Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1920-02-19
Lessons Out of
School
BY GERALD ST. ETIENNE
Copyright. 1919. By the Mcclure News
paper Syndicate)G

The stay on the farm movement ear
ried no appeal TO John Peters. Not
that John disliked farm life, but his
soul crayed for something bigger and
better Education to him was the most
wonderful thing in life Graduating
from the country school with the high
est marks in the county had been his
first intimation that there were big
things In store for him In the educa-
tIonal world and he had gone to high
school in the city with big aims stored
up in his heart
Ii was in the first term he had dis
covered how different country people
We're from city people. Gradually it
had dawned upon him that there were
little colIoquialsms in his speech that
the city pupils lacked, and straightway
he had set to work correcting himself.
Twenty-one found John back on the
farm for the vacation season, but ready
to break into university the next year.
| The two years I've had been teaching
had only made his longing for more
education stronger Up to this time
John had confined his corrections in
speech and department to himself, but
apparently the teaching bug had got
Into his veins, for he had not been at
home many weeks before he was cor
recting every member of the family.
See here, John Peters" his father
had declared, ar last worn out by the
| everlasting corrections, IF this farm
and the manners of us that is on it
| is too al-fringly small for your high
toned notions, theh you know what you
can do. All | can see is that education
| has made a dunn fool of you. and the
time is come when you Will have to
make a choice between US and it. II
| you are willing to settle down here,
| this big farm that requires "A hands to
| work il and nets me an income some
! thing over $4,000 year, is half yours
now ANA all yours when / get too old
to take an interest in it, If not, you
had better leave now"
| John left 1t was necessary for him
to teach scnool seven long years more
| before he had the coveted sum to com
| plete his education. but he stuck TO it
! admirably. At the end of the seventh
| year he decided that he could manage
| his way through university. Every va
cation since the one that had ended In
| his leaving home he had worked in the
| city, but now the logging for the big
| outdoors came over him. Somehow
! he found his way up in the lumber
camps and bis services were engaged
as tlmekeeper.
John had met ignorance in his day.
but never such ignorance as he found
| among those lumberiacks. Why, he
was about the only man there that
/ could speak correct sentence of Eng
| liSh 1t 1t had not been for Jean his
| existence would have been unbearahle
| But in her he found a companion worth
| having. Seeing that Jean was the
| daughter Of the superintendent of the
/ camp, ii is only 10 he expected that
she was different from the others. That
! Is why John took such liking to her
Something should be done to i'm
/ prove the education Of the men here, -
/ John cOnfided 10 Jean one night when
| they We're out on The lake ia her sanoe
| Il wonder If they would attend school"
why nor try Them and sec?" she
suggested. Il was reading a novel to-
day about a sky pilot that worked won
| der> In a lumber camp
My dear girl, YOU don't read novels,
do your John asked a mingling of
surprise aud horror IN his tone.
Why certainly" She answered in
wonder Don't your
Il read nothing but the classics, "
he told her proudly. You don't know
what you are missing
"Oh, I don't know" she smiled. "the
very name classics wearies me out here
they are SO heavy so hard to wade
through"
They are wonderful" he tried to
assure her. Let me go over some Of
them with you"
Please don't. SHE pleaded.
Nevertheless from that day John
started O. work our plans to make Jean
acquainted With tine classics. on ca
noe trips. indoors on rainy evenings.
before the big camp fires when the
night, We're chill, he managed to make
some reference To them or tell her parts
OF some Of his fuyorite pieces OF fine
literature Gradually Jean seemed 10
fall Ri line with his plagS she began