Age not a deterrent

Born in 1863, Idella Harlow lived in an old farmhouse in the Maine hills in Buckfield village. When she was 5 years old, her mother died soon after giving birth to twin girls. Less than a year later, Idella’s father, Samuel Harlow, married a kind woman who become mother to his six children.

A few miles down a hilly road from the Harlow farm about halfway to the village of South Paris, Maine, was the Oxford County Poor Farm. Hosea Bonney raised five children on that farm. The middle child, Emery Bonney, became enamored with Idella and courted her until she finally agreed to marry him the fall of 1886. 

They set up housekeeping in a few rooms over a general store in South Paris. A healthy baby girl arrived on Sept. 28, 1890. That baby girl was my grandmother, my mother’s mother.

Idella named her Gladys from a story she had once read and liked. Her middle name was Idella.

Smart, bright and talented, Gladys brought her parents much joy. At the age of 8, she answered an altar call during a revival service by a traveling evangelist in the family’s little Baptist church. She attended Wednesday night prayer meetings with her parents in addition to Sunday school and church on Sundays. At her first prayer meeting, she got up and testified that she was a Christian and loved the Lord. 

It had not occurred to her that she was too young for that, but then again no one tried to stop her. In fact, at the end of the service, an old deacon shook her hand and said: “Never stop giving your testimony. You help me as well as standing up for Jesus.” 

In 1901, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, which had become strong in the village, decided to hold an oratorical contest for the children. Idella encouraged Gladys to enter – she had great confidence in her daughter’s talents and abilities. She chose a poem for 11-year-old Gladys to learn about a little girl who would slip down to the saloon late at night and lead her father back home. 

The Bonney family in 1904: Idella, 9-year-old Gerald, 3-year-old Helen, 14-year-old Gladys, Emery Bonney.

Idella made a white, soft wool dress with a wide lace collar for Gladys to wear at the competition. The contest was held at the historical Methodist church in town, which Gladys had never been inside of, since her family was Baptist. 

Gladys won first place that day in the competition and discovered she would go on to the state contest later that year to compete for the gold medal. However, this time she would be competing against much older students. She and her mother decided to go for it anyway and began practicing.

When it came time for the state oratorical competition, Gladys was nearly 12. Everyone knew her chances were slim in this contest.

“Gladys, do your best and don’t be too disappointed if you don’t win,” Idella told her daughter. “Your father and I want you to go. He will take time off from the factory that afternoon to drive us in the horse and buggy. It will take several hours, but we can make it.”

The 20-mile ride to Lewiston, Maine, took nearly seven hours. Sitting in the front row with the contestants after they arrived, Gladys listened in awe to the other students recite. Any hopes of winning were dashed as a 15-year-old boy just before her turn give a stirring temperance speech. 

But she remembered what her mother had said about doing her best and determined to do so no matter what. The boy with the temperance speech won first place that day. But much to Gladys’ surprise, the judge held up his hand to quiet the applauding audience for another announcement.

“I have the pleasure of awarding honorable mention to Gladys Bonney,” he said. “She was the youngest of the contestants and did an excellent job.” Gladys, beaming, turned around and found her parents in the audience, cheering for their daughter.

The ride back home was much more relaxing. Everyone, including Gladys, felt proud of her performance and the acknowledgment of her accomplishment.