Evening star., 1935-11-24
November n, 1885

miles back and forth each day that school was
in session. To be sure the school term was not
long one. but she learned to read and write
and to value education. When she grew up
and married and with her man made home
of her own. much of this early training and
experience bore fruit
Standing in the open room. between the two
closed rooms of the little cabin, with two
small grandchildren, my old lady was almost
as astounding as her garden. She had on a
cotton dress which had been freshly laun-
dered, and cotton stockings and shoes!
Praise of her garden seemed to overcome
her natural shyness. She showed with pardon
able pride the cabbage patch where there
wasn't a single worm! WHO did the spray
ing?" asked. They had never even heard of
it The children explained that they rose with
the sun and picked off every worm and
brought the water from the spring. The spring
was good freestone spring. and the spring
house built above it was simple and strong.
AS we talked the shyness melted away and
finally one little girl volunteered, 1--WE have
a picture in the other room"
The stranger seemed to have won the
confidence of the old lady at last, and she
asked me into her kitchen, where dinner was
being prepared. 1t was clean and neat. with
two hunks in one corner but could not stay
here long for the little girl must show me the
other room. We crossed the open room and
here indeed was surprise: an iron bedstead,a a
great luxury in the mountains; two blanket
chests and bureau for furniture, and on the
walls most anna azing paper.
Frequently the picture sections OF news
papers are used to paper walls. Some
times newspapers as whole are put
on in the interest of warmth. But here
was an attempt to use newspaper
decoratively Only the columns of
editorial type had been used and they
had been pasted cross-wise SO that the
type ran down, giving the impression
of very fine stripes. Every column was
carefully cut out; :; it was hard to realize
that it was not really wall paper. On
this wall hung 'the Picture" - colored
print from 1.-The Christian Herald of
Christ walking through mountain pas
lures carrying lamb in His arms. Be-
meath the picture was written, The
Lord Is My Shepherd, Shall Not
Want"
Outside again. the story of the crepe
myrtle was told Some years previous
mountain boy had married girl from
South Carolina, and from her garden
in the sunny South she had brought
this plant Everybody told her it could
not live in that mountain climate -
everybody, that is, except my old lady,
who believed that if you loved flowers
enough you could perform miracles.
Together she and the girl had pro-
tected the plant in winter and kept it
n alive to bloom in the garden every
4. summer. When, few years later, the
human southern flower faded and died,
she begged the old lady to take her
crepe myrtle. Each winter every little
branch was done up in straw and the
ground around the roots carefully COW
cred, so the plant continued to bloom
every summer, adding its beauty and
fragrance to the mountain garden and
reminding those who loved her of the
little southern girl herself.
All of the old lady's sixty years had
been lived on the mountain and she
hardly realized that the land was not
actually her own until one day word
came that her cabin - her mountain,
s in fact - had been sold to the govern
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