The Glenwood post., 1924-01-03
CHAPTER XXI
And So They Lived

"all in the merry green wood" there
were great doings about the bold little
promontory where once stood the cab
in on the old wood-lot where the
Simms family had dwet.
The brook ran about the promon.
tory, and laid at its feet on three
sides carpet Of bluegrass, amid
clumps of trees and wild bushes. Not
far atield on either hand came the
black corn-land, but up and down the
bluffy sides of the brook for some
distance on both sides of the King
dragged highway, ran the old wood.
lot. now regaining much of the un.
kempt appearance which character
lied 1t when Jim Irwin had drawn
upon himself the gentle rebuke of Old
Man Simms for not giving whoop
from the big road before coming into
the yard.
The cabin was gone, and in its place
stood a pretty little bungalow. about
which blossomed lilacs and peonies and
roses and other old-fashioned flowers
furnished by Mrs. Irwin. For this was
the teachers house or schoolmanse FOR
the new consolidated Woodruff dis.
trict, and the old Simms wood-lot was
henceforth to be the glebe-land of the
schoOlmanse.
Jim turned over and over in hi-
mind these new applications of Old
historic, significant words, dear 10
every reader of history-"glebe-land
schoolmanse"-and 1t seemed to him
that they signified the return of many
old things lost in Merrie England.
lost In New England, lost all over
the Bnglish-speaking world, when The
old publicly-paid clergyman ceased to
be so far the servant of all the peo-
pie that they refused to be taxed for
his support. Was not the new kind
of rural teacher to be publicly-paid
leader of thought. of culture, of prog.
ress, and was he not to have his
manse, his glebe-land, and his "liv-
ing" And all because, like the old
clergyman, he was doing a work in
which everybody was interested and
for which they were willing to be
taxed. Perhaps 1t was not so high
a status as the old; but who was to
say that? Certainly not Jim Irwin.
tuC posStssOI Vi llt new hluu Vi Nv
Ing" with its "glebe-land" and its
"schoolmanse." He would have rated
the new as at least quite as high as
the old.
From the brow of the promOntOry,
light concrete bridge took the pretty
little gorge in the leap of single
arch, and landed the eye at the bot
tom of the front yard of the school,
house. Thus the new Institution of
life was in full view of the school
manse veranda. and yet shut Off from
1t by the dry moat of the brook and
its tiny meadow Of bluegrass.
Across the road was the creamery,
with Its businesslike unloading plat
form, and its addition in process Of
construction for the reception of the
machinery for the cooperative laun-
dry. Not far from the creamery. and
also across the road. stood the black.
smith and wheelwright shop. Still
farther down the street were the barn,
poultry house, pens, hutches and yards
of the little farm-small, as were all
the buildings save the schoolhouse it.
self, which was builded, as 1t should
have been, for the future.
And even the schoolhouse, when one
thinks Of the uses to which 1t was to
be put-kitchen, nursery. kindergar-
ten, banquet hall. theater. moving pic
ture hall, classrooms. manual training
rooms, laboratory and counting room
and what not, was wonderfully small
Colonel Woodruff said far too small
though 1t was necessarily so large
as to be rather astonishing to the un-
expectant passer-by.
The unexpectant passer-by this May
day, however, would have been espe-
cially struck by the number Of motor
cars, buggles and surreys parked in
the yard back of the creamery, along
the roadside, and by the driveway
running to the schoolhouse. People In
numbers had arrived by five o'clock In
the afternoon, and were still coming.
They stroled about the place exam
lining the buildings and grounds, and
talking with the blacksmith and the
butter-maker.
Gradually they drew into the school.
house like swarm of bees into a hive
selected by the queen. None Of them
however. went across the concrete
bridge TO the schoolmanse, save Mrs,
Slmms, who crossed, consulted with
Mrs. Irwin about the shrubbery and
flowers, and went back to Buddie and
jimmie, who were good children but
materially couldn't be trusted with so
many other young ones withouten some
wntchln'.
"They're coming! They're coming :"
This was the cry borne to the people
In and about the schoolhouse by that
Hans Hansen who would be called
Huns NIlsen. Hans had been to the