The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-03-04
GREELEY'S INITIALS.
Carved in the Door Of an Humble
Village School-House.
Where tho Great Editor Learned Readin'.
writin' and Observation-Disclosures Gus
toms Prevailing In the Rural Dis
trIcts Of Quiet Vermont.

In the Champlain valley near the
Vermont shore of the lake lies the quiet
hamlet of West Haven. This little VIII
lage, writes New York Tribune corre-
spondent, is made up Of few farm
houses. an abandoned power mill in
hollow by the roadside, an inn, known
as Woods Tavern, and the village
school-house, standing at the junction
OF two crossroads. Like many other
villages and farms in New England,
West Haven has its feature Of interest,
which is the little old school-house at
tended by Horace Greeley when he was
o boy. When the fall and winter term
opens some twenty-five or thirty pupils
are registered on the school-master's
roll-book. sa. ,.
The school-house is one-roomed,
one-storied frame building that has
watched over the Gestinies OF several
generations Here the grandparents OF
the village children Of to-day learned
''readir', writin and cipherin'," and on
the old nail-studded door the aspiring
youth of past generations have carved
their names in rude letters, and their
posterity is fast filling up the remain
ing spaces.
Every thing smacked OF age when the
school-hoUso was seen by the writer
the well-whittled desks and benches
that stretched half way across the room,
leaving only narrow aisle that led to
the back row OF seats. The walls
blotched here and there with glaring new
clapboards and an old jute bag that took
the place Of one OF the window-panes On
several places were stuck the ragged
remnants OF notices Of town meetings
or "lost or stolen" placards. In the GEN.
ter OF the room was an old box stove,
full Of cracks and contrariness, and In
one corner near the masters desk was
pile of hard maple logs, sawed three
feet long, for the stove.
Among the many names and initials
cut into the school-house door was one
that arrests attention at once and in
stantly makes the old door the most in
teresting feature OF the room, the
magic charm OF which is felt wherever
merit is known and recognized. 1t was
tho name Of hero who won the love
and admiration Of his countrymen by
virtue Of his sterling integrity, the hon.
St simplicity OF his nature and the
broad reach Of his commanding genius.
1t was the name OF Horace Greeley.
. ka
Haven there were people living in the
district who had been his school-mates
and who delighted in showing to every
newcomer the desk in one corner OF the
room where he sat when boy at school,
and also the road he travelled when he
left his home to learn the printers
trade at the neighboring village OF
Poultney.
Modern progress seems TO have neg
lected West Haven. The inhabitants
still retain all the primitive customs
and traditions OF their ancestry. Some
Of their methods are exceedingly in
genious, especially in their social gath
erings.
Every other Friday evening an old
man from neighboring village COZ
Quoted singing-school in the school
house. SinRing-school night was looked
forward TO as the main opportunity
that presented Itself TO break the dull
monotony OF lonely Vermont winter.
Here the old folk gathered to exchange
the gossip Of the settlement, and here
tho love matches OF the year were
started or completed. Here q girl Of
the village was privileged to show her
preference for her chosen swain for the
first time in public, and here the writer
saw practiced an ingenious method Of
getting out OF possibly embarrassing
situation.
1t is the scheme employed by BASH
ful youth 10 avoid the modification OF q
refusal when he offers himself TO a girl
as her escort homel
He waits until the time comes for the
usual ten minutes intermission; then,
sauntering up TO the girl and
taking huge pound sweet ap-
pie out Of his pocket, offers
IL to her. II she takes 1t he is ac-
cepted; II nothe is refused. Butif he has
come too late, by reason OF some other
fellow getting ahead Of him, she shows
him the apple or tho core accepted from
the first conner and he then understands
tho situation perfectly Thus commu-
nication has been carried on without
word having been spoken by either one
on the subject. Meanwhile they have
been chatting about something utterly
foreign to the matter uppermost In
their minds. '. "..f g.
All this can be done so slyly that no
one is the wiser and the sting OF o posi-
tive refusal is prevented. @
Everybody brings their own candle or
lamp, and a turnip or potato serves as
candlestick by simply cutting hole in
which TO place the candle.
1904 - "r ~
A Family with On Appetite.
A. AI.fan Inoao, aa,,a aAaN lou,., l.