The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1922-03-31
ADOPTING A SCHOOL.TEACHER
Dorothy Garfield Fisher.

vile for some months and / hadn't
seen old Aunt Mari Stedman for {
year. so when stepped into hel
clean, poor little kitchen, I settled
down for real visit and to hear the
news.
AS Aunt Mari bent her rheumatic
knees creakily and dropped into 6
chair by me. noticed she was sewing
on some little square pieces Of
bright-colored cotton cloth. Start.
ing new quilt ?" I asked
'I've got something better to dc
than that " she answered with her
usual spicy, lively accent, "I've
adopted school-teacher."
"Why, what do you mean ?"
queried Il never heard of such g
thing"
"'Twouldn't be such a bad thing
If more folks did it," she said, EVERY
body adopted orphans during the war,
and they're way across the water.
And school teachers are right under
our noses"
Now Aunt Mari lives on half of
nothing year. managing somehow
with a garden and berry patch and
a pig and hens, and adding to her
tiny income whatever she can make
lace The only thing she will accept
from her relations is to let them pay
for the telephone which makes it
safe for her to live alone as she does.
I really couldn't see how under the
sun she could "adopt" anybody, even
in the most remote way.
"Now Til tell you all about it,"
said Aunt Mari, ''It came to me one
day. just like that, like swapping
your fingers, the idea did. I was sit
ting on my doorstep last September
peeling apples to make apple sauce
out of, and saw the new teacher of
our district school coming down the
road. I noticed she walked sort of
tired and discouraged. She amt
more'n a girl herself, not more than
twenty-one, don't believe. And I
thought to myself, if I had a girl, off
away from home. trying to teach
lot of young ones, I guess I'd like
to think that folks took an interest
in her. And when she came up OPP
posite, l called out to her and said
wouldn't she come in and sit down
for a minute, and have an apple? She
looked so surprised! She told me
afterwards that it was the first
friendly word anybody in town had
spoken to her
And she came in, and 'twan't long
before I was hearing all about her
troubles. Not one family in all that
district. and most of them have got
dandy spare rooms. would take her
e. -
trouble. They never had taken in
boarders and they couldn't be bother
ed now help was so hard to get, and
washing cost so much and all the
rest. And she had to walk two miles
to the village and live in the Tavern,
that may be respectable enough as
taverns go. but that amt no fit place
for nice young lady and you know
1t, with travelling men coming and
going all hours of the day and night
and goodness knows who troupes of
actors and folks that come showing
trained dogs and things at the Town
Hall and half the time not another
woman boarding there. And it cost
so much it took all her money. And
what would she do, come winter and
bad weather ?"
swell. what could you do 2"
asked knowing very we'll that Aunt
Mari's tiny home only had two rooms
and tean-to ell for the kitchen.
Haven't I got two rooms ?" she
demanded tartly. "And can I sleep
in more than than one at a time? l
borrowed a folding bed from Cousin
Jim Git had stood in his attic ever |
|
in the dining-room -setting-room,
and I took her right in. And amt
a bit sorry either. 1t does me good
to have young person around She
helps with the dishes. and makes her
own bed and 1 don't charge her but
Just what it costs me-"
SO that's the way you've adopted
herr" / asked.
~.No Stree. that's only the begin
ming. Ever since I've been helping
her improve that school"
This was too much! Aunt Mari.
seventy years old, without a cent,
crippled with rheumatism, without '
an inch of margin to her scrimping
narrow life, "helping improve a
school,"
''Why, whatever have you been able {
to do ~ I asked incredulously.
What haven't I done ?" she re-
torted. "You know what Scriptures
says about doing what your hand
finds to do. Well. Just knowing what !
goes on at school, has give my hand
good and plenty to do! You see
every evening Miss Rice talks more
or less about what's been happening
at school. little thinps just ordinary
little things. And do you know, ]
re'lize now I've never known any
more about the daily life of that
school than if twas on the moon
Well here for instance -. it comes
out that those poor ignorant little
Bowling girls (you know what their
mother is and their father not much
better) didn't even know the names
of colors. How should they? No
body at home ever to take the trouble
to do more than knock 'em side the
head. Well 1 got out my piece-bag