A Love Story
Edith Foley, the oldest of six children and the only daughter of John
and Daisy Foley, had her teaching certificate from
She boarded with a lady in the community whom everyone called “Old Aunt
Susie.”
Edith loved teaching
the twenty or more pupils at the school.
The parents were happy to have her and gave her support.
Some would come early in the winter months to build a fire in the
pot-belly stove, so the room would be warm before the teacher and
students arrived.
The fire
wood was furnished by the families who had children attending the
school.
The older boys of
the families clamored to be the one to drive the team of horses and
wagon with the load of wood to the school in order to get a look at the
new, pretty, single school teacher.
Edith was very fond of her students but two were especially nice and
well mannered.
Their names
were Rainey and Wardie Cossitt.
She was sometimes invited to partake of a meal at their home and
discovered that they had four older brothers, Leslie, Oscar, Ernest and
Hubert.
Most of the social life in this small community centered on the Church
and parties held in individual home.
One Saturday night a social was to be at Aunt Susie’s home.
Now Aunt Susie had a large home and could accommodate the whole
neighborhood.
After much singing
and dancing Aunt Susie was worn out and excused herself to her bedroom.
But the party continued and the young people started the game of
Blind Man’s Bluff.
This is
where a guy is blindfolded and tries to catch a girl.
He then will get to dance with her or have refreshments with
her.
Unbeknown to the school teacher Hubert Cossitt had made
arrangements to be blindfolded and have one of his brothers get
behind the school teacher and make a noise so he could catch the
teacher.
The game went on
with Hubert blindfolded and with out-stretched waving hands and
listening to his brother’s voice and the crowd egging him on trying to
catch the pretty school teacher.
The next sound was the school teacher crying out in pain.
Hubert quickly jerked the blindfold off and went into Aunt Susie’s
bedroom.
Aunt Susie raised
up in her bed and said “Hubie what is wrong?”
Hubert Cossitt replied “I stuck my finger in that damn old school
teacher’s eye.”
The party
was over!
On Monday Wardie Cossitt brought a note from her brother, Hubert, to
give to the teacher.
It was
a letter of apology from her brother saying how sorry he was that he had
stuck his finger in the teacher’s eye.
At the end of the class that day as the students had left, a
driver with a load of wood arrived at the school.
In comes Hubert and makes his apology in person.
That early romance led to the marriage of
Hubert Pearl Cossitt (the 4th great grandson of Ruth and Rene Cossitt)
and Lillian Edith Foley on May 20, 1925 in Ripley, Tippah County,
Mississippi. Years later, when the story was told to Hubert and Edith’s seven
children their father was always careful to tell them be careful and
keep your eyes open.
Special thanks to Cousin Johnnie Cossitt-Wood for this story
about her parents.
Rainey, Wardie and Hubert Cossitt circa 1915