Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 34, Number 177, Decatur, Adams County, 27 July 1936 — Page 47

chool History By City And County Superintendents

. $ t School House Built Os Logs 1839 On N. Second

f i|FTON E. STRIKER Indent. Ad.m. Co. School. ... entered the union a. a „ 1S1« and Adam. County e county in 1836. ' record, nothing about 2 in Adam. County until h e year of 1840, four year. \dams county became a Liu wh»t we kuow ot the . ioll eer» in thia ™u»ty. »‘ an y m believed in education and i li.risned the hope of beble to disemiate knowledge >rvbody for the welfare ot the dl al and for the public, it ",ly natural that they would laking plans whereby they be educating themselves and i after they had spent some in carving a home out of the •new and providing themselvth the necessities and cornet the time afforded, so id them by 1899 establishing first schools in resident cabinc of these schools was in eorge Ames residence in Root hip and the other was estabi„ step he n Armstrong's nee in Wabash township, conduct a school in an actulidence or dwelling was not y satisfactory so those interbegan to see better oppoiPS m a building built specififor school purposes. An early I law was passed at this which helped to care for the ng of schools. First Log Buildings Idings were built only when jority of the voters of the ct were favorable. If the vote favorable for a school buildthe voters divided themselves groups of choppers, haulers, rs. etc.; and proceeded to the new log school house. Evoting member was bound by to help build the building; the way one could be excused actual work was by paying trustees 37c each day during time the building was under ruction. A trustee was requir- > accept the cash in lieu of lie school house was to have oor at least one foot above {round to render comfortable eacher and pupils.” law was passed in 1852 which the trustee the right to build tany schools as in his judgeI the educational interests of community demanded. This !d to erect more school buildall over county. we have already pointed out, first school buildings were of logs and the first two lints were located in Root and ash Townships. The Gorslein d was located in section 27 not township and the McHugh cl in section 20 of Wabash .hip. Frame Buildings Appear ’ 1860 log school houses had Bd their time and were then liially ail replaced by frame lings. The last log school buildto be used for school was loI in Kirkland township section Frame school buildings were tied to go as the log build-

FyQggg 3£w ] J < A tS'-X ■ Ji y) w S'_? w Beat the heat Centennial Week Like a desert oasis, the GREEN KETTLE is "ought out by heat-perturbed Decaturites, who have learned to depend upon it for summer coolness. We do our best to succor these weary wanderers of the harsh glaring streets • • • • with sodas and sundaes and lime rickeys and orangeades and pop ana beet 4 .... and dozens of other delightful thirst quenchers. The weather man says plenty of heat for < entennial week .... stop at the KET'I LE at luncn time .... try our tasty toasties and sandwiches with a salad and a cold drink. No need to go home for your meals. Three Cheers Decatur We arc proud of the part we have played in the growth from a pioneer front to the modern clean city we have today. •’ ‘ l Centennial visitors, we. the stall ol the KETTLE extend a cordial invitation. The GREEN KETTLE

ings had. Dauleld Weldy, trustee In Kirkland township built the first brick school in that township and the second in the county. Eventually the frame buildings were replaced by the more durable brick buildings and by 1910 there were few frame school buildings left in the county. The last frame school building, known as the Mt. Zion School, District no. 11 in Wabash township was abandoned in 1927. With the last frame building abandoned everyone of the school houses were made of brick with the exception of District no. 3 in Blue Creek township known as the Egypt School was made of cement blocks. The building itself did not prove satisfactory and the last school taught in that building was in 1925-’26 by Miss Beryl Merriman, . now Mrs. Lowell Smith of this city. In 1875 there were 90 school buildings in the county. Adams . County today is maintaining 47 ! school buildings; of these 37 are one room schools, 3 are two teach- . er schools, 6 have both elementary i and high school grades and one high school only. No school building today is considered complete when just the building itself is complete, but it must also have equipment. Equipment in the early days was very limited and crude. The seats were juT* half logs with no backs. The seats were of two kinds—high and low —long pegs made the high seats and the short pegs the low seats. Later the fire place gave way to the box stove which was long enough to burn large and long sticks of wood. These stoves finally were replaced by the drum stove , and furnace suited to the burning i of coal. Many of the one room schools of the county today are heated by furnaces located in the basement. Many of the desks were made to accomodate two pupils. This : made discipline difficult and today ■ all desks are the individual desks and many of them are adjustable ’ made to fit the child. Teachers Live In Communities "As the teacher, so is the school'.’ Many of the early teachers were . men who lived in the community or went from community to community and organized a school called a subscription school. This was . a select school. The first teacher ; in the county was James Smith, i who taught at Monmouth. Early . teachers had many hardships to endure, but in those days teachers need not worry about meeting re- . quirements. , By 1837 a law wan passed requir- [ ing ail teachers to inquire in the i natural abilities of teachers — ' reading, writing and spelling were i the only subjects taught. i In 1865 teachers were required i to pass additional examinations in physiology and U. S. History. 1873 I brought a uniform list of examina [ tion questions all over the state. . This was a good thing as some sup- . erintendents made their questions . severe while others made them , easy. Later licenses were issued six 1 months. 12 months. 24 months and

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT MONDAY, JULY 27, 1936.

