In the village, nearly every aspect of workers’ lives revolved around the mill, because their homes, churches, schools, and stores all belonged to or were tied to the mill owners. These places gave workers needed social and spiritual outlets, but they also extended the mill’s influence beyond the factory, as owners and managers used churches to encourage values they believed benefited the mill, including good work ethics and avoidance of alcohol. Some workers sought other places of worship to escape these pressures. Education was often treated as less important than work, since school attendance was not mandatory and parents or owners could require children to work instead, while some children themselves preferred mill jobs to higher education. Owners understood that limiting children’s education made them more likely to remain mill workers. Company stores first offered groceries and other necessary goods without requiring travel to nearby towns, but they also kept workers’ money returning to the mill and could leave workers too indebted to seek employment elsewhere. By 1920, many companies had stopped operating these stores because growing financial security made such restrictions less necessary, and many owners concluded that keeping workers in debt created more alienation than loyalty.