A NEW YEAR FOR THE EVERGREEN SOCIETY GIRLS

The girls at Green Mount have entered a new year, 1880. It's funny, the young lady who wrote the first journal entry of minutes for 1880 was Sallie Blount. Like I often do and you probably do too, she wrote the wrong month. She then took her pen and made diagonal lines through her writing of "DEC"/// and wrote in small letters above it, "JAN".

You will notice that in some of the names of the songs or readings listed in my first blog the ability to click on those names and view the words or see a video of a song being played does not work properly. I am continuing to fix those and hope to have all of them operational soon. But tonight, before the Olympics come on television I wanted to type out a few of their journal entries. I am reading most of these for the first time as I am typing them. I had only glanced through these two books when I found them. So I'm reading them along with you. I don't know what lies ahead for us. But I will do my best to keep blogging. Thanks for reading. Here's what the two journals look like...

Green Mount

Jan. 7th, 1880

Opened exercises by reading the ninth Psalm. Lou played "Fleet-wood March" very well. It is a beautiful march, and it is needless to say that we enjoyed it very much. Sallie read two extracts on "Tact," after which Miss Lou made us define it. It was some time before we could give a correct definition, but we all thought it was a very good thing to have and a thing which very few people have. Mattie played "Old Black Joe" after some hesitation. She played it beautifully, which we thought was very strange as she had declared she did not know it. Lucy read "A Bill of Fare for Christmas Dinner" very well. I think all Chiristmas dinners would be much imporived if the families would use that recipt. Miss Lou then read us "Poets of One Poem". It is a very instrucitve piece.

Sallie

Green Mount

Jan 14th, 1880

Opened meeting by reading tenth Psalm. Lucy plaed "Hohemian GIrl" very nicely indeed. Mattie Kate read "every thing". I has a splendid moral. Sallie played "Monastery Bells". It is a lovely piece and she played it splendidly. Lou read 'What it is to Be a Christian.' Cousin Lou read 'An Open Letter to Boys.' We enjoyed the evening ever so much.

(not signed)

Green Mount

Jan. 21, 1880

Opened by reading the eleventh Psalm. Lucy read a dialogue with Vir. called "The Gepsy Girl." Vir. also read a piece called the "Inquiry" very well indeed. Mattie played "Beaureguard's March", very sweetly. We all enjoyed it very much. Lou played "THe MockingBird" beautifully. Sallie read "Paid In One's Own Coin". After which Miss Lou by request played "Last Hope" and several lovely pieces which added greatly to our enjoyment.

Sallie

Green Mount

Jan. 28th, 1880

We regreat not being able to have our meeting, but as cousin David came home from Missouri. So we didn't meet.

(not signed)

Note:

David Fleet is one of Mrs. Fleet's sons who graduated from VMI as a Civil Engineer. He was in love more than once, but finally met the girl who would be his wife while attending church after moving out west. He and his wife eventually moved to "Washington Territory" where they become prominent citizens and lived a happy life. He is said to have platted the town of Aberdeen, Washington, naming it after his beloved hometown school of Aberdeen. David was in Missouri for a while with his brother Fred who founded a military academy after the war. To learn more about the Fleet family history, please view http://www.greenmounthistory.blogspot.com/. Thanks for reading...