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Show Page 24 Played by the sweep of invisible fingers, Tuned to the voice of the wind in the pine . . . Despite their ability to learn on their own, Ann's parents eventually decided their children needed a more structured education than the one they were receiving from the local school. So the autumn of 1892 found fourteen-year-old Ann and her older brother and sister attending school in Craig, Colorado. In December they returned home to attend a funeral. Elizabeth Bassett, their mother, had died on December 11 at the age of thirty-seven, presumably of appendicitis. Elizabeth Bassett had been a strong force in Ann's life. From her, Ann had acquired her independent character, her fearlessness, her dominant personality, her charm (which she didn't always choose to exercise). Elizabeth Bassett was also one of the few people who could control the willful Ann. With her gone it wasn't long before Ann became a handful for her gentle, kindhearted father. So Herbert Bassett took the advice of a friend and put Ann on a train bound for Salt Lake City, Utah, where she would attend St. Mary's of the Wasatch, a private Catholic convent. A Civil War pension, which gave him a regular cash income (very rare in Brown's Park at that time), made it possible for Herbert Bassett to afford to send his daughter off to private school. He hoped the school would survive her. In fact, the arrangement turned out better than expected. |