Jennie, the Teacher

1905 would be the last year Miss Jennie Pugh taught history at Lebanon High School before she married then attorney, Frank Hutchinson. The following are excerpts from the school's annual, the Lebanon Cedars.

from The Faculty

"With us the whole four years remained Miss Pugh, for a thing of beauty is a joy forever. She had always the law, or one of its exponents, on her side -- if driving or walking on her right side, if in the parlor, all the way around."

I love the thinly veiled description of their courtship from a teenagers point of view.

An Episode

Miss Pugh, the teacher with golden mane

In our High School ne'er raises cain,

Her sway is always sweet and mild

Hence oft by youthful pranks beguiled.

Three lads one day of mischief's crew

Had plotted a sinful deed to do.

They're Sophomores - now their names you know

Each to law a deadly foe.

One boy, a cruel, sinful, lout,

By artful ruse enticed her out.

The others then with crafty spite

Hung over the chair a parasite.

This plant was nothing bad, you know,

Only a spray of mistletoe,

But where it hung - ah! that was it,

Just over the place where she would sit.

Then back they stole to proper seats,

Trying to still their loud heart-beats:

In fear lest when she should return

She'd all their fiendish plot discern.

Soon back she came, with usual smile,

Not once suspecting of any guile

And looking not to left nor right

She took the seat - to their delight.

A moment then with silence fraught,

While "Little Perk," his nerve up-wrought

Then left his seat with trembling speed

Came to her side and - did the deed.

Of course she blushed and blustered, too,

At such a strange sensation, new,

But saw the joke as did the rest

And then her laugh outdid the best.

- Tom Harney

Is Severely Injured By Fall Down Stairway

Mrs. Elizabeth Pugh Injured in Accident at Home of Daughter, Mrs. Frank Hutchinson

____________________________

Mrs. Elizabeth Pugh was severely injured this morning by a fall down the stairway at the home of her daughter, Mrs Frank Hutchinson on North Lebanon street. Mrs Pugh suffered a fracture of the left arm below the elbow and was also injured about the left hip. Dr. Herma A Beck attended her.

Mrs. Pugh is 75 years of age and her injuries because of her age may prove serious.

_______________________

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the Lebanon Daily Reporter on Tuesday, February 10, 1920. Mrs Pugh had come to visit Jennie her daughter, and Frank her son-in-law, the original builders of our house. She died shortly after this incident. This is another reason why I tell the kids not to run on the stairs.

Harvest Prayer

The sumac's flickering tapers light

The chancel of the church

Where walls are paned with aspen

And candle-sticks are birch.

The oak trees wear red mitres,

And the sweetgum's purple sleeves

Are raised in benedictions

To the prayerful sound of leaves.

The pumpkins, squash and carrots

Their gilded vestments wear;

And grapes and plums and apples

Are incense in the air.

The bins of corn are altars, spread

With summer's minted gold,

While honey stiffens in the hive

In sweet mosaics of cold.

And priestly autumn listens to

This thankful harvest prayer,

Told by woods and fields and farmlands

On a rosary of air.

by Florence Hutchinson Lonsford (previous owner)

Conner Prairie

I got to tour several old homes yesterday when I joined Josiah's second grade class on a field trip to Conner Prairie, a highly interactive living history museum. And since it was their Country Fair, there were some unique activities going on. In 1836 Prairietown, he helped the carpenter's son pedal the lathe, watched the blacksmith make a knife and chatted with the potter's wife. He was intrigued with all her pelts and declined a taste of the squirrel pottage she was fixing for lunch.

At the Golden Eagle Inn he helped shoo the chickens out of the kitchen. But it was at Mr. Whitacre's General Store that he really got into the whole reenactment thing after bartering two days of sweeping the store in exchange for a pocket knife. Too bad he doesn't have a way to get back there. Guess he'll just have to wait for that knife :)

Traveling back to 1886 Libertyville, we and joined in a game of baseball on the Zimmerman farm (complete with wool uniforms, stick bats and leather work gloves for mitts). The judging was starting soon for the chickens, pies, vegetables, and preserves with ribbons to be awarded. Some local farmers were checking out the "new" farm implements on display and the kids were trying some of the games like ring toss and slingshots.

We then ventured to a 1816 Lenape Indian camp where he haggled over trading mink pelts and tried to impress the local natives with his hatchet throwing skills.

We both had lots of fun. If you're ever in central Indiana and are looking for a great family activity, be sure to check out Conner's Prairie. They have more than enough activities to fill several days of fun.

Where The Wild Things Are

This evening while working out in the yard we saw several critters, some regulars and some surprises. The list included two praying mantis. We even watched one catch and eat a fly. There are several caterpillars hanging out in the dill. The large black and yellow spider has moved from the east to the south side of the house. Several pill bugs which Elizabeth likes to carry them around as "pets". Honey bees and bumble bees continue to argue over the flowers and after coming inside I could feel something crawling on the back of my neck; it was an inch worm. Apparently we have a healthy, thriving yard.

Yew'll Be Gone

Another project this past holiday weekend, was ripping out the evergreen shrub under the back window. It really didn't fit with the prairie landscape motif and was past its prime anyway. So I clipped off the lower branches and attacked it with an axe.

Amy picked out a clump of Maiden Grass to fill in the spot and maybe help cover up the window air conditioner. With the shrub gone, it should be a lot easier to put it in and take it out too.

No Rest For The Wicked

FT

I'm ready to go back to work where I can relax a bit! This morning we went to Altum's Nursery and picked up a dozen mums, a couple ferns and some plants for potting. Once we got home there was the usual "discussion" about where each plant should go. Some couples argue over finances or how to squeeze tubes of toothpaste but we have disagreements about landscaping. It's not like we haven't transplanted anything before, so I'm not sure why it's so important to be right. (but I usually am, did I just type that?) And so I spent the rest of the day digging holes and hauling compost and water. Amy did her fair share too and now the yard looks even better. We diversified our plantings and added some fall color. I'll post more pictures this week, so stay tuned.

Hidden Exterior

Remember the house next to my in-laws with the great wood siding hidden beneath vinyl? Well now it's wrapped in a lovely pink insulation and they're beginning to reinstall a tan colored vinyl siding. The color contrast does bring out the window trim, but I just can't help but feel that the character of the house is being hidden. They'll probably add those fake plastic shutters to the windows too (the kind with the slats pointing down instead of up). Maybe it's just me but what would have been charming and unique is going to end up looking like just another McBox house on the block.

 

Welcome To The Jungle

It's been raining for days. I really expected to see pairs of animals heading off somewhere. But today it finally stopped raining. So why not tackle the overgrown yard? Honestly I felt a lot like these two folks, heading off into the jungle. What normally takes about an hour turned into three, and I'm still not done yet! Fortunately this is a long weekend. Maybe tomorrow I should take some flares and a couple canteens of water, just in case I lose sight of the house.