People Column

When Kitty Harper was a teacher at Metter Elementary School in Metter, Ga., she heard about a Savannah, Ga., community activist who donated dictionaries to students. Ms. Harper made herself a promise: She would take time to do the same when she retired.

Now retired, Ms. Harper is known as the "Dictionary Lady" around Metter, her hometown. She kept her vow to give every 3rd grader in the community a dictionary for two reasons.

First, in her 27 years of teaching, she had heard every possible excuse for homework assignments that went undone, including a lack of a dictionary. "I had that excuse from at least one or two students every time, so I knew the need was...