I LA 287 i.K48 IVI54 1904 \ '•''■ ■ "J-''' : ::;Vf v^^ /.'^>>o .//ii^/v >".-^a^'>- y <^^ * • II o °* ••■ 0^ ^3. "'T^V.^A ^'^y^^' <»« 'Ir^- ^0 • " • * o A* . \> ^^-n*.. - V..^"' ;ate'v ^^..^^ ;;«^'o ^..^^"''•aiKv ^'^.<^ • ftC- "°^"^'-*/ V-^'/ %'^-''/ . v'-' KEOKtJIv COUNTY THE IIOAlii OF THE KEOKUKS Cai^ E. Miller, COUNTY SUPERINTENDEXT lb ivEOiitTK— Aisr Early ICAVA Settler SiaOURNEV, IO>V^A, 1903 AND1904 ^ S>4 ^7 1 f<^--y / J / ^ TO THE KEOKUKS, THEIR PARENTS, TEACHERS AND ALL PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE SCHOOLS OF KEOKUK COUNTY: It is hoped that the present volume marks two years' progress in the schools of our county, that this progress will be a foundation for a still greater progress, that the persons who read its pages care- fully will have a gi eater desire than ever before to do something for the country boy and girl and that as a result of the educational sys- tam of Keokuk county the best and most noble type of American Farmer and the most useful American Citizen will be found in our homes. Respectfully, CAP E. MILLER. SiGOURNBY, lOWA, JUNB 27, 1904. W. T. HARRIS, U. S. Commissioner of Education. CONTENTS. Chapter Learning To Spell I County School Exhibit . . II Educational Rally . - . Ill Part 1— Township Educational Rally Ill Part 2- County Ecucational Rally - - - - - - III Composition or Historical Work IV Part 1 -Township Historical Contest IV Part 2— County Historical Contest IV Part 3— My School- Past, Present and Future . . . - iv A-Graded Schools • IV B-Rural Schools --.---... iv Part 4— Bi-county Historical Contests IV Part 5— Money Matters - IV Agriculture For Common Schools V Part 1— Boys' and Girls' Conventions V I'art 2— Educational Excursion - V Part 3— School Fair - - . . • V Part 4 -Farmers' Institute V Institute Announcement VI NAMES OF HISTORICAL CONTESTANTS AND ORDER. Rural Schools. District Township 1 Orla Chacey, No. 3 Richland 2 2 Guy Strassfcr, " 2 Prairie 1 3 Sylvia Blaylock " 2 Liberty 2 4 Alma McCombs " 4 English Riyer 1 5 Tony Greiner " 2 Clear Creek 1 6 Nora Evermann " 7 Van Buren 2 7 Glen Heninger " 3 Steady Run 2 8 Eva Allsup " 5 Warren 1 9 Loyd Fry "6 Lafayette 2 10 Effle Shy " 4 Jackson 2 11 Kittie McBride " 2 Sigourney 1 12 Louie Strohmann " 10 German 2 13 Don Walker " 2 Lancaster 2 14 Fay Harding " 4 Washington 2 15 Sidney Axmear '' 2 Adams 1 Graded Schools. 1 Agnes Hurd Kinross No. I Liberty 2 2 Carleton Hamilton Thornburg " 6 Prairie 2 3 Delano Starr Ollie " 8 Jackson 1 4 Emma Lester So. English '* 1 English River 4 LEARNING TO SPELL. There is considerable confusion everywhere in regfard to the subject of spelling- and the teaching- of it T was not very much sur- prised to find these expressions in larg-e letters at the head of an article in an educational jourual: "Are In College, But Can't -pell. Fresh- men Fail on Simple Words." Everyone realizes that the condition is deplorable. Many persons say that our lanj^uage is the cause of this condition— we have the most difficult language in the world to acquire. The members of the N E A seem to have this idea of the matter, and are trying to simplify the spelling- of some of the most confusing words in our lang-uag-e The old-fashioned way of learning to spell was to f^nrU. T am not sure that it is wrong- to be old-fashioned when it comes to spelling-. Pupils ought to acquire the habit of ac(*irate spelling- Thev don't need to swallow the whole dictionary in order to acquire this. Tf a pupil knows a certain number of words perfectly, he is better able to determine what other word^ lie doesn't know accuratelv. Re is better able to use the dictionary Be sure that he has command of .500 or l,ono words of common usage and he will be on the road to success in spelling. But he must be absolutely sure as to the words he assumes to know. With the above idea in mind, three county sunerintendents in Towa met and prepared a list of 1,000 words of common usa-e for the study of the school children in these three counties The list did not include any difficult or "catch" words, but it included simple wo'ds which are very often misspelled. Each county superintendent was allowdd to conduct the spalUng work in his own county with the un- derstanding that a tri-county spelling contest would be held in con- nection with the Chautauqua in Washington, July 2, 1903. The fol lowing is a letter which was sent to the teachers of Keokuk county: Put your spelling books aside for the winter term and use the enclosed list of 1,000 practical words as a text. Teach your pupils how to write these words correctly. The last weelc of your winter term, providea this will not be later than March 27th, you will hold a written contest to And out what pupil in your school will receive the highest per cent in writing these words correctly. As soon as you have held your contest and have found out who this pupil is, you will send me his name and address. Then on April 11th, 1903, this pupil will come to Sigourney to represent his school in a written contest. The three pupils who receive the highest per cent as a result of this county contest will go to Washington .July 2nd to repre- sent our county in a tri-county contest. The pupil who wins at Wash- ington will receive $20 for the school he represents and $5 for him- self. Any teacher whose pupil wins a place in the county con- test or in the contest at Washington will have made a reputation which will be profitable to him. This county will look with pride on the children and teachers who undertake this task earnestly and especially on the three pupils who win in the coun- ty contest and on any pupil who may win in the contest at Washing- ton. Teacher, it is worth your while. I trust that the school Chi Idr-en of this county will be greatly benefited by the contest. IFnstrucUons. Give special attention to the capital letter and to the hypiien where they are used. Look up the pronunciation, diacritical marking and meaning of every word in the list. If the teacher does not give the correct pronunciation for each word, the child will not under- stand the words when they are pronounced in the final contest. The teacher will be surprised to find that many of these words are not gen- erally pronounced correctly. You will notice the word aisle in the list. Tell the pupils that when this word is pronounced they are to spell aisle and not isle: when pre;/ is pronounced they are to spell prey and not pray; stationery and not stationary: seine and not sane; suite and not sweet. Dessert and not desert; caramel and not caromel; principle and not principal. In other words, teach your pupils to spell and to write each word just as it appears here and not to spell or write something which sounds like or looks like the word desired. You cannot be too careful with this. ]f tliere are two ways of spelling some of the words, neverthe- less, spell them as they appear in the list. ' Notice the accent of each word. Some of the words permit several dilferent systems of accent Find out what the different sys- tems of accent of such v/ords are and explain them to the pupils so that they will recoKui^^e the words no matter which system is used in the Unal contest by toe person pronouncing. For this reason give special attention to the following words: duress, entrance, secretory, s}irvey and ijuininr. Some words permit two systems of diacritical marking. Give special attention to the following words: (j(iseous, jjromennde, dyna- ynile, hygiene, isolate and obeisance. There will not be enough lists to supply every pupil in the coun- ty aud the tsacher will need to put a list in a place where the pupils can see It. No pupils in graded schools who are classified higher than the eig'ith grade will be allowed to enter the contest. ' While this contest will bs a written one, yet the teacher should not fail to have the childre 1 Si)ell the words orally. The writing of each letter and word must bs legible The letter a will not be ac- cepted for 0. Don't attempt to master the correct spelling of too many words in one lesson. Divide the list of 1,000 words into lessons which will be best suited to your school. Review often, Spell. Spell. Spell. •cmbat XLbc^ SaiD. My pupils are taking great interest in the spelling contest. Everyone thinks it is a good thing. Spelling schools are getting to be quite common. We will have one at our school Friday night. A Teacher. We had a "spell down" Friday evening, January 23rd. Liberty carried off the honors. K. A. Kirkpa trick. Interest in the tri-county spelling contest is gradually working uplo fever heat. Teachers are offering all sorts of prizes to the pupils who will represent their schools at Sigourney. Good thing: push it along. We'll be a nation of spellers yet. — Keota Eagle, January 22nd The spelling contest has created new interest, not only in spell- ing, but all of the other branches of study. Anna F Clarahan, Harper. I think the list of l,()()i> woids a very practical one. LuLir Pollock. I give the words without study and then the pupils learn the ones misspelled. Prin. C. C. Bowie. The pupils show a g-reat deal of interest in the spelling work and we have batter lessons than ever before. Minnie Strohmann. By giving- 25 words to the spelling class each day we will get througli the little spelling book and we will have two weeks for re- view. We review misspelled words each day. Inez Roller. County Superintendent Miller announces something new in the educational line and something that cannot help being a decided benefit to the schools of the county. Spelling is usually one of the weak points in our educational system, and it is not unusual to find pupils wlio are well educated otherwise who cannot spell many words of common use correctly. — Hedrick .Journal, Jan. 7, 1903. All of the pupils are doing good work. They take more inter- est in these words than they do in the words in their spelling books. Lottie Evermann. I find the little spelling book a great help and a greater interest has been created in that study than ever before. Sue Downing. The list is a good stiff one but the words are for the most part practical and if the pupils of these three counties learn them all as they should, there will be better spellers than we have at present.— What Cheer Patriot, Jan. 2. 