[305] The women connected with two churches in a city in Indiana have maintained for some time such sales, and they have proved very remunerative. In one city in New Jersey $1,200 was raised in a few weeks to pay a church mortgage. In a Long Island village several hundred dollars was raised for a similar purpose by the women of the church, who took orders for cooking and sewing. In an Iowa city funds were obtained in this way for missionary purposes. In a village of five hundred inhabitants, in Central New York, the women of one of the churches have sold, every Saturday afternoon for eight years, ices and ice-creams, and have cleared annually about seventy-five dollars. In another town, several women of limited incomes began paying their contributions to the church by baking bread and cake for other families, and finding it remunerative continued the work as a means of support. In one Western city an annual sale is held at Thanksgiving time, and about one hundred dollars netted for home missionary purposes.
[306] The Woman’s Exchange, The Forum, May, 1892.
[307] Many illustrations of this can be given outside of those connected with the Exchange:
Mrs. A, in Central New York, has made a handsome living by making chicken salad to be sold in New York City.
Mrs. B, in a small Eastern village, has for several years baked bread, pies, and cake for her neighbors, and in this way has supported herself, three children, and a father. She has recently built a separate bakehouse, and bakes from thirty to one hundred loaves daily, according to the season, and other things in proportion. She says she always had a “knack” at baking, and that when she employs an assistant she has nearly every afternoon to herself.
Mrs. C, in a Western city, supports herself, three children, and an invalid husband, by making cake.
Mrs. D makes a good living by selling Saratoga potatoes to grocers.
Mrs. E has cleared $400 a year by making preserves and jellies on private orders.
Mrs. F partially supports herself and family by making food for the sick.
Mrs. G supports a family of five by making jams and pickles.