149 
‘P* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
on the box. Whoever got the box ate 
with her. After the social we had a barn 
dance in a large barn near the school- 
house. Each couple had to pay 50 cents 
before entering the barn. We raised $200. 
A while after the social our teacher re¬ 
ceived a cheek for $25 from a rich farmer 
in the vicinity. 
We have 3G pupils in our school. I 
do not know exactly how many people 
came to the social, but it was nearly 
400. The night of the social I was sick, 
so could not go, but I helped decorate 
the barn and sehoolhouse. 
After buying our stove and paying the 
expenses of the box social we had $150 
left. We could not put our stove in the 
schoolroom, so we hired a carpenter and 
bought some lumber with the $150. The 
carpenter built an addition to the school. 
This we called the kitchen. 
Ten of us girls took up cooking. Each 
day at 10 o’clock two of us were dis¬ 
missed from school to prepare lunch. 
After many failures we became pretty 
good cooks. Each pupil who was served 
with a hot lunch had to pay so much a 
week. When lunch was ready one of the 
girls that had been dismissed became 
waitress. The pupils were served on 
their desks. Then two other girls washed 
the dishes. Your friend, 
New York. jeanette l. 
You will agree that Jeanette’s school 
has done a fine piece of work. The girlg 
are learning to cook, and all the pupils 
have something warm for lunch. I suspect 
that lessons are better prepared than they 
were before because of the new interest 
and spirit in the. school. Besides that, 
the whole community has had a share in 
the work and knows what is going on. Of 
Three Little Question Marks 
course there are many details that Jean¬ 
ette did not have room for in her letter, 
such as where the dishes came from, 
what sort of food they cook, where they 
get supplies and fuel, who teaches or 
directs the girls when they are first learn¬ 
ing and so on. But these must all be 
worked out carefully to make the final 
success. 
During the next few months 1 want 
to publish other reports from schools 
where warm lunches are served. Let us 
hear from you. 
The Winter Evenings 
We spend the Winter evenings by the 
fireside. Daddy goes and gets some apples 
from the pit, and if he has been to town 
lately we will have some nuts. Then 
Daddy gets a book and if it is extra 
good he reads it out loud. Mother gets 
her knitting, sister Doris crochets, Mar¬ 
jorie and Ralph play checkers or domi¬ 
noes. while I-draw or write poems until 
it is time to go to bed. dorothy dew. 
Michigan. 
In the Fall every day after my brother 
and I came home from school, we would 
go down below our home and pick up 
walnuts. Then the next evening we would 
shell them. My father has a corn-sheller, 
so I would turn it and my brother Lloyd 
would put the walnuts through. This 
would take the hulls off clean and nice 
and we could shell a lot. When Winter 
came we had about a barrel of walnuts. 
Now Winter has come and every even¬ 
ing after mother and I get the dishes 
washed Lloyd and I get our lessons, 
while papa and mamma read the farm 
papers. After we get our lessons we 
crack a large pan of nuts and eat them 
before we go to bed. Sometimes Lloyd 
goes to the cellar and gets some apples. 
This is the way we spend our Winter 
evenings. mary d. 
West Virginia. 
• The Nature Puzzle 
Carrie P., one of our New York 
readers, has sent us a nature puzzle, and I 
am glad that we can keep up this in¬ 
teresting piece of work. Some of you 
missed it last month. To tell you the 
truth I did not have one, but since then 
throe have come. Don’t let me run out 
again, will you? If we have a puzzle 
every month and each time you t®y to 
answer it and to learn all you can about 
the animal or bird or ti-ee or flower or 
weed or insect, pretty soon we shall find 
we know many things about the world of 
nature that we did not before. When you 
send in your answer tell some experi¬ 
ence you may have had with the 
what is IT? 
This little animal lives in water or close 
by. It is about the size of our wild 
brown rabbit, only its legs are shorter. 
