So tonight I got my answer - once again hidden in a large Manila folder in a messy old cardboard box. It makes the pain of this massive cleanup disappear.
The Manila envelope holds several other treasures which all seem to pertain to my Grandfather, TJ O'Donnell. As a matter of fact this particular "Souvenir" obviously belonged to him since he has written " My Sweetheart" down the right side of it. My Grandfather had a very distinctive handwriting and I would recognize it anywhere. Besides, history taught us Margaret Coleman was TJ's Sweetheart.
The other page of this "Souvenir", which was attached to it by a small, delicate cord, contains the names of Margaret Coleman's 24 students. This was another very interesting bit of historical fact for me. Among her students were her sisters, Norene Coleman (Purtell), May Coleman Geary, Kathleen Coleman Fitzgerald, and possibly her brothers, Francis and Martin Coleman and some other Coleman relatives. I'm not sure how Walter Coleman or John Coleman were related. I'll have to ask my cousins, Anne Fitzgerald Herman and Anne Purtell McCarthy to see if they can identify some of Grandma's other students.
The name of the school was Biglan School No. 8 and it was in Middletown Turnpike, Susquehanna Co., Pa. The date was March 18, 1910 - over 104 years ago! Grandma was 23 years old at that time since she was born on the 16th of Feb. 1887. She certainly was a beauty - and a smart one at that. I must say, she makes me feel proud.
I'll have to go looking for the location of the old Biglan School No. 8, the next time we take a nostalgia ride to "God's Country".
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