Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher

by Anne Hobbs Purdy, Robert Specht

Some spine creasing and a little edge wear. Name and initial on inside front page. Age discoloring and some slight smugging. Ships very quickly and packaged carefully!

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, History, Book Club, Adventure, Romance

342 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1976

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tisha is a Very nice read,I also recommend Tisha"s House and the FortyMile Country by lisa Johnson.
I am Anne Purdy"s grandson and have spent many summers up in chicken with my granmother,before her passing,in the late 80's. Tisha's House and the Fortymile country,which was written by my wife lisa,
Takes you on a photographic tour of the fortymile region and the house my granmother and granfather raised all those adopted kids in,I highly recommend you get it.
questions or info just send me an e mail thetribe@mtaonline.net
Brian and Lisa Johnson po box 870511 wasilla,ak 99687

[Gwen Haaland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my top shelf favorite books of all time and a true story which takes place in Alaska in the late 1920's!

I re-read this book every few years and never grow tired of it. It has all the elements to keep the reader hooked: adventure, living with hardship through a frigid Alaska winter, dogsled races, a student who perseveres despite a reading handicap, the heroic teacher who loves her students and despite all, bravely stands up to a community with a rigid backwards way of thinking (racism.) Anne does what she knows is the right thing despite the personal cost of disapproval by the locals in power. In addition to all this, a pure romance blooms that nearly breaks your heart. Inspiring and ultimately satisfying. (Just as in Tisha's life, my love and I had to wait 12 years until we were able to get married.)

This book may be recommended for ages 12 through 112! I just finished reading it again, this time to my 13 year old daughter. She was amazed that someone could chose to teach and live in a place so cold and far away from any shopping malls! (I guess kids today have it too easy.)

This book is a winner that will transport you to another time and place. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

[Jessaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story. What young woman wouldn't want to go to Alaska to teach in 1928? You would have your choice of men. I went to Juneau Alaska in 1981, and when I walked into a bar with my friends a man grabbed my leg.. That really happened. It was funny. But this book wasn't so funny. And the woman didn't want just any man , she wanted a man who was half Indian. And while the men could marry an Indian, the women could not. Racism. The white man made the rules, and the white woman followed along. Except for her.

This story was rather adventurous. Meeting up with a grizzly, almost drowning in the river, and she was not even to the town of Chicken where she was going to teach. Speaking of which, I would have been too chicken to even go to Alaska back then.

[Taury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tisha by Robert Spect and Anne Purdy. Wonderful book about like and survival in Alaska in 1927. Anne Hobbs 19, left for a hard life in Chicken, Alaska as a new teacher. It had been 18 months since the town had a teacher for 10 students K -12. Once Anne arrived she found she was met with unfriendliness by the town and prejudices towards Indians including those of Eskimo decent. Tisha or teacher had many obstacles trying to teach children who have had little to no education. Anne receives many challenges based on her own morals and values. She believes everyone deserves an education. This did not matter what their race , income or body oder. She fought the town and school system.
***my thoughts are: if we treated everyone with love and compassion regardless of their differences Life would be easier and without as much drama.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

Years ago I read Benedict Freedman's 'Mrs. Mike'. I loved the simple story of a marriage between a young woman and a Canadian Mountie. A clean romance, it went on my keeper shelf and I have read it several times since. In the meantime, the title of this book kept coming up on my recommended shelf here on Goodreads so I decided to give it a try.

TISHA takes place in 1927 in the Alaskan Territory. It is about the one year that Anne Hobbs, a nineteen-year-old, spent teaching in the gold-mine town of Chicken, Alaska. 'Tisha' refers to the word 'teacher'; it is what Anne is called by the some of her students who had a hard time with the English language.

Depending on what you read, it appears as though it was co-written by both Anne and Mr. Specht. From my understanding, this is a highly fictionalized story so take it with a grain of salt. Most of the families were dirt-poor and the white population was motivated by prejudism. Anne believed that she was there to help all children, including the Native Americans and Eskimos. The hatred she found among the townspeople alienated her personal life and followed her into the schoolroom.

TISHA contains some romance but it was very mild. Instead, read the book to educate yourself about a part of the world few people visit. But unlike 'Mrs. Mike', be aware that this story explores a darker side of life in this northernmost wilderness. Unfortunately, we will never know how much of her story was based on imagination and what was actually set in fact.

