The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-01-10

9 ests.
,f| Summer School in Happy Valley.
$ (By Mrs. Sara T. S. Leighton, in
4 Bulletin.)
8 In the summer of 1905, in respon
@ Sc to an appeal from the President @
q the Tennessee Federation, the Massa
d chusetts State Federation started
settlement work in remote sectiol
: of the Tennessee mountains, calle,
/ Happy Valley. Our two worker
$ made their home in two chambers O
t a four-room dwelling, one of the few
! frame buildings in the valley. II
the two lower rooms lived the father
, mother and seven children, one Of
the best families in the valley.
| Our work here is directly with the
homes, the teaching of home-making
with all that implies, both by ex.
ample and tactful advice. The people
are simple, kind-hearted and honest,
and many of them anxious for their
own and children's improvement. Our
workers try to teach plain cooking,
the cutting of garments by patterns,
and by example better way of do
ing laundry work. The: example of
a bright, neat, cosy little home in
their midst means much to these
people, an object lesson which little
| by little they learn to follow
The two years work brought the
people to the point of being willing
to give the land and lumber to build
a cottage for our workers. That it
was not built last year was owing to
the fact that no saw mill could be OBJ
tanned to come into the valley to saw
the lumber. The roads are incredib-
ly rough, precipitous, and in many
places dangerous, and we find great
difficulty in having the supplies and
materials we would like our workers
to have transported over the noun
tains. The Happy Valley people have
built the cottage, our committee lii
brary Extension and Settlement
Work. providing the furnishings, the
windows and hardware. We can we'll |
understand how much more effective
will be this object-lesson of a home
than two chambers OF house crowd
ed with children.
When the school closed in August,
Miss Henry, of Maryville College,
who has charge of the work at that
end of the line, made the journey
over the mountains to be present at
the closing exercises. The following
letter, recently received from her, de-
scribes the visit.
Il must tell you of the closing days
Of the Summer School in Happy Val
ley.
"The teachers had not written me
very much about the cottage, be-
cause they wanted it to be a Joyous {
for me, which indeed it was.
think I was never so happy in my
life as when I stepped into that neat
title home and looked about its little '
'arlor, stepped into the bedroom {
With it's snowy beds, and walked on q
o the kitchen and dining-room COM i
lined, where everything was so per- S
ectly neat and orderly. Our cottage {
forty-five feet long, with a varanda t
he length of the three rooms. The f
eople have promised to put fence I
IL around our lot at their expense, d
nd Miss M. wants little back a
orch where she can do her wash t
1g and ironing and preparing her F
egetables for diner. l think l will G
ave money enough to pay for it out VI
the sum you sent me. G
"The school has been large this n
. AAAhSii Wlth Oil lulOllUuouC OI over
Ety. | think | have been the most o
'rtunate in the teachers l have been Y
Die to select for your school. Ct
Il spent several days in the val
y and visited every home. The clos
g exercises of the school were. from t,
wen to nine o'clock on Friday even M
g, August 20. 1t was a red letter OIL
~ in the history of the valley. Ev- ii
ybody was there from far and near, &C
ON the feeblest old man and mo- n;
an to the five-weeks-old baby in it's q,
others arms. hi
I'm that peaceful little valley they Sc
we never had evening entertain to
ents, for they have never really had of
y place that could be we'll lighted Sc
r the evening or any one to give oc
Q entertainment. The teacher had wi
large outdoor stage built, covered or
Background and sides with beau by
ul mountain evergreens, decorat- tiy
with flags and Japanese lanterns, So
up curtains, and arranged the 80