{"id":19674,"date":"2015-05-21T14:25:44","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T18:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitright.pmss.net\/?page_id=19674"},"modified":"2020-07-31T23:20:51","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T03:20:51","slug":"stapleton-report-december-1932-and-january-1933-all-you-helpers-of-santa-claus-east-and-west-north-and-south","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674","title":{"rendered":"STAPLETON REPORT &#8211; December 1932 and January 1933 &#8220;All you helpers of Santa Claus &#8212; East and West, North and South &#8230;&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5>Pine Mountain Settlement School<br \/>\nSeries 09: Biography &#8211; Staff\/Personnel<br \/>\nSeries 14: Medical, Health &amp; Hygiene<br \/>\n<a style=\"color: #9f9f9f;\" title=\"Dr. IDA STAPLETON &amp; Rev. ROBERT STAPLETON\" href=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=3473\">Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton<br \/>\n<\/a>Line Fork Medical Settlement 1927 \u2013 1947<\/h5>\n<h2><strong>STAPLETON REPORT &#8211;\u00a0December 1932 and January 1933<br \/>\n&#8220;All you helpers of Santa Claus &#8212; East and West, North and South &#8230;&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>TAGS: <\/strong>Dr. Ida S. Stapleton,Line Fork Medical Settlement,Christmas celebrations,<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Kenneth Gould,stories about people in the community,visitors to Line Fork,musical instruments,food preparation,Holiness meeting<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>GALLERY<\/h2>\n\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-19674 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20983'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_001-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20983\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20983'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 1. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_001.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20976'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_002-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20976\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20976'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 2. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_002.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20977'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_003-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20977\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20977'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 3. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_003.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20978'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_004-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20978\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20978'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 4. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_004.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20979'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_005-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20979\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20979'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 5. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_005.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20980'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_006-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20980\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20980'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 6. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_006.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20981'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_007-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20981\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20981'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 7. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_007.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?attachment_id=20982'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_008-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-20982\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-20982'>\n\t\t\t\tStapleton Report. Dec 1932 &#038; Jan 1933, page 8. [lf_stap_12-01_32-33_008.jpg]\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h2>TRANSCRIPTION<\/h2>\n<p>LINE FORK SETTLEMENT NOTES<\/p>\n<p>For December 1932 and January 1933<\/p>\n<p>Gilley P O Kentucky<\/p>\n<p>Dear Friends:-<\/p>\n<p>All you helpers of Santa Claus \u2013 East and West, North and South \u2013 are included.\u00a0 Verily boxes came from Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida &amp; Kentucky.\u00a0 All were filled with Christmas joy &amp; aided in making the season a glad one.\u00a0 By the time we had sorted those \u201cpretties\u201d into suitable packages for sixty families, filled gay Christmas boxes with sweets and peanuts then wrapped tablets, pencils, pictures, handkerchiefs with some little toy or picture scrapbook for fifty-five children, we had a very lively feeling that we had indeed been in league with the dear old Saint.\u00a0 We borrowed a costume from Pine Mt and one of the young men at Coyle Branch enjoyed helping in the distribution of the gifts and even pulled some from his overflowing pack.