Central Grade School F , // ' /' -W-n-Ji’l '-iT “J T: ! W-' *■ ißnft u SL," Will 11 .. S'

36 mouths. Improvements were marked from decade. Teachers were allowed to teach school after they had completed the eighth grade. By 1912 a law passed requiring teachers to have completed four years high school and twelve weeks normal. Teacher requirements for licenses made the greatest change in 1923 when all licenses were issued upon profesional training and not upon written examinations. The law required that applicants for a teachers license must be a graduate of high school and have thirty-six weeks normal training before he would be issued an elementary first grade license. The requirement now is 72 weeks. A first grade high school license was issued the applicant after successfully completing 144 weeks of professional training in two or more subject groups. Life License First grade licenses become life licenses after the applicant has taught five years one of which may have been out of the state. Many of the teachers of the county are now teaching on their life licenses. On the average we have about 15 first grade licenses converted to life licenses each year. The school year 1935-’36 according to records show that 43 teachers of the 93 employed have life licenses. This speaks well for both the professional growth and experience of our teachers. Administrative licenses too have made rapid change in their requirements. At the present time no principal or superintendents license is issued unless the applicant holds regular high school license and has completed one year of professional studies above the four year academic requirement. This is equivalent to a Master of Arts or Master of Science Degree. Few Test Books Very few text books were used in the early days. There was no uniformity of text books. Each pupil might bring what he wished. The New Testament was the most popular book. Among the other early books used were Ray s Arithmetic, MeOuffeys Reader and Webster's Spelling Book. Rapid expansion of the curriculm has brought many more subjects into the regular course of study for both the elementary and secondary schools. Ali text books used in the county are uniform and are approved by the state. Most of the books are also adopted by the state. Higher education which really meant the completion of what we now know as the eighth grade work was the demand and we find a number of graded schools being established all over the county. A graded school was so termed if it had two or more teachers. The first rural graded school to be established in the county was at Linn Grove by County Superintendent Wiiliam M. Walters in 1877. Geneva was established in 1878, Monmouth 1879, Pleasant Mills 1881. Monroe 1866, feterson 1893, Washington 1880, Bobo 1887 and Ceylon 1884. Present High Schools Out of the graded schools came

Public High School • * -t A . J . ■> "Ji- * i K jF. ii ■*-* *ii S Ewy-W- t - ' L. Am- ‘ ■ •- *. -X

our present high schools. The one at Linn Grove was later moved to tne center of Hartford township and is now one of the fine rural high schools in this county. Peterson in Kirkland township later gave place to the present high school located in the center of the township. The ones at Rivarrc, Ceylon and in Washington township were discontinued and today we have the seven rural high schools, namely, Monmouth, Pleasant Mills. Monroe, Kirkland, Jefferson. Hartford and Geneva. All of these high schools are commission- j ed by the state and the graduates from each school are admitted the state schools without examination. The one room and two teacher schools are also commissioned. With the improvement of the roads in the county a decrease in enrollment and the desire for better advantages, consolidation was carried out in several townships. Along with consolidation came' transportation of school children.. Hartford township has the honor 1 of having the first school bus. This was started in 1918. Today the county has 38 school bus routes traveling 1243 miles per day and hauling 1344 school pupils per day. Have we progressed in the one hundred years that we as a county have just completed and which we al! unite to celebrate? We need only to compare, our modern school buildings and the equipment with the buildings and equipment of the early days and we are convinced that we have . progressed. When comparisons are made we are compelled to say the same thing for our teachers, our splendid and attractive text books, our, well organized courses of study, or sytems of elementary and high schools, our transportation system and the general interest and cooperative attitude of the people in their schools has made for - real progress. Thanks to the adventurous and progressive spirit of our early Adams county pioneers, her pioneer teachers and educators who held high the torch of education. To us has come the responsibility to hold this torch on high and progress as they progressed. o Family Devoted to Forestry . . Panguitch. Utah—(UP)—William Hurst, ill, is the third generation of hie family of the tsame name to carry on a tradition ot forest service. His father, William Hurst, 11 ha-s served 26 years as a forest ranger. His grandfather, William Hurst, I, served until his death in 1913 as supervisor of the Beaver and Fillmore forests. School System Scored Winnipeg —(UP) —Dr. Fred En-l glehardt of the University of Minnesota. addressing the Manitoba i school eachers Association, indirect-' ly admits the present educational tendency in the United States i« just that quite a few students want. He said the tendency is to throw everything old overboard without finding anything new to replace it. !

