Life sketches of ellen g. white

enterprise felt that unpreparedness to care properly for
those who should come would be disastrous. "The school must
open on the date advertised," Mrs. White insisted, when
told of the difficulties surrounding the school board. To
this the builders replied, "It is impossible; it cannot be
done." p. 365, Para. 1, [LS15].
There remained one resource,--the united and unselfish cooperation
of all in a supreme effort to bring about that
which seemed so utterly impossible. Mrs. White determined
to appeal direct to the people. "We appointed a meeting for
Sunday morning at six o'clock, and called the church
together," she afterward wrote of the experiences of the
weeks that followed. "We laid the situation before the
brethren and sisters, and called for donated labor. Thirty
men and women offered themselves for work; and although it
was hard for them to spare the time, a strong company
continued at work day after day, till the buildings were
completed, cleaned, and furnished, ready to be used at the
day set for the opening of the school." p. 365, Para. 2,
[LS15].
At the time appointed, April 28, 1897, the school was
opened, with Elder and Mrs. S. N. Haskell and Prof. and
Mrs. H. C. Lacey as teachers. On the first day, there were
only ten students. When the word went abroad that the
school had actually opened and begun work, others came; and
a month later, when Prof. and Mrs. C. B. Hughes came to
join the teaching force, there were nearly thirty students
in attendance. As the term advanced, and the character of
the instruction given was told in the churches, others made
great efforts to join them, and before the close of the
term there were sixty students in all. About forty of these
were accommodated in the school home. p. 365, Para. 3,
[LS15].
Another Test of Faith -- As the school term advanced, and
families gathered in so that their children might have its
advantages, the Sabbath congregations became much too large
for the temporary chapel above the dining hall, in which
seats had been provided for one hundred. In former years
the Sabbath meetings had been held, first, in the dining
room of the Healey Hotel; and later on, in the dark,
uncomfortable loft of the sawmill. The little chapel was a
much better meeting hall than the mill loft; but now it was
too small. There was much discussion as to what could be
done; and finally the brethren determined to erect a neat