\u00a0 At Bear Branch the teacher had assisted a few of the older pupils in putting on a little play called \u201cGenerosity\u201d in which Santa had a part.\u00a0 It was so very appropriate that all the people appreciated it.<\/p>\n<p>It was satisfying to hear the children and older pupils who are not now in school sing the best beloved carols and Christmas songs with Mr Stapleton, the very tiny ones joining in the choruses and with gladness singing \u201cMay God bless all friends here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was not the slightest disturbance.\u00a0\u00a0 Even the two sisters-in-law who \u201cfit\u201d each other a year ago sat opposite each other and if they had any thoughts of what they had done last year they were deeply buried and appeared to be forgotten.\u00a0 One had her own first baby with her.\u00a0 There were two tiny babies at Bear Branch Christmas tree.\u00a0 But three more are promised for February. One arrived January 20<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 I had a special tree and treat, both small, for the ten children who come to our Sunday morning class at the Cabin. The exercises at the schools had been on Thursday and Friday mornings.\u00a0 This latter was on the Sunday and took place at the Cabin.<\/p>\n<p>We ourselves had a delightful Christmas Eve with radio programs finishing at midnight or later with the ever joyous <em>Hallelujah Chorus<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Sunday afternoon a call came from Pine Mt from <a href=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=77725\">Dr [Kenneth] Gould<\/a> for some assistance as the nurse was away on a short vacation and just in time to be called a Christmas Baby a little girl was born to a very young little mother.\u00a0 She had been suffering for three days, all the neighbors suggesting this or that <u>Grannie<\/u>.\u00a0 But little Alice said, \u201cNo Grannie for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go to the Infirmary\u201d.\u00a0 Indeed to get away from a solicitous mob of relatives and neighbors was a calming influence in itself.\u00a0 During the two hours when even the doctors\u2019 souls were tried, we were thankful for the resources of the hospital.\u00a0 What could we have done in the inconvenient cabin hDeDome?\u00a0 I stayed two days and nursed Margaret Juliette as she was named by mother Alice.\u00a0 She had thought of Jule and I suggested Juliette as a really beautiful name.\u00a0 Then she heard the name Margaret (that of one of the school girls who was taking care of the house) and added that.\u00a0 As soon as Alice had her baby in her arms the following day she said \u201cNow I have my baby let me go home\u201d.\u00a0 Dr Gould kept her five days then she seemed in very good condition to be carried the four miles on a stretcher which was loaded on a handcar and rolled down to her home at Big Laurel.<\/p>\n<p>Every day or two someone visits the Cabin from Big Leatherwood hoping for some leftover Christmas joy and how happy they are to find that they too had been counted in.\u00a0 The two Mallies, one the stepmother of the other who is just about her age and to five other younger children.\u00a0 The other is mother to three of her own and a stepchild.\u00a0 After playing some of the songs of the children on the organ, a little talk about the Christ Child demonstrated by a tiny cr\u00e8che of kneeling wise men, adoring mother and Joseph with some tiny lambs and a cow near by.\u00a0 The package which is given often has a much needed washrag with piece of soap as a reminder to keep the blessed children as clean as possible.\u00a0 Tildy and her baby not yet six weeks with her mother-in-law walked the ten miles from Clover Fork both very untidy and very tired.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid in this case my talk was much more about their condition than it was about the Christ Child except to urge them to do better for His sake.\u00a0 The mother had brought six eggs and my question was \u201cWhy did you not swap them for some soap, a spool of thread and so come clean and mended to the Cabin?\u201d\u00a0 She never thought she could cut off some of her coat tail to mend some of the ugly holes.\u00a0 You can imagine the subject of my talk.\u00a0 It was not the first either so some severity was needed.\u00a0 The next time they come they will at least be washed\u2026<\/p>\n<p>One day Neely came and she had to be reminded that she needed soap.\u00a0 She began to wish she had sheets &amp; c.\u00a0 But I said sternly, \u201cNeely it is not sheets that I am talking about.\u00a0 It is your own skin.\u201d\u00a0 Well a week or two later she came for some left over milk but wouldn\u2019t come in lest she would be scolded.\u00a0 \u201cI aim to clean up to-morrow for Christmas\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>A visit was made up the Fork to see Bett\u2019s least one that had been puny for a day or two.\u00a0 It was not possible to go the day they called me but promise for the morrow was made.\u00a0 What was my delight upon arriving there to see the beds all made neatly with new cotton blanket covers of such bright colors.\u00a0 Even the three-year-old mentioned it with delight.\u00a0 The sick one was in the bed all washed clean with old and worn but clean garments.