[Katina stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this while on vacation and was having a hard time putting it down, when I was supposed to be going to Disney World! There is so much adventure and bravery and it's a TRUE story! The woman is so brave and wonderful in the way she treats the Native American children! I'm 1/2 Eskimo and live in Alaska and though I've mostly been treated well all of my life, I can only imagine what these Indian children were going through and what an angel Tisha must have been to them.
I met one of the children she adopted (after the timeline in the book)and she had nothing but good to say about her mother.
I plan on reading this again really soon!
Re-Read May 2010

[Chrisl · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books to recommend to library patrons, it obtained a higher percentage of "likes" than most. Biographies set in Alaska were a particularly popular library genre in our rural county.
***
A Kirkus review for a book read too long ago to much remember:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
"This one gets a GP rating for family fare, kind of like one of those neighborhood movies--Adventures of the Wilderness Family. It might be called the ""novelized autobiography"" of Anne Hobbs, who as a nineteen-year-old girl, in 1927, ventured forth to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in the former gold-rash settlement of Chicken, Alaska. It is a truly nice story--no cynicism intended--of guts, generosity, adventure, and the awesomeness of the elements. Where a trace of cynicism does creep in is that Robert Specht (""as told to"") is a Malibu screenwriter who admits to altering the facts ""only when I deemed it dramatically necessary."" One misses the roughness of an authentic voice; the artlessness of the first-person narrative is just a little too smooth, like historical fiction written for adolescent girls. Nonetheless, Tisha (it's how the Indian kids said ""teacher"") does capture the exhilaration of Alaska's cold and space, the poignancy of old sourdoughs who never did hit paydirt but love the country, the earthy comedy, and camaraderie, of the frontier (every stream in this vastness has its tin cup). There's even some genuine and harrowing frozen-North rescue drama as Tisha passes her initiation from cheechako--greenhorn--to full-fledged Alaskan. But the central drama is Anne Hobbs' stubborn struggle against the amazingly vicious frontier prejudice: her insistence on admitting Indian kids to the school, adopting two of them, and falling in love with a half. Eskimo boy nearly gets her kicked out of town. Didn't, though. She still lives in Chicken."

[Linda Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book about a hundred years ago when it was first published (1984) and loved it so much that it is one of the few books I kept when my recent move to a new community required drastic downsizing. I just read it a second time and loved it just as much. Nonfiction that reads like fiction, it is an incredible story full of adventure, romance, and heart-warming drama that would be enjoyed by anyone ages 10 - 110. It would be an especially wonderful book for teenage girls and definitely ranks as one of my favorites!

[Kremena Koleva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serene, I fold my
hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, nor
tide, nor sea;
I rave no more ’gainst
time or fate,
For lo! my own shall
come to me.
/ John Burroughs.