190.3. County ®ral Spelling Contest. For a number of reasons it was thought best to hold a county oral spelling contest. It was necessary to have some money with which to pay the general exepnses connected with the contest. And so many people wanted it. You know how our parents and grand- parents delight to tell of the old-fashioned spelling school They wanted us to have one of these oral spelling schools and we , planned for a large one by sending the followinir letter to all of the teachers: On the evening of April 10, it 8 o'clock, the evening just pre- vious to the day when the written contest is given, an oral spelling contest will be held in the Sigourney high schcol building. Only the representatives from the various schools of the county and who partic- ipate in the written contest will he allowed to enter this oral contest. The same 1,000 words will be used 'n this contest; but if several pupils remain standing after this entire list has been used, then other and new words will be introduced. Five dollars will be given to the pupil who wins in this oral con- test An admission fee of 25 cents will be charged Representatives of schools will be admitted free. It is hoped that the atteniiance at this oral contest will be large enough so that a pleasant surprise to the extent of several dollars can be given to each one of three pupils who wins in the written contest April U. Let it be understood that the entire expenses of the three pupils who go to Wasliington will be paid. What an interesting spelling contest it will be! 139 of the best spellers Keokuk county can afford. Each one will represent a school and each one will bring honor to his school . What parent does not want to see his child winV What teacher does not wish to see his pupil win? Who does not wish to see this contestV What teacher will fail to do his duty to raise the standard of spelling in our schools? Each teacher in this county will be held responsible for the representation of his school. Those pupils who recently passed the examination for a county diploma will receive their diplomas at this time. COUNTY SPELJJC CONTEST. THERE WERE EIGHTY BOYS AND GIRL S IN TH E CLASS. THEY KNOW THE ''ONE THOUSAND." Good Educational Interest Awakened All Over The County. The spelling contest of this county came off last Friday night and Saturday according to program. Notwithstanding the fact that it rained about all day Friday, the boys and girls were interested and they came here from all parts of the county. They brought their father or mother or teacher with them and bv four o'clock Friday the town was filled with rural school children and their friends. Friday evening at 8 o'clock Mr Miller lined up eighty contes- tants from as many different schools of this county. Everyone of the eighty a good one and ready to spell until morning for the glory of his school. There was a good audience present and while the exercises grew long the interest never waned. When the first one thousand words had been pronounced there were but twelve words misspelled— demonstrating beyond a doubt that these boys and girls had not come here without first preparing their lesson. The work of pronouncing- was diffi-^ult from the fact that the class and the "teacher" were not accustomed to each other. The room and the class were large and it was a most trying position for the speller and the pronouneer. At the end of the one thousand words— new ones were given- words that they had not studied and it didn t take long to close the contest. Pauline White, English Kivertown- ship, No 7. carried off the honors of tlie niglit and was awarded a prize of a five dollar gold piece. I'auline Wliite is a daughter of lion Fred White and the teacher of No. 7 was Ray Wil- iams Saturday afternoon the real contest look place This was a written con- Irst. The same thousand words were giv- en and the same eighty hoys and girls wrote them. The manuscript will be examined and the winner will go to Washington in July to compete with that county and Louisa county in a spelling. contest. There is one thing certain, this lias created an interest in spelling among the pupils of Keokuk county that can't help being beneficial. These She ^\Kp(:llcci 'tin doicn." boys and girls have learned one thous- and words this winter and learned tliem well, too. They have done more than that. They have learned to write by writing the words and when an interest has been created in one branch of study it can't help spreading to the others. Of course there will be a number of disappointments but that is always evident when one enters a contest Somebody must wm and somebody must lose. Undoubtedly the bad weather kept a good number from getting here as there were i;^9 who had signified their intention of coming — Sigourney Review, April 15, 19(i3 One father and mother drove 18 miles through the rain to feet to Sigourney to witness the contest. I was surprised to see them here knowing that they had so far to come througli the rain. I told them I was surprised to see them and asked them why they came. The father answered: "Wliy we had to come ' If we hadn't that daughter of ours would have bawled her head off." For some unknown reason the word arctic appeared twice in the iittle spelling book. The person who pronounced tlie words in the county written contest pronounced tiiis word when he came to it the first time and omitted it when he came to it the second time One of the contestants had the "list so well committed to memory that he even knew the order of the words He left a blank space for the word omitted by the pronouneer and inserted this expression in writ- ing, "The word (ircfic belongs in here .somewhere." (Setting iPractical. The schools in Washington, Keokuk and Louisa counties have inaugurated a movement that should be duplicated all over Iowa. The object is to create an interest in spelling the words commonly used in the English language. The plan adopted is for each school in a county to devote considerable time to spelling and the best spellers in each school are sent as delegates to a legular contest at some cen- tral-point. Afew days ago one of these contests occurred at Sigour- ney in which 80 boys and girls took part. A list of 1,(100 words was prepared, but these were not enorgh to trip up all of the class. Miss t'aulinei White, daughter of Hon. Fred White, won the honors. This spelling contest was done orally, and a written contest followed, the winner of that to represent Keo- kuk county at the tri-county contest which will be held at Washing- ton next July. There is no excuse for being a bad speller. It is the result of carelessness and poor teaching. It is a branch of study more neglect- ed than any other, while in the affairs of life it is more used than any other. Too many girls £.nd boys jump from the real foundations of education to the side issues that are forgotten soon after they leave school. A man with a thorough knowledge of orthography, arith- metic, grammar and geography is pretty well prepared to take care of himself. Of course other studies are all right and very handy to round out an education and should be taken when the four named are thoroughly mastered. Many men and women who have college diplomas cannot write a page of manuscript free from errors of some kind. The average compositor in a printing office can detect them. These men do not lay claim to finished educations, but what they have is practical and em- braces what is in every day use. The plan being followed in the three counties named is sure to bring good results, and the idea is a splendid one. It is worthy of imitation everywhere.— Ottumwa Courier ?Cbese loung people Can Spell. The following are the names of spellers who received grades of more than 99 per cent in the county written contest: Russel Hayes Charley Lawson Lillie Siiort Sylvia Shaw Elizabeth Gross Bessie Crooks Dora Goeldner Helen Clarahan Menza Shy Vera Abraham Edna Reed Berenice Thompson Ressa Cover Jenoie Pollock Effie Davis Jeanette Lemley Mary O'Brien Buda Keller Kate Humes Mazie Hampton Celia Terry Berenice Hardesty Walter Strohmann Herbert Utterback Nellie Hardesty Eunice Cox Sophia Behnamann Emma Bruns Lucy Beinke Lelia McDowell Yjnia Dowis Roy Simmonds Sylvia Noffsinger Katie Schilling Ina Carlisle Fern White Mabel Sears Rosa Tools Robert Fischer Lydia Miller Hattie Jacobs Tony Ruggles. 98 per cent Nellie Carson, 98 per cent Don Walker Anna Bruns Joy McCauley Josie Pfannebecker Hugh Jackson Bessie Holmes Pearl Warrington Otus Coffman Pauline White Rosa Neimon Dale Sampson Jennie Molyneux Clark McCracken Hazel Lonner Stella O'Rourke Maude Helm Stella Dawson Ida Powell, 97 per cent Johnnie Knox, 97 per cent Carl Fairchild, 97 per cent. This list does not include the names of the seventeen spellers who received 100 per cent The three county superintendents were surprised to find that more than three pupils from each county could spell the 1000 correct ly. Here is the record: Louisa county 5; Washington county 6; Keo- kuk county 17- And ail of the 28 were allowed to take part in the tri- county contest. Following are given tlie names of the Keokuk coun- ty boys and girls who spelled the lOoO words correctly in the written contest and fifteen of them went to Washington on the evening of July first to take part in the tri-county contest on the evening of July 2nd, 1903: Pupil Township School Teacher Ray Richardson, Lancaster, Chastine, Mrs. Geo. L. Matson John Brooks, Benton, Hedrick, John Goldthwaite. Dolly Morrow, Richland. Sub-district No 8, Mildred Brad}'. Jennie Slaven, Washington, What Cheer, Pearl McCime Ethen Hemsley, Van Buren, No. 1, George Schwenke. Hilda Ilartman, Lafayette, No. 7, Eva L. Reed Bertha Brower, Liberty, Locust Grove, Arthur Coffman. Edith Wenger, Liberty, Liberty, Milo C. Miller Glen Kirkpatrick, English River, South English, A. L. Vincent. 10 Elsie Hawk, Warren, Delta, Ida Ft- her. Harold Morton, Prairie, Gibson. Henry Hervey. NeJlie Monaghan, Liberty, No. 4, Katie IMcCann. Alma IMcCombs, Ensrlisli River, Grant, Jessie Gemmill. Mamie Strasser, Prairie, Coal Creek, A. E. Murley. Amanda Beinke, German, Siib-distiict, No 11, Orlando Hobson. Letha Haines, Jacl^son, loka, Mrs. T.illus Slieraden. Jessie Redferi', Steady Run, Martinsburg Geo. L. Matson. July 2nd, 1903, Educational Day at tlie Washington Chautauqua, was a great day. Fifteen of our seventeen spellers were there. At seven o'clock in the morning twenty-five representatives— five from Louisa, five from Washington and fifteen from Keokuk county— met in the ^outh Ward school building and wrote the l,0(iO words which were prot'ounced by Mi.ss Hughes au'i Mr. Miller. The boys and girls did well— exceedingly well considering the great heat of that day At five o'cioclc, in the main teuton the Chautauqua ground, the judges ^'Hve theii decision and it was found that eight contestants had spelled the list correctly and seven of them were from Keokuk couiity Fol- lowing is the list of successful contestants: Jessie Redfern. Ray r. ii-hardson, Mamie Strasser, Elsie Hav.k, Bertha Brower, Harold J[urton, Dolly Morrow and Jake Roth. The last one named belongs to Washington county. Tlie twenty-five dollars was divided equally among the eght successful contestants. The three superintendents had previously made arrangements for a tri-county oral spelling contest and offered a prize of $3 to the contestant last on the plat'orm. Washington was allowed to add ten representatives to her nu-nber in this oral contest and this made 35 contestants in all. This contest was held iu the afternoon and in the main tent in the presence of hundreds of people. Tlie large ten: was crowded and the interest was intens". When the :000 words had been been pronounced, not