4
THE
CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
TO OUR Y. W. C. A.
A N IN T E R E S T IN G L E T T E R B Y A FO RM ER M EM BER
T has been a little over a year now since I left Che-
m awa w ith a heavy h eart, not only because I had to
leave m ania, whom I have never loved and appreci
ated so m uch as since my enforced absence from her,
b u t also because I was leaving so m any dear friends;
my friends of years w ith whom I have been associated
th ro u g h the happiest and saddest experieneesof life.
F o rtu n a tely for me, my tim e was full of w ork d u rin g th e day and in the
evening new friends th a t I made would make in very pleasant, and it
was only w hen I would be in mv room alone th a t, in retrospect, I would
live over the happy days w ith everybody at Chem aw a.
Very dear m em ories are clustered around our Y. W . C. A . m eetings
w hen we girls m et together and talked of the battles we had to fight
each day. O ur concerted determ ination to stand to g eth er for the
rig h t and try to keep our lives as near in the straig h t path of d u ty as
our weak hum anity would perm it, are am ong mv very happiest rem em
brances. Y ou do not know w hat joy it b rin g s me to hear of the valiant
w ork all of you have been doing, how the girls seem inspired to perse
vere and hold honor and in teg rity of purpose above all th in g s else. I
wish to congratulate all of you on the splendid w ork you have accom
plish and I know th a t the fu tu re holds m any th in g s in store for you, dear
girls, because of yo u r faithfulness. R ight here I m ight say I now real
ize how im portant it is to ha ye a good foundation of all th e subjects
ta u g h t w hile in the grades and hope you will stu d y earn estly , not m ere
ly to pass the exam inations, but to acquire a th o rough know ledge of the
w ork em braced in the subjects ta u g h t, because you will need th is i n
form ation w hen you go out in the world to m ake a living. I m eet so
m any of the you n g men and women who are seeking positions w hen
they are not fully qualified, frequently being deficient in p u n ctu atio n ,
spelling, and the essentials th a t go to m ake up a good letter.
I am fo rtu n ate enough to have for my Sunday School teacher a Miss
H olm es, who is connected w ith th e city Y . W . C. A ., and she is a
splendid teacher. T h ere are about tw enty girls in the class and each
S unday we learn so m uch.
W ashin g to n is a very beautiful city, different from any o th er I have
ever visited, and especially unlike our w estern cities. T h ere are m any
g ran d G overnm ent buildings filled w ith in terestin g ex h ib its and w ithin
its d istrict of ten miles square are m any beautiful parks. T h e b u ilding
in w hich I w ork is in th e m idst of one of these parks, w hich m akes it