80 ADVENTURES IN IDEALISM 



desire to Americanize the youth of Woodbine and to 

 inculcate in them the true American spirit, that only 

 one whose forefathers were natives would satisfy him. 

 Slowly, but surely the work of the American-born 

 teacher took root in the minds and hearts of the little 

 ones, who had their eyes and ears wide open to every 

 new impression. 



The Christmas holidays of 1892 approached. A few 

 Christian families lived in Woodbine and coming in 

 contact daily with them and the people of the surround- 

 ing villages, the Jewish children could not but be 

 aroused to a holiday spirit as well. We had about 

 seventy-five school-children at the time, for, besides 

 the farmers' little ones, there were the children of the 

 Jewish factory employees. It happened that Chanuka, 

 the Feast of Lights, fell that year within Christ- 

 mas week. So, to give our own school-children, too, a 

 chance to enjoy a happy holiday, my husband asked 

 our Committee to give a certain sum of money to 

 cover the cost of the festivities. The Committee cheer- 

 fully agreed, and with one hundred dollars in my 

 pocketbook, I went to Philadelphia and bought for 

 each child a top, a book and a box of candy, as well 

 as fruit and soft drinks for the older folks. So we 

 prepared a simple entertainment. The factory was 

 again turned into a jollification place, and the first 

 public school entertainment by and for Woodbine 

 school-children took place. 



During the evening two of the employees in the 