Growth From Log Huts To Consolidated Brick Related

By WALTER J. KRICK Superintendent Decatur Public School* Do you know the seed was sown for our present system of public ! education in Decatur sixteen years before Decatur was founded? As early as 1820 the Reverend Isaac McCoy, a missionary from the Baptist Conference, visited Fort Wayne and Root Township, in which Decatur was located at that time, several times each year. He spoke to a few scattered groups and always Incited and urged the people to favor free schools. We must not overlook the fact that free education was quite a debatable question at this time because there was a strong sentiment that education fostered discontent among tile masse* of people. Decatur's first school house was built in 1839. It was constructed of i ’ logs on what is now inlot 270, i j where Staley’s Dairy Products Co. is located no North Second street. The size of the building was 30 by - 20 by 8. It had a stick chimney and a fireplace. The building had a i puncheon floor and puncheon benches without backs. The windows I were, greased paper, the door had a wooden hinge and mud and straw plugged the cracks. In 1841 a box stove was installed which usually required two boys to place a stick of wood in it. This was the i third school house erected in Ad- ' iima county. James Nichols was the first teacher. The main athletics were foot racing, wrestling, boxing, and fist-cuffing. The second building was built in 1845 at the rear of the first building. It was also constructed of logs ■ and the seating capacity was doub1 led. Spelling bees, singing and lit-' I erary debates were weekly affairs. In 1851 additional quarters were I necessary for school purposes. The • school board purchased inlots 199, | 191, and 102 where the Central I school now stands, and erected a six room frame building at a cost 1 of $3,090.00. Many of the new aud appreciative features of this build-1 ing were a box stove in each room, I ripped saw mill boards, a few seats I with backs, glass windows, iron i hinges, stone pillars, weather boards, white washing, brick chimney and dry wood ceiling. The I frame work of this building is still ’ used in the Colchin Rug Cleaning establishment at the corner of' Rugg and Fornax streets. A small frame building was con- ' structed at the corner of Third and Jefferson streets on the same lots for the superintendent's residence. Later the school building became i crowded and the residence was converted into a primary room. Mrs. John Tyndall of this city taught in this school house. This building inow used as a residence located on South Market street. Five Buildings New 1 Your education system at pres ent consists of five buildings, name- , ly; Central, erected in 1885 at a cost of 811.99 V. Solomon Linn was the contractor. West Ward was built in 1889 at a cost of $6,474. W. H. Myers, Sr., was awarded the contract. Bids were opened for the construction of the North Ward. May 27, 1893. Robinson and Selly were the two bidders at $9,495. The South Ward was built in 1896 by J. W. Merriman at a cost of $8,702.99. In 1906, W. M. Christen built the ! addition to (he old Central build- ■ ing for $7,884. W. F. Peterson erected the high school building in 1917 for $66.I 620 and in 1922 Charles Saunders built the gymnasium and auditorium for $36,920. The Course of Study develop- • ment in our schools has been as interesting as the building develJ opinent. In 1839 the curriculm consisted Hos reading, writing, Bible reading, and arithmetic. In 1855 geography, history, aud grammar were added. I From the years 1860-1875 the cur'riculuin was considerably broaden-

ed. there being a total of seventeen subjects offered. Among these sub--1 jects were chemistry, astronomy, pedagogics, natural philosophy, and constitutions. As near as can be determined, the first course ot 1 study was adopted by the Board of Education in 1879 when 8. G. Hastings was serving as superintendent of schools. The high school off--1 ered a three year course, however there was a one year post graduate course offered for those who 1 planned to teach. The first four year class to graduate was the ! class of 1901. Many Recent Changes The past two decades have seen many changes take place in our course of study. As stated before, ' the original purpose of our high school was to prepare the pupils for schools of higher learning and teachers. Your high school of today is divided into three departments namely: academic, general, and vocational. The academic course is still taken by the pupils who wish to continue their education after graduation. Those who want a general knowledge, pursue the general course, which consists or subjects in both the vocational and academic fields. The vocational department, is divided into three divisions namely: commercial, home economics, and manual training. Music (both vocal and instrumental) and art are offered in the above courses as special subjects 1 and physical training is required, i Many times people who lack information, call these subjects fads and say they should be discontinI ued. Is it not true with the amount of leisure time people have, togethier with the invention of the radio. I and the coming of television that these subjects are now considered essential? Do you know that arith- | metic, geography, and history were one time called fads and that only men who were going to enter : the ministry should be taught how to read and write? The past has I taught us that the non-essential | subjects have become essentials. . The coming school year, teaching safety will be introduced. You will agree this is important when accidents cause four times as many 1 deaths as typhoid fever, measles, ! whooping cough, diptheria. scarlet