one contestant had gone down. New words were then selected from, a modern spelling book and pronounc- ed by Miss Hughes. How those boys and girls spelledl How well each represented his county! But one by one they wen! down. Of the last six standing all but oi e were frcm Keokuk county. One by one they missed until John Brooks and Mamie Strasser, both from Keokuk county, were left to entertain the crowd. And they entertained the crowd for a long time. They can spell— John was only nine years of age. Isn't he a remarkable boy? But he finally 11 misspelled a word and Mamie St rasser was awarded the prize of 4'5 which she well deserved. MAMIE STRASSER. Tliis is a likeness of Miss Mamie St rasser who made a remarkable record in our spellmj"- contest. Slie spelled tiielisl. of 1,0(10 words cor- rectly in the written county contest. She spelled this list of words correctly again in the written tri-county contest, and she ''spelled 'em down" in the oral tri county contest. Miss Strasser is a country girl, living near Coal Creek, in Prairie town- ship. Our county has rea.son to feel proud of the record she made All persons connected with the tri-county contest feel very grateful to the Washington Chautau(iua Association. They paid the expenses of three representatives from each county and they gave the $25 to the eight winners. Yes the spelling contest is past but its influence live-! and will live for a long time. The cooperation of parents, pupils and teach- ers in the work was remarkable. They realized that the pupils in our rural and town schools are not proficient enough in spelling and they gladly and earnestly took hold of the work to better the condi- tions. The little spelling book became a popular friend everywl ere. The great demand for it could not be supplied. It can be founi in many homes in Keoljuk county today not as a mere souvenir but as a little laborer ready for duty. The influence of our spelling contest was not confined to our own state. The plan has been used in many other ounties ana states and has been a remarkable factor for gO"d. Al- bert Donnell, superintendent of schools in hlatcrsville. IJ. 1 . is one 12 of the many educators who has made use of the plan. He says: "I am anxiously looking: for means to create a mutual interest and rivalry be* tween schools that lor a number of years have received little at. tention." "CGlbat a ^cacber SafO. George florras was in Cedar Falls attending the Iowa State Normal school . This school requires every student who enters to take a test in si)elling. If he fails in the test he has to study the sub- ject of spelling luitil he is able to pass this test. Man^ universities have recently arranged for a class of this kind and generally call it the "pity sakes" class. Here is what George says about it: •'! took the test this mornii^g and they passed me off with 96 per cent and I know that I could not have done it had it not been for the study of the 1,000 words used in the Keokuk county contest, for we had a great number of these words in this test" The above shows that the spelling contest was a benefit to the teachers as well as the pupils of this county. Xo Keokuk county teacher who took an active part in this contest has joined a "pity sakes" class One of our teachers re- ceived 1 H) per ceiit in the test at Cedar Falls and he, too, sings praises for the contest. Oh, it was a help to everybody! Fathers and motliers. lawyers and doctors and farmers took an interest in it and protited from it CouiUg Spelling Contest JEipcnses. Pauline White $5.00 (Granges f>r contestants 2.40 Janitor 2.50 Ribbon for badges and diplomas 2.72 Printing on badges 1.75 Cut foi' advertising the contest 2 25 Tickets for oral contest 2 00 Total expenses $18.62 Amount taken in at the contest $51.75 Expenses 18.62 $.33.13 This was distributed among the 17 pupils who spelled the 1,000 words correctly. $:{3 13 divided bv L7~$1.94 15 17. 13 COUNTY SCHOOL EXHIBIT. A county fair is a common tiling in many counties of the state. It is held and conducted by a county fair association. It used to come to Keokuk county once each year but for a number of years it has not appeared. However, a district fair is held in What Cheer each year and I was able to secure the cooperation of this association in holding an educational exhibit in connection with that fair Sept- ember 22, 23, 24 and 25, 1903. Following is given a letter which was sent to the teachers of our county asking them to take hold of the work: Following you will find a card. FAIR MITCHELL BROS. /maps ano (xarvittg BEST SEC. BEST ■ BEST SECOND BEST Map of Iowa $1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 l.OD 2.00 1.25 1.00 1.0 1.00 1.00 1.00 I.Oj 50 50 50 50 50 50 £0 50 1.00 FIRST. NAT BANK 1.00 50 50 5 50 50 .50 J. C. llEEM Map of County Map of United States showing products of different loca'ities Drawing of animalb--eisht or more A Boot CAP E. A Book MII.I.BR Ten or pencil drawing Specimens of carvings in wood Plan of house WRITTEN WORK Letter— To my Teacher Siiecimen showing greatest improvement in penmanship Letter— To my Mother CABINETS Oellection of native woods.'correctly named —twenty or more Collection of geological specimens-twenty or more lierbarium, showing twenty or more speci- mens of wild flowers correctly named I'RIMARY WORK Display of perforating Display of paper cutting Display of paper weaving 100 50 . Please read it carefully and keep it for future reference It shows you a list of the awards offered to the children of tliis county by the What Cheer Fair Association for various kinds of school work placed on exhibition at this Fair. Our spellint;^ contest was a graat success but many children were not old enough to take part in the spelling work, I have arranged for a new contest in which every pupil in your school can take part. There is work for all grades and the work is modern. Our country is demanding that we put more work into our schools which will reiiuire the pupils to use their Ihinds as well as their Minds. Let us be practical in our work. It is important for the pupil to know how to draw, how to carr(; and how to irriU' . Copy this list of awards on the blackboard. Tel! your pupils that you and the county superintendent wish each pupil to select at least one of the sixteen subjects for his best efforts. Some of these pupils may be able to make their own selection: others will need your help. No pupi! will be allowed to compete for more tlian six awards. Encourage the children to observe and collect specimens of na tive woods, rocks and wild flowers as they come to school and as they go home. It may be possible for you to plan an excursion for the en- couragement of this work. I will soon send you another card on which I wish you to make a report of the work you are doing. On the last day of your school collect all material which is ready for exhibition and send it to me. Your school will not continue many weeks but there is plenty of time to do this work. The children can continue to work for the awards during the summer and fall as the Fair will not begin until the 22nd of September. Notice that the award for the work in penmanship is for the greatest improvement. The pupil who receives this award may not be the best penman. Use the following sentence for the cop3' ni this work: "The What Cheer Fair Association wishes to encourage the children of our county to do better school work." The competition in this department is between individuals and not classes or schools. No pupils above the eighth grade will be al lowed to compete. Those pupils who compete for the award given for the greatest improvement in penmanship must send a specimen of their penmanship to me when they begin to work for the award. Every possible effort was made to encourage originality and in- dividuality on the part of the pupils. What Teachers Said:— All of my pupils are talking about the "new contest" as they call it. Maggie Donovan I am sending you a copy of the writing of three o' my i)upils who have selected the "greatest improvement in penmanship" as one of the subjects for tlieir best efforts. All of my pupils are very en- thusiastic over the exhibition, and I believe that it will be a stimulus toward better school work. Dora E. Housb. Please find enclosed specimens of two of my pupils' penmanship. I think this a fine thing and am going t > do all I can to make it a success. Raymond Sanders. These quotations are only a few of the large number received which would go to show tluit an unusual interest was taken in the work and that it was a factor for good in our schools. Following are given a list of the names of pupils who received first and .seccnd prizes x> >- r! X = — a Vj nj :^ o rt oj oO — >- o vox 0.1! rj ■S 3 O d c — o d ivj o (3 rt 5j D a> lis is ^ o ■5cd nJt3 m > <^ 01 D M , c i> cc M o) (u .2 "t; ^dt;^-S25 C C — ■ — c .t:! >^ M U tii j> rt S 01 t-,3 ri d >.d O O CX3 O t^ 0) ">' So ; o.«5 "=• ■ S g nl 1- ■« d ° '^r;;'" n ^o^odw^ >-< r5fp,.di,'-^dc j-ilHUMocSdc] ojredd4j>rt--' odo;^-2 Oa)'3d.a::;i-.r>oira 2 >^ Or- tT3 t>, te •-: -a oj rt d 2 "*— 3 o -^ o ftft^irtdS ra CO . u a>— i 0) a'u d t, 0) ■ o.So.W'd o^a Irt-^co " he" 0) ^ II t! ot! o).d oj i£ R^ n c^ ■d en . p, 27300- ^S.2 ° >oSi25 ic^SS.S.S ^ CD CU be o a is OJ M CJ a o 3 o a cU a> M Cl ni -»-> ;-i o a, 4J «-( TJ o 0) m a s 3 S~4 -i-j 0) n) r-i If) — 1 a <0 !? 0) a 4^ a a c3 £3 r/l a -c *j rt ^ r^ ia n <1> '^ -r! — , • n o "1 a> fj r/l <1 f/5 £-1 ^ <5 -u ^ 'S X 16 A little girl came into this office one pleasant afternoon not long since and began to talk about her school. She said: "Our school has closed but I like to go to school and I want to learn all I can so I am attending school in the district just north from us." We don't find many boys and girls ten years of age so eager to get an education that they will attend school in a neighboring district when their own school has closed. I began to realize that the little lady before me was remarkable in many ways. Why she went on to say, "I had a birthday Wednesday." ''Wednesday?" said I, "Ttiat was my birth- day, too " But this wasn't all. We continued our conversation She said, "I work d hard to get to represent our school in the township historical contest but beat me She had an excellent produc- tion, didn't you think so?" Indeed she did have an excellent produc- tion. It was necessary for her to have an excellent production if she hoped to win when in competition with this little lady. "But," said this little lady, "I guess I won in one contest." What was that? "I received one dollar and a half for work placed on exhibition at the What Cheer Fair." But even this isn't all I went to a hotel for dinner that day and as I sat down at the table a gentleman said, "I met one of the most intelligent little girls today that 1 have met for a long time." "Where did you see her?" "In the bank She had a cer- tificate of deposit for one dollar and a half." And then I asked him if he knew where she had received that money Of course, he didn't know and I was not absolutely sure that I knew but I told him of the fact that this same little girl had received this same amount of money foi' school work which she had prepared and sent to the What Cheer Fair How much she thinks of that one dollar and a half! But the best part of it is that she has leirned how to take defeat or victory whichever comes her way. This is one of the best lessons in life. In- deed, life is a contest and the sooner we are able to meet its demands, the better for us How sincere was the old soldier who had engaged in many fierce battles during the Civil War and who wanted to im- press this fact on the minds of his grandchildren. They were accus- tomed to sit with liim by the fireplace each evening and ask for stories and descriptions of battles. They were somewhat surprised one even- ing when they asked him to tell them about the greatest battle in which he had ever fought when he named it the "The Battle of Life." Yes, many things go to show that contests are all right when properly conducted. Ipart 1*«Covpn8blp £bucattonal IRaUy Following is given the substance of a letter which was sent to the teachers of this countj' November 20, 190.3 and which explains it- self: The EiuciMoriai Council of the State Tenchers' Association, of which I have the honor of being a member, is urging the school inter- ested people of Iowa to unite in a state-wide campaign of education. There can be no question regarding the need of a united effort that sliall have for its object the creating of a better public opinion in fav- or of good schools. The following is the plan wliich will be used in this county: An educational rally will be lield in each township December 5, 1003. The rally will be for the i^copk of the township and not for the teachers alone. The people nt \nvge must be renched if we wish to improve our schools. A competent school interested person has been appointed to supervise the rally in each township. Tliis township conductor will prepare a program and will ask you to take an active part. He will make a report to tlie county superinteiident coiicerriirig the quantity and quality of the work done by each teacher Audi want to tell you that I care more for the record which a teacher makes when he is in the scho il roo n where he cm show his real worth lis a teacher, when he is attending educational ns^ociations where he can show his willingness to help his fellow-workers, tlie scliool child- ren and their parents and where he can show his willingness to be helped by them— I care more for this than I do for the record left on a few examination papers. Make December 5th a memorable day for the schools in our county. Let no county surpass ours in its effort to improve the schools. Go into the work with an interest and enthusiasm nev- er known before. Your township conductor will send you some programs. See that at least one program reaches every home in your school district. He will also send you some invitation cards to parents one of which is to be sent to each home in your district after it has been properly signed by you. ^ownsbfp donDuctors Sup't Mary IJryant, Benton, Prin Charles Yeager, Lafayette, Prin. C. E. Humphreys, Warren, Prin Roy E Farrand, Adams, Prin. W. C Hicks Richland, Prin W. S Yeager, Steady Run, Prm. Geo Horras, English River. Prin Harry McVicker, Prairie, Prin. Edward Duree, Jackson, Prin. S. E. Divelbiss, Lancaster, Prin. Harry Trumbo, Liberty, Miss Emma Blaise, German, Margaret Hotfarth, Washington, Miss Nancy Frey, Clear Creek. Prin. J. A. Thomas, Van Ruren and Sigourney These conductors will be required to make public reports at county educational rally which will be held in Sigourney soon after the holidays. These reports will tell of the condition of the schools in each township, what they have done, are doing, will do and ought to do in the future Several educators of national reputation will be imported to help with the county rally which will be the greatest educational meeting ever held in Keokuk county. Try to have a talk with your township conductor before the timp of the rally. An effort was made to secure the cooperation of the press and of the ministers of the gospel. Every minister in the county was ask- ed to devote at least one sermon, Nov. 15, or the first Sunday possible thereafter, to a discussion of themes bearing upon the work of the public schools. Where the same minister had charge of two churches he was asked to give this sermon in each church. The importance of these discourses as means of reaching the people can hardly be over- estimated. The same four subjects were discussed in all of the fifteen township rallies: 'Teachers' Wages, ' "What can school boards, teach- ers, pa-ents and citizens do to improve the schools of this township?" "Improvement of Schoolhouses and Schools-rounds," "Do we need an education of the Heart and Hand as greatly as an education of the Head?" The township conductor was allowed to add other appropvi- 19 ate subjects to the program if he thought it necessary. He made the program interesting by adding something in the line of music and reading. A few of the conductors imported help from neighboring counties and thus greatly added to the success of their rallies. Tiie conductois aslool it tie School. ChicaK^o. Vice President of Xatioiui I lOdii- cational Association 1!)<)2-190:{. Ex-County Superintendent of Schools. NOON. SATURDAY AFTP^RXOON. 1:S(). Tlie Palmer method of writing- — A N. Palmer. Cedar Rapids. Iowa. (Editor of the Western Penman ) Music- Keota ni?h School Orchestra. Lecture— "Some School Problems' (Illusti-ated with stere- opticon views) OrvilleT. Brii^fht. Chicaj^o, 111. The whole program will be interesting- and instruetive to mem hers of school boards, parents, pupils and teacliers. It has beeti ar- i-anged for the people and not for teachers alone. There will be three sessions of the program as outlined above Course tickets will be sold for :w cents each. Ask your teacher for a ticket The County Educational Rally was carried out according to the program. It was a rally which no progre.ssive teacher in the county could aflfo I'd to miss. On account of tlie snow, ice and Iwd weather the attendance was not as large as it might have been, Init taking everything into consideration the attendance was good. The Keota High School Orchestra furnislied music for all of the sessions. This music was very much appreciated by those in attend- ance. This orchestra reflects great credit upon the Iveota schools Grace Hrownell, Stanton Chesney. Blanche Stewart. Harold Ilelscher, Nelle Fish Clara Stewart, Raymond Warrington, Everette Ilulse. Miss Blanche Stewart wliose likeness appears in this group is supervisor of music in tlie Keota schools and she added to the agree- ableness of the program by furnishing several vocal solos. Through the kindness of ttie Midland Schools, Des Moines, Iowa, a state educational jonrnal, we are able to present this j^-roup. 22 Sup't W. L Steele read a paper on Manual Training and Elect- ive Studies. He gave a short history of the work in manual training in the Galesburg schools and his experience with the elective system. At tills time the Galesburg schools owned $-4,000 worth of tools for the manual training department and the system has given the best of satisfaction, Mr Steele was very enthusiastic in his support of the elective system. The chief advantage claimed for it was that it kept pupils in school who would drop out if they had to pursue one certain line of studies. Mr. Steele believes that the germs and extracts of all trades should be introduced into the schools. Saturdav morning the fifteen townsliip conductors gave public reports which showed the condition of the schools in their respective townships and pointed out the way to many much needed improve- ments and reforms. The numbers in this group correspond to the numbers found in front of the names of the township conductors on the program for the county educational rally. It was impossible for us to get a photograph of Mt'. Thomas in time to use it in this connec- tion The township reports were interesting and instructive and showed how earnestly and energetically these men and women worked in behalf of the rally system. In scholarship and in substance they were ail above the ordinary Time and space will not allow us to publish all of them but it may not be out of order to give you an idea of their general character by tiie use of one of them- Condition of Schools in Xibertt? tlownsblp. I feel a little timid about making my report as these that have just been given are so good. They remind me of a story. Once upon a time -as the story runs, there was a young m.arried couple living off in a community where Jieighbors were scarce and far between. Now the man and his wife thought very much of each other, strange to say, and it happened one time that the husband was obliged to be away from home for some time. Of course the fond wife waited anxiously for her husband's return. One day when he was absent, she took the water jug and went down to the spring to get some fresh water. She filled the jug and started back and whom should she see coming down the path to meet her but her husband. She ran swiftly to meet him and the husband reached out his arms and drew her to his bosom. They were much delighted. All nature seemed happy. Even the old jug which the wife had dropped and out of which the cork had popped just lay over on its side and as the water gurgled out it said "goody! goody! goody!" That's the way I feel about these reports. They are good, good, good. It Beems to me that the county superintendent has mixed up tp.c bill of fare. Where I've been eating, they usually bring on the plain food first and later the pie and cake. I think that Mr. Miller should have reserved Mr. Yeager and Miss Bryant and these other speakers till a little later on. He commenced to give you cake and pie and has kept it up till just at present he has given you a small chunk of corn bread. You must not blame me for this. I had nothing to do with the making of the program I am somewhat like a man I once heard of. This man liad a very tattered pair of trousers and one day a friend spoke to him about the dilapidated condition of his panta- loons. "Yes," said the man. "I know my pantaloons are somewhat seedy, but clothes don't make the man: these pantaloons cover a warm lieart." I suppose those pants were bib over-alls, f am some- thing like that man. I am not an orator, nor am I like the geutle- men who have preceded me— 'andsome, but I have a warm heart; my intentions are good. As our rally has been fully reported in the Exponent, I will not report on it only T will say that it was very well attended by the country people who seemed to take great interest in it. Generally speaking, the schools of our township are in good condition, but that isn't saying they are in the condition they ought to he in. Nay, far from it. It is true that good work is being done^ but not