THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
A tribute to
Dora Hunter Allison Spiva
Dora Hunter
Allison Spiva |
All who know
her admire her beauty, graciousness, vitality and personable nature.
It is hard to
believe she reached the milestone of 103 years of age on
What a span of
living occurs in 103 years of life. When she was born Theodore
Roosevelt was president of the
In the year of
her birth, her parents, Martha Souther Hunter and James Hunter, could
send out an announcement of their new daughter's birth by attaching a
two-cent stamp to a letter.
In 1905, the
federal spending was 57 billion dollars. Think how the national economy
(and indebtedness) has grown in her 103 years of living!
The population
in the
Not that the
little baby from Choestoe could go to
In scientific
advancements the year she was born, Albert Einstein proposed the theory
of relativity. The Nobel Prize in medicine was won by a German doctor,
Robert Koch, whose work on alleviating tuberculosis earned the award.
Dora had two
brothers born after her, Joseph in 1906 and Daniel in 1908. Dora was
the first child of her father, James Hunter. But her mother had been
married previously to James's brother Jasper F. Hunter who died in
1897. Dora's half-siblings were John Ester (1884), William Jesse
(1886), Nancy (1888-1897), James Hayes (1890), Homer (1892), Hattie
(1894), and Grady (1895). Jasper F. "Todd" Hunter died in 1897 with
typhoid fever. The year 1987 was a sad one for Martha Souther Hunter.
Her first husband died in May and her daughter
Teaching was
the chosen career of Dora Hunter Allison Spiva.
Well-beloved by her students, she taught both by precept and example.
Mathematics was her field of expertise, but she also served as a
principal of a country school and as a counselor in high school.
Much has been
written of teachers and their influence. I close this tribute by
quoting some that fit Mrs. Dora and her memorable style of teaching.
And all we who had the privilege of sitting under her tutelage stand up
and call her blessed.
"A teacher
affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." - Henry
Adams, 1907.
"Teachers
provide a social and intellectual environment in which students can
learn." - James MacGregor Burns, 1978.
"A teacher's
major contribution may pop out anonymously in the life of some
ex-student's grandchild." - Wendell Berry, 1990.
"It is the
supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and
knowledge." - Albert Einstein (1879- 1955).
"Teachers open
the door, but you must enter it by yourself." - Chinese saying.
At
Thank you, Mrs.
Dora, for your teaching and your far reaching influence. Happy
Birthday!
[Ethelene
Dyer Jones is a retired educator, freelance writer, poet, and historian.
She may be reached at e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail
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