News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1912-01-31
Two Poor Boys Who Won Out
MORkISVILLE, VERMONT
Anthony, Kan. Jan. 20, 1912.

Anthony. Kan, Jan. 20, 15lz.
Mr.. Editorials it may encourage some
poor, forlorn boy to think he can attain
to something better than his present con-
dition, and thereby make a man of him
self, l am writing you bit ofhistorY con-
corning two Lamoile County boys who
, began lite IN the poorest of circumstances.
Never abuse a child that is poor and
wears ragged clothes and lives on corn
bread-that is when he has any bread
whatever to eat. Things may change in
after years. Some fifty-six years ago a
poor man by the name of Enoch Cleye-
land moved into what is known as the
Cleveland district in Hyde Park. His
wife was an inyalid, unable to help her.
self or her children, and remained in
such condition until she died four years
later.
There were two boys, Oscar, aged
seven, and Charlie, aged five. The moth
er was unable to help them or assist in
any way in making or mending their
clothes, and as be had to be gone about
all of the time in order to get bare liv-
ing for the sick wife and the children,
whom he loved as we'll as any man could
love his family. They were in straight
| ened circumstances on account of illness,
doctor bills and medicine. Under these
conditions the boys had about all of the
time to do the cooking and the house
work. The mother was an invalid and
the father too poor to buy clothes for
them, except in scant lots.
Times then were not as they are now.
Cutting cord wood in winter for 25cts. a
cord. Think of it! % cts. per cord and
board yourself! How could a man live
and pay doctor bills? But such was The
case. When the two little boys went to
school if they carried any bread to eat
for their dinner it was corn bread, and
their clothes were few and sometimes as
ragged as could hang on the poor little
souls. AL! the other scholars were wei
clothed and carried wheat bread and
pies and cakes for Their dinners. Many
of them poked fun at the poor boys din
ners and pointed out the finger of scorn
at them. Neigh ors would get one or both
at time, to work for them, as one, usually
had to stay at home with the sick mother
They would hire, or pretend to hire,
them to work dropping corn or potatoes
and hoeing corn or potatoes, and picking
up potatoes,-al such work as they could
take full hand at. Then they would open
up their hearts and give them their din
ner and perhaps give them ten cents,
more often five cents for the work and
laugh at them about their clothes-poor
way to encourage poor boy.
One very cold winter day, when the
snow was deep, a well-to-do man in the
neighborhood sold COW to a party in
Cady's Falls and also one to a man at
| Hyde Park street, so he hired Oscar to
drive one of the cows to the Falls, behind
a load of hay aud then the other to the
Street. When aJ the Street, instead of
giving the boy warm dinner, which at
that time would have cost about II cts,
and so make the boy feel as if he be-
longed to the human family, he gave him
two FIVE cent pieces and sent him home
afoot. Right here the boy now tells me
he got his first start in life at that time.
He had so much money and was so
pleased over it that he put the coin into
a little pill box and started for home five
miles off, after travelling several miles
without dinner. He had gone but short
distance when he wanted to look at his
capital and so stopped and took the tin
box out of his pocket and opened it and
behold he dropped it in deep snow and
lost it. He still thinks to this day he has
money banked in Hyde Park.
Charlie, as they called him, now has
three-hundred acre farm in Wolcott and
a fine village residence, and property in
other states. His brother Oscar, who is
in Kansas, could, if he wanted to, own
every acre of land and every stock in the
entire school district that he lived in
when he drove the cow to Hyde Park
FOR ten cents and dinner. And how
about the rest of the fifty-four scholars
that went to the same school and had fat
| W cat lOl Wullb tue
poor boys ate the corn bread that they
baked themselves if they had any dinner
at all 4?
Doesn't this teach us not to make light
of or scorn poor boy with ragged
clothes? In the above case the poor
boys made good and have shown that
poverty is no barrier to riches and sue.
cess If they have energy and push. The
case here given is true in every detail
and there are many others just like it
where the bOor boy has won out because
he said he would. 1 hope this article
will prove an incentive to other poor boys
and encourage them to be honest and
industrious aud perservere, for if they
do, success will surely be theirs.
Yours truly,
DOCTOR.