Докато Робърт Шпехт работи като редактор в офисите на голямо издателство в Лос Анджелис, той среща Ан Хобс. Разказът й за това, как като 19 годишно момиче отива в селището Чикън в Аляска като учителка, остана с него дълго време.
Едва години по-късно обаче, след като става писател на свободна практика, той успява да посвети цялата си енергия в написването на книгата Tisha, основана на истинската история на ярката и непоколебима Ани.
На учителките в онези времена не им е била лесна работата. По различи причини и днес не е. Но тогава, освен да гони неграмотността с всякакви подръчни средства, една учителка е трябвало да бъде посредник, дипломат, звероукротител, а в отношенията си с дебелоглавите родители и учителско настоятелство - и началник на военно поделение, който налучква всякакви вратички в закона, за да отблъсква всезнаещи лицемери и расисти. Всеки поне веднъж в живота си е срещал хора като " елитните граждани "на градчето Чикън - група тесногръди, закостенели и вкопчени в предразсъдъците си индивиди, пред които може да представяш доводи и доказателства до безкрай, но накрая ще ти се прииска да се протегнеш през масата и да ги стиснеш за гушата. Вярно е, че навсякъде напредъка идва бавно и достатъчно трудно, за да откаже по - нетърпеливите. Вярно е, че ужасното разбиране за превъзходството на един човек над друг и на една Раса над всички останали съществува откакто има хора по таз земя. Но там, където териториите са били завладявани в името на търсенето на място без забрани, без страх и за неограничавани възможности за успешен живот , тоест Американския континент, там отхвърлянето на коренното население, а после и на негрите, достига колосални и нелепи размери. Демократичните свободи на страниците на декларации и закони дълги години остават далеч от реалността в много щати. А най - късно, сякаш носени с кану по замръзнала река, достигат до Аляска. Там през 1927 година все още белите заселници са гледали на местните индианци и на мелезите като на боклук. И Ан Хобс прекачва всякакви нечувани и невиждани граници, влагайки душата, сърцето и човеколюбието си в общуването с�� с индианци, ескимоси, бели заселници и смесени потомци.
Беше ужасно да се наблюдава несправедливото отношение към децата, родени от съюза между бели и индианци или бели и ескимоси. И дори към децата на местните индианци. Обидите и униженията, които се подхвърляха между учениците в една класна стая бяха резултат от чутото и видяното от родителите им. Малките копираха всяко противопоставяне, което се афишираше от мама и татко. И успешно пренасяха омразата срещу различните си връстници.
Плаках на толкова много места в книгата - когато Ани посети Кати в индианското село. Когато Ани и Нанси прибраха Етел и Чък след смъртта на майка им в ужасен зимен ден. Когато Етел, свикнала никога да няма достатъчно храна в дома й, криеше хапки, за всеки случай, на всяко потайно място, което зърнеше. Деца, виновни само за различния цвят на кожата си, бяха третирани като прокажени, оставяни на произвола на съдбата в мизерните условия в индианските села и резервати. Да те хване бяс от несправедливостта!
Като безпристрастен разказвач Робърт Шпехт описва образа на своята героиня. С всичкия й младежки идеализъм, с емоционалния багаж от собственото й детство, с учителския й хъс да ограмоти всеки, когото срещне, с първото й влюбване, което белазва присъствието й в селището и особено с дръзкото й човеколюбие, с което става трън в очите на мнозина жители в буша на Аляска. На принципа на пробата и грешката Ан Хобс стъпва в Чикън още дете, но скоро израства в жена със собствено мнение. Което, за добро или зло, устоява. Дори с цената на отложеното с десет години лично щастие!

" - Виж това. - Тя взе каменна брадва от един рафт.- Това са използвали преди идването на белите – камък, каменни инструменти, каменни оръжия. И оцеляха. Така че не се опитвайте да ми казвате, че не могат да направят нещата сами.
Преди да дойдат белите, тези хора са били ловци. Диетата им беше почти изцяло месо и то на практика сурово. Имаха сили да излезлязат на лов. Сега те ядат храната на белия човек - брашно, захар, консерви, боклуци. И те му пият алкохола…”

[Poiema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventure writing at its best! A brave young woman travels to a small Alaskan outpost in the early 1900s to serve as a teacher to nine young students. "Tisha" is how the Indian children pronounced the word "teacher," thus the title of the book. I found Tisha (whose real name was Ann) to be admirable on many levels: brave, vivacious, and intelligent. Her big heart compelled her to teach Indians as well as the white folks and this brought her to odds with the school board and the respected members of the community. Courageously, Ann took in two orphaned Indian children as her own, setting off a firestorm of outrage that nearly cost her position. When those children were kidnapped, an exciting chase on dogsled ensued---a suspenseful chapter that left me nearly breathless. Tucked in with the adventure are descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness that paint a picture of stark, pristine beauty in the mind's eye. A great read with a happy ending.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Racism irks me to my core.
Those who stand firm against it deserve to have their story told.

[Kayla Dunham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book.

It’s difficult to read. The racism that makes up the bulk of the story is so painful and embarrassing. But re-reading it now, twenty years after I first read it, and with our country as it is, it feels so relevant.

This is the story of a young woman who refused to accept that some lives are worth less than others, and her fight against the community who would ostracize and punish her for believing each life is as valuable as the next. This is the true story of a young woman who saw only human beings despite racial differences. A woman who risked her neck for what was right, though the community shamed and suppressed her.

This is what I believed “America” was about, until I learned from experience the opposite was true. These are the values we would all be fighting for, if our big-sounding words about equality had any real meaning.

In short, this is a book that exemplifies the so-called American values we claim to have, and that casts light on the reality of how our prejudices make a shameful joke out of those claims. It shows how equality is really only meant for those who look and think like we do. This is the true story of America. And it’s just about as sad and un-American as can be. It serves to throw light on the deep seated cowardice inherent in racism.

I wish I could have known this woman. She’s a hero.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great writing, but fascinating documentation of time, place, attitudes - particularly racism against indigenous peoples of the north. I'd hoped to learn more about life in the "Indian camp," but that wasn't Hobbs' story. Typical of the time, I suppose, that when our protagonist decides she wants to adopt two "half-breeds" it doesn't occur to her to seek permission from their people. And enlightening to note that she had the most success as a parent when she stopped trying to make those kids act white.

