The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1921-08-27

| lly law 1Or teachers, anu 10 one VI
the two elected members of the
present Retirement Board, created
by the statute.
But it is for none of this that
Miss Lucia is known outside OF
I Vermont, and yet she is widely
known and greatly loved wherever
| there.are American children, Most
people know her as the author OF
the utterly delightful "peter and
Polly" books, four small volumes
which are classics among children's
books, because of the transparent
simplicity of their style, the Singh
lar charm with which, as one of
our crystal clear lakes they re-
I fleet the sweet, quaint, happy
idyllic life of two little Vermont
| country children. All over the
country, children on the plain and
in great cities read of Peters and
Polly's adventures, and sighingly
conclude that the real name of
| Heaven, as far as children go, is
! Vermont.
Well they are right-or they
| should be. Vermont with the high
average level of its inhabitants,
with its beautiful scenery, with its
free happy hunting grounds of
woods and brooks and valleys and
mountains, and glorious stimulat-
ino climate, should be next door
to Heaven to children. Vermont
has not much money compared to
some other states. But it is not
much money which is needed for
children, but interest, some money,
and much care, thought and intel
ligence. Every country school in
our state ought to be a center rad
iating health and hope and
strength and intelligence to any
child attending it, and it can be il
we will only gather our scattered
energies, set our shoulders to the
wheel and give one good push, all
of US working together.
1t is to help US gather our scat
tered energies, to show US how to
set our shoulder to the wheel, that
Miss Lucia has given up her stable,
comfortable, honored work in
Montpelier, and has taken up her
new State nosition. All her strong,
active, useful life has hen a sort
of unconscious preparation for this
effort to help Vermont children.
She has had the vision of what
country life might blessedly be to
Vermont boys and girls, she has
set it down in her books. she has
trained for it with the hardest sort
of steady work, has helped to rea-
lie it in one Vermont city, and
now stands ready to throw into the
greater work for all country chill
dl'en in Vermont the full strength
of her trained, disciplined, power
full pesonality. The members Of
the State Board of Education have
great hopes for the work. and
stand back of Miss Lucia and the
work heart and soul They have
set aside fund especially for this
work; they have carefully planned
WAYS 10 cut req tape, 10 make the
undertaking of improving the
schools as easy as possible.
But, of course, nothing whatever
can be done ii we Vermonters do
not rise to the occasion, step into
line and show ourselves worthy
sons of our State. Every one of
us should feel personal respon-
sibilitv for his own district school,
should realize that now, this very
year, and the next and the next, the
future of the children about him
is being decided, and should put
to himself wildly the question of
how that future may be more Sc
curely safe-guarded.
Miss Lucia is now on the job,
waiting to be called in to consult,
advise and aid. 1t is up to US, Yer
mont citizens to do the calling.