The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1922-03-23

~No. sires that's only the beginning
Ever since I've been helping her i'm.
prove that school,
u This was TOO much, Aunt Mar 70
years old. without 8 cent. crippled With
rheumatism. without ar inch Of mar.
gin 70 her scrimping narrow life
helping improve a school,"
"why. whatever have you been able
70 DO ," I asked inereduleusly.
what haven't done ," she retort
ed. "You know what Scripture 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 things. 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 II twas on the
mooni Well. here for instance -. Il
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
Nobody at home ever TO take the
trouble to do more than knock 'em side
the head. Well. | got out my piece
bag and picked out pieces Of the prin-
eipal colors, and sewed 'em together
10 make sort Of color book and give
II TO the teacher.
"A day or so after il came out she
hadn't any wash-basin or soap . say
honest, did you have any idea that
there were schools in Vermont, with
out any soap or water 10 wash the
children's hands? II gives me a turn
to hear about il. went out in the
woodshed, and took my extra wash
basin keep there, and fixed her up
some soft soap in bottle, with hole
in the cork, so that the young ones
could shake il out on their hands.
after that she said she didn't have
any interesting books TO give the
smart ones TO read when they'd finish
ed their lessons ahead Of the others,
and they got to fooling and cutting up
the way children will, when they have
MT got anything to do. ] called up my
niece. Ann, because | knew she had
children's books her children never
look at :. they're mostly grown up
now. She said, why yes, OF course,
the school could have them, and could
have had them years ago, only she
didn't know they needed them. That's
been the trouble. None Of us knew,
day by day, what was needed.
Well, after that, it come out that
hadn't mortal thing to give the chill
dren to play with, rainy days, when
they had to stay in So | made 'em
some bean bags, and got Hiram Will
ing to saw holes in board to make
the board. Those young ones have
actually played one set Of bags to
pieces. and I'm making 'em a second
set this minute. And that made me
think about games, and telephoned
around and got hold Of a checker
board and backgammon board that
folks weren't using. And | cut some
big letters out Of the magazines and
pasted them on pieces Of cardboard
and made them a set for that spelling
game, Logomachy, they call it. And !
spliced some old rope into rings, and
made 'em a set of ring-toss. Oh, lots
of things that came into my mind
when remembered back when | was
little girl. Its been fun" "And what
else? Oh yes" Aunt Mari began to
laugh, 81 found out that nobody paid
any more attention to the truant law
than as If it didn't exist. You know
what the law is, that every child's got
to go to school as long as he's Of
school age. Well, knowing that was
the law I'd never thought about it.
Supposed Of course they did. Well not
bit Of it, Once | began to take
notice Of what went on about schools, |
found that there were families OF chill
dren in this town, them that live far
back up the hollows, that hadn't been
10 school regular, never! Miss Rice
being a stranger in town, thought all
she could do was to go to the truant
officer about IT, But who is the truant
officer in town? Well, who but Jim
Rathbone. my cousin Jim, and what
does he care whether the Burnt chill
dren 90 to school or not? Less than
nothing. Nor nobody else, till Miss
Rice told me about it. Why That big
Burrit boy, that's eleven now, is nice
bright boy as ever was. and he could
Mt hardly read the name Of the town
he lived in. last fall Well. Miss Rice
couldn't think Of anything to do about