JANIARV, 1922 



GLEANINGS T N BEE CULTURE 



41 



JVl Lord 



■iluill a tiiiin Iciivc li 

 shall cleave inito lii 

 flesli. — Gkn. 2:24. 



ll 



be 

 praised, 

 that just now 

 tho iiiotluTs of 

 our Nation (ami 

 I hope and pray, 

 the mothers of 

 the great wide 

 world) are re- 

 ceiving more 

 recognition than 

 ever before since 

 the world began. 

 Somebody h a s 

 said, ' ' The hand 

 that rocks the 

 cradle is the 

 liaiid that rules 

 the world; ' ' and 

 I thank the Lord 



it seems to be coming true. I want to tell 

 3'ou now of one mother I have known very 

 intimately for the past 65 years. 



I was one of seven children, three older 

 and three younger. When I was about 15 

 father moved back on to a farm in Medina 

 County, that he had chopped out of the 

 wilderness years before. In going to the 

 country school there, a sister younger than 

 1 found a schoolgirl friend; and while I 

 was off at school in Wellsville, on the Ohio 

 River, she wrote me about this new school- 

 girl friend. Let me explain here that I was 

 a weakly child and usually played with the 

 girls rather than the boys, because I 

 couldn 't stand the rough outdoor sports, and 

 this younger sister was my particular friend 

 and champion thru early life. She wrote 

 that she had found the best girl for me for 

 a wife, in the irhoJe wide rrorJd. Little did 

 I realize then the wonderful truth she was 

 unconsciously telling. When I was about 17 

 I came home, and in due time met my sis- 

 ter Sara's girl friend, Susan Hall. She 

 came across the water from "Merrie Eng- 

 land" when 8 years old. There was a ruddy 

 freshness on her smiling face that apjiealed 

 to me from the verj' first; and, dear friends, 

 I caught a glimpse of that wonderful charm 

 on the dear face, as it lay cold in death but 

 a few days ago. 



I think Sara had told her what she had 

 written me before I came; and so, of course, 

 there were becoming blushes on that child- 

 ish face when we first met. 



It seemed to be, almost, "love at first 

 sight, ' ' and I am afraid both of us came 

 near forgetting for a time the dear friend 

 and sister who brought us together. 



But "Sue," even if she was only 15, had 

 good sense enougli to call a hnlt. She said 

 something like this: 



"Amos, my good father has worked hard 

 for the means of sending me to the high 

 school, and I am working hard to get an 

 education. Your fretiuent visits are a se- 

 rious iiiterruj)ti()ii. Neithei- of us is old 



OUR HOMES 



A. I. ROOT 



a 



It is not Rood that m;in should lie alone. — Ge.n" 

 2:18. 



Therefore 

 mother, and 

 shall lie one 



father 

 wife: ; 



and his 

 nd thev 



And God blessed them, and said unto them. Be 

 fruitful, and multiply, and leplenish the earth, and 



subdue it. — Gkn. 1 :28. 



Her price is far above rubies. — Prov. 31:10. 



( ' 1 1 ( I n g 1 1 . ■ ' J 

 plc.'idi'd for ;iii 

 engagement, hut 

 she still said, 

 "Wait until we 

 are both older. ' ' 

 (I have already 

 told you in for- 

 mer Houie pa- 

 I)ers al)()ut this.) 

 T had been all 

 this time experi- 

 menting w i t h 

 chemistry a n d 

 electricity, and I 

 decided I would 

 go out in the 

 world, and earn 

 a reputation that 

 even she would 

 recognize. In 

 due time handbills announced that "Prof. 

 A. I. Root" (only 17, mind you) would 

 deliver a lecture at a certain schoolhouse, 

 on chemistry and electricity; admission, 

 10 cents; children and scholars, 5 cents. 

 I was gone two or maybe three years, and 

 came home fairly well dressed, and with 

 a little money in my pocket. I think Sue 

 was fairly well pleased with it all, except 

 the word "Professor," when I had hard- 

 ly a common school education. She was 

 then 18, and I was 20. "Praise the Lord." 

 from that time on, every move of my busy 

 life was subiect to her inspection and ap- 

 proval. W^hile off on these trips I paid a 

 .ieweler $25.00 to give me instruction in 

 the repair of clocks and watches. Of 

 course this would amount to but little, had 

 it not been for my skill acquired in con- 

 structing electrical apparatus. Altho there 

 were two jewelers in Medina already doing 

 a fair business, I started a third store, and 

 in a few years I had the only jewelry store 

 in town . The other two couldn 't stand such 

 opposition (in the way of zeal to please cus- 

 tomers) as I gave. Before we were married 

 that same devoted sister and her bosom 

 friend came into my humble store and gave 

 it a "house cleaning," and gave vie some 

 advice in regard to personal habits and 

 neatness. When we were talking of mar- 

 riage an aunt of Sue expressed a fear 

 that I would never have "vitality enough 

 to support a wife." I think it was meant 

 kindly, and it really did us both good. I de- 

 cided then and there we would shnic the 

 good relative.* In due. time I began to sell 

 goods, as well as repair clocks and watches. 

 I wanted a trademark to show cost, as well 

 as selling price. A sentence is usually chosen 

 containing 10 letters, no two alike. This 

 was /»,// trademark: "My own Susie." There 

 are two letter s 's, but one is a capital, and 



* Years after, when I not only supported a wife 

 but fjave work to a hundred or more, this good 

 woman bei-a-ne a widow and supported herself for 

 .\e'i-s liy makin:? beeveils for The .\. I. Uoot Com 

 pany. 



