The Rural Voice, 1980-07, Page 10Those gfrls
on the farm
Beth Charles and Arlene Chapman
BY GISELE IRELAND
More and more young women are applying for positions on
the farm for various reasons. Some like it and some don't. Two
such young ladies are Beth Charles and Arlene Chapman.
Neither had any previous experience on the land. Beth has her
B.Sc. in Human Kinetics at the University of Guelph and has
been working the past year for the University of Guelph and the
Guelph Oaks Sports Club as an Athletic Therapist. She plans to
enter the University of Toronto in the fall and get her teaching
degree as the field of Athletic Therapy for women has limited
chances for advancement. She decided to try agriculture for the
summer, and ended up on a hog farm.
Country life surprised her. Instead of finding dull boring
routines, she found challenge in the never ending stream of
different jobs required as the season progresses. She found that
farmers work hard and when the opportunity presents itself, play
just as hard.
The only routine she found is in the chores that had to be done
twice a day. The routine in the barn came easily to her, in fact, a
lot easier than getting accustomed to the castrating, teeth
clipping and tail docking. She now does the job herself after her
initial squeamishness has been conquered.
Beth finds personal satisfaction in dealing with animals and
working the land. She claims that you notice things around you a
lot more sitting on a tractor than at any other time. At university
PG. 8 THE RURAL VOICE/JULY 1980
Two
university graduates
*46 try farming
for the summer
you learn academics and on the farm you learn about living.
Beth was surprised at the investment involved in farming and
the catchy returns that the farmer has to contend with. She
doesn't rule out the possibility of ever marrying a farmer, but
feels that personal sacrifice would be necessary for a woman to
try a career of her own and farm at the same time. A woman on
the farm has to be capable of so many things other than
household duties and she doesn't think that a teaching career
would fit easily into such a schedule.
Arlene, on the other hand, is working on a dairy farm. She
found working with animals fascinating. Arlene has a B.Sc.
degree from the University of Guelph and is entering McMaster
University in the fall in Medical School.
Arlene found that she was left to work by herself for hours at a
time. She was used to lots of people around her at the university
and now finds mosquitoes her companions when working on
fences.
She found the physical exercise invigorating and surprised
herself by the increase in her appetite. Arlene found it pleasant
that farm families are able to accept another member so readily
into their midst. The personal interest in her comfort and well
being was certainly different than the detached interest that
most employers afford their employees.
Arlene enjoys her work, but ruled out the possibility of ever