Synopsis
The Thread That Runs So True
Reginald Lawrence from Jesse Stuart
Published by Dramatic Publishing
Large Mixed Cast
Many of his students are older than he, and certainly those in the clique led by the school bully are bigger and tougher
They are there to have a place to go while the work on the farm is slack, and they intend to have fun baiting the greenhorn teacher
Among the students are a few who respond to Jesse's enthusiasm for education; yet even with these he meets opposition
Their parents resent his encouraging their sons to seek further education, since this might deprive them of farm hands
The school bully becomes the leader of the opposition, and the enmity between him and Jesse is keener because both are interested in Naomi, the lovely girl who sings (for Jesse) the old ballad from which the title is taken: "The needle's eye that doth supply the thread that runs so true"
Their problems interweave with others: the school board's fight about whether Jesse keeps his job or not; the box-supper auctions; the contest with the "city" school in a neighboring small town
It's a play full of wit, flavorful mountaineer characters, and true romance in all its youthful sweetness