The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-26
CLEVER YANKEE GIRLS.
Old Fruit Baskets the Means of Get
ting an Education.


Boston. Aug. A-By collecting and sell
ing secondhand fruit baskets two bright
young girls near Boston are earning
money to complete their professional edu-
cation.
II suppose we inherited the belief that
it is a sin to allow anything useful TO
go 70 waste, from our Puritan ancestors"
said one of them when chatting about
their work and ambition. You know,
we are twins, and 1t is seldom that one
has thought without imparting it to the
other almost Immediately. Well, this
throwing away the nice, clean little bas-
kets in which berries and fruits are sold
has worried us ever since we were chill
dren. 1 really could not say who began
the worry, but I know that we both did
it, and whenever we saw a good one
thrown away we would pick it up and
keep 1t among our treasures. That was
when we lived in Boston.
Later, when my fathers health failed
and we moved into the country, 1 forgot
all about the waste of fruit baskets. Then
we began 10 raise berries, in a small way,
for market, and the question of baskets
came UP. When we needed them we
had 40 pay money down, and yet no one
considered them worth saving. My sister
and / took turns about driving our wag
on of fruits into the city and delivering
them to the grocers who were our regu-
lar customers. Our profits were very
small, and money at home was far from
abundant, so we had every reason to
think of saving pennies. One day we
decided TO ask the grocers to keep for
us all the fruit crates and baskets which
we knew it was their custom to throw
away. Every one agreed to do 1t, and
most of them kept their promises.
Finally, one of them said that II We
would go to the hotels and large apart
ment houses We would get more fruit b3s-
kets and crates in one day than he could
give US in a month. You can see at once
the wisdom of that suggestion. and so did
we. We plucked up our courage, and en-
terng large hotel. made our wishes
known. After being handed back and
fer from one Official to another We fin
ally got the right man. and he acceded to
our request, but stipulated that If he cav
ed any he would save all, and that we
must move them before stated hour each
morning We SON found we had under
taken no small job-I had never thought
1t possible that any one place could con-
sumo so many fruits and vegetables. My
sister has a lot of pluck. and though we
hauled away that first morning more
crates and baskets than we used in a sea-
son she was determined to stick to her
side of the contract.
"She said we must clean and sell them
to other fruit growers We began by
throwing away all that were too badly
stained or soiled to look tidy. Then she
discovered A mixture which will remove
he stains by simply dipping the baskets
in It, so now We U.s. all that are unbrok-
en- We have number of marke,men and
fr11it u Nyn al
though We sell fer less than the new
basketes can be had, we make a nice little
pr fit.
MY sister is ambitious to become vio-
Iinist while l wish to be a teacher In the
public schools at first. and later on in
some one of the great girl colleges. We
have paid our expenses at school for two
years by our little enterprise and we have
good reason to hope that it will take us
all the way along our professional educa-
ton. We are, now sixteen and we ex-
pect to be able to begin in our respective
professors a year or two later. My
younger sister, who now acts as our as
s.stant, will carry on the business for
few years longer and perhaps when she
gives it up some girl or woman who has
to make her way in the world will buy
the good viii OF our established firm. 1t
will be esta ol:shed by that time, you know
LOT II Will nave DeeH III eNlSlenCe q gOOd
while.
THE one great danger is, of course. in
the erocerymen doing as the breweries do
asking the return of their baskets. Of
course. such a course on their part would
render ii mere difficult. but l fancy there
would still lie some baskets as there are
bottles to spare. There was time when
bottles were not considered worth saving.
so my mother tells us, but that time is
past ard gene. So 1t will be with fruit
and vegetables baskets and crates in few
years. Now. there is money to be made
as We have made It in all the large cities.
of this country and do not see why other
girls and women cannot do as we are
doing. 1t is a little niche, 1t is true. but It
IS quite big enough TO put your foot in to
step TO other things. We cleared 500
last season. That is $25 a month for each
of us during the whole year That was
sufficient to pay the bills OF our teachers
and leave few dollars for other ex-
penses."