[ ( It's a real pleasure to join in the Cen- t a tennial Celebration. We extend every J I 1 wish to Decatur for continued progress \ j IKE V and trust each succeeding year show / 1 gH advancement. 1 We Are The Home Of— ) NaJsW / MAYTAG } > ■ / / New value ' new beaut * \ / ' HL&' 1 and extra performance > I d J J"' g in the Maytag with gas- I J y jlinc multi-motor engine 1 C J & I HL. or eleclric motor. Fiat- I 1 »r i • i -I iJMbL?* uring the seven posi- 1 ( helvinator I turn wringer— handy f 1 shift lever on gyrator 1 f New 1936 Features ) trSre&l HS —biy roomy tub— en ’ f ■ fe •- MHr clos * d drain— better > / of the Kelvinator MuaQ 11 S washing at lower cost. f \ »> k i. ■*£:- J < . . I > 1. Rubber grids in ice w Special Prices on > \ tray of large.freezing V 'l] F present MAYTAG \ J urit - , i-tv si i i / ( „ Models ( > 2 Built-in-thermometer. > J „ ... »« hile Thev Last— / f Sliding _> J 4. Extra bottle space. vIK SyitW 4. t I 8. i 5. Large defrosting tray IW ■ ilfi! Au gV,g 16. Fivq year protection liV jB A ABLE p* Vr 7. Low cost operation. H 0 0 V E R S W E E P E R You can now have a full size precision made z / Hoover electric sweeper at only S 19.75 and up. / Not a junior model with the latest Hoover sea- j turcs; positive agitation—electric dirt tinder. 1 * Convenient terms and liberal trade-in on your ' • old sweeper. Hoover— the only sweeper with a ~ — I third cleaning unit for destructive gi t. Spe- |K cial prices are now being offered on THE NEW . SE 1 I SENTINEL UU Decatur Hatchery hoover EABY CHICKS BROODER EQUIPMENT FEEDS ) JAMES KITCHEN. Salesman ( 122 Monroe St. Phone 197 /

fever, and infantile paralysis combined. Your school system at present, as in the past, maintains the high est possible rating. The high school has maintained a continuous commission since 1885 and has been a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools since 1905. The school's greatest need is a new building to replace the present Central building, which has seen fifty-one years of service. Correct Time Cu»t.'y Salt Lake City —(UP)—Police investigated a protect by this brother that Roy Springer was s|>ending his soldier's bonus foolishly. They found he had purchased 15 new watched because, “there's nothing 'lke having the right time.” o J. E. Hoover Thanks Girl Rossford, O. —(UP) — J. Edgar Hoover, director of the federal bureau of investigation, liked Miss Patricia Po-iik’s praise of him in a newspaper’s “What Do You Think” department ao he wrote her a per-

Congratulations I —to the Centennial from Decatur’s Pioneer Hardware Store. Established in 1898, our thirtyeight years ot service to the community has been a real pleasure. We hope your week of the big celebration will be one of great enjoyment. H. Knapp & Son

PAGE FORTY-SEVEN

zonal letter, and aent litieraturo I outlining activities of G-M. Florodor* Girl Retire* Watsonville, Cal. —(UP) —Mrs. Mabel Miller, member of the "ladies ensemble" of the original New York Florodora company, ha* retired from all connection with the theater. Fort the paat 15 years she ha* been ticket seVer at the Fox thea-te-r here. 0 Land Over-Grazed Ogden, Utah (U.R> Th.- Utah livestock industry is rapidly eating itselfe into extinction through overgrazing, S. R. Deßoart, state planning board consultant, declared recently. o 1777 Shilling Found Van Wert, O. —(U.R) —Andrew Miller discovered in a safe a paper shilling, issued in 1777 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; The bill reveals that it was printed by John Dunlap, a Philadelphia printer, the penalty for counterfeiting was death, aud that its face value was 24 cents.