A Rural School by Ettie V. Brown

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 22, 1916

A Rural School

By Ettie V. Brown

WE send a few words of encouragement from our little rural school here in the mountains near Rome, Ga. We started a free school for white children in one room of our small cabin. The school grew beyond our expectations, and when it closed, at the end of eight months, we had twenty-two children, whose ages varied from six to fifteen years, all crowded into the small room.

Many others wish to come as soon as the cotton is “chopped,” so it has become necessary to plan for a place to hold the school. Friends in San Fernando, Cal., sent us a few dollars to start our fund. We laid the matter before the people of our neighborhood, and they were ready to help what they could. The editors of the Tribune-Herald of Rome took an interest in our work, and offered encouragement through the channel of their paper. When we approached the merchants, lawyers, and other business men of the city, we felt that angels had gone before us, and with scarcely an exception every man was ready to help with a donation and words of commendation and good wishes.

Just one year ago we made the start to raise the money, and now our schoolhouse stands under the beautiful oak trees. It is all inclosed, oil finished inside, and has one coat of paint on the outside. Two days’ more work and it will be finished. It will seat fifty pupils, is neat and sanitary, and rightly represents the work we are trying to do. Patrons and friends here have made pledges to cover the amount due on the house, and we shall do all we can to have every cent paid in a few weeks. The people certainly appreciate what is being done for their children.

We were urged to start a Sunday school, but had no place to hold it. Now that the weather is warm, we have organized a Sunday school a half mile from our home, where we have the use of a large pavilion and plenty of benches. We expect to have between seventy-five and one hundred in attendance, and hope to make it a source of light to these people.

We pray for God to bless our crops,

so that we may have the necessities of life and be able to push forward in work for the Master. The burdens fall heavily on our little family of four, but we are not discouraged. Pray for the work in this neglected field.

ETTIE V. BROWN AND FAMILY.