\u00a0 Little Bonnie and Claude for once looked quite as clean as could be wished.\u00a0 Baby had had a dose of oil and was quite himself.\u00a0 Bett said \u201cI guess I just got scared he was so dull and slept all the time\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mattie B and her daughter-in-law Bertha with her six months old baby walked from the head of Little Laurel.\u00a0 The husband and father-in-law had just finished building a new little cabin.\u00a0 \u201cThe old\u2019un was just no kind of a place to live in no how.\u201d\u00a0 But she had stood <u>hit <\/u>for five years.\u00a0 The baby was a gay little thing bouncing up &amp; down in its mother\u2019s arms.\u00a0 The grandmother spoke to it \u201cYou be so briggity.\u00a0 I guess you know you have some new shoes.\u201d\u00a0 That was the first time I had caught the word \u201cBriggity\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mrs B from Beech Fork off from Big Leatherwood brought her daughter Mary to see me.\u00a0 She had had spells of pain in her side for years, but now that she is married her husband \u201cFarmer\u201d wants something done about <u>hit<\/u> as hit keeps him awake at nights.\u00a0 Susan R was on the way from Stony Fork to see the doctor also and the three came along together.\u00a0 It was cold so we sat around the fire place and in my endeavor to find out the cause of these annoying pains we got to the subject of intestinal parasites and they told rather gruesome tales.\u00a0 Mrs B had once given a treatment to her young\u2019un and when the results were apparent the child ran screaming to the house, \u201c there was a great long snake and it took right after me\u201d.\u00a0 The mother said \u201cand we never did like to get him pacified\u201d.\u00a0 Susan said \u201cI reckon that\u2019s what ails my least one.\u00a0 I find a long thin white one in its hippins every time I take hit off\u201d.\u00a0 All this conversation gave me a subject for a talk and the story of what dirty hands, faces and feet do to children and grownups also if they are careless in washing.\u00a0 Mothers often complain they are too tired to wash the young\u2019uns at night.\u00a0 My reply to this is given with vigor.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d wash them before going to bed if I dropped in my tracks\u201d.\u00a0 At least they would then be clean in the morning.\u00a0 Mrs B added \u201cand your quilts would not get so dirty\u201d.\u00a0 Then came the question of food and how it should be chewed after being well baked etc, etc, until the place was reached where it was possible to say \u201cIf you don\u2019t remember anything else of my talk remember to chew the bread by itself and not covered with flour gravy.\u201d\u00a0 The flour gravy is more or less of a custom.\u00a0 The women think it is a necessary part of the meal tho\u2019 at times it would not be eaten but would go into the slop for the hogs.\u00a0 My question to them is \u201cWhy not just drink the milk?\u00a0 When they have no milk it is made of water, grease and flour.<\/p>\n<p>After an hour or two of such talk the worm medicine is given with careful instructions for its use for the two year old, the ten year old and the young woman.\u00a0 Then Susan says my mother Louisa (usually called Blue Eyes) has smothering spells.\u00a0 Can\u2019t you send her something?\u00a0 Mrs B chimes in with \u201cMy little girl Elva\u2019s kidneys can\u2019t be right her water is that white hit fairly makes a mark on the ground. \u201c\u00a0 At last they are gone and I start to get dinner.\u00a0 It is a little late and two or three school children come up at noon perhaps to mail a letter as Mr S goes down to Gilley P O nearly every day and is always glad to accommodate; or to get books from the library so a few minutes are taken to choose appropriate ones for their ages and hustle them back to school.\u00a0 Some very small girls have been asking for quilt pieces.\u00a0 These are given along with the word to bring them back after getting a block pieced together so I can see how well they do it.\u00a0 Their mothers cut them out and sometimes insist on the work being pulled out and more care taken or Mrs S won\u2019t give you any more scraps.<\/p>\n<p>Loretta is older and is making a log cabin pattern as you can use even the tiniest strings for that.\u00a0 Her mother has a sewing machine.\u00a0 Then there is talk about the worth whileness of hand work that can be done in making a quilt.\u00a0 For she prefers to sew the pieces on the machine.<\/p>\n<p>One day Jude came to see me and we were talking about quilts.\u00a0 She mentioned she had seven tops but could never get any stuff \u201cto set them up with\u201d.\u00a0 She had two already that could go together to make one top if she only had a lining.\u00a0 Among Santa\u2019s things there was a bat of cotton and a piece of print.\u00a0 These went to Jude.\u00a0 A neighbor said, \u201cNo telling how that pleased her\u201d.\u00a0 A couple of worn dresses when ripped apart made a back for one of Neely\u2019s quilts.\u00a0 Then Bert came to show me a block and to ask me to order her some print with the thirty-five cents coming to her for work she had done.\u00a0 One of the young\u2019uns had said when Mr S passed \u201cI see Man Stapleton riding by on his nag\u201d.\u00a0 Another day he said \u201cWoman Stapleton is going up the Fork\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It was little Ruthie\u2019s 6<sup>th<\/sup> birthday.