5/28/46 Reply to HLC's request:
Dear Hugh Lynn:
My experience with the children's group [in
1938-39] was such
an experimental thing that I almost hesitate to pass it on to
anyone else as a practical suggestion. However, inasmuch as
I was responsible for sowing the seed, guess I will have to
reap the results.
To begin with, the idea belonged to the babies themselves.
As you already know, quite a few members of our family have
been active in the grown-up groups for quite a few years, and
it was quite natural that we discussed some of the tenets and
teachings that differed from the strictly orthodox. This was
going on from the time [
324] was an infant, and so she was
growing up right in the midst of a viewpoint that was
slightly different from that of her playmates. Of course,
she accepted these things naturally.
As seems to be the rule with old maids and childless people
generally, I am very fond of children and quite often they
reciprocate. This particular "batch" lived either in the
same apartment we did or right in that block, and so we were
all very good friends. As was perfectly natural, they had
their little petty hates and jealousies, and so I had to act
as arbitrator on many occasions. Finally, after pinning the
guilt on the proper party one evening (to everyone's
satisfaction, including the victim) [
324] suggested that
maybe they should start a group. I managed to conceal my
surprise, for that was the first time I realized that indeed,
"little pitchers do have big ears". With a poker face, I
hope, I agreed that maybe that would help - provided they
take all the responsibility of conducting the affairs of such
an important organization. They were to take care of such
big details as the membership drive for an initial meeting,
after which details could be worked out to everyone's
satisfaction. I explained that I was tired in the evening
and had not time to do the things for them that they could do
for themselves. And so - that was the beginning of WEE
GROUP #1.
Believe it or not, that first meeting was something to pray
over. They came at 7:30 P.M. sharp on a Wednesday evening,
not all dressed up as for a party but every face and hand
clean as a whistle. We elected officers and decided to hold
a weekly meeting from 7:30 to 8:30 P.M. every Wednesday.
They were simply precious. Children love organization and
they have marvelous memories. At the beginning, I didn't
know a week ahead what would be done the next week. I just
had to "use what I had at hand", with the sure knowledge that
when more was needed it would come. It did. I worked that
memorizing faculty overtime, they not only memorized all
the affirmations (for which they received a gold star) but
learned verbatim the definitions of such words as "channel"
and other words unfamiliar to six and eight year olds. To
vary the program, I actually took liberty with Holy Writ,
and read New Testament the stories of Jesus' miracles and
then told the stories as if the characters were next door
neighbors or members of our families. I never pointed out
a moral, but told the story - and then left the results with
them. That lasted for a year, and then several of us moved
away to another part of the City.
One thing I learned is that children cannot be treated as a
mass, they are individuals and they usually measure up to
what is expected of them. I did cater to that sweet tooth
by always serving some sort of refreshments, maybe only some
small boxes of cookies. At Easter time, the bunny rabbit
provided a small Easter basket with all the trimmings and
at Xmas time, they gave the presents. As you know [
1775] was
born Dec. 13th of that year, and having a Christ child right
in our midst was too good an opportunity to waste, so we had
a pageant. They planned their own costumes - towels and
sheets for the Wise Men, a yard stick for a staff and a dog
for the camel. They insisted on rouge and lip stick make-up
(I never have known why). We "borrowed" the new baby for
thirty minutes and the show was on. They used my bedroom
for a dressing room and to wrap the presents for the baby
Jesus (I found Xmas stickers and tinsel around for a week).
We had safety pins for the gold, some Johnson's talcum and
baby oil for the myrrh and incense. And believe it or not,
the infant knew what it was all about, she stopped "yelling"
till the last song was sung and we returned her to her very
anxious Mama.
We always opened the meetings by repeating the Lord's Prayer
and closed by repeating the affirmations in the lesson which
we happened to be studying. This was done by appointing a
leader for a given period, and the rest of us chiming in.
We religiously kept minutes and took a free-will offering
of pennies. It was tactfully suggested that the sacrifice
of pennies from one's own money was preferable to soliciting
donations from parents each Wed. evening.
As I said before, I hesitate to recommend the above
procedure, as I have no way of knowing whether any permanent
good was accomplished or not, but I do know we had a lot of
fun, and if any of your inquirers happen to love children,
I'm sure they will enjoy the attempt as much as I did. The
necessary ingredients being six or eight children between
the ages of 5 and 10, living fairly close together, a
little patience and an awful lot of love for the little
angels. [
845]
2/27/62 She died suddenly with a heart attack. Having
watched dear ones, including her brother, [
622], die slowly
with cancer, she had prayed that when her time came she would
go quickly, and she did.
4/65 GD's note: Mr. [
416] gives a scholarship each year to
A.R.E. Summer Camp in memory of Mrs. [
845], since she had
been especially interested in this phase of the A.R.E.
program.



Edgar Cayce Readings © 1971, 1993, 1994, 1995 by the Edgar Cayce Foundation