The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-03-25
ADOPTING A
SCHOOL TEACHER
BY Dorothy Garfield Fisher.

for some months and hadn't seen oil
aunt Mari Stcdman for a year, 5
when stepped into her clean, poo
little kitchen, ! settled down for
real visit and TO hear the news.
As aunt Mari bent her rheumati
knees creakily and dropped into chat
/ by me, ! noticed she was sewing OF
some little square pieces Of bright-ool
ored cotton cloth. Starting new
quilt?" / asked
4 I've got something better TO d
than thatl" she answered with her us
nal spicy, lively accent, 1--we adopted |
school teacherf"
"Why, what do YOU mean 7"
lqueried, Il never heard Of such |
! thing
"'Twouldnt be such bad thing l.
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 undel
our noses"
Now aunt Mari lives on half Of
nothing a year, managing somehow
with a garden and berry patch and
a pig and hens, and adding to her tiny
income whatever she can make BY
hooking rugs and crocheting lace. The
only thing she viii accept from her rel.
atives is to let them pay for the tele'
phone which makes il safe for her to
live alone as she does. really couldn't
see how under the sun she could
adopt anybody, even in the most re.
mote way.
Now III tell you all about IL" said
aunt Mari ut came to me one day,
just Ike that. like swapping your fin
gers, the idea did. | vas sitting on my
doorstep last September peeling some
early apples 10 make applesauce out
of, and / saw the new teacher OF our
district school coming down the road.
noticed she walked sort of tired and
discouraged. She amt more'n girl
herself, not more than 81. don't be.
lievc And thought to myself, If I
had a girl, on away from home, try-
ing to teach lot of young ones,
guess lid like to think that folks took
an interest in her. And when she came
up opposite, called out TO her and
said wouldn't she come in and sit down
for a minute, and have an applet She
looked so surprised She told me after.
wards That ID was the first friendly
word anybody in town had spoken to
her.
"And she came in and 'twasn't long
before 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 to
board. No sir, twas too much trouble.
They never had taken in boarders and
they couldn't be bothered, 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 re.
spectacle enough as far as travellers 90,
but faint no fit place for nice
young girl and You know 1t, with trav-
cling men coming and going at all
hours of the day and night and good
ess-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 ii cost 50 much 1t took all
her money. And what would she do,
come winter and bad weather."
aWell, what could yon do.r / asked,
very well that aunt Mari
tiny home only had two rooms and
lean.to ell for the kitchen.
Haven't / got two roomsYn she de-
manded tartly, land can sleep in
more than one at timer borrowed
4 folding bed from cousin Jim Git had
stood in his attic ever since aunt En- |
died) and get il up in the diningroom
settingroom, and took her right in.
And / amt bit sorry either. 1t does
me good to have q young person |
around She helps with the dishes,
and makes her own bed, and | don't |
,harge her but just what it costs me.
so that's the way you've adopted
herr" / asked
mo Stree. that's only the begin
ming Ever since I've been helping her
improve that school,
This was too much Aunt Mari 20 |
Tears old, without a cent, crippled with
without an inch of mar
lin to her scrimping narrow life, "help-
NC improve a school"
.sWhv. whatever have you been able
o do?7 ! asked incredulously.
"What haven't done ?" she retorted.
You know what scripture says about
Icing what your hand finds to do.
Well, Just knowing what goes on at
chool, has give my hand good and
,lenty to do You see every, evening
Hiss Rice talks more or less about
what's been happening at school, lit
Ia thinuS inst ordinary little things |
Ind do you know. realize now, I've
ever known any more about the daily
ife of that school than If twas on the
loonl Well. here for instance it /
ONES out that those poor ignorant lit
le Bowling girls tyou know what their
iother is, and their father not much
etterl didn't even know the names
{ colors. How should they Nobody
{ home ever Co take the trouble to
o more than knock EN- side the head.
Vell, ] got out my piece-bag and
licked ont pieces OF the principal col
RS. and sewed 'em together to make
sort of color book and give il to the
saeher.
"A day or so after il came out she
admit any washbasin OF soap :. say,
onest. did you have any idea that
lere were schools in Vermont without
nv soap or water to wash the chill
ren's handsf II gives me turn TO
ear about IL. ] went out in the wood
ned. and took my extra washbasin I
eep there. and fixed her up some soft
zap in a bottle. with a hole in the
'rk. so the young ones could shake il