\u00a0 She was one of my first babies since coming down here.\u00a0 Nancy Jane, her mother, told me with much pride that Ruthie had been keeping her little hen for the birthday dinner and that Sister Wright the preacher\u2019s wife was making her a cake.\u00a0 \u201cShe can make them better than I can\u201d.\u00a0 Nancy Jane was not well so I was visiting her occasionally and purposedly chose the birthday for one of the visits and altho they did not say exactly, I know that they expected me to stay to dinner.\u00a0 Frank had just finished two dulcimers and was justly proud of his work.\u00a0 The black walnut wood polishes so beautifully.\u00a0 In place of some steel wire that marks the steps of the scale, he had used latch pine which he cut into half inch lengths.\u00a0 The three strings of the dulcimer are also of wire.\u00a0 A bit of wood holds down one string while another thin piece of wood or leather is gently moved across the strings.\u00a0 Frank could play a few tunes but he reckoned his brother Hi could do better. (This we found to be untrue at a later testing.)\u00a0 He said, \u201cA dulcimer doesn\u2019t make one enough noise to ache your head like a banjo would\u201d.\u00a0 The dulcimer is seldom seen in the cabins around here.\u00a0 If they have any musical pieces it is a guitar or a banjo.\u00a0 Some few of the better homes have organs which they seldom learn to play \u201cto do no good\u201d as they say.<\/p>\n<p>The birthday morning was like a Spring day so I gathered up a few things to make the day distinguished from others by having Ruthie give something first to her mother and then to the other five children, one younger and four older than herself.\u00a0 She came out to meet me as I rode up on Swallow and she was permitted to carry the package into the house.\u00a0 As faces and hands were none too clean altho as Nancy Jane said \u201cFrances has been awashing them\u201d I insisted on a wet rag to do something special to Bobby\u2019s face while Ruthie went to wash her own.\u00a0 Some books on barn yard life for Bobby, an ABC book for Ruthie as well as a birthday dollie.\u00a0 All were much appreciated.\u00a0 When sister Wright arrived with her brood of seven boys and girls the room was full or seemed to be so when Frank and the three big sons came to dinner.\u00a0 Sister Wright and Nancy Jane busied themselves with making dumplings and corn bread.\u00a0 The little hen had been replaced by a young rooster which Nancy Jane was picking standing on the porch as I rode up. In the package were found some loose beads of various sizes and some odd buttons for the children to string so they gather round me.\u00a0 Bobby the two and a half year old strung the buttons pricking his finger often but keeping at it until there was quite a long string. \u00a0Ruthie picked out the largest beads and <u>jaubed<\/u> the twisted string thru quite expertly.\u00a0 Then Frances found a needle and picked out the more unusual ones.\u00a0 Maxine and Velma the preacher\u2019s daughters joined us and threaded the tiny ones so, soon, all the dolls were decorated.\u00a0 One of the tiny linen books was about dolls and they were persuaded to adopt the names suggested there.\u00a0 Ruthie chose Mary Springtime.\u00a0 Frances had Betty Sun-shine, Velma took Violet and Sereaphine remained for the doll whose eyes had been punched by Boonie, the little brother younger than Frances.\u00a0 About this time Frank came carrying a piggin he was making \u2013 a small wooden tub with a handle used for a salt dish and hangs on the wall over the kitchen table by its one handle.<\/p>\n<p>The food was all on the table and I slipped in behind on the bench with Ruthie on one side and Boone on the other.\u00a0 Alfred, Maxine and Velma filling up the bench.\u00a0 On the other side was Sister Wright, brother Frank and three more children.\u00a0 Nancy Jane was at the end where she could get to the stove easily and wait on the table, filling the dishes with dumplings, pouring coffee into cups (almost as brown as coffee with spoons likewise) for the elders, pouring milk for the children and waiting on Bobby and Bessie standing at the corner of the cluttered kitchen table.\u00a0 All ate heartily while I sliced and served the cold boiled fresh ham that had been prepared the day before.\u00a0 There were also boiled white potatoes and baked sweet\u2019uns.\u00a0 I always carry some extra paper handkerchiefs or napkins and make myself the official nose-wiper as none of the little children think of it or mothers either for that matter.\u00a0 With so many it kept me busy tho I tried to do it unobtrusively.\u00a0 Alfred who is his mother\u2019s helper in the kitchen helped the bigger girls pick up and wash the dishes while Nancy Jane sat down with her knitting.\u00a0 She had spun and dyed some wool for socks for the three youngest children and was on a second pair for the least one.\u00a0 Sister Wright was sitting by the fire with her nursling which had been asleep on the bed.\u00a0 We chatted and exchanged stories of adventure.\u00a0 I started it and then they continued while the older children played out of doors a little or occupied themselves with the toys.\u00a0 Ruthie brought her book for me to read.\u00a0 She already knew her letters.\u00a0 The school children sang a little song Mr S had taught them about the birdies in the tree.