1280 
Vht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Boys and Girls 
By Edward M. Tuttle 
Our page holds something new and 
month for us to learn, think, talk 
interesting each 
and write about 
ITc harvests his garden and puts it in trim; 
She gathers Fall flowers and shows than to him. 
Both love the country, no matter what seasonj 
I wonder how many of us know the reason. 
Long before breakfast this morning 
(October 10) your editor was at work on 
Our Page. The first thing to do is to 
select the pictures and write the words to 
go under them. This time little rhymes 
seemed to come easiest, and you see the 
result. The next task is to arrange the 
pictures on the two pages so that they 
will look best. Have you ever thought 
of that? It makes a lot of difference 
which way they go. 
After breakfast I began to look through 
the big folder of letters that I have saved 
to use. I wish you could read them with 
me. They come from boys and girls of 
all ages. They come from all parts of the 
country. They tell about all kinds of 
things. Some of them ask hard ques¬ 
tions. Some of them contain big prob¬ 
lems. All of them are real, alive, inter¬ 
esting, worth while. Until noon I read 
and sorted and thought about these let¬ 
ters, trying to decide which ones to pub¬ 
lish this month. My desk was covered. 
I wanted to print them all. I could not 
choose between them. 
'So this afternoon I left them for a 
time and went out into the sunshine to 
help cut and bind and stack some fodder 
corn. It was a wonderful day, the “bright 
blue weather” that someone has said 
comes in October. Who said it? A 
strong, warm wind was blowing from the 
south that seemed to lift one out of him¬ 
self and blow him clean and full of new 
life and strength. 
As I worked I thought about my boys 
and girls and their letters. Yes, I am 
glad the letters came. I am glad you 
write me freely and frankly, and I will 
do my best for you. But I have no magic 
wand to cure all trouble or to bring all 
your wishes true. I am just a grown-up 
boy. a little farther along the road than 
you are, anxious to help you to find all 
that is best on that road of life. 
A Boy’s Problem 
There is a letter from n 16-year-old boy 
who says he wanted to write before, but 
oination” is to write plays, stories and 
songs. lie goes on to say: “I have an 
idea always in my head and can't get rid 
of it. I love to write, and my teachers 
always said I was a good story maker, as 
I have written a play for our school, and 
some poems. Please tell me what to do. 
I do not want my parents to know unless 
you think best.” 
Now, what can we say tc this boy? 
Perhaps not a great deal, because we do 
not know him personally, or all the con¬ 
ditions of his home life. But there are 
a few things that, seem clear. Certainly 
it would be best for him to be frank with 
his parents. Hidden things are not good. 
Then we will hope that his parents are 
the right kind, that they do not laugh at 
him, or forbid him to try out his talents. 
Rather we hope they will help him to dis¬ 
cover whether his “fascination” amounts 
to anything or whether it will wear out 
under a real test. In the meantime we 
expect that the 'boy will not neglect his 
present tasks, but will do them better 
than ever if anything, and then be free 
to write his stories. 
If he sends some of his writings to mag¬ 
azines or to companies that offer to sell 
them, he must expect that often they will 
come back. This is nothing to be sorry 
about, or for his family to joke over. 
Every writer goes through the same ex¬ 
perience, more or less. When a story 
comes back it should be rewritten and 
improved, and then sent somewhere else. 
It is patience and perseverance that 
count toward final success. The boy must 
find out himself whether he has the ability 
to develop his talent. I believe boys and 
girls should have every chance that is 
right and within their means to “find 
themselves,” to discover their talents. But 
you must learn to tell the real thing from 
a “false alarm.” and it is always wisest 
to be guided by the advice and judgment 
of parents, who are older and have more 
knowledge of the world. 
Then there is 
Liking the Farm 
You will remember the letter last 
month from Mary Heller. It stirred up 
a lot of you, and below are some of the 
letters on both sides of the question. Your 
editor is not going to say much about 
this just now, because he wants to let 
you discuss it more among yourselves. 
But I have one thought for you that has 
something to do with the matter. It is 
this: That happiness doesn’t depend so 
much on where we are or on what we 
have as it does on what we are and on 
how we look at things. This idea is ex¬ 
pressed in a little verse selected from a 
collection by a New Hampshire reader, 
which says 
Just being happy is a fine thing to do; 
Looking at the bright side rather than 
the blue. 
Sad or sunny musing, is largely in the 
choosing; 
Just being happy is brave work and true. 
So here are the letters. After you 
read them write me what you think about 
it. 
I thought I would like to help answer 
Mary Heller’s letter. 
I am 14 years of age. I live on a small 
farm of 76 acres with my parents. I have 
four brothers and two sisters. I have 
lived on a farm all my life. Like Mary 
Heller, I have to help with the farm work 
and housework, too. I know it is hard 
work on a farm, but if you have a few 
picnics, parties and festivals it is not so 
bad. I go to Sunday school and church 
every Sunday, and to Y. P. C. E. Sunday 
evening. Then we have choir practice 
once a week. Our Sunday school class is 
called the Busy Bees. It has a party 
once a month. We try to have something 
different every month. 
At home we have our table piled with 
books and papers all the time. We like 
to read very much. Though it is hard 
work, I think a country girl can enjoy 
herself as well as a city girl. 
Pennsylvania. Mary a. snyder. 
1 do not agree with Mary Heller about 
the farm. I like the farm. I think if 
Mary would leave the entertainments 
alone and take more interest in the farm 
she would be better off. I believe in good 
times on the farm, too. I like to take 
walks through the woods, pick flowers 
and watch the bubbling brooks. You can 
take a good book and go to some shady 
October 29, 1921 
I am 14 years old and live on a farm 
of 50 acres. I do not like the farm be¬ 
cause it is an unhappy place. Mary Hel¬ 
ler isn’t a bit wrong. One may have a 
world full of fresh air on the farm, but 
twice as much hard work. I had to quit 
going to school three years ago to do the 
work at home. I now work as much as a 
man. I work in the field every day, and 
on rainy days I can things for Winter. 
