Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-18
viii Purchase Joel Chandler Har-
rIs Cottage for Memorial to
"UnCIe RemuS"
ROOSEVELT ASSISTS IN WORK
Children Throughout World Cor
tribute and Andrew Carnegie
Sends $4,000 Check

tion often asked by visitors to Atlanta.
Ever since the death of Joel Chandler
Harris on July 8, 1908, his home,
modest cottage in the west end of At
lanta, has been the Mecca of hundreds
who know his tales and who count it
as a privilege to breathe the air and
to saunter over the premises of snap
Bean farm"
The very name of the place is typi-
cal of Uncle Remus. Who but Joel
Chandler Harris, with his love for the
simple and the unOstentatious, would
have thought of this wholesome, inti-
mate title for the few acres that sur
round the low, wide verandaed cot
tage? And the house itself is called
"The Sign Of the Wren's Nest" be-
cause, year after year, a pair of wrens
built their home in the mail box that
hung over the gate. 1.-THE mall box
cannot be given over wholly to birds
nests" suggested some member of the
Harris household, but Uncle Remus
said, Let it alone; we can make other
arrangements for the letters" And so
the birds continued to build unmolest-
ed, and the letter box, slightly the
worse for wind and weather. is still in
It's place on an elm tree at the front
gate. But the wrens have built for
the last time.
A few years ago the letter box was
stolen by some vandal or oVer-enthu-
siastic souvenir collector. 1t was ad-
vertised for, far and wide, in various
papers. Shortly the box reappeared.
It had been returned in the night, and
no one ever knew who had taken 1T.
CLoUDBURsT MARKS DEATH
Possibly no American author was
more beloved during his lifetime or
more sincerely mourned at his death
than Mr. Harris. It was considered
significant fact that at the hour set
for his funeral the heavens opened and
there was rain the like of which had
never before been seen in Atlanta.
The creator of Br'er Rabbit and Br'er
Fox. and Sis Cow and Mis- Meadows
and de gals had won for himself the love
Of millions. Especially was he loved
by the children The child who has not
heard the tale of "Br'er Rabbit and the
Tar Baby" or the story of How Br'er
Bear Lost His Tall has indeed missed
a part of the heritage of childhood.
For him the animals have no meaning.
If his childish imagination has not
been stimulated by Uucle Remus' sto-
ries OF the wild folk of field and forest
he will have little understanding or
sympathy for the four-footed tribes.
How is ole Sis Cow" said Andrew
Carnegie when he was introduced tc
Harris in the course Of a visit to Al
ianta. Poly" responded Uncle Re-
mus, and the two were friends at once
Mr.. Carnegie had come to Atlanta with
the Ogden party. and he had made two
requests of F. ]. Paxton, president of
the Atlanta chamber of commerce. One
was that he meet Uncle Remus, and
the other was that he meet no one but
Uncle Remus.
A short time after the death of Mr..
Harris, an "Uncle Remus Memorial as
sociation" was organized. The move
ment was started by ex-Mayor Joiner
of Atlanta, and was taken up by prom
inent club women. Mrs. A. McD. WI,
son is president of the association, and
President Taft, ex-President Roosevelt
and Mr.. Carnegie are among the hon
orary vice presidents. The object OF
the association is to purchase the home
of Uncle Remus from the Harris heirs
and make a memorial Of it. The prop
erty is assessed at $4,000, and, as soon
as it became known that the Uncle Re-
mus Memorial association could ouy
the property, several rich men offered
to give the entire amount, but since
ITncie Remus had been beloved by
many, it was thought best that many
be allowed to help in the purchasing
of "Snap Bean farm"
From all over the civilized world let
ters approving the nlan of the asso-
citation poured in. Mr.. Carnegie gave
a check for $4,000, Julia Ward Howe
and other American writer's expressed
their hearty sympathy with the work.
and from children all over the country
came countless small donations.
The association plans to install IL
brary in part of the house, to preserve
memorial rooms where Mr.. Harris lived
and worked, and to convert the
grounds into a playground for chlldreh'
It has also been suggested that Tree
kindergarten be conducted IN i'I .iG
house. Upon the lawn fountain VIII
be placed, reproducing the we'll known
four-footed characters of his stories IN
bronze or marble.
Work of the Uncle Remus Memorial
association is not purely local. me Inc
officers are endeavoring to make the
movement international. They Wlsh
all who have enjoyed the Uncle Remus
stories to have hand. The stories
of the escapades of Br'er RABBIT nave
been translated into seventeen IAN
Images and the Memorial association
proposes to give the children OF every
land an opportunity to help
In all lands the homes of men OF
genius have been preserved, and IT Is
eminently fitting that the home OF Miir MI
Harris who understood and loved chill
dren. should echo through the coming
years with the shouts of children,
''The Sign of the Wren's Nest Is
now occupied by the Harris famlly-
the widow, who was Miss Else La
Rose, of Canadian birth, ana SIX cllll-
dren. When asked whether she were
willing to have "Snap Bean farm
mass out of the family possession MRS.
Harris said: mot is l were going 10
live always. but [ love to think of the
home being kept as 1t Is as lAellloll"i
to my husband"
II is a quaint and homelike place.
The wide expanse of veranda is shaded
bv vines and made inviting with great
arm chairs and hammocks. In one
corner of the porch is a chair and
table at which Mr.. Harris wrote. IN
the ward is a riot of rose hushes ana
other hardy Southern flowers. Seated
on the veranda and peeplng out be-
tween the vines one might we'll see
Br'er Rabbit limping cautiously from
behind a clump of bushes and sntrln
the air. In a nearby pasture ole SIS
Cow" stands in the shade cheWlng
her cud and switching the MES Win
her tail. and in q tall poplar that
stands sentinel at the door the mock
ing bird sings day and night.
Mr. Harris was born near Eatonton
Ga. on December 8, 184S. He came Of
humble parentage, and in his youth
knew the pinch of poverty. He was
educated at a country schoolhouse, but
when he was 16 years old he was writ
ing Doems and essays for local publ
cation. Later, he was employed on