Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1922-11-09
RURAL SCHOOL
GOOD INFLUENCE
FAMILY BEGIN TO GET AN
UNDERSTANDING OF
AMERICANISM

/ One week in rural school was the
powerful factor in starting the trans
! formation of a family of Polish chill
dren from illiterate aliens into the
| beginnings of true Americans. From
| living conditions of the most print
| tive kind, home without beds, and
with priyation and uncleanliness, the
! family is now starting its regenera-
| ton.
Last June, Mrs. E. F. Stockum, gen.
eral secretary of the Federated Char
| tiles, was called to the town of Be-
vent to inspect the home of Paul
Rechay. She found the mother with
a family of eleven. children at home,
the father being away working in the
woods The oldest of the children
was sixteen, and none of them could
speak word of English although
they could understand it, Mrs Stock
UNI found a two room house with no
sign of sleeping quarters and asked to
see the beds. The mother first said
that they were out in the yard and
then confessed that there were none.
The children had been sleeping on old
horse blankets in the loft of the sta
BILE, and these blankets were so worn
and tattered that there was little
warmth in them, besides being, in
common with the rest of the place, in
very unsanitary condition.
Mrs. Stockum left orders to have
these conditions corrected and the
children placed in school When she
returned in October she found none
of her instructions carried out and
conditions as bad as ever. The moth
er at first refused to let her into the
house, having talked the matter over
with some of her neighbors who had
apparently advised her to do moth
ing and had implanted in her mind a
fear of untoward consequences.
On Saturday the family was brought
into municipal court before Judge
Marchetti, the parents charged with
neglect. The father was instructed
to start looking after his family and
they were paroled to Mrs. Stockum.
The entire thirteen were given din
ner at the Charities building, and
were given load of material out Of
which they could make beds and
clothing, and were taken back to
their home by automobile. They had
made the twentythree. mile trip to
the city in a wagon, starting at 2:30
in the morning.
On Monday Mrs. Stockum revisited
the place and found a veritable trans
formation. The mother welcomed her
eagerly and showed the things that
had been accomplished. Beds and
clothing were being made and the
father had left his job in the woods
and was hewing logs to build an adj
dition to the house for sleeping quar-
tiers.
But the greatest change was found
in the children. The older ones had
been sent to school and were en-
tranced with the prospect of learning
more than they ever before knew ex-
listed. When the teacher of the school
had the children recite for Mrs.
Stockum, they were overjoyed to show
what they had learned. The Oldest
boy had made excellent progress In
the more simple English
words and is getting on famously,
his happiness and pride
which has infected the entire fam
lily, even the little three year old
weeping at home because he cannot
attend school. The father is work
ing near home and gets ain allowance
for taking the children to school and
bringing them home again.