The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-08-20
COMMUNITY TEA HOUSE
Women Of North Arlington District
Ask for Business.

new community tea house that has
been opened in the schoolhouse in the
north part Of Arlington and on the
road to Manchester:
"As a neighbor often on the main
road of our valley, We would like to
call your attention 10 an interesting
| bit of community pullingtogether eff
| fcrt which is being made in the North
District of Arlington. You may per-
haps know how deeply the people of
the North District are interested in the
school there, and how much they have
done for It, both inside and out; so
much indeed that many people passing
by the quaint. attractive little building
two miles north of Arlington, have no
idea that it Is "district school,
which Is associated in their minds
with unkempt surroundings, dreary
unpainted walls, sunburnt weeds
growing up to the doorstep and board
ed-over windows during the summer
vacations.
"The Womans Club of the North
District, wishing to try the possibility
lof a new business enterprise, have
opened in the School house, what they
cSl community tea-house." That
lis, they have divided up the week, so
that one afternoon falls to member
OF the club, the next afternoon to an
other, and so on On the day when
| it Is her turn at the school-house
tea room, the clubmember bakes a
cake or two, or makes some cottage
cheese, or potato salad, or Boston
brown bread, or baked beans, or dough
nuts, or whatever she does best and
prepares to take over the tea-room
for that afternoon She always serves
tea and sandwiches. and ice cream and
cake, and then beyond that, whatever
is convenient for her to prepare in her
own kitchen that day. This means the
most genuine sort of home cooking
and considerab variety from one
day to the next.
In the afternoon, she serves those
who stop, with the help of little girls
of the school, who wait on the table,
each taking her turn through the week
as their mothers do. 1t is unlike any
tea house you ever saw, and we think
it has its own homely charm which
would be worth your while to eYper-
ience.
In addition to things to eat, they
have a place in one of the school
rooms, collection of historic anti
quitities of the region. all sorts of
quaint and curious objects dug up out
of old sttics, which illustrate the sort
OF life which our great-grandfathers
lived in this valley There is the ac
count book Of the grocery store kept in
Arlington in 1890, with all its quaint
long SIS. and all its tale of the pro-
digious amount Of rum consumed by
our ancestors. There Is a cookbook
| all in fine hand writing. of 1880 before
they thought of printing cookbooks.
There are old dresses and chemise
and pantalettes, and the utensils for
spinning and carding and weaving
wool; and snuff f-boxes, put away with
the snuff still in them and Old fans
and writing desks and baby's clothes
+**a picture of the past! These things
are not behind glass, in show cases,
but are laid out for you to handle and
look at, and feel the reality of.
They are not for sale, being pre-
cious relics from the past But in the
other school,room there are few
antiquities for sale, fine old blue.and-
white coverIet, some pieces of very
old handwork, some old wrought iron
tongs, some bue and-white plates of
both English and American ware, some
very old split-bottomed chairs, spin
ming perhaps the last of the an
tiquities of this valley which will be
offered for sale.
THE amount of profit made from
this enterprise is not great, and the
ladies of the club are not going into
! if for tat. hut to have some business
experience, to get in contact with visi'
tors to our valley to make some money
for the school Ia certain per cent of
what Is made goes to that) and to call
| your attention TO the school as an eX-
! amp of what very plain district
school in very plain rural neighbor-
hood can do.
! Orders are taken, also for rag rugs,
| hooked rugs and crochet lace which
could be made in the long winter
evenings. and delivered next spring.
I'VE hope that you will feel like
stopping the next time you go by the
school house. 1t is Just south of what
| Is known as the Baker or Garfield
bridge over the Battenkill, the bridge
which was being constructed for such
a long time, and kept the road closed
| 1t is on the main road from Manches-
ter to Bennington about two niles
north of Arlington, on the left-hand
side as you go south Do stop in and
see the most genuine country creation
OF neighborhood good will Bring
your visitors to see it, to show them
what Vermont country.dwellers can
/ do.
Dorothy Garfield Fisher,
(Pres. Battenkill Woman's Club
North District, Arlington.) J
This school house in the north dis.
trict of Arlington has already won
fame as one of those transformed dur
ing the past few years into model
rural school. 1t is pictured and des.
cNbed in a recent publication re.ative
to better country schools, gotten out
by the Agricultural extension depart
ment of the International Harvester
company,
MANNlX ADVISED