Georges Township High School - Georgian Yearbook (Uniontown, PA)

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crude methods of cooking. At first cereals were eaten raw and whole, then they were ground into meals and eaten raw or dried in the sun. Gradually they learned to roast the cereal or bake it in pits with heated stones or make it into mush or griddle cakes. VVhen a pot was used hot stones were put into the pots. Like the cereals the meats were at first eaten raw then it was thrown directly on the fire. Later some one discovered the use of a stick to hold the meat over the flame. From this idea the spit was developed. Some tribes buried the meat in embers or daubed it in mud and then buried it in the embers. The -first cooking utensils were made of the skins of mammals. These were followed by the pot or soapstone or other pottery which was set di- rectly on the fire. The food supply of the uncivilized man of today is very different from the food supply in the civilized countries of the world. There are some tribes found in Central Africa and the island of the sea that have not passed the stage of barbarism. Their food consists of corn, rice, barley, acorns, cereals, nuts, dates, Hgs, olives, grapes, cherries and seeds of plants. Food also plays a part in the literature of the past. We find refer- ences to it in poems, plays, religious and legal restrictions. There are many poems on old Roman feasts. Thus if we traced the history of clothing we find that in the same manner as food it plays an important part in the progress of man and can not be separated from his development. However it took a long time until these subject of cooking and sewing were added to the curriculum of our high schools. Now people realize their value in the preparation of the boy as well as the girl for life. ln this day and age every one should have some knowledge of the kind of food that their body needs. Many times both boys and girls are called upon to select their food, maybe only for a meal, but they should have some idea of what a well balanced meal consists. At some future time every boy as well as every girl hopes to have a home and family of their own. VVill they makea more or less efficient husband or wife for having some knowledge of how to clothe themselves, take care of the sick, the feeding of children and a few principles of cook- ing? For some time the sole idea of teaching cooking and sewing in the schools was to prepare the girls for future home makers. This is still one of the important points but we also realize that every girl and boy whether or not they expect to have a home of their own should know something about things which they will constantly need to keep on living. An education is knowledge which prepares us for life and makes us good citizens. Therefore we should know something of these essen- tial food and clothing. . E. La Rue Unger. '69'

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Home Economics Every year Home Economics is becoming a more important subject in the curriculum of high schools, common schools, night schools, continuation schools, vocational colleges and universities. At tirst this course merely meant cooking and sewing but 'gradually it has come to mean much more than that. Now this course includes not only cooking and sewing but courses in Household Management, Dict- ics and Nutrition, Household Decoration, Chemistry of Foods, Hygiene, Physiology, Costume and Design, Textiles and History of Cooking. At present there are scarcely any up to the minute high schools that do not include at least cooking and sewing in their course of study. For a long time people questioned the advisability of teaching cooking and sewing to our girls and boys in the high school. If we but look back over history we Gnd that the question of food and clothing is inextricably bound with progress and civilization. Each step or im- provement in the food and clothing of a people denoted a step in their civilization. So if these things are so intertwined with the making of progress they surely ought to be taught in our schools. Let us go back for a bit and look how our subjects of Home Econ- omics are shown to be 'connected with the progress of man. First we had pre-historic man, the earliest knowledge we have of man, he had no knowledge of tools or fire. Then! comes the Mliarlv Stone Age, man had some little knowledge of fire, his food consisted of vegetables and meal. eaten raw. During the Hllate Stone Age, man had tire pretty well under control and cooked his food. During this age he also did spinning, weaving, tilling of the soil, making of pottery and raising of stock. This then brings us to the lowest stage of civilization called Sav- agcryf' By this time man had invented some simple weapons such as the bow and arrow and was better able to control the food supply. He also had learned the necessity of the storing of food for future use. As man then enters the stage of Barbarism, he is making use of metal to the extent of having a rude iron plow drawn by animals. This furthered the production of crops and also necessitated the taming and breeding of animals. It isn't until civilization has been reached that we really come to 68 r ! !

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