Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-01-15
Interesting Letter
From Abroad by
Former Teacher

The following letter from Miss Ha-
Eel Woodbury.. formerly supervisor
of music in the local schools, who is
now touring Europe and Asia. will
be Of interest to her many Gardiner
friends here. 1t was sent to Mrs.
Annie Fossett, teacher of the Kinder
hook street school in Randolph, and
her pupils.
Steamship Paul Licat"
Enroute from COLOMBIA,
Ceylon, to Hong Kong,
China via Singapore
November q, 1924
Dear Mrs. Fossett and children of
Undertook:
Today is Thanksgiving and so a
very good time for me to be remem-
boring the people at home and to be
sending back my thanks for all their
kindness to me. 1 ought to have
written you long ago, but l have
seemed to have little time for writ
ing letters, and after going out to
see the places of interest in the
towns we have visited l have usually
been too tired to feel like writing.
We are passing the Island of Su-
matra and going into the strait be-
tween it and the Malay Peninsula.
l have been having a fine trip. After
crossing the Atlantic on a ship call
ed America" l passed a week in
Paris. Then l went in an airship
across the English Channel to Lon
don. That was interesting because
l could look down from high up in
the air upon the beautiful fields and
woods and nice gardens of France
then upon the seashore and the wat
err. and the high sandy bluffs of Eng
I
of neat little red-roofed brick cot
tages before we swooped down upon
the Croydon Field. just outside Of
London. Some times we were above
the clouds and the sunshine upon US
while a little village below was hav-
ing rain from the cloud below us.
There were twelve passengers in
the airship.
1 passed four days in London then
went to some other places in Eng
land and Scotland. From there
went to Holland and Belgium and
Switzerland. In Switzerland l visit
ed a school house where some little
girls were having their sewing les
son. While l was there one Of the
classes sang me some songs which
they had learned in school. In Hol-
land some of the children In small
you have pictures in your geogra.
phies of children wearing those and
long skirted dresses or very full
trousers YOU will know that they are
just exactly like the boys and girls
of Scheveningen Ca little village
close to Hague. Holland) or the is
lands of Volendam and Marken.
When l was IN Italy later in the
summer some little boys and girls
We're singing and playing a game in
the garden which was built on the
top of some ruins high up above the
Roman Forum, a place which you
will learn about when you go to high
school. In Egypt one Sunday morn
Ing class OF American children
sang hymn to us in their own Ian
guage. They were sitting at desks
Just as you do every day because the
room In which they were having
their Sunday school lesson was used
during the week as school room
Tor Egyptian boys and girls. In In
dia many children do not go to school
but work in stores and little open
shops or beg for pennies from peo-
pie who visit the beautiful old build
ings In their towns. For many peo-
pie do like to see these buildings SO
the children stay nearby so as to
beg from them
The other day in another kinder
garten school some of the children
wore nice dresses and coats and
trousers while others were like
these. (post card enclosed.) One tiny
boy had green suit and when we
passed him on his way to school was
carrying green umbrella. There
were about so or IS children in that
one class and they sang me a song
not keeping together very well as
they are not taught much music, but
l enjoyed hearing them.
When l came away from America
l thought l would use my leather
bag mostly and save the one Won
gave me for best" one, but do Won
Know instead of doing that am car
rying yours all the time, because II
holds my passports and seems to be
just right for the other things
want to carry. The silk is begin
nlng to wear so it won't look so nice
when come home as hoped to have
1t. but after all l guess YOU will he
giad to hear that l am using it even
n II does wear out. I surely thank
you all very much for giving it to
me, and 1 wonder just how could
nave gotten along without 1t. "Mer-
ry Christmas" to You all and I send
you my love.
AS always your friend.
HAZEL WOODBURY.