the best, on account perhaps of an occasional indifferent teacher, school board, or community. Most of the schools of our township have small libraries, but too small for tlie best results and in the way of apparatus the schools are very, very deficient. To teach in our township is like "making brick without straw." Our patrons need educating in that line. It is strange to me why those farmers buy the best farming machinery for their own use while they send their children to school to be trained for life and provide the teacher with absolutely no machinery at all. The school houses of our township are in fair condition with the exception perhaps of one or two which will need to be rebuilt in the near future. We have eight schools in our township— one of the eight is graded and the rest are ungraded Tiie eight schools have nine teachers— 4 females and 5 males. The enrollment for our eight schools this winter is about 207, the largest enrollment for anyone school being (57 and the smallest 3. Three or four of the schools have a small enrollment. In fact so small that it makes the monthly tuition average somewhat high. Some of the patrons of our township would like to consolidate their districts witl> others and build up a union school, but it 24 seems very difficult to get them all in the same mind at the same time, but eventuallj' I think at Kin- ross we will have a union school, as the patrons of that district are anxious for consolidation. Kinross is admirably situated for such a scliool as it has a large school building and a large school lot- -ample room for the pupils of two or three more districts. There are about 7.7 acres of land in our township used for school purposes. This should have attention at once as two of the schools have only one-half acre each for .school purposes and one has only two-fifths of an acre. Only two districts have more than one acre for school purposes. District No. 1 has 2.31 acres and district No. 2 has 1.07 acres. The rest have less. Now the pupils can manage to play their games on a two acre lot very nicely, and they can manage by economizing space to play most gfames on an acre lot but that is the limit. One half acre lot is too small- You know the school buildings take up considerable space in such a lot and then when you turn about two dozen young Americans loose upon the remaining space, you find that things are some what congested. It causes the teacher to either wish for more room or else to make a wisli like a boy I once read of who had eaten very much at a Thanksgiving dinner. It was at the close of the meal and he was sitting at the table with his face suffused in tears. The fond mother thinking that her boy wished something more to eat, a.sked him if be wanted some cake. "No'm" responded tlie boy. the tears continuing to tlov/. "Would you like pome more pieV" asked the mother "No'm" replied the boy, the hot tears still coursing down his cheeks. "Well what's the matter?" said the mother. "Tell mamma what you want." Tearfully the boy replied "I want more of this out of me what I've got in." That's perhaps the way with the teachers who have these small school lots— they want to get rid of some of the pupils. How are boys to play foot-ball or base-ball in sncli a small in- closHreV Why the chances are that if one of our stalwart youth en- deavored to catuh a fly in a ball game played in such a yard, he would land in the next field before he realized the fact. I am confident that the land owners who own land near those small school lots would be willing to part with enough land to give the pupils a decent play ground because you can't fence against the the American boy. He has caught the expansion fever and if there isn't room to play his games on his play ground, he will go into the adjoining farmer's clover field and lay out his base-ball diamond and then the poor teaciier receives a "ble.ssing ' from the angry farmer. 25 We ought to have large school lots. Who knows, in the near future we may liave school farms and school gardens so "let's be ready lor the waj^ou wlien It comes along."' In regard lo just wliat tlie schools have accomplished in tiie past, it is liard to say. I have been unable to And anything above the ordinary that has been done. Perhaps last year two or three finished the coimty course of study and one or two took the teachers' examina- tion for certificates. This year perhaps six will take the county ex- amination lor diploma and perhaps two or three will take the teach- ers' examination. I think there is greater interest taken in e'ducation in our township than last year. The educational rally held in our township had a very beneficial result in this respect Now as to what we are going to do in the future, I think it is the purpose of most of our teachers to not only help prepare the pup- ils for life's duties, but to develop in them habits of punctuality, obe- dience, honor, courage to stand by the right without flinching, and respect for the rights of others. In fact to train them morally as well as ohysically and intellectually. H. P. Trumbo. After these reports, A. N. Palmer (editor of the Western Pen- man) gave a talk on muscular movement in penmanship and ail pres- ent were pleased with his practical ideas. Saturday afternoon O. T. Bright read a paper on School Gardens. Mr. Bright is a very enthusiastic supporter of school gardens. He said it was the strangest thing to him that the great state of Iowa did not have anything in the agricultural line taught in her schools while agriculture is almost wholly the occupation of her people. Mr. Bright also gave a lecture on School Problems which he illustrated with stereopticon views. A committee consisting of threetownsliip conductors drew up resolutions which were adopted by the teachers of tl-e county. RESOLUTIONS. Having received inspiration from the present system of rallies and believing them to be the most effective method of arousing pub- lic sentiment to action in improving the schools of Keokuk county. Therefore be it resolved: 1. That we advise their continuance. 2. That we approve the action of Sup't Miller in securing the prominent educators who appeared on our program. 3. That we heartily commend the plan originated by our county superintendent of holding county and township 'Historical Contests'" and organizing boys agricultural clubs. 26 NEEDS OF THE SCHOOLS OF KEOKUK COUNTY. I More playground. 2. Better school houses. :■{ . v\ ater supply close at hand. 4. Better out building's. 5. Fences 6. Trees and other plant life on grounds. 7. More and better apparatus 8 Supplementary reading. 9. Pictures (to be furnished by board ) 10. .lackets around stove and stove placed in corner of room { Mary S. Bryant < Chas. Yeager ( Chas. E. Humphreys At the close of the rally an organization by the name of The Keoliiik County Principals and Superintendents' Association was or- ganized with the following officers: Pres., Prin. J. A. Thomas, of Sigourney. Vice Pres., Sup't Alary Bryant, of Hedrick; Sec, Prin. Harry McVicker of Thornburg. EXECUTIVE COMMITTE E. Prin C E. Humphreys, of Delta: Prin. Chas. Yeager, of Keota; Prin. Harry Trumbn, of Kinross. The object of this organization is to have these people who are at the iiead of the county's schools meet together occasionally and jnterchiinge ideas and work to forward the educational system of the county. The report of the Educational Council of the State Teachers' Association makes mention of tiie educational rallies held in Keokuk county and says that the system was carried out more fully in this count \ than '.n any other in the state. The word rally is our own. We lil«i! it better tiian the woru meeting. Tlie name of a thing •■omc!! imes has something to do with its influence. Expenses $ov Cbe County 1Rall\^. When .> on notice the names of the speakers on our program you will realize that the program cost us something. Such workers must have remuneration for their services. It was for this reason that I sent a number of tickets to each eacher for sale with the hope that teachers would endeavor to get parents and members of school boards and citizens to attend tliis rally. Somehow we must get all the people interested in our schools and I knew of no better way tc begin than to urge them to attend this rally An effort v.as made tc emphasize the fact that the rally was for the people and not foj teachers alone. There were three sessions of the program and course tickets sold for :^5 cents each. ZT Orchestra car fare $ ().13 Board and lodging for orchestra 4.00 Board and lodging for speakers 3.(K) Bright '>0.00 Steele 12."i Total expense $75. 13 Money received from sale of tickets 3"). 10 Total deticit *4(».0:i From 75 to :^00 people attended each township rally— an average of at least 135 December 5, 1903, was an important day for the schools of Keokuk county because on that day 2000 or more people gave considerable time and attention to the subject of education. The editors of the The Educational Exponent endeavored to se- cure a short biography of each one of the fifteen township conductors for the January number, 1904. Much credit is due these conductors and it will not be out of order to publish a biography of MISS NANCY FREY, Clear Creek Township. Some one has said, "Eternity alone can display the immeasur- able, inconceivable usefulness of one devoted teacher" This saying applies well to the life and work of Miss Nancy Frey whose likeness appears In this publication as number 2 in the group of township con- ductors— a lady who has not taught school for money alone and wh • has been a most devoted teacher. Born near Bladensburg, Knox county, Ohio, December 1.5,1835 — daughter of Rev. James Frey, a pioneer Baptist minister. When a small child her parents moved to Delaware county, Ohio, where Miss Frey grew to womanhood. Her education was obtained principally from the public schools of her native state. She began teaching in 1854 and after teaching two terms in Ohio she came with her parents to Iowa in 1863, who located in Sigourney, Keokuk county. With the exception of one term in Wapello county her teaching has been con fined to the rural schools of Keokuk county . She has taught seventy- three terms of school and can number her pupils bv the thousands — many of whom are now occupying prominent positions in life and who represent the different professions of law, medicine and the ministry and who still have words of praise for their teacher and friend. In many instances she has taught two generations. Miss Frey has been an energetic and progressive teacher. She was a member of the first graduating class of the Keokuk County Normal Institute and she was one of the first class to graduate from the Iowa State Teachers' Reading Circle. 