Meanwhile, in Rosebud, Alabama, Rosa J. Young, an African-American and the daughter of a Methodist minister, had started a school in 1912 to give African-American children in the area a good Christian education. The Rosebud Literary and Industrial School soon had over 200 students, but in 1914 the cotton boll weevil infested Wilcox County, and the resulting economic hardship meant that students' families were unable to afford the tuition. Desperate to keep the school open, she requested aid from the Methodist Church, but to no avail. She wrote to Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute, and he suggested she contact the Synodical Conference. Upon receiving her letter dated October 27, 1915, the Mission Board sent missionary Bakke to Rosebud in January 1916 to investigate. They agreed to support the school and pay Young $20 per month to teach.