64 museum guards

59 librarians

The Village Visits

Nine people from Alfred came in to tell stories of village life to my class of 120 students. A local historian spoke about his great-grandmother being chased by a bear when the area was first settled. A drama teacher told us in that in winter families used to eat snow covered with maple syrup for pudding. The owner of a local shop gave a beautiful and heartfelt talk about the honest trade of a grocer. A flautist told us about the Alfred Village Band who can't rehearse until 7.15 in the summer when the sun has gone behind the tree and they are able to see the conductor. The fire brigade and the police chief came. A hunter showed slides of bears, squirrels, foxes and other animals who populate the woods. The students said aah and smiled at the screen. "They might look cute... " he said,
"...but they're a MENACE.".
Deers eat flowers. Squirrels burn down houses.


The Hunter. Each speaker got a pumpkin as a thank-you gift

a lecture about maps

After my first two hour lecture three students came up to me.
Two said that they liked my red shoes.
One asked if I had met the queen.