The Perfect Hostess

The Ladies and Their Bees

As soon as a bee was announced, the females of the house; often with the help of a few close freinds and relatives, began making preparations; because no matter what the occasion, they looked after the repast and entertainment. For days, they cooked, cleaned, mussed and fussed, and made sure that the invitation list included all those they hoped would attend, and excluded those they wished to stay away.

Once the Bill of Fare was decided on, tasks were divided and everyone went to work.  They almost needed a "bee" to put on a "bee".   Suzannah Moodie mentions in her Roughing it in the Bush, published in Toronto in 1871; how she catered for her own logging bee: "Our men worked well until dinner-time, when, after washing in the lake, they all sat down to the rude board which I had prepared for them, loaded with the best fare that could be procured in the bush. Pea-soup, legs of pork, venison, eel, and raspberry pie, garnished vvith plenty of potatoes, and whiskey to wash them down, besides a large iron kettle of tea".

Besides meal planning and preparation, there were also the social events that went along with any good bee; especially a dance.  Without the availability of recorded music, you had to round up fiddle players, bagpipers and anyone who could play a tune that you could step to.  This also included "callers", to orchestrate the movements in the rounds and reels.  There were also special events that went along with particular bees:

Adventures in Canada John C. Geikie - Philadelphia Apple Paring Bee

"The young folks of both sexes are invited for a given evening in the autumn, and come duly provided with apple-parers, ,which are ingenious contrivances, by which an apple, stuck on two prongs at one end, is pared by a few turns of the handle at the other. It is astonishing to see how quickly it is done. Nor is the paring all. The little machine makes a final thrust through the heart of the apple, and takes out the core, so as to leave nothing to do but to cut what remains in pieces. The object of all this paring is to get apples enough dried for tarts during the winter, the pieces when cut being threaded in long strings, and hung up till they shrivel and get a leather-like look. When wanted for use, a little boiling makes them swell to their original size again, and brings back their softness. You may imagine how plentiful the fruit must be to make such a liberal use of it possible, as that which you see all through Canada. You can hardly go into any house in the bush, however poor, without having a large bowl of 'apple sass' set before you -that is, of apple boiled in maple sugar". Of course it wasn't just 'paring' that took place at these events, but also 'pairing'.  He continues: "The young folks make a grand night of it when the bee comes off. The laughing and the frolic is unbounded; some are busy with their sweethearts; some, of a grosser mind, are no less busy with the apples, devouring a large proportion of what they pare; and the whole proceedings, in many cases, wind up with a dance on the barn-ftoor".

The Husking Bee was similar and took place when the corn was harvested.  The young people gathered in the early evening, boys and girls sitting together and stripping the husk off the ears of corn. Husks were usually kept in front of the workers for later use in mattresses, while the corn cobs were thrown in piles in the centre. Boys finding a coloured kernel were able to kiss the girl of their choice, and it was not uncommon for girls to throw a mis-coloured cob to their sweethearts.

The Stich and (Complain) Club - The Quilting Bee

Frolics and Frenzies - The Spinning Bee

The Perfect Host - The Men and Their Bees

Email Me

Ladies of the Backwoods

Uniquely Canadian Site Map

Victorian Canada Home Page