It is dark brown in color with a long, 
scaly, black tail which is flattened on 
the sides and used some as a danger 
signal. It feeds on grasses and grass 
roots. It sometimes builds houses in 
still, deep places in ponds or creeks. 
The Picture Stories 
The rowboat picture in last month’s 
page was sent by Jewel .T., a New York 
State reader. Of course you could not 
guess where it was taken, but it made a 
good story picture just the same. Jewel 
and her family once lived on the Isthmus 
of Panama, in a town called Balboa. She 
says: “The picture was taken at Taboga, 
a little island 12 miles from Balboa. It 
is in the Pacific ocean, yet it is east of 
Panama. (How can that be? Get out 
your maps and seel. We spent three 
weeks there and had a glorious time. We 
had just come from getting sea shells, and 
the man who rowed the boat was not there, 
so we pretended to row it. From left 
to right the people are my sister Joy, 
myself. Aunt Jessie, mother and my 
brother Ernest. I am very eager to 
learn what the other children will write 
about it.” 
Many of you wrote. I am glad to have 
you try these picture stories. Here are 
a few of the best ones: 
Fun at a Picnic 
The children’s aunt was visiting at 
their home, and she had promised to 
take them to the beach, which was about 
a mile away. Of course they looked for¬ 
ward to the occasion as a day of plea¬ 
sure. They were to take lunch and stay 
all day. 
At last the day came, bright and sunny. 
They were up early and out to see if "it 
looked like xuiin, but it didn’t, and they 
were glad, 'I am sure. Now I must tell 
you something about the children them¬ 
selves. Their names were Ella, Mary and 
John Mores. They lived near Lake On¬ 
tario. Their aunt lived in New York 
City and did not come to see the children 
very often, and they were always glad 
to see her. 
Their mother was going, too. As soon 
as they were in eight of the lake John 
shouted, “I am going out in a boat!”, 
and he started to run, but was called 
back by his mothei*. When they reached 
the beach there were lots of things to 
do. When they had finished their lunch 
Two Times Three liquats - ! 
they rested a little while and then went 
on the water. All three of the children 
wanted to row, but each had a turn. 
John rowed first, then Ella and Mary 
rowed them to shoi'e. Someone on shore 
snapped their picture and here they are 
on Our Page, a happy little party'. 
New York. mary d. 9 years. 
a day’s outing 
Once there was a party of five. They 
were a very happy party. One day they 
went down to the river and went out in 
a rowboat. .Toe and Kate took turns 
rowing. Their mother was sitting at 
the other end with the baby, named 
Tom, who was looking at the water. 
There, were two other boats Tom was 
watching. They had a very good time, 
and wished to go again. So we hope they 
got home all right. 
New Jersey. hermial. 8 years. 
RESTING BY THE SHORE 
Once there lived a man who lived by 
the sea and spent his time fishing. This 
man had two boats. One of them was a 
large one and one was a smaller one. 
This man had three children. Their 
names were John, Mary and Agnes. One 
warm Summer day this man went out to 
fish. He took his larger boat because 
he was after large fish. There was an 
aunt of the children who was visiting at 
this house. After dinner the woman took 
the three children and went out to the 
smaller boat to spend the afternoon in it. 
We see them in this picture with John 
and Mary on one seat, and the other child 
playing in the bottom of the boat. 
New York. Horace f. 12 years. 
THE BOATING PARTY 
One day Edith. Helen. Mira and their 
mother were invited to Aunt Emma’s to 
spend the Summer. The three children 
and their mother lived in the city a long 
way from Aunt. Emma’s pretty little 
country home beside a pleasant lake. 
Edith had been to Auntie’s once when 
she was a little girl, but she could scarce¬ 
ly rememeber this. The two smaller 
children had never been there at all. 
Aunt Emma had written to them and told 
them that, she had a pretty gi-een boat, 
and sbe said that they would take a 
great many rides in it during the Sum¬ 
mer. 
