Figure 1.--Here we see six chumps, perhaps preparing to play baseball during their summer vacation. Overalls were common in rural areas, Knickers were standard in cities. In small towns we believe a mix was fairly common. The boys wears overalls and knickers wih knee socks. They look to be about 10-12 years old. A younger boy, perhaps a little brother wears short pants and long stockings. The photograph was probanly taken about 1925.

And of course there were many environments in between rural and urban evironmenrs such as small towns which provided the best oppoertunity for sports. If course this mostly affectred older boys. Younger boys mostly stayed close to home and played a variety of games besides sports. In mny ways it was small towns that probvided the greatest range of play opportunities for boys. Open spaces and wildlife were nearby. And there were many other boys making sports a possibility. Many of these smll towns are in rural areas and are an important part of rural communities. The town boys meet rural boys, both that come into town or attend town schools. Some farms are located close to town. So are basically town boys. These small towns vary greatly. Some may be a few homes at a crossroad. Schools are often located here. Others may be substantial towns. Many of these towns were places farnm fanmkies can go ton buy suolies or sell their harvests, but others may have economies unrelated or only partly related to farming. The clothing worn by children in small towns were a mix of rural and city clothing, depending ion the sze iof he tiwn and thec reklatinship to surrounding rural areas.

Created: 9:33 PM 11/2/2022
Last updated: 9:33 PM 11/2/2022