28 The children in district number one, Clear Creek township, will be glad to tell you that Miss Frey will teach their school this winter. The school board will not hesitate to tell you that they are paying her $40 per month and may tell you, too, that two other school boards were trying to secure the services of Miss Frey when they offered her the $40. It may be that Miss Frey has lost some of her energy but she retains more than is possessed by some teachers— new in the work. And she has not lost one iota of her interest and devotion for her noble profession The story of her life ought to serve as an inspiration to those who know her and to those who choose the same noble pro- fession. "Teachers of Teachers! Your's the task, Noblest that noble minds can ask." 29 HISTORICAL OR COMPOSITION WORK. I believe in variety and in growth. It would not do to try to make use continually and forever of any one of the following things — spelling contest, school exhibit or educational rally— as a means to create and hold an Interest in the schools of a community or countv. It would not do to talk forever about spelling. Such a person vvould soon become narrow-minded and people would call him a crank on spelling. We ought to do one thing at a time, do well all that we do and grow as we go along. With all due respect for the importance of the subject of spelling, there is no acquirement which w U be of more value to a person than the ability to express his thoughts cle rly and well on paper and to write legibly. This thought came to me January 17, 1904, but a number of other thoughts came with it. The thing that needs most attention in many counties of our state in the educational line today is the improvement of schoolhouses and school grounds. The influence of school surroundings has more to do with the education of children than the methods used in teaching gram- mar or arithmetic. And it took mesom3 tim3 to decide how to con- nect these subjects which need special attention in our couaty. I wanted to hold all the interest for schools which had been created as a result of the spelling, exhibit and rally work and direct it to the school house and yard for future influence. Perh ips it would be well to ask pupils to write on the subject Our Schoolhouse or Our School. But I didn't like these subjects. Somehow I wanted the people to realize the fact that the average country school house has not kept pace with modern progress. It has not improved in the lines of comfort, use and beauty to the extent that homes or even oaras and sheds of various kinds have improved. In this connection the idea of time— past, present and future comes naturally and on the day mentioned previously the following letter was sent from this office to the teachers of the county: 1 want you to get the boys and girls of your school interested in the subject My School — Past, Present and Future. I want you to begin the work to-day. Make use of this subject as a subject for composition. The children will be glad to ask their parents and neighbors about the history of the school: when it was built, remark- able meetings of various kinds which have been held in it, boys and girls who have studied under its roof and who have become men and women of prominence. Every person in the community will be inter- ested in the history of this school. It will be worth while to give one week to the investigation and attention of this part of the subject. Then tell the children to look at the schoolhouse, yard and surround- ings and make the best possible descriptioQ of what they see and of what constitutes their school to day. This part of the composition must include the following: Is the school well located— a healthy and beautiful location? Number of square rods of schoolground; num ber of trees, kind and condition of plant life on schoolground. Does a tasty and substantial fence surround it? Is there a well with a pump in it? Size, shape, age and condition of the schoolhouse. What constitute the decorations on the inside? Is it painted on the out- side? Tell about its stove, globe, maps, charts, blackboards, desks and seats and window curtains. Tell about its library, the number and kind of books it contains. Tell about the regularity and punctual- ity of pupils who attend this school — number of visits made by par- ents and school board. Make a living description of your school as it is. Give facts in the case and make the composition interesting. Try to see a better future lor this school. In this part of the composition the pupils can tell what kind of school they ought to have and the kind of school they hope their school will be some day. Let them make some use of their imagination if they wish. It is not impossible for a rural school to be well supplied with apparatus— globes, maps, charts, solid slate blackboards, adjustable and single seats; well lighted and ventilated; neatly decorated on the inside; painted on the outside; a room with double doors which open into the schoolroom proper and the entire space of which can be used for public entertainments and meetings, a basement with a furnace, a work shop and some lunch tables; a good healthy location, sur- rounded by an acre or more of schoolground which is well taken care of and which is enclosed by a tasty and substantial fence; a number of handsome trees, a vegetable and flower garden at appropriate places on the ground; a well with pump in it. The school should be a sec- 31 ond home and when it becomes as elegant and as comfortable as the best home— when it becomes all this, it will not be too much. When the children have collected all of tlie material whicli the.v find on this subject, when they have written their compositions, then ask them to read their productions in the class recitation. Decide which one is best and ask the writer to commit to memory this production Mid to represent the school in a township historical entertainment wJiich will be held in a town or central schoolhouse in your township and to which every rural school of your township will send a repre- sentative. Each teacher will be held responsible for the representa- tion of his school. The work must begin to-day in order that the township historical entertainments may be held when desired. TOWNSHIP TIME PLACB Kichland February 12, 1904 Richland Jackson i( 13 (( Ollie Steady Run u 15 (( Martinsburg Benton (( 16 (t Hedrick Lancaster (( 17 (i Hayesville Warren (1 18 u Delta Sigourney '( 19 u East Laffer Van Buren I ( 20 l( District No. 6 German (1 22 u District No. 8 Lafayette (( 23 u Keota Clear Creek 1 i 24 u Talleyrand Liberty '• 25 i 1 Kinross ISnglish River u 26 u South English Adams 11 27 (1 Keswick Prairie (( 29 u Nassau Washington March 1 I ( What Cheer Each township will select a representative to present this sub- ject at a county historical entertainment which will be in session in Sigourney two nights in the month of March — Friday and Saturday nights. The rural schools will conduct the county historical entertain- ment Friday night and the graded schools will conduct the entertain- ment Saturday night. A school which consists of two or more rooms will be considered a graded school and each school of this kind will be allowed to send a representative to the county historical entertain- ment which will be held Saturday night. No pupils in grades above the tenth grade will be allowed to to take part in the entertainment and no town will be allowed more than one representative. On this Saturday will be called a Boys' Convention for the pur- pose of organizing a Boys' Agricultural Club. Each rural and graded 32 school will be requested to send at least one boy to this convention. Others can come if they wish. Teachers, this liistorical work must be attended to even if your school does close in a few days or weeks. In a week or two I will send you a blank card on which I wish you to send me the name of the pupil who will represent your school. These productions should contain not less than eight hundred and not more than two thousand words. I trust that you will give your immediate and hearty co-opera- tion to this work. PART 1 -TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL CONTEST. Sixteen of these township entertainments, corresponding to the sixteen townships of our county, were held at the time and' place mentioned in the previous letter. It was my pleasure to attend all of these entertainments, beginning on the evening of February 12th and closing on the evening of March 1st. Of course it kept me busy be- cause I could not remain away from the office more than two days at a time. Three judges attended each entertainment and selected a pupil to represent each respective township in a county historical contest which was held in Sigourney Friday and Saturday nights, March 25th and 26th Thought, composition, memory and delivery each counted one-fourth in the record of each contestant— a perfect record showing 25 per cent for each one of these divisions or a total of 100 per cent. You can see some connection between this work and the educational rally when I tell you that a township conductor was local manager for each township historical entertainment. It may not be inappro- priate to publish one of the sixteen township programs in this con- nection ^ Lafayette Township Historical Entertainment At Baptist Chtirch, Keota, Iowa, Tuesday evening, Febru- ary 23, 1904, 7:30 P. M. A representative from every school in the township will take part. Each representative will tell you about "My School— Past, Pre- sent and Future." PROGRAM. Music K. H. S. Orchestra District No. 1 Florence Kennel District No. 2 Leta Lyie District No. 3 Mamie Cook Music Pupils from Primary 33 District No. 4 Dora Goeldner District No. 5 Irene Kaufman District No. 6 Lloyd Fry Music Pupils from 2d and 3d rooms District No. 7 Amy Gardner District No. 8 .Frank Flander District No. 9 Maude Baker Music Pupils from 2nd and 3rd rooms Music K. H. S. Orchestra (Prof. W.L. Lytle Decision of judges •< Prin. C. E. Humphreys ,.; . (Prin. H. P. Trumbo A small admission fee will be charged to meet general expenses and to support The Boys' Agriculture Club— 10 cents for children and 20 cents for adults. Persons taking part in program will be admitted free. , Prin. Charles Ybager Twp. Mgr. While the judges prepared their decision I endeavored to talk to the boys and girls about the school work of the county and especi- ally about the county historical entertainment. It was necessary for someone to give these boys and girls encouragement. The fact that they were selected to represent their schools showed that they had some good qualities. Their teacher or some one had contidence in them or they would not have been chosen to represent these schools. They were honored when they were chosen to represent their schoolmates and schools. But this honor like most honors brought with it re- sponsibility and labor. Not one pupil in the county failed to meet the demands of the occasion in the way of thorough preparation. Iblstorical Contest. The historical contest for Washington township was held at the opera house in this city Tuesday evening. All the rural schools ex- cept one were represented by bright young people who handled the subject of their school history in an effective manner. Miss Fay Harding of District No 4, was awarded the honor of representing the township in the county contest at Sigourney, although the judges had difficulty in deciding between several of tiie contestants whose merits were about equal. We shall hope Miss Harding will meet with equal success in the county contest. Her effort, for one so young, was cer- tainly evidence of ability and careful prepar at ion. The spelling contest last year was a grand success and means of much benefit to the pupils of the county and this historical contest is of equal interest and benefit. The opera house was wellifilled on this occasion and even at the low price of admission paid all expenses^ and left a balance. — What Cheer Patriot, March 4. 