The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-07-31
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
PROVED GREAT SUCCESS
Exhibition Friday Evening Showed A
CredltabIe Record OF Ac-
complishment.


Editor of the Banner: Just home
from the final session and exhibition
of the Daily Vacation Bible school, |
am meditating upon what a hundred
or so OF us Benningtonans have seen
with our eyes-and also upon what we
may have beheld by the use of little
reflection and imagination.
Here, in their best clothes, were
gathered a hundred of the boys and
girls Of our town, from four to four
teen years old-the tomorrows store
keepers, mill owners, factory workers,
bookkeepers, doctors ana lawyers OF
Bennington: voters, all in few years
of Vermont, making its laws, and some
of them sitting in our legislature and,
maybe, some of them in our national
Congress. What sort Of workers, cleo
tors, representatives, would this hun
dred be. in decade? President Hard
ing frankly said the other day, THE
future of our nation cannot be trusted
to the children unless their education
includes their spiritual development -
What of this particular hundred, who
have been lucky enough, or had par
ents wise enough to be members Of
the Vacation School? Are they any
safer now to trust our nation to? Are
they more, or less liable to wave a red
flag, rob churches, steal private prop
erty? Is this Republic, this democra-
cy, safer?
Just think what has been going on
in this place for thirty days, for two
hours every morning, without the best
clothes, and without the admirng par
ents, and one will be able to answer
intelligently.
To the stirring notes of march
they have entered the room in almost
perfect discipline, found their places
and sung Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God
Almighty; erect and proud, while one
of their number held aloft the flag,
they have saluted the stars and stripes
and pledged allegiance to the Re-
public for which it stands" facing the
flag of Christian conquest with its
Cross, they have declared allegiance,
too, to the Christ and His Kingdom
which they have prayed might come, "
For thirty mornings they have been
singing and saying "Thy Word is like
garden, Lord gathering some of the
beautiful flowers from it; they have
learned to reverence and intellgently
read the Book which is at the very
foundation of our Republics life. They
sung. with spirited enjoyment, songs
calculated to make them better Ameri-
cans, like THE old flag never touch
cd the ground, boys" and some of
them just plain better, sociable folks -
like "Hee-haw, hee.haw." With almost
breathless interest they have heard re-
told the old, old stories of ancient
seekers after God and goodness which
have warned and inspired uncounted
generations ever since Hebrew fathers
and mothers told them to their child
rem. They have heard about, not only
ancient ideal spots Ike Eden, and Je-
rusalem, but they have heard of, and
helped to build, in miniature, ANY
Town. an ideal community of today
with clean Streets good schools, hon
est shops and sacred churches.
From an hour of this unconscious
training Of mind and heart, this hun
dred of our children have gone to their
saws and scissors, their pins and
paper and paint, and, for another hour
have learned to use their hands tc
some useful and artistic purpose. With
out any strikes or lock;outs, without
! trying to beat the time clock once
/ these artisans and artists have worked
side by side and merrily made some
thing" while they were, all the time
learning to practice their school mot
to: And every man helped his neigh
bor and every man said to his neigh
Dor Let us be of good cheer" Then
at the end, they have seen of the fruit
of their labors; row after row Of shin
ing wooden toys, cows, ebars, owls
neck-tie racks, resplendent in fresl
paint; dolls and belts and beokmarks;