The Elbert County tribune., 1905-07-06
The Star of
Olive Green

"Olive Green come pretty near los
ing its star" said McPeak. who could
tell good story. as well as lead
singing school.
Didn't know 1t he'd one emmy
more'n any other place." said Tobias
Strong. thought stars and other sky
thiags was free to everybody"
You're ignorant. Tobias" COM
planned McPeak, ''nobody's talking
about the things in the sky human
star is what l mean"
Never heerd o. one," said Tobias.
Then you've never heard Tom
Saunders play on the fiddle" said Nc
Peak. Toms star. Not one of the
little twinkling things that you haint
sure is there even when you're looking
at 1t. but a star of the first magnitude.
Tom Saunders Is the beatingest play
er on the fiddle in all Southern Ohio,
and his youngest daughter. Bethier.
takes after him. When she was a
baby she'd set on his lap and hold onto
tho fddle-bow and smile like a
cheerub. When her aunt Lorena came
to visit them from Boston, she's
Toms sister that married Lawyer
Cowles, she made Tom promise to
send Bethier to her as soon as she
was old enough to leave home SO she
could give her a musical education.
Ton reckoned he could teach her all
the tunes he knew, but Lorena said
BAIL send her to me, Tom,' Lorena
never did hev much of an ear for
Toms music
When Bethier was ten years old
her Aunt Lorena come and got her.
Bethfer staid in Boston eight or ten
years, coming home in harvest time
every summer SO as to help her step
mother out. Times like that were
pretty hard on the boys. Hot weather
is poor time to put on high collars
and stiff bosoms when you haint used
to them. But boys1l endure a whole
lot when there's pretty girl around
Some OF 'em even wore their coats to
supper when Bethier was by because
they'd heard she said that was the
way they done in Boston.
well, after Bethier he'd graduated
from the Boston music school she be-
gan to play in the theayters, and her
Aunt Lorena said she he'd come out q
star So the last time she come
home she fetched her fiddle with her
and a young Boston fellow who he'd
his hair parted in the middle from the
peak Of his forehead to. the back of
his neck come along. She he'd never
fetched her fiddle before for it cost
big sum of money and she was
afraid of breaking it."
"As soon as she got home Bethier
said she was going to give concert,
ten cents admission, the proceeds to
be used for painting the meeting
house. The meeting house needed 1t
bad enough, and on the night of the
concert the school house was crowded
jam full. Everybody and his great
aunt was there. And everybody come
with good intention, too. They bor-
rowed Marier MUSES. melodeon for
the Boston fellow to play second on.
"Bethier he'd fetched from Boston a
lot Of printed bills with the names of
the pieces she was going to play and
who wrote them. She said 1t was all
classical music. The first one was
wrote by Beethoven, and the audi
ence was beat before she was through
with It, At first l thought there
wasn't any tune to 1t at all, but after
shed been playing it for five or six
minutes found there was little
dinky tune that she played over and
over in fifteen or twenty different
ways. She'd lose track of 1t awhile
and then catch onto it again and go
lickety split as though she was glad
she he'd found it. The Boston fellow
done his best to keep up with her on
the melodeon.
1.-The people begun to get uneasy
and wish she'd get down to business
and play something, when all OF a sud.
den she stopped.
"'Ye haint through be We, Be-
thier?" said her paw.
"'Yes. paw said Bethier, that was
the first number
well, you could hev knocked Tom
Saunders down with feather. He'd
fetched his old fiddle along and hid 1t
in one of the desks thinking maybe
he'd play a second for Bethier on
some Of the pieces He was disap-
pointed and knew the rest of us ware
too.
Before Bethier started out on the
second piece she said she'd hey to
play that one alone, as Mr.. Marvel,
that's the Boston fellow. couldn't
reach it on the melodeon. knew