, Ron Isaac and his helpful staff at the Osgoode Township Historical Society. Over time, many friends and family - in both St. John's and Ottawa- have li stened to me present my findings and have read pages or chapters of my thesis. Family, particularly, helped me with on-going criticism and love, sometimes providi ng space where I could edit and write. In Newfoundland, my in-laws, John & Donna Gover, often let me stay with them, and on my own, at their home in Sandy Cove on the Atlantic Ocean - a dream come true. In Ontario, my Mother, Marion Quaile, has frequently taken me in for extended stays and supportive chats; my Father, Elwood Quaile, even opened his "museum" farmhouse so I could focus and work. As well, my sister, Jennifer Cahill , her husband Kerry, and their growing family, profoundly supported me with laughter and love. All these peopl e, pl aces, and spaces positively contributed to the overall experience of my doctoral degree. v My husband, Brad Gover, who lived with me throughout this process, was loving, constantly encouraging, and very much appreciated, especially in the face of my sometimes-flagging health and spirits. Due to his motivation and support we have a chance to work at the things we love while we build a future together- thank you. One chapter, " Dairy Pin-Up Girls: Milkmaids and Dairyqueens," was previously presented at the Canadian History Association Congress in 2005 and was published in the Material Culture Review, Fall 2007 issue. As well, my experiences at Park Hill will be published as: "Desperately Seeking Lamira: A Research Day at the Billings Estate Museum," Basements and Attics: Explorations in the Materiality and Ethics of Canadian Women's Archives Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2011. Financial assistance came from different sources, including: the School of Graduate Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Memorial's History department, the Labour/le Travail internship program, as well as generous help from my family, and in specific, my husband and parents. While my exposure to dairying began in the barn, [am glad it will finish in the classroom. After years of milking cows and a decade of research and study, I still conclude that dairy work is challenging, regardless of whether it is physical or academic. To everyone who has kept an open mind regarding my research and goals - Thank you for your resilience in the face of my persistence. VI Table of Contents Page Abstract................................. ....... ......... .. ............................. 11 Acknowledgements. ... .. .. ........... .. .. .... ... ............ .. ..... .. ...... ...... .... IV Table of Contents..................... ...... .. .. .. ... ........ .. ........... ..... ....... vu Acronyms... ............... ............... ... .... .. .. .. .......................... ...... v111 List of Figures............... ........ .................................................. 1x Chapter One - Introduction & Historiography .. ........... ..... .. ............... Chapter Two - Dairywomen: Their Own History.. ........... .. .... .. ........... 38 Chapter Three - Butter & Technology. .... .. .. ...... ... ........................... 72 Chapter Four - Scientific Dairying. ............................. .............. .... 126 Chapter Five - Butter-Making Debates........................................... 162 Chapter Six - Educating Dairywomen... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..... ... 195 Chapter Seven- Dairy Pin-Up Girls: Milkmaids & Dairyqueens.... .. ... 236 Chapter Eight - Conclusion........... ... ............ .................... ...... .... 267 Bibliography...... .. ............. ................ ... .......... ...................... .. 287 vii Acronyms SEC Billings Estate Collection COA City of Ottawa Archives FWIO Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario MCFP Milton Country Farm Park (Formerly- Ontario Agriculture Museum) NLC National Library of Canada (Library and Archives Canada) NMSTC National Museum of Science and Technology Canada OAC Ontario Agriculture College OTHS Osgoode Township Historical Society PAO Provincial Archives of Ontario UGL University of Guelph Library ucv Upper Canada Village VIII List of Figures Chapter & Figure