Highly educational book - and at times quite a page turner too.

[Jonathan Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story seemed as though it was going nowhere at every turn, and then new ground was broken and it was exciting again. An amazing true story that takes you into the wilderness of Alaska in 1920s, this book helps one understand race relationships on the frontier.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my mom's book. She let me borrow it about 20 years ago - around the same time we moved out of Alaska. For about the past 10 years or so, she has been asking for it back, so it was time to read it.

I loved this book. I grew up in Alaska, so I was not blown away by the descriptions of the cold weather, deep snow, or dark winter. Those were facts of life. I've even ridden in dogsleds before. So instead I read those passages with a bit of nostalgia. Of course, I lived there in the 70s and 80s and I lived in Fairbanks so I had quite a bit more comforts!

But this book is more than a story about the hardships of 1920s Alaska. When Anne Hobbs moved to Alaska, she not only encountered harsh winters and a very different way of life, but also prejudice and racism against the Native Alaskan people and anyone who had any native blood. This would not stand for Anne. She, being part native American herself, felt a deep compassion for all people, and couldn't see how the Athabaskans should be treated any differently than the whites.

In doing this, she risked everything. The other settlers in the town disagreed with her decisions and made life difficult for her. She risked losing the man she loved, the children she loved, her job and future teaching, and so on.

It is an adventure story with the harsh Alaskan frontier has a backdrop - not only cold weather, but dramatic dog sled races. And it is a love story.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long winter nights and frigid temperatures of the arctic would overwhelm me. But I always like to read about other people's experiences. Here we have a girl raised in the lower 48 who goes north to teach in a small Alaskan village. Specht has brought this experience to life.

I've read the book several times and always enjoyed it. (In some ways, it's reminiscent of Mrs. Mike, but I like this book better.)

2019: It's been more than 20 years since I last read Tisha, but I was surprised by how much I remembered. And by how much I enjoyed reading it again even though I remembered not only the main storyline, but also many of the details.

Anne Hobbs was raised in Colorado, but felt rejected by both parents. Her Grandmother, a full-blooded Kentuck Indian, gave Anne support and encouragement. Her childhood experiences made her more understanding of the Alaskan natives.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like historical fiction by a debut author. For example, in a novel, we would learn why Vaughn automatically despises the Indians so much. But irl Anne never found or figured it out, so we can only guess. But at the same time we do learn interesting historical perspectives, culture, technology... for example the role of 'pay dirt' in gold mining.

Not my usual fare, often bleak or frustrating, and fairly long, but very nice for a change of pace.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all time favorite book. I read it at least once a year if not more. A most incredible story.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dated but very exciting story in the Alaskan frontier of a woman who stood against prejudice and being the "new" girl teacher.

[Karen J · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved everything about this book, the strength and courage these amazing people had to endure while living in Alaska was incredible.

[Beatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it is the true story of an inspiring woman with an enormous heart and a lot of courage. Also, the book really drags you into early-century Alaska, with all the grit that this entails. I've certainly learned a lot about the murderous winters up there, plus what people had to do in order to get through them, and I have a new-found respect for all the courageous pioneers who explored that land and settled in it. The book also paints an incredibly realistic, gritty picture of a small town snowed in for months at the edge of the world, and all the prejudice, close friendships, acts of courage and bouts of "cabin fever" that this can bring to a small society. For all these reasons I am in awe of this story, and what it has taught me.

However- and this is a big however- the writing style! Call me petulant, but I honestly cannot enjoy a book if I can't also enjoy its prose. This read like an article sometimes, as if it were a dry narration of events completely detached from its characters. I feel like the soul of the story was lost completely in the writing process, and what we get is a bland third-party account from an uninterested spectator. Written differently, this book would've captivated not only my mind but also my heart; as it is, however, I "mushed" through it purely for its cultural and sociological education.

So, like I said, I have mixed feelings about it. I would definitely recommend it, though: if nothing else, this book will give you an incredible portrayal of what it meant to live in one of the coldest, most lonely and remote regions in the world in the early 20th century- and who can resist a story like that?

