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Description
Photograph shows Chico State librarian Alice Anderson with horse in Trinity County. From letter: After my distribution of Andy's capping picture taken when she graduated from Westlake Nurse's Training School at age 20, and Ruth's high school graduation photo, some of you let me know that you would like to have a corresponding view of me. I've looked without finding anything that would do -- but this picture of me at 27, with my companion of the mountain trails of Trinity County, keeps popping up reminding me of my favorite job of all I ever had. It was at the dawn of a new era in California history and the first thing I did to prepare myself for the job was to go to Roose Brothers in San Francisco and buy a proper riding habit with knickers, and then to Somer & Kaufmann's for women's riding costume of clumsy divided skirts. However, my costume made an unintended stir on the main street of Weaverville, the county seat. when I first appeared with my old white horse in front of the new library headquarters, the loungers in front of several saloons gazed at me in amazement, and I heard one of them say: Is it a man or is it a woman? This old white horse could not be coaxed into a gallop or a canter, but was absolutely sure-footed, probably because he was blind. The first time I had to cross a 1000 foot gorge on a two-foot trail, I dismounted and led him across. I was later told that I was safer on his back, so there I stayed in all tricky places, from then on. This horse was reserved for my use on my branch visiting. The autumn of 1916 I visited all the school districts to establish the branches, either at the school house or at a home. On those trips I saw for the first time the glories of Autumn. I Spring I visited the braches to observe how many different ways a school branch could be managed. Meanwhile all supplies and books got to their destinations the same way -- by mule back -- over the same trails. I hope the setting in which the old, blind, white horse and I are standing will convey a sense of the unspoiled
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