Page 16 — SUSQUEHANNA BULLETIN a 3 3 | Eugene and Maureen Kraybill Back from Swaziland In the summer of 1971, just back from a bicycle trip across the U. S. with his brother, Fugene Kraybill took a plane to Swaziland near the southern tip of Africa. Two weeks ago after four years of teaching in a miss- ion school in Man Kayane, under the auspices of the Mennonite Central Commit- tee, Eugene was back in his native Donegal country - with a bride. Eugene met Maureen at the mission school where they were both English and history teachers. Started to learn siSwati The curriculum at the school places increasing em- phasis on the use of English by the students as they get older. When they enter school they speak only their native tongue, siSwati. Soon after Eugene met Maureen, she undertook to teach him to speak siSwati, but they soon had so many important things to say to each other in their fluent English, that Eugene’s study of siSwati languished. Two years ago they were married. it took the Kraybills three months to return from Swaziland to Donegal coun- try. Hole in ship First of all, they were held up when the Galileo, an Italian ship on which they had booked passage from Capetown to Australia, struck an object in the South Atlantic which ripped a hole in her prow nine meters wide. They stayed in Capetown for weeks along with hund- reds of other passengers, some of whom were very disgruntled, before they were finally flown to Aus- tralia by the Italian ship line. Meet Kangaroos They spent a month nera Perth, Australia, with Mau- reen’s sister, who with her husband was teaching in a mission school for Austral- ian aborigines. Here they became acquainted with a couple who had raised two kangaroos from infancy. The couple made cloth pou- ches for themselves which they wore on the front of their bodies and in which they carried the baby kan- garoos everywhere with them, even to the super- market, so that the babies would be just as much at home as if they had been carried by their kangaroo mothers. While staying at Perth, Eugene painted some houses, to help pay their traveling expenses. Eugene washes dishes on train Then the Kraybills got on a train that took them across the entire sub-con- tinent of Australia, across vast expanses of wasteland and desert. On the trip, one of the helpers in the kitchen got sick, and the conductor came through the train, spotted Eugene, and asked him whether he would be interested in washing dishes. The conductor didn’t know that Eugene was a master dish washer with lots of experience. This job also helped to pay the costs of the Kraybill’s world tour. From Sidney they flew to New Zealand, there for several days with a pen pal of Maureen’s sister, whom her sister had never met. Next stop was Samoa, where they studied some new teaching methods in the primary schools. From Samoa they flew to Los Angeles, where they visited old friends from the Peace Corps. First snowball fight Then it was to Denver and Minneapolis, to see teachers from Swaziland. Maureen, who had never seen snow before, had her first snowball fight with Eugene in Denver and sculp- ted a snow woman in Minne- apolis. Now off to South Bend to see Eugene's brother at Goshen College, then to Bloomington to say hello to Maureen’s sister, a stu- dent at the University of Indiana. Finally back in Donegal country, the Kraybills are living in an apartmeiit out- side Mount Joy. Eugene plans to do graduate work visiting and write articles. Maureen intends to continue her ed- ucation also. “I'm freezing” First, though, Eugene must get used to all the new buildings and houses that changed the country- side since he left in 1971. And Maureen has to get used to the climate. The Bulletin visited the Kraybills on the night of the Big Wind. “I’m freezing,” she said. Kids movie at Seiler The Seiler School and Home Association will spon- sor its first Peanuts Theater on Friday, April 19, at 7 p.m. in the Seiler Cafetor- ium. There will be a series of cartoons plus a feature leng- th movie - The Ugly Dachs- hund. Admission prices will be: 25¢ for students (Kin- dergarten through grade 6 only); 50¢ for adults. The thester is for ele- mentary children only. Rules of good conduct will be strictly enforced by par- ents and teachers who will be available to supervise the evenings activities. Parents who are plann- ing to pick up their, children should do so no later than 9 p.m. If the evening is success- ful Seiler School and Home Association plans to spon- sor another theater in May. MEET THE CANDIDATES AT RIVERVIEW P.1.0. “Meet the Candidates,” a program geared to have the public hear and see candidates for school direc- tor in the Donegal District, sponsored by the Riverview Parent-Teacher Organization on Monday, April 14th, at 7:30 p.m. in the all purpose room. Election of officers for the ‘75-76 term will also be on the agenda. Community studied at A two-year Bicentennial program has been started at Maytown Elem. School by Principal Eugene C. Saylor. The purpose of the program, called “Know Your Com- munity” (KYC), is to ac- quaint students with their Donegal community, past and present. In getting to know the past history of their com- munity students will take-a “Walk Through History,” similar to the walk organ- ized last summer by the Susquehanna Bicentennial Committee. Nature walks are being scheduled to observe local plants and animals in their natural habitats. Local municipal, profess- ional, religious and business leaders are being invited to the Maytown school to tell students about their activi- ties in the community. Township supervisors, po- licemen, firemen, township planners, doctors, dentists, clergymen, lawyers, journa- lists, farmers, and industrial- ists are being invited to take part in KYC. The commun- ity leaders come to the school, explain the workings of their organizations and vocations, and are asked questions by the students. Students then submit writ- ten reports on every aspect of community life studied. AMP, Inc., is the first local industry to participate in the KYC program. Exe- cutives came to the school, showed films of AMP pro- duction of miniature elec- tronic devices manufactured at local plants. After AMP, Armstrong Cork Co. executives will come to Maytown and ex- plain operations at the Mari- etta plant to the students. By the end of two years, the students will have been exposed to practically every aspect of local political, social, and economic life. They will know how life is and has been lived in their own community. They will have many ideas about how to make a living in their home area when they are grown up. In the course of his local historical researches for the KYC project, Mr. Saylor un- covered minutes of the first meetings of the local school board in 1835. He has made some comparisons between the school system in 1835 April 9, 1975 Maytown KYC symbol designed by Mr, Saylor and 1975. The number of teachers has grown from 17 to 153. A one-room school in Marietta cost $250 to build in 1835. Riverview School in the same borough cost $1,630,000 in 1973. The total annual school bud- get was $862.90 then, as compared with $3,811,521 in 1975. The levied tax was $1600 in 1842, but $1,627, 961 in 1974. The state ap- propriated $1042 in 1841, $1,560,630 in 1974. A teacher’s salary in 1835 was $25 a month, out of which the teacher was expected to buy fuel to heat the school. Karen Gable and James Bickford examining tiny AMP electronic connectors. Jerry Emble exhibit at Maytown School. and Samantha Ackerley inspecting AMP
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers