Home Economics Classes at the Follett House

Several pictures taken at the Follett House when Sandusky High School held Home Economics classes there are now in the historical photograph collection of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  Home Economics classes were held at the Follett House from the late 1930s through the mid 1950s. Courses included sewing, cooking, child care, and general household management.

 An article in the Sandusky Star Journal of February 20, 1941 stated that the students would be learning how to do laundry, house cleaning, and serve meals in an environment that closely resembled an actual home setting. This was easy to achieve at the Follett House, since it had actually been a family home for many years.

Besides learning during classroom time, the students also participated in fun activities like style shows, teas, and taffy pulls. During World War II, a class was held for male students. The Sandusky Register Star News of  December 4, 1942 reported that the young men would report to the basement of the Follett House, where they were instructed in how to launder the towels, napkins and tablecloths that were used in the Home Economics cooking classes. This class was intended to help the young men help at home with their own family’s chores, since so many mothers of school aged students had gone to work in defense plants. Another wartime activity of the Home Economics students was the sewing of clothing for the Red Cross. Each garment that was to be sent overseas had a tag that read “American Junior Red Cross Erie County.”

Did you have family who attended classes at the Follett House?