In “The Proof Is in the Dough,” Kathryn L. Beasley examines how rural women in Alabama and Florida used the Cooperative Extension Service’s home demonstration programming between 1914 and 1929 to improve their lives.
This book highlights how women in rural America involved with home demonstration used their skills to earn extra income, an area of rural women’s history that has not been closely examined. Beasley traces how this extra income allowed these women to shape their own producing and consuming habits.
Most home demonstration programming during the Progressive Era and 1920s emphasized ways to save money. However, rural women in Alabama and Florida used different methods to earn more money and gain some economic independence. They exercised their own determination and resourcefulness to create ways to economically sustain themselves by using food, tangible items, handicrafts, small business and more to their advantage.
While there were similarities in how these rural women earned income, their geographic locations led to differences in agricultural methods. Florida offered a wider variety of growing and environmental seasons and a larger diversity of crops. With a comparative approach, Beasley identifies the unique and innovative ways that rural Southern women utilized their skills to improve their lives and the lives of their families. She also reveals how disposable income helped establish ideas of empowerment and financial independence.
