Anne of Avonlea 3 - The ImprovementSociety
Mrs. Lynde, an old friend of Marilla's, had come to Green Gables to visit and discuss the latest town "news," though most people called it gossip.
"I've heard that you started an improvement society, Anne. Is it true?" asked Mrs. Lynde.
"Not really," said Anne, flushing. "I was just talking it over with some friends. Many towns have improvement societies now."
"It's not a good idea," said Mrs. Lynde. "People don't like being improved, Anne."
"We're not improving the
people
," said Anne. "We want to make Avonlea prettier. For instance, we're thinking of painting the town hall."
Mrs. Lynde was unconvinced, but soon the Avonlea Improvement Society was organized, with Gilbert Blythe as president, Fred Wright as vice-president, Anne Shirley as secretary, and Diana Barry as treasurer.
The Improvement Society received some disapproval and a good deal of ridicule from Avonlea's older citizens. Mr. Wright said a better name for the Society would be the "Dating Club." Mr. Bell said that he might be willing to paint his barn, but there was no way he'd hang lace curtains in his stables. Despite these jokes the "Improvers" set to work.
Anne and Diana walked along an Avonlea road, visiting each house. They were collecting donations for the Improvement Society to paint the town hall. Their first stop was the home of Catherine and Eliza Andrews. "If Catherine is here, we might get some money," said Diana, "but if Eliza is there, we won't."
Eliza Andrews answered the door, looking very grim. As the girls explained their errand, Catherine came to the door. Eliza listened with a frown, but Catherine smiled.
"I won't give any money for that hall, not a cent," said Eliza sourly. "It's just a place for young people to meet. Young people should stay at home. This world is getting worse every day!"
"I think it's getting better!" said Catherine firmly.
Eliza changed the subject. "How are Marilla's eyes, Anne? Is she blind yet?"
"Her eyes aren't any worse," Anne replied meekly. Anne and Diana left disappointed, but as they headed down the road a woman ran up behind them. It was Catherine Andrews with a dollar in her hand.
"Good luck with the Improvement Society!" she said. The girls cheered up.
Their next visit was to Mrs. Bell, who looked very healthy but spent a half an hour describing all her aches and pains. Mrs. Bell gave them money but said she couldn't donate next year because she would probably be in her grave by then.
The worst reception was at the Fletchers'. Anne and Diana saw two faces in the window as they walked up to the door, but when Anne knocked, nobody answered.
Eventually the Improvers raised enough money to paint the hall. They decided on dark green and asked Mr. Joshua Pye, an uncle of Anthony Pye, to paint it. They had to give the contract to a member of the Pye family, or else none of the four Pye families would donate any money.
Mr. Roger Pye brought the hall paint home that night, and Mr. Joshua Pye began painting the next day. He was not disturbed in his task. The hall was so closely surrounded by a wood of fir trees that it was invisible to anyone not driving right by it. Mr. Joshua Pye finished his job Friday afternoon and went home to Carmody.
Later Mrs. Lynde drove by the hall. She was curious to see what the hall looked like in its new coat of paint. When Mrs. Lynde rounded the curve and saw the brilliant blue town hall, she dropped the reins and said, "Good gracious!" She stared for a moment and then laughed hysterically.
News of the mistake quickly spread through Avonlea.
"Oh, it's simply dreadful!" Anne exclaimed. "I just can't believe Joshua Pye has gone and painted the hall blue instead of green. It's the blue that people use to paint carts and wheelbarrows. And Mrs. Lynde says it's the most hideous color for a building that she's ever seen."
"How on earth could such a mistake have happened?" asked Diana. The blame for this disaster was eventually pinned on the Pyes. The shades of paint were selected from a numbered color card. The Improvers had chosen the color number 147 and had told Roger Pye. However, Roger had somehow bought color number 157 instead.
"I must cry, even if I am almost 17 years old, Marilla," Anne later sobbed. "It is so embarrassing—people will think the Improvement Society is a joke. They'll never again listen to our ideas or give us donations."
In life, however, things often turn out differently from how we expect. The Avonlea people did not laugh at the Improvement Society. They had donated money to have the town hall painted, and they were angry about the mistake. Public indignation centered on the Pyes. People felt that Joshua Pye should have realized it was the wrong color. Joshua Pye argued that he painted the hall the color he was given, and it wasn't his job to question the Improvement Society's taste in color. Despite Joshua Pye's arguments, the people of Avonlea still took the Improvement Society's side. People believed the Improvers had worked hard, and many of them took inspiration from the Society's example. Mr. Major Spencer said he would plant flowers around the town, and Mr. Bell decided to paint his old barn.
Anne, however, was still upset about the town hall.
"Never mind, Anne," Marilla consoled her. "Most paint fades uglier over time. But that blue started out as ugly as it can be. So it's bound to fade prettier."
Anne smiled, but she was not convinced.
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