34 Xibccts G:o\vnapip The Liberty Township Historical Contest held last Thursday evening was even better than had been anticipated. Although a very unfavorable evening there was a large crowd out. Every seat in the hall was occupied and some were standing Every district in the township was represented and each representative told in well chosen language about his school from the time it was first organized until the present time, and also what he expected his school to be in the future. The manner in which the orations were delivered showed that the representatives were well trained and also that the teachers had good material to work on when they were training them. Prof Trumbo, assisted by the teachers in the township, did much toward making the contest the sucoes'^ which it was. The re- ceipts at the door were over $20 — Tha Twinkler, Mar. 3. The people of the entire county took an active interest in these entertainments. They realized that the work was practical — a lesson in how to express thoughts on paper, a lesson in how to write legib- ly, a lesson in delivery and a lesson in memory. People want and de- mand practical things in this day. High school graduates are often allowed to take subjects for their orations concerning which they can- not possibly know much. Many of the subjects which they use would call forth the greatest efforts of the most able men and women of our time. And indeed I sometimes wonder if any one living could proper- ly treat such subjects. This one thing, has done more than any other to create a disgust on the part of the people toward commencement exer- cises and I am not much surprised to hear some people say that they are in favor of doing away entirely with commencement exercises. But the subject. My School is a subject concerning which every child between five and twenty-one years of age knows something. Children have had personal experience with it and in many cases they know more than their parents about it. The structure in which their school is held is one in which they live much o1 the time. These boys and girls -these "representa- tives stated facts in their compositions. They were sincere in what they said. The busiest and most obstinate man will listen to a child, and so will parents. How intense was the interest and attention of the people who listened to the^e boys and girls. No county superin- tendent, no teacher or school board would have dared to say many of the thing% which these children said even if these statements were facts and it these educational forces had dared to say these same things, the result would have brought little good to our schools. But coming from the hand, head and heart of children— these productions brought messages of good to all school interested persons. Most of these representatives know what home and comfort are. They have eyes to see, ears to hear and voices to proclaim their thoughts. How their voices went forth for beauty and comfort in schoolhouses and for attractive and irspiring schoolyards! I can never forget my 35 experience as I attended these sixteen entertainments*. I saw that this historical work could be made the foundation for an interest along agricultural lines in school work and I took advantage of the opportunity. "Uncle Henry'' Wallace and Prof. P. G. Holden prom- ised me that they would come to Sigourney to help organize a boys' agriculture club and I thought the best time to call the boys' conven- tion for this purpose would be March 26th— the day between the two night programs for the county historical contests. It was a pleasure for me to tell the people about this county convention as I visited schools and took part in the township entertainments because of the fact that the people were so much in sympathy with it. How the boys were delighted when I told them that this boys' convention would be called, that the boys for once at least would have a chance to do something, to say something and tc vote. They were enthusias- tic when I told them that "Uncle Henry" Wallace would be present and that Prof P. G. Holden would tell them about an excursion to Ames. But the girls of our county were disappointed when all atten- tion was given to the boys and so it was thought best to call a girls' convention for the purpose of organizing a girls' home culture club and speakers were secured accordingly. Here is our program: PART 2-COUNTY fflSTORICAL CONTEST. FRIDAY NIGHT— COUNTRY SCHOOLS One representative from every toivnithij) in the cmmty will take part PROGRAM 7:30 p. M. j Omar House ■iw„c5« TP^„» D^„„ i Archie Bakehouse Musio-Four Boys ] Albert Bei nke i Henry Bei nke Steady Run Glenn Henninger Adams Sidney Axmear Warren Eva Allsup Clear Creek Tony Greiner Music— Autoharp Miss Clara Puher English iliver Alma McCombs Prairie Guy Strasser German Louie Strohman Liberty Sylvia Blaylock Music Four Boys Sigourney Kittie McBride Benton Willis A rganbright Van Buren Nora Evermann Lancaster Don Walker Music Sigourney Boys' Chorus Washington Fay Harding Lafayette Lloyd Fry ■ 36 •^^^'^son EffleShy ^'^'''and OrlaChacey ^'o^alSolo ClaraStewart DECISION OF JUDGES. All persons taking part in program will be admitted free. SATURDAY FORENOON A Boys' Convention for the purpose of orgarizing a Boys' Agri- cultural Club. PROGRAM 8:00 A. M. M"sic Four Boys Address -Henry Wallace, Des Moines, Editor of The Farm Journal Vocal Solo Miss Clara Stewart Address— Prof. P G. flolden— "An Excursion to Ames and What Boys Can do on The Farm." ^"^'° Four Boys SATURDAY AFTERNOON. Girls' Convention to organize a Girls' Home Culture Club. PROGRAM— 1:30 p. M. Vlusic-Autonarp Miss Clara Pulver Lecture— "Iowa Birds and Their Nests," illustrated with stereopti- con views— John E. Cameron, Cedar Rapids. Vocal Solo Miss Clara Stewart Address-- 'What Girls can Do" Mrs. Alice Mendenhall The two day programs are free to everyone. Come and attend the entire session. Bring this program with you. SATURDAY NIGHT— GRADED SCHOOLS. One representative from every graded schoolin the county will be allow- ed to take part. PROGRAM 7:30 p. M. Music Four Boys Hedrick Hazel Henry Martinsburg Zetta Howell O'^^e Delano Starr Richland Georgia Kent Music-Autoharp Miss Clara Pulver I^eswick • Hugh Brady Hayesville : Virgie Griffin Coal Creek : .. ;. . .Bessie Stanley Lancaster Ivan Bott Music Four Boys ^inioss AgnesHurd Webster Ruth Ealy Thornburg Carleton Hamilton Mus'c Four Boys '»7 Gibson Harry Martin Sigourney : Salone Wheeler South English Emma Lester Delta Mabel Hankins Tocal Solo Miss Clara Stewart IXBOISION OP JUDGES An admission fee of 25 cents will be charged. Persons taking part in progmm will be admitted free. These two days will long be remembered by the boys and girls of Keokuk county For the contests and the conventions held on these two days constituted the greatest educational event ever held in our counr y. One hundred and five boys joined the bovs' agricultural club and forty-three girls joined the girls' home culture club. This was a large number for a beginning and the membership is rapidly growing larger. It gives one enthusiasm to notice that some of these boys walk- ed six, seven or eight miles to get here in time for the the first pro- gram of the session. Did it pay them? If you had heard them clap their hands after they had listened to Henry Wallace. Prof P G. Holden, John Cameron or Mrs. Alice Mendenhall> the question would be answered. How intense was their interest. How practical were the suggestions made by the speakers. All in all, it was the greatest treat ever offered to the boys and girls of our county. They took advantage of it even if they did have to sacrifice some what, even if they did have to walk a long distance, even if they did have to remain in Sigourney until Monday. And they will hail with delight the time when these four speakers can return to Sigourney to talk to them. The names of the pupils receiving the five highest marks as a result of the contest Friday night are given below in their order: Orla Chacey, Eichland Township. Lloyd Fry, Lafayette " Eva Allsup, Warren " Sylvia Blaylock, Liberty " Don Walker, Lancaster. '' The names of the pupils receiving the five highest marks as a result of the contest Saturday night are given below in their order: Emma Lester, South English, Iowa. Salome vv heeler, Sigourney, Iowa. Carleton Hamilton, Thornburg, Iowa Agnes Hurd. Kinross, Iowa. Delano Starr, Ollie, Iowa. Part 3—*' My School — Past, Present and Future/* In the year 186.3, during the trying times of the Civil War, wiien the nation was divided against itself, this part of Iowa had not been settled long. Schools v/ere scarce, and al- though rr.ost of the able-bodied men had enlisted, those who re- mained at home were anxious to educate their children. So they leased a piece of land ten rods square of Anthony Sunnyfrank for 99 years, or as long as It should be used for school pur- poses. This land is located one- half mile west of Kinross, near what was then l^nown as the Westfall corner, and is now known as the Moler farm. AGNES iiuKD. On this lot a schoolhouse known as the "Hawkeye" was built— a one-roomed building, facing the south, with three windows on each side. The ground had neither trees nor well on it. The water was carried from the Westfall corner. In 1880 a new schoolhouse was built in the town of Kinross on a lot 8 rods square, on The corner of North and Main Street, which was a very beautiful and healtiiy. location. This building is 24x36 feet fac- ing the east v\ ith four windows on each side, was painted green on the inside, white on the outside, and was heated by a stove. There are a few nice shade trees, also a good well and pump on this ground. The old "Hawkeye" schoolhouse was sold, moved to town and furniture kept in it for some time. Later it was fitted up for a dwell- ing house, and it is now owned by Joe Moler of Iowa City and is occu- pied by Dr. Boone. About the year 1 90!', the people of Kinross began to awaken to the educational interest of their children. The sohoolbuilding was too small, and one teacher insufficient to teach the number of pupils. Some- thing would have to be done. They would be obliged to enlarge the building or build a new schoolhouse. The school board called a meet- 39 ing and held an election to decide whether a new school house should be built. It was found that the majority of the voters were in favor of building. The old schoolbuildir.g and grounds were given to W. H. Wagaman in exchange for the new site of 2.31 acres on North Street. This is one of the most beautiful and healthy locations to be found in the vicinity. In the old schoolhouses, spelling schools, lectures, and liter- aries were held. Sunday school was also taught there until the Methodist church was built. In 1901 the second schoolhouse was repainted and fitted up for a dwelling hcuse: in 190.3 it was remodeled again, and has since been used by an organization known as the "Mystic Toilers." In 1901 the present schoolbuilding 4ix48 was erected by O. H Dunlap of Kalona, at the cost of about $4500. 