\u00a0 Red, Snow-birds Blue and Black were their names and their colors.<\/p>\n<p>It really was quite as mixed up a party as I write it.\u00a0 They asked why \u201cRobert\u201d Mr S had not come.\u00a0 And if he had gone he would have had to sit on the bed.\u00a0 But it had not been clear that he was expected so he had just not gone.\u00a0 We do go there together some times and the children love to hear \u201cRobert\u201d sing \u201cJohnny Smoker\u201d perhaps or Nancy Lee as well as some of the Gospel hymns.\u00a0 We cannot follow the quaverings of their old tunes.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, I must tell you how the women worshipped at the last meeting of the Holiness brethren.\u00a0 They are calling each other brother and sister now and the sisters must have been told that they could honor God by taking down their hair and letting it hang loose during the preaching.\u00a0 They had one service of feet washing also before their communion service at Christmas.\u00a0 The scene of twenty five men and women kneeling in worship bawling their untied prayers in voices that are so loud they are heard a half mile distant and not any words distinguishable except in occasional moment when several stop to take breath and others continue would be ludicrous if you did not sense their utter seriousness and feel that they are striving to follow the teachings of Jesus as to loving their neighbors.<\/p>\n<p>And now a Happy New Year to us all.<\/p>\n<p>Sincerely yours<\/p>\n<p>The Stapletons<\/p>\n<p>Please forward to<\/p>\n<p>Miss Ruth Miller, 320 Ash Str. Conway, Ark<\/p>\n<p>Miss M M Foote, RFD #1 Corning, Iowa<\/p>\n<p>Mrs Della Murray Banks,\u00a0 1735 Beverley Blvd. Los Angeles Cal.<\/p>\n<p>Miss Edith F Mack, 2119 Silver Street, Jacksonville Florida<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=2197\">Miss Margaret Motter<\/a>, Frederick, Maryland<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">**Transcription by Gretchen Rasch<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Notes: \u00a0Della Murray Banks [b. Dec. 3, 1864 d. Aug. 29, 1950] was an early adventurer who traveled to the Yukon region of Alaska in 1899 with her husband Austin Banks, and who documented her travels in letters and journals. \u00a0She hired on as cook for the Alaskan expedition and showed the same rugged spirit found in the Stapletons. The town of Homer, Alaska, was named by Mrs. Banks who was the first white woman to venture into the area. Her journals and letters are held by the Autry National Center, and, Braun Research Library, Los Angeles, CA.\u00a0 Just how she is known by the Stapletons is not discovered. \u00a0Possibly she is related through a relative, Beatrice Murray, who was a teacher at PMSS in 1916?<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>BACK TO:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=8315\">Guide to DR. IDA STAPLETON AND REV. ROBERT STAPLETON REPORTS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=3473\">Dr. IDA STAPLETON &amp; Rev. ROBERT STAPLETON<\/a> Biography<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pine Mountain Settlement School Series 09: Biography &#8211; Staff\/Personnel Series 14: Medical, Health &amp; Hygiene Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton Line Fork Medical Settlement 1927 \u2013 1947 STAPLETON REPORT &#8211;\u00a0December 1932 and January 1933 &#8220;All you helpers of Santa Claus &#8212; East and West, North and South &#8230;&#8221; TAGS: Dr. Ida S. Stapleton,Line [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":8315,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19674","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.1.2 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>STAPLETON REPORT - December 1932 and January 1933 &quot;All you helpers of Santa Claus - East and West, North and South ...&quot; - PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"STAPLETON REPORT - DECEMBER 1932 AND JANUARY 1933 &quot;All you helpers of Santa Claus -- East and West, North and South ...&quot;: Dr. Ida Stapleton, Line Fork.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"STAPLETON REPORT - December 1932 and January 1933 &quot;All you helpers of Santa Claus -- East and West, North and South ...&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pine Mountain Settlement School Series 09: Biography - Staff\/Personnel Series 14: Medical, Health &amp; Hygiene Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pmsscollections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-01T03:20:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_001-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pmsscollections\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=19674\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=19674\",\"name\":\"STAPLETON REPORT - December 1932 and January 1933 \\\"All you helpers of Santa Claus - East and West, North and South ...\\\" - PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-21T18:25:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-01T03:20:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"STAPLETON REPORT - DECEMBER 1932 AND JANUARY 1933 \\\"All you helpers of Santa Claus -- East and West, North and South ...\\\": Dr. Ida Stapleton, Line Fork.