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably the best book I have read all year. It takes place in the 1920’s, and is about a young woman who takes a job as a teacher in the Alaskan wilderness. Although it is a true story, it is written as a novel that takes you on a wonderful adventure. Anne Hobbs was a great teacher and she showed kindness and compassion to all the children she taught. She ended up adopting two orphaned native children and fought the prejudices of the village people who ostracized and threatened her for taking them in. The villagers hated anyone who was native or even part native, and Anne just happened to fall in love with a man who was half Eskimo. Anne endured though and went on to have a rich, fulfilling life in Alaska. This book was written in 1976, many years after Anne went on continuing to teach, marry and adopt eight more children. This is the type of book you crave more of once you get to the end. I’m not sure the book is even in print any longer, but I was able to check it out from my local library. 5+ stars.

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my heart! This is a touching story of a young woman's struggle to fight adversity in the tundra of Alaska. She boldly sets out for the wilderness in order to teach at an old mining town. While there she opens her heart and home to the unfortunately mistreated Indians. I admire Anne and her desire to stand up to those morally corrupt enough to deny basic human rights and common courtesy to those who even show a portion of native blood. Honestly, I was blown away by this historic tale of strength and perseverance. I highly recommend it!

[Markelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a true story of life from the past. Especially one that I know happened but can’t even wrap my brain around what it would be like to be the main character. This young 19 year old girl did amazing things and stood up for herself and others against all odds. The emotional and physical trauma. I needed this book in my life right now to take me away from our current world to this place and time and this true story of this remarkable young woman. Definitely a book I will want to read again in years to come.

[Kristin Flor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I never would have picked up if it wasn’t for book club. Wonderful story. The amount of trials this young teacher went through were so persevering but each and every challenge made her a stronger and better person/teacher as the time went. She gained confidence in her ways and didn’t let others change how she felt or knew what was right. Such a great role model for both her students and the kids she raised! The author did a great job in retelling Anne’s story. Props to Specht in a story well told!

[Margie (Bookzombie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read. It is one of my favorite books of all time.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good, mostly true story, but the cruelty and inhumane treatment of animals was more than i could bear.

[Joan Bannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What an exciting adventure. My Goodreads friend, Elizabeth, recommended this book to me and I'm so glad she did.

Because I read it on Kindle, I didn't have the title and author in front of me throughout my reading. It was written in first person of the nineteen year old female teacher, Anne. I remembered that it was a true story, but I kept thinking that it didn't seem to be written by a woman. It bypassed a lot of details that would be important to a woman, like a baby that was placed into a grandmother's arms, and then never mentioned again. I often found descriptions to be lightweight.

The story was exciting and clipped along at a pace that I would be expecting from a male author, possibly even a journalist.

And then, I got to the end and sure enough, the About the Author page reminded me it was written by a man. And ... he has a journalistic background. Apparently the story was told to him by Anne Purdy :).

Reading this book reminded me of what the Bible says about the haughtiness and wickedness of the heart of man. The bigoted people in this story not only believed they were better than the Indians, the convinced the Indians that they were inferior. Ick! So similar to some despicable men interviewed in last evening's nightly news.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Annie Hobbs, who went to the remote village of Chicken, Alaska in the fall of 1927 to be the school teacher for a year. During the year she confronted the prejudices of the village towards the Indians and the half breeds. She also learned a lot about herself and what she was capable of doing. The title is a fracturing of the word Teacher as used by several of the children.
I enjoyed this. It was sitting on my bookshelf and my memory is that I'd read it as a teen during my "I want to be a teacher when I grow up" period. I read a number of Teacher books during those years. So I pulled this off the shelf recently and thought I'd re-read it. I have to say I'm impressed that a single woman at age 19 would choose to leave the "civilized" Northwest to travel to the Alaskan frontier on her own to teach. I'm also impressed by her strength to see those that the village shunned as people to be respected in the face of the persecution she took for standing up for them. Basically she got to a point of saying, "I don't care what anyone else thinks (even if it costs me my job), I'm going to do what I believe is right." Good for her.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popsugar challenge 07: Reread of a favorite

I couldn't remember why I enjoyed this book years ago, but it seemed time to revisit this biographical story set in beautiful, brutal Alaska in the 1920s about an idealistic first-year teacher, Anne Hobbs. When she arrives in the village of Chicken, she is shocked at the rampant racism and narrow mindedness of the community as a whole, yet so many of the characters also have compassionate and loyal sides. Anne's heart quickly gets involved with the children and I loved the community based projects (and old timer help!) she and her students worked on together. The journey to get the children was incredible, and the love story that plays a small but major part in the story, amazing. Highly recommend.