They arrived at Aunt Emma’s on a 
Wednesday. They were all delighted and 
loved the place. Of course, the children 
wanted to go out in the. boat the first 
thing. The children, their mother and 
their aunt had many lovely and enjoyable 
rides that Summer, but there was one day 
that they always remembered, and always 
loved to talk about. It was just a few 
days before the children returned home 
the last of August, and they all wanted 
to have a boating party. They packed 
their lunch and started out in the boat. 
They were going acx-oss the lake to a 
pi’etty little park and remain there all day. 
All that day they roamed thrbugh the park 
and^ enjoyed themselves. 
Now, soon after they had come to 
Aunt Emma’s, Edith had learned to rmv 
the boat, and so, that night when they 
were ready to go home she asked to row 
Just as they got in the middle of the lake 
a man on a boat near theirs snapped 
their picture, and so here they are. 
New York. Nathalie m. 12 years 
Posing for Their Pictures 
AT THE SEASHORE 
Rena had always lived in the couuti'y 
a long way from the seashoi-e. But one 
day last Spring her father came to her 
and asked how she would like to spend 
the Summer at the seashore. She thought 
it would be lovely. So when the weather 
got warm they packed up and started 
with Rena’s two sisters, her mother and 
father and Aunt May. They arrived at 
their bungalow late in the day. The 
house was all furnished and all they had 
to do was to settle things around. 'They 
got this done before dark. 
In the morning they all went out in a 
boat. The water was fine and Rena got 
so she could row some. In the aftexmoon 
Rena and her sisters, her mother anil 
Aunt May went out again. After rowing 
ai-ound a while they drove the boat upon 
the beach. While they were there a man 
with a camera took their pictures. 
New York. carrie p. 15 years. 
THE ROWERS 
Helen. Alice and their brother Donald, 
with their mother and aunt, are at the 
seashore. The children asked if thev 
might go out in the boat. Their aunt 
promised she would take them if they 
were good. 
In the afternoon their aunt got oxxt 
the rowboat. The childi’en’s mother went 
with them. Helen and Alice are x’owing. 
Donald is sitting with his mother and 
aunt. The sun is setting, and they are 
on their homeward trip. Don’t you think 
they have enjoyed their row? As they 
were near the shore their friend was pass¬ 
ing. She saw them and took the picture 
which you see. Margaret m. 
New York. 
Notes 
The lines in the box were sent by 
Gertrude S. of Ohio. I know you will 
echo her feelings, and that this coming 
year will be a great one for Our Page 
because you will all do your share to 
impi’ove it. 
Our warm thanks are extended to all 
who sent the pictures that make Our 
Page this month so attractive. 
Jeanette L., New York, says, '‘Don’t 
you think it would be nice if some of 
the boys and girls that write to Our Page 
Look Pleasant, Please 
would tell some of their adventui'es when 
learning some of the many difficult sporty 
such as skating, skiing, roller skating, 
riding a bicyle, walking on stilts, and 
others.” 
There is one very important point 
that I hope you will all keep in mind 
when you send me anything for Our Page. 
If you take a poem or puzzle or joke or 
stoi’y from some book or magazine, be 
sure to tell me where, and always give 
the author’s name when you know it. 
We must not use things that have been 
planted before unless we give credit or 
ask permission. I think nearly all authors 
and editors will be glad to have us find 
pleasure in their work, but just to take 
the things would be as bad as going into 
a neighbor’s orchard and taking his 
apples, when he did not know anything 
about it. So always give me all the in¬ 
formation. Then I can decide what is 
right to do. 
I would like to have Elizabeth T., of 
Maryland, tell me where she got the 
pretty poem she sent some weeks ago. 
Good-by. now, for another month. Send 
your letters soon addressed to Edward M. 
Tuttle, in care of The Rural New- 
Yorker. 333 West 30th Street, New 
York City. 
