Do you ever think that one person really doesn't matter? Tabitha Brown proved
that one person does matter. It was 1846. She joined one of the wagon trains of
adventurers hoping to start a life in America's west.
Grandma Brown, as she was affectionately called, was 62 years old, only five
feet tall, and weighed all of 108 pounds when well-fed. Because she was partly
paralyzed, she leaned on a cane and walked with a limp.
Along the way, she showed great courage and stamina. As she crossed the Great
Plains and the Rocky Mountains, she nursed the wagon train's sick, though at one
point, she neared starvation herself after the caravan's cattle were rustled off
by Rogue River Indians.
Once they arrived in Oregon, she started one of the first schools in that part
of the country. It was for all people, both rich and poor. The poor attended
free while those who could afford paid a dollar a week for tuition and board.
As long as she was able, she worked to keep the institution alive. She attended
to the students. She convinced would-be faculty of the need for teachers at the
school. Many days found Grandma Brown hobbling about on her lame leg in the
kitchen, kneading and baking the necessary daily bread.
And by the way, one person CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Today, that institution is
known as Pacific University.
© 1999 Steve Goodier
Thanks to Life Support
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