I'm a little late with this story due to my son and I not feeling well.
For week 7 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge the theme was "Love", a perfect prompt for Valentine's Day which was actually last week.
I have no story about strolling down Lovers' Lane hand in hand or taking a romantic boat ride through the Tunnel of Love. I'm writing about a love of education, a love of children, and a dedicated schoolteacher who was loved by all.
Anna Devine was my 2nd great-grandmother, Teresa Devine's first cousin. On 11 March 1888, during the Great Blizzard of '88, Anna was born in Rifton, NY. She was the only child of John Devine and Mary Jane Corby. According to her obituary, she attended St Peter's School in Rosendale, NY and graduated from the New Paltz Teachers' College in 1911.
Anna never walked down the aisle to matrimony. Her love was her students and the community. She taught in a one room schoolhouse in Rifton called the Rock School for about 43 years. When a larger school was built next to the Rock School and named in her honor, Anna taught there for another 5 years then continued as a substitute teacher after her retirement.
Besides teaching, Anna started a 4-H Club, a drum corp, and directed plays and operettas that were performed at the Rock School or sometimes at the Village Hall. In 1953, her students wrote and published a book about local history called Rifton, Our Past and Present. I guess she gave a copy of this book to her cousin, Teresa who passed it down to her granddaughter, Eleanor. I now own that book along with photos that had belonged to my grandmother, Eleanor. This book is amazing just like the teacher who assigned this project to her students.
Anna Devine, a local legend in Rifton and loved by the community, died at the age of 84 on 15 May 1972. She is buried near her mother in St Peter's Cemetery, Rosendale, NY.
No comments:
Post a Comment