n she felt when, at the age of thirteen, she shocked an
entire field of wheat.[61] By doing these chores and errands, farm
children were not merely assisting in the farm operation. In the
emulation of their parents' activity, they benefitted from a kind of
on-the-job training which both sharpened their skills for a later farm
career and furthered their identity with the family group and farm life
in general.

The farm child's close connection to his parents' life and the necessity
for performing a variety of chores also acted in some measure as a force
for social control: the child who worked with his parents was expected
to act in a manner acceptable to them. Furthermore, the close-knit
nature of the community reinforced the parents' values when their
offspring were away from home. "A farmer was always busy, and his kids
didn't run the streets," noted Joseph Beard.[62] Another native of
northern Virginia explained the prevalent philosophy in more detail:

Papa was a firm believer that work was a therapy that kept young
people out of mischief. It was unthought of for youngsters to get
into serious trouble in those days other than smoking corn silk or
grapevine, and that was a punishment in itself. All were assigned
specific chores and the youngest started out picking up chips and
other small pieces of wood from the 'woodpile' for kindling to
start the fire in the kitchen range at daylight in the morning....
As we grew a little older bringing in the firewood was added to the
list of chores and when you grew big enough to chop and split
cordwood, usually around the age of 10-12 years, one found the
chores around the home were endless.[63]

[Illustration: Rebecca Rice, daughter of C. T. Rice, canning fruit in
her home near Oakton, Virginia. Note the ice box and wood burning stove,
standard features of the early 20th century kitchen. Photo in H. B. Derr
Reports, Virginiana Collection, Fairfax County Public Library.]

[Illustration: Elizabeth Harrison in her room on a farm near Herndon,
Virginia. She refurbished the room herself as part of a 4-H project.
Photo in H. B. Derr Reports, Virginiana Collection, Fairfax County
Public Library.]

The round of chores might seem endless, but farm kids had their fun,
too. Joseph Beard and Richard Peck both recall swimming in Horse Pen Run
and Peck also reminisced about fishing in the local streams.[64]
Margaret Lee was some