The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1922-01-26
HIS Artistic
Minnie
BY CLAIRE SMITH.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

yes, ma'am, we can board YOU on
the farm if you don't mind eating
with III and me and the hired man.
Six dollars Il week, that's our price.
You thought il was nine? II used to
be nine, ma';m, but that was when
LinbOrOugh used to be artistic, and
when folks wants art, they have To
pay for it,
How did we stop being artistic?
That's quite story, ma ram. oar be-
ing artistic came on Us quite like
flash, mu'am. one summer we was
just folks, same us we are now, and
the next we was artistic.
"Mrs l5iggnbOtham ran that art col
ony up on the hill-the big barn that's
falling 10 ruin. No, we haven't been
artistic for three or four years now,
and the colony has moved to Green
field.
Minnie? Oh. Mlnnie's our daHgh-
ter. Sort of Il fine girl, Iii and l
thought her, and that's why we sent
her to college. Sam Bum, the plumb
er, was sweet on her, and Hi and l
hoped they would hitch up together
when she come home for Sans a
nice, quiet sort of fellow. and always
was saving
well, ma'am, Minnie came home
from college, and Iii and | noticed
she sort of shifted the first evening.
Father said Minnie, now that
am home | am going TO improve things
little.
well, that suited III and me first
rate, for we naturally thought she
meant that she was going to help us
old folks out with the chores.
"She'd got to be fast friends with
that HigginbOtham woman, and next
day sire broke the news to us that
they'd rented the old Hops place for
an art colony and some fifty students
Of both sexes was coming.
'-The townspeople was glad, for
things were bit dull in LinbOrough.
'The first shock come when Minnie
had the house repapered.
"The next thing was the furnishings.
Our furniture, which you can see,
came from HIS grandmother. But
Minnie and some Of the lady students
borrowed our woodshed, and the first
thing we knew, the furniture was up
in the garnet, and we had some new
chairs and tables-all rough wood,
with brass nails sticking out. After
that Hi moved into the garnet and
spent his evenings there.
II don't think he'd have stood fol
1t much longer, only we put up our
| price from six dollars 10 nine, and
we got quite a superior class of sum.
mer boarders.
Now | was telling you about Sam
Bunn He'd always admired Minnie,
| and though she hadn't treated him
well, he still hankered after her, so
| he and some other young men come
up to talk it over with Hi, and the
result was a Society for the Promo
| ton Of Being Artistic. 1t was beating
Mrs. Iliggnbotham at her own game.
ut began when she found the frost
had burst her pipes, and sent for Sam
Sam listened respectfully.
"'Tm sorry, Mrs. Hlggnbotham, he
says, when she gets through, but I've
| Joined our new Society for the Promo.
ton of Being Artistic and l can't fix
| EN-
why notF asks Mrs. Higglnboth'
| am,
"'Pipes amt artistic answers Sam
only wells an old oaken buckets is
| artistic. No, ma'nm. | can't fix 'en.
| well, since sam was the only
| plumber in town, she had to send over
to Greenfield.
"Then there vas Ed keggs, the
butcher. lie wanted business, hut he
wanted Mabel Cough more, and Mabel
was artistic. So he had joined the so.
ciety, and he wouldn't sell lamb chops
or ribs.
"'Chops amt artistic Mrs Higgin'
| botham,' he explained. What is ar
tistic is barbecues. I'll sell sou a
whole OK to roast upon spit. Splits
Is highly artistic
CAS- for Jim Saunders, the grocer
he wouldn't sell anything but herbs
He said canned goods was vulgar And
since the roof was leaking, and there
wasn't nobody knew how to thatch
one, Mrs. Higginbotham gave up the
fight and left.
"Yes, it did pay us, being artistic
but we don't envy Deerheld. And, as
Hi says, he don't want to be artistic
unless his armchair and pipe goes
with it.
Minnie? Oh, she's been Mrs. Bunn
these two years past. They've got a
brand new cottage up Nobscott way
and a pianola and two babies and
Sans doing well I'm the plumbing
business. So, as | was saying, it's
only six dollars again, but you'll have
to eat with the hired man, MAN,"