Just A Shy Kid

bycosmicradio

5.9K followers

7 years ago

From the age of 3, beginning school with her older brother, Stephen, through most of her school days, Clara was so timid, she was only ever known to have had one friend.

At 10, she stayed home from school for an extended period, nursing her brother back to health, after he was severely injured, falling off the roof of the barn.

The painful shyness continued as she got older, and Clara's parents decided to send her to a military school, Colonel Stones High School, hoping to help her become more outgoing.

That strategy backfired, however, as Clara became even more shy, and began to suffer bouts of depression, refusing to eat.

She left school and returned home.

At the encouragement of her parents, Clara was trained in proper social skills by a cousin, and she was ultimately persuaded to study to become a teacher. She received her teaching certificate at the age of 17, and worked for 12 years as a teacher in Georgia and Canada.

She was next contracted to open the first free school in New Jersey, and she and another female teacher were able to teach more than 600 students!

A new school was built, based upon their success, but the school board passed over Clara to hire a man as the principal. Clara was demoted to "female assistant," and worked in an increasingly unfriendly environment, causing her to have a nervous breakdown and other health problems, resulting in her quitting her job.

She moved to Washington, D.C., and got a job as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office. She endured 3 years of abuse and slander from the male clerks, who resented a woman clerk being paid the same as a man.

Under political pressure, her superiors reduced her position to "copyist," and she was eventually fired, reportedly because of her "Black Republicanism." (A slur directed at Republican politicians, especially Abraham Lincoln supporters)

With the advent of the Civil War, Clara began providing aid and supplies to wounded soldiers. Finally, she was appointed "Lady in Charge," and gained permission to work with injured soldiers on the front lines of battle.

One of the most memorable incidents in Clara's life was when a bullet ripped through the sleeve of her dress, tragically killing the man she was caring for.

She came to be known as the "American Nightingale," and the "Angel of the Battlefield."

Following the war, Clara ran the Office of Missing Soldiers, as well as delivering lectures about her war experiences.

She became associated with Susan B. Anthony and the women's suffrage movement.

She also befriended Frederick Douglass, and became a civil rights activist.

Years later, in conjunction with the U.S. Congress and President Chester A. Arthur, Clara and 14 volunteers founded an organization that continues to this day.

The name of lady, and the organization she founded?

Clara Barton, and the American Red Cross.

And now, as Paul Harvey used to say, you know the rest of the story.

Clara Barton died of tuberculosis in her home in Maryland at the age of 90.

21 schools, 9 streets, and numerous other places have been named after Clara Barton, including:

1. Barton, a crater on Venus

2. Barton Center for Diabetes Education, North Oxford, Massachusetts

3. Barton County, Kansas

4. Barton Towers, in Royal Oak, Michigan, on the former site of Clara Barton Junior High School

5. Barton Hall, IowaState University

6. Barton's Crossing, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a homeless shelter

7. Clara Barton Community Center, Cabin John, Maryland

8. Clara Barton District, a regional association of Unitarian Universalist Association member congregations

9. Clara Barton First Aid Squad, Edison, New Jersey

10. Clara Barton Hospital and Clinics, Hoisington, Kansas

11. Clara Barton Service Area, on the New Jersey Turnpike in Oldmans Township, New Jersey

12. Clara Barton, New Jersey

13. Clara Barton Tree, a giant sequoia tree, in the Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park

14. Clara Barton Memorial Forest in Lake Clear, New York, planted in 1925

15. Lake Barton in Burke, Virginia

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