Page 16 — SUSQUEHANNA BULLETIN
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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