Evening star., 1924-08-09

OWEGO, n. Y. August st is per-
haps little known to the world that
John d. Rockefeller numbers among
his closest friends Mrs. Susan ]. Life
of Owego. But Owego people believe
the circle of his immediate relatives
whom Mr.. Rockefeller holds in such
high regard. This lifelong friendship
had it's foundation seven-four years
ago when the two were schoolmates
at the district school in the Hiawatha
neighborhood. three miles east of this
village.
old and Mrs. Life, then Miss Susan
LIE Monte, was 16. She is 80 now. She
helped him in his stdies when he was a
backward student and he has never for
gotten that he owes her a debt of
gratitude. He has jokingly referred to
her as his best teacher.
Visits Her Often.
For several years Mr.. Rockefeller
has not failed to visit her at her home
in Owego while on the annual pill
grimage to the scenes of his boyhood.
Only last week when he spent two
nights in Owego he found opportunity
to call three times upon Mrs. Life
the last time at o'clock in the morn
ing to say goodbye before starting
back to his home at Tarrytown.
So much for the fact of the friend
ship. To trace it's origin is to go back
to 1880. When the Rockefeller fam
lily came from Moravia, N. Y, to the
Hiawatha neighborhood in that year.
They lived in modest story -and-a-
half cottage next door to the school
house. And there were five Rookie
feller children to swell the roster
there. Notwithstanding the fact that
the young Rockefellers lived within
Of learning they were not much given
to study. Mrs. Eliza Rockefeller,
mother of the brood, was far from
pleased with their progress.
A little farther east lived Marcus
La Monte, a substantial farmer. There
were four children in his family. The
La Monte children were the star pu-
pills in Hiawath School. Susan La
Monte was the brightest star of all.
1t was only natural that she should
early become teacher and later. the
proprietor of select finishing school
for girls. the Rye Seminary at Rye,
N. Y. She was born schoolmistress
and disciplinarian.
: How she got her first experience in
teaching and disciplining children is
when it may be recorded that in a
group Of eight children upon whom
she first practiced evenings after
school hours were John D. Rockefel-
ler and his two scarcely less famous
brothers, William and Frank Rookie
feller.
Mrs. Lies Story.
But let the story be told in the
words of Mrs. Life. when interviewed
at her home in Owego
MY mother was a remarkable
woman" said Mrs. Life. "She always
insisted that we children-there were
four of us-get a good report from
the schoolmaster before we were al
lowed to go skating OF coasting after
school. So we found it necessary to
study much at night.
| Soon after the Rockefeller family
removed to our neighborhood, Mrs.
Rockefeller came to my mother and
asked how 1t was that her children
did so we'll in their studies. Her chill
dren, she said, were backward. Ny
mother explained her system OF for
bidding all amusements unless school
reports were good. She added that
we children spent great deal of time
over our books in the evening.
Mrs. Rockefeller then asked If her
children could join the nightly study
period at our home My mother re-
piled:
| You will have to ask Susan. She
does not like to have any disturbance
| going on while she and the other
lchildren are at their books K
oENfH HRockefelle llexsprorn