Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-04-20
Miss Florence Minis Writes of
Night School Banquet Among
q the Foreigners.

Night School Banquet Among
the Foreigners.
Dear Advertiser:
Almost all my life I have heard of
night schools, but not until this win
ter have l come in direct contact with
the movement. In Aurora it is the
vast majority who actually need to
learn to speak and write the Eng
|iish language. All winter classes have
been held and the grown up people,
men and women, who have children
in school come with books under their
arms to study and learn what they
know in their various languages, but
do not know in ours.
Several experienced teachers have
charge of these classes which meet
5on Monday, Wednesday and Thurs
day nights Wednesday night was the
last time these students would meet
for study this year and lovely ban
quiet was, given by the school board
for them in the hall of one of the
large school buildings. Only the for
Ieigners and their teachers were pres
lent land few others, including my
self, who were fortunate enough to
be on the program.
i say fortunate, for it was one of
the most peculiarly interesting af-
fairs. | have ever attended.
Ranged along the sides of the long
table were people with foreign faces,
and very foreign accent, who were
attending banquet for the first time
"a their lives, most probably. An. or
ehestra played during the meal, and
Itried to entertain the two foreign
iers who sat on either side of me, a
Mrs. Prosnick, a Slavonian, and
man whose name was Ludwig Ker-
kula., / looked at his place card and
discovered that, and since this gave
me a little clue to his race, / looked
N him, and though the name sound
ed Austrian, the face looked Nor
Eegian. 1 began to talk about the
Weather or the occasion, or some such
siIightening topic, and got, would-be
responses which, am
sure he intended for English. Final:
ly asked him what country he came
from and he began to talk about
Minnesota, and thinking he did not
understand, asked again. After
much struggling to get the words pro-
nounced right, and properly arranged
in sentence he told me that he was
born and reared in this state, and had
had no opportunity for an education.
To me it was incredible, and it is
good thing that he could not see my
thoughts mirrored in my face, as they
chased through my brain.
He must have lived in remote
Finnish settlement Il found later
that he was a FINN, where only
Firms live and where the English
language did not reach. Surely tn.
long, strong arm of the compulsory
education law will penetrate to the
homes of all in this generation, so
that no citizen born in this country
will have his tongue tied by the
sitting customs and the lingering
European language of his forbears.
No one can properly shoulder the
responsibilities developing upon cit
izen, unless he has had an equality
of opportunity.
These people do not lack ambition,
OF they would not come to these night
classes. He told me that he preferred
not to make a speech, though he had
consented to do so, because great
things would be expected of a SEEM
ingly foreign born and reared in this
country, and his thoughts were so
handicapped by having to express
themselves through the medium of
such broken English. was sorry for
him, and provoked at myself, that
1 had managed to accumulate so
much ignorance in spite of my oppor-
tunities.
The different ones present were
called upon to tell why they came to
America, and for the first time real
ly wished l could write short hand,
in order to keep some of the very
fine things in mind which they said.
Almost without exception, they
said sooner or later in their talks that