I vouldn’t mind the hard work if I could 
have good times and be happy. 
I am writing this letter on Sunday on 
account of no time on week days. I will 
close now, hoping some day I’ll be away 
from the farm. madge w. 
A Wideawake Reader 
The following letter shows how closely 
some of you keep in touch with Our Page 
and all that is going on. Warren writes 
regularly every month, and his letters are 
Forest and G or den never lack 
An. Autumn ride on pony hack 
always interesting, but he has never had 
one published before. So now his perse¬ 
verance is rewarded and all of you benefit 
by it. 
Dear Mr. Tuttle: I thought I would 
write to you again this month. I like to 
write letters to Our Page. 
Before Our Page goes to press I shall 
be 13 years old, for my birthday is Oc¬ 
tober 3. I have another birthday to cele¬ 
brate this October, a birthday which we 
all can share, the second anniversary of 
Our Page. May we all join together, 
and try to help make Our Page even bet¬ 
ter than it has been. 
I was gladly surprised when I found 
the lines in the “box” that I wrote. I 
has not had the courage to do so. 
lives on a /fig farm, but his greatest “fas- 
“See the chickens pick up food, 
Aren’t they white and pretty; 
We have brought them something good,”- 
Florence cried to Betty. 
A Girl’s Problem 
She lives on a farm, but during the 
week has to board in a small city, where 
she goes to high school. Her parents are 
making sacrifices to give her and her 
brothers and sisters an education. She is 
not strong. Last Winter she had a seri¬ 
ous illness, but during the Summer she 
seemed to grow well again in the outdoor 
life of the farm. Now she is finding it 
hard to become accustomed to the city 
life and noises. Her room in the board¬ 
ing house has only one window. At home 
her room has three windows. The air 
seems suffocating. She is not feeling so 
well again. Can she stand the indoor 
life and study? Yet she does not want to 
quit. What shall she do? 
How real these problems are to us, 
aren’t they? Each one has something to 
meet, to solve. We cannot advise this 
girl reader. It is a case for a doctor to 
decide if it gets any worse. But we feel 
sure it would be well for her not to worry 
too lnuch about herself. And it ought to 
be possible for her to got out into the 
open air for a while each day. if only for 
a long, brisk walk. A little thought and 
planning may make things look brighter, 
and the week-ends at home will be like a 
.vonderful tonic. We hope our friend 
will be able to slick it out and to gradu¬ 
ate with flying colors. 
Now then, hurrah, we 
For a glorious run in 
nook where the birds are singing and 
read. There is lots of entertainment on 
the farm if you just find it. I don’t be¬ 
lieve in young people going to dances, 
moving pictures and such places for en¬ 
tertainment. (MISS) J. E. CI1ESBRO. 
Connecticut. (17 years.) 
I have been thinking about Mary Hel¬ 
ler’s letter. I wonder if it is just because 
she does not enjoy her work that she does 
not like the farm. If I was Mary I 
would change my mind about the city and 
stay on the farm with my parents. I am 
quite sure that she would not be very long 
in the city before she would get sick of it. 
I love to live on the farm, especially in 
the Summer time, when everything is so 
nice and green. viola corron. 
New York. 
I was very much interested in Mary 
Heller’s letter. I agree with her that the 
farm is not a very enjoyable place. This 
is the third year I have lived on a farm 
and I do not like it a bit. I am 15 years 
old. but do not go to school. I left school 
when 13 years old and in the sixth grade 
on account of my mother’s poor health. 
I help father with farm work during 
the daytime, and in the evening I help 
mother with housework. I do all the 
washing and ironing myself. I find the 
girls here in the country very unsociable. 
They do not care to make friends. So 
you see I have no girl friends here at all. 
I used to think the country was a won¬ 
derful place, but I find it very different, 
always working hard and never having 
any pleasure. Wish I knew Mary Heller. 
!’m sure T’d like her. 
Pennsylvania. 
are ready to start 
this “ Billy-goat-cart ” 
have found out that what we send may 
be printed several months later, like 
Margaret Flood’s letter and my lines for 
the “box” and some other things you 
have printed. 
I haven’t been to school yet this Fall, 
because I have been sick, but I expect to 
go soon. You said “Hardly a home in the 
land is beyond hearing of a school bell.” 
I live about a mile from the schoolhouse 
and I cannot hear it from here. There 
are probably many houses “in the land” 
that are more than a mile from the school- 
house. Of course some school bells may 
be louder than the bells here, but it seems 
as though there would he many homes in 
the land beyond hearing of a school bell. 
I don't want to offend you, Mr. Tuttle, 
but I thought perhaps you would think 
differently if you lived here. 
And now a few lines in regard to Mary 
Heller’s point of view of the farm. She 
says she does not like the farm. She 
says there is nothing to keep the boys 
and girls on the farm but hard work. 
She does not say whether she has any¬ 
thing of her own to care for or not. If 
she has not she might like the farm bet¬ 
ter if she did have, like Alta M. Brace, 
or something else if she liked it better 
than poultry. She said she did not mind 
hard work, so there must be some other 
reason why she does not like the farm. I 
suppose she would rather live in the city 
than on the farm. If she lived in the city 
for a while she might be glad to get back 
to the farm. One of my cousins, a boy 
ahout m.v age, is a city boy, and he is 
always glad to come to the farm. I have 
never been in a large city, but I think 
the farm is a very good place to live. 
As for < ntertainment, 1 wonder what 
Also there is this question of 
('ll ARROLLET C. 
