Haying Attire

My grandfather Owen, top right

Owen and one of his beloved dogs

I have spent some time this winter sorting through photos and documents from my father’s side of the family. My mom passed them on to me a few years back (thanks, mom!) and I am trying to organize them into chronological order. Much of the work is done, our history has been well documented. Occasionally, however, I come across an old photo with no name on it and this always makes me sad. It is often one that stands out from all the others, so there is nothing to compare it to. Who is that young lady? Who does she belong to?

While rummaging through the boxes I came across a program held at the University Of Rhode Island. My grandfather, Owen, attended the university for agricultural sciences back in the 1900’s (he came from a long line of farmers). As you can see, it was the first annual banquet of the Alpha Tau Alpha fraternity in 1917, which my grandfather apparently belonged to. I’ve posted a picture of the leaflet describing the ‘after the meal’ lectures. I was quite fascinated by the address given by John H. Fernandez on “should corsets be worn in the hayfield”. How does he know, is he wearing one? I researched a little and found that it was possible…Corsets for men were typically made from a lightweight cotton. The corsets laced up the back and often had buckled straps at the side to prevent the abdomen bulging. You can’t be efficient in the hay field if your abdomen is bulging all over the place, no sir, let’s hold that tummy in place! Corsets for men? This I never knew, but I did get to thinking about how convenient it would be if men (and women) were wearing their corsets in the hayfield, how handy if the old baler broke a shear pin and the answer to fixing it was tucked into your girdle. Making do with what you have, you might say….how old-timey and innovative is that?