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=19674#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=19674\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=19674#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BIOGRAPHY &#8211; A-Z\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=157\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Dr. IDA STAPLETON &#038; Rev. ROBERT STAPLETON\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=3473\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Dr. IDA STAPLETON &#038; Rev. ROBERT STAPLETON Guide to Reports\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?page_id=8315\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"STAPLETON REPORT &#8211; December 1932 and January 1933 &#8220;All you helpers of Santa Claus &#8212; East and West, North and South &#8230;&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/\",\"name\":\"PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS\",\"description\":\"&quot;Over 100 years enriching lives and connecting people through Appalachian place-based education for all ages.&quot;\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pine Mountain Settlement School\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/pinemountain_logo2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/pinemountain_logo2.jpg\",\"width\":770,\"height\":151,\"caption\":\"Pine Mountain Settlement School\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pmsscollections\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/pmsscollections\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/pinemountainsettlementschool\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/feed\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC1XMy-Pv0rU-dqy3q-u9NmQ\",\"https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Pine_Mountain_Settlement_School\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"STAPLETON REPORT - December 1932 and January 1933 \"All you helpers of Santa Claus - East and West, North and South ...\" - PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS","description":"STAPLETON REPORT - DECEMBER 1932 AND JANUARY 1933 \"All you helpers of Santa Claus -- East and West, North and South ...\": Dr. Ida Stapleton, Line Fork.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"STAPLETON REPORT - December 1932 and January 1933 \"All you helpers of Santa Claus -- East and West, North and South ...\"","og_description":"Pine Mountain Settlement School Series 09: Biography - Staff\/Personnel Series 14: Medical, Health &amp; Hygiene Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert","og_url":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674","og_site_name":"PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pmsscollections","article_modified_time":"2020-08-01T03:20:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lf_stap_12-01_32-33_001-150x150.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@pmsscollections","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674","url":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674","name":"STAPLETON REPORT - December 1932 and January 1933 \"All you helpers of Santa Claus - East and West, North and South ...\" - PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-05-21T18:25:44+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-01T03:20:51+00:00","description":"STAPLETON REPORT - DECEMBER 1932 AND JANUARY 1933 \"All you helpers of Santa Claus -- East and West, North and South ...\": Dr. Ida Stapleton, Line Fork.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=19674#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BIOGRAPHY &#8211; A-Z","item":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=157"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Dr. IDA STAPLETON &#038; Rev. ROBERT STAPLETON","item":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=3473"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Dr. IDA STAPLETON &#038; Rev. ROBERT STAPLETON Guide to Reports","item":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=8315"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"STAPLETON REPORT &#8211; December 1932 and January 1933 &#8220;All you helpers of Santa Claus &#8212; East and West, North and South &#8230;&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/#website","url":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/","name":"PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS","description":"&quot;Over 100 years enriching lives and connecting people through Appalachian place-based education for all ages.&quot;","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/#organization","name":"Pine Mountain Settlement School","url":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/pinemountain_logo2.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/pinemountain_logo2.jpg","width":770,"height":151,"caption":"Pine Mountain Settlement School"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pmsscollections","https:\/\/x.com\/pmsscollections","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pinemountainsettlementschool\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC1XMy-Pv0rU-dqy3q-u9NmQ","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pine_Mountain_Settlement_School"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19674"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77893,"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19674\/revisions\/77893"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}