I sat silently while all of this was being discussed. I was not even consulted. When they finished, I calmly announced that they were not going to put any of us anywhere. I stated that my parents would turn over in their graves if their children were scattered about that way. I told them that we owned our house and if they would help me find work, I would take care of them.

At first they scoffed at the idea of a butterfly teenager taking on the responsibility that it took both of my parents to handle. But I stood my ground and they seemed relieved that they no longer had to worry over us.

Two of the Masons advised me to apply for a job at a country school. I took the examination for a country schoolteacher and had my dress lengthened. I got assigned to a school six miles out of town with a generous salary of twenty-five dollars a month.