The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

Paul Milliron has been sent by the Education Dept. of Montana to close all the small one room school houses as a cost cutting measure.  But back in 1909, he was a 13 year old student in one of those schools.  It was the summer that his father responded to an ad in a newspaper by a woman seeking a housekeeping position.  The heading of the ad said "Can't cook but doesn't bite".  With his wife dead and a house full of boys, Paul's father takes a chance that someone who would write that might be able to stand up to the challenges of rural farming and the energy of four boys.  It turns out that not everyone is who they seem but this is an inspirational story which makes you think that the good ol' days may on occasion have been exactly that.