He said, “I am Booker T. Washington,” and he placed his hand back in his hip pocket and pulled out a parcel in a seemingly soiled handkerchief that had evidently been used for mopping off the perspiration –and out of this handkerchief he gave me a large diamond and said,
“Here, take this and build your school.” And again he remounted his horse and galloped away.
That was my first contact with Booker T. Washington. But oh, I had been a worshipper at his shrine when I read of what he was doing in the building of Tuskegee. I felt that this diamond represented confidence, will power, stick-to-it-iveness, work suffering, friends, doubt, wisdom, common sense,--everything necessary for the building of a beautiful BETHUNE-COOKMAN.
I had such an interesting demonstration of faith in my life, work. When I first started I did not have dishes. A friend was kind enough to me to lend me dishes. It was in October when she loaned them to me.
About Christmas time, one Saturday I was cleaning my little girls and my little baby boy who was then about five years old, getting ready for our Christmas. This woman had taken private work at Ormand and said I might use her dishes. This day she came in and said, “Mrs. Bethune, I am awfully sorry, but my husband is going to have dinner for the Masons and must have the dishes.”
…….And my little boy said, “Mother, what will we do?” Just at that time there was a knock at the door.
I said, “Wait a minute, Mrs. Jamison, you were kind enough to let us have them this long.”
When I got to the door, a man was standing there with a note in his hand and a basket. He handed me the note and said that Mrs. Thompson has asked me to bring them to you. He lifted it to the inside, and believe me or not, friends, but when I took the paper off, there was a basket chuch(sic) full of dishes and I opened the note from my dear friend Mrs……….
“My son, ‘Burt’ has given me a new set of dishes for Christmas and I thought I would send these over to you and your little school.
I looked up into the face of my Father and I realized that even before we call, sometimes he answers.
