"She toiled with willing and faithful hands
In cabin, in forest, and field,
And helped to wrest, from the savage lands,
A home, to become our shield
From fierce things prowling when night shut down,
From storms that swept black and wild.
Her face was free from a sullen frown,
For she cherished each wee, new child,
As a soul from God, sent here on earth
To have a share in the toil
Of giving an empire an honored birth.
She dreamed that the fertile soil
Would teem with homes, and the millions dwell
Where only wild creatures ran.
The woman gives, as the ages tell,
In an equal share with man.
"Then place my mate close by my side.
That pioneer woman brave;
The wife who bore me children, and died.
And lies in an unmarked grave."
Women Educators of Idaho
By Alma E. Plumb
(Educator and writer)
The preponderance of women in the educational field is not confined to any one locality, but in no other state, perhaps, is the prominence of women educators so clearly defined as in the state of Idaho. Throughout the entire Western section of the Union there is a general recognition of the splendid abilities of women teachers and many high honors are accorded them; but in Idaho, even more than this is to be observed. From the interested mothers, eager to give their bits of service in their Parent-Teacher Association,—our lay teachers, as it were,—to the highest elective and appointive officers who carry on the work of organization and supervision, the woman worker is in the ascendant.
In pioneer days, when the one-teacher school was featured, its presiding genius was a "school ma'am" in nearly all instances, and a wonderful person she was. Now that our educational system has become so complex that there are an al-
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