'n'. This is a two-story KINROSS — NUMBER 1 LIBERTY TOWNSHIP. slate roofed, brick building, facing the south, with a door and six windows in front and a basement underneath. This building has four schoolrooms, two halls and four cloak rooms. There is a double stairway and there are three small closets on the lower floor. Each school room has five windows. The windows of three rooms are sup- 40 plied with sash curtains and window sliades of which some roll and some do not. The west room on the lower floor contains 31 single seats, one recitation seat, the teacher's desli and chair and a good Cornish organ. The east room on the lower floor contains 44 single seats one recitation seat, the teacher's desk and chair and a table for primary work. The east room on the upper floor has twelve double seats ,the teacher's desk and chair. The west room on the upper floor has never been used. Heretofore the Kinross school has had no library, but this year a hbrary of seventy-one choice volumes was purchased. The building is not painted on the outside, but on the inside the work is finished in hard oil. We have very few pictures. Among those that we have are the pictures of the Presidents, Leslie M Shaw and Prince Henry. The school is well supplied with maps and we have one globe and a Webster's dictionary, but we have no lamps, no charts and no apparatus. The two rooms on the lower floor and the halls are heated by a furnace. This furnace is a very poor one. It will heat the rooms but it takes a great amount of coal to do so. The hot air comes in at the top of the room, and the cold goes out at the bottom so while your head is hot your feet are very cold. This furnace could please no one except a coal dealer. The east room on the upper floor when used was heated by a stove. The children are called to school morning and noon by a fine bell which was paid for by giving entertainments and by popular subscription. The bell is located in the tower on the top of the building. There is a large playground on each side of the schoolhouse. The yard, on which f^ere are some sidewalks, a good well and pump, and about 2':iO trees, is fenced on three sides only b/ a wire fence. There is no fence in front. Among the many teachers that taught in the old schoolhouses were Mr. Brower, Mr. Samuel Potts, Miss Myrtle Rose, Miss Loyd, Miss Nettie Pine, Miss Nora Weimer, vir. Mitchener, MissZoe Funk; William Wine Edgar Squires, and Miss Olga Cross. And among the many pupils who went there, were the Funks of whom Harry Funk Is an editor, John Funk telegraph operator, Zoe Funk school teacher; the Molers of whom Joe Moler was a merchant and lawyer, Ida Moler, school teacher; Joe Seitsinger who was a soldier in the Philippines now a telegraph operator in Wellman; Loyd Walters a minister of the gospel and many successful farmers of whom I will mention, William Wagaman, Thomas wagaman and Andrew Moler. 41 The teachers who have taujjrht since tlie present scliooUiouse has been built areas follows: fir.s^ term, Principal H. A. FTawk and Miss Olga Cross; second term, Prin. Hawk, Mrs Hawk and Miss Byrle Conger. This year there are two teacher, Principal H. P. Trumbo. of Warren county, Iowa, and Miss Jennie Miller, of Sourh English, Iowa. The scliool was not graded until 19i^l when Prin. Hawk and Miss Cross bejan the work of grading The regularity and punctuality of the pupils is almost perfe'^t. The visits made by the parents and school board who seem to take a great pride in tlie school are very numerous. So far none of the pupils have graduated here, but this year there will be two graduates Miss Genevieve Fischer and Miss Lucy Lytle. There are scholars from the adjoining districts now attending school, and we liope that in the near future those districts will join us and make ours a consolidated school, as the building is large and is admirably situated for such a school. We would then emoloy more of the best teachers, our library would be one that any town might well be proud of. All necessary material for kindergarten and primary work could be furnished, also the necessary material for high school work, in fact all the modern apparatus necessary to make a school perfect. Pictures might be placed in the rooms to make them more pleasant and home like for the teachers and pupils who spend so much time there. A new furnice could be placed in the basement so not only the lower but also the upper rooms could be heated by steam. I would like to see a fine fence placed in front of the school house, a nice lawn carefully kept, with gravel walks through the grounds to the fine grove which we will soon have. Beside the walks, shrubs and rare flowers could be planted, the pupils could care for them which would aid them in their study of nature and art, and also make the ground attractiv*^ for the parents and visitors who would delight in taking a walk around the schoolground. On the lawn I would like to see a playing fountain with its soft musical sound wliere we could see the beautiful tints of the rainbow in the falling drops of water. I would like to see school gardens introduced in our school so that the pupils could be taught something in the agriculture line as that is one of the chief occupations in our state and a work shop and tools for manual training. Then a great many of the pupils would be 42 more interested than if only certain lines of study were taken up. Tile girls, too. could learn the art of coolfing', sewing and all accom- plishments necessary to make lioraes beautiful and happy. I would also like to see a department for the instruction in the higher branch- es of literature, art, and science, also a commerical high school which would go deeper into the ethics of commercial activity than a busi- ness college. It is to be borne in mind that the children now growing up will soon take their places among active men of business, become taxpay- ers and lawmakers. Therefore with an agricultural school, manual training, the elective system, commercial education and moral train- ing, the education of the heart and hand as well as the mind would be complete and the pupilsvvho graduate from such a school will be an honor to the community in w^ich they live, and be well prepared for any position, or vocation in life, whether that of the successful farmer or the leader of our nation. Then my school, whicli had its beginning in the nations terrible crisis, which was neglected so long and improved so rapidly the last few years, will be ranked not only among the best in Keokuk county but in the state of Towa. ***** IN writing a history of ray school I liave taken much pleas ure in putting my thoughts to- gether and I shall now endeavor 1o present them to you in a few m'nutes I have learned that the first school taught in Thornburg was held in a building owned by Mr. N. Holdeman, who is now cashier of the Thornburg Sav- ings Bank. The school was managed on the subscription plan and Miss Nettie Meade, daughter of Oscar Meade, who now lives near Sigourney, was the teacher. The instigators of this school were Messrs. A. Branson, D. W. Waites, C Cox, S. Hogue and S. F. Bart^er. This school was held for a peri- od of six months when the popu- lation of the town had increased so rapidly that the large attendance CARLETON HAMILTON. 43 at school compelled the people at Thornburg to erect a new school building of greater size. A site in the northeastern part of town was chosen as a suitable location. The house contained two good rooms and halls which provided plenty of room to accommodate the number of pupils. All modern equipments of the day were furnished to make them comfortable. Some of the boys and girls who have studied under the roof of this building and have become well known in these parts are G. H. Pendleton, mail carrier, route No. 1 , Thornburg; C. C Williamson, bookkeeper, First National Bank, Sigourney; Frank Beatty, student at Wesleyan University, Mount Pleasant; Grace Schrader, student at State Normal School, Cedar Falls; Cecil Hamilton, with the Big Four Railroad; Ima Seymour and Lena Santee, both teachers in the Thorn- burg schools. In the years 1894 95 the mining industry became so prosperous that the population was almost doubled. The school building was then condemned as not useful for school purposes and was sold to the Grand Army Post and moved to the main part of town wliere it has THORNBURG PUBLIC SCDOOLS, PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP, NO. C since been known as the G. A. R. hall. It is used for lodges and all social occasions Our town now boasts of a beautiful schoolbuilding 4.5x50 feet 44 which is built in modern style. It was erected in 1896 and is located in the northeastearn part of town. We have a beautiful campus which contains 80 square rods. A good collection of trees consisting of maples, catalpas, box-elders and elms afford us much shade. We did have a well but the water was condemned unfit for use and up to this time we have not succeeded in getting a new one. The fence was destroyed long ago by the boys climbing upon it. It gave way by sec- tions and furnished the boys many a tumble. The appearance of the schoolhouse outside was helped greatly by a new coat of paint that it received last summer. The walks were also improved by repairing and generally the looks of our schoolhouse and schoolground, I think, rank with the looks of any in Keokuk county. The building contains four rooms 24x33 feet, and three of them are in use. There are three halls — a large one down stairs which is 48x9^ feet and two upstairs, which are each 24x9i feet. We have more than 125 seats and desks in the schoolhouse. The desks are too high for the short people and too low for the tall people but taking them on an average they answer the purpose nicely. The building is heated by a hot water apparatus which heats the rooms to a satisfactory temperature. Much credit is given the janitor, Mr. Shibley, concerning the heating of the building. We have a good supply of maps, globes and charts but they are badly worn and need to be replaced with new ones. We have a good library containing 150 books of stories of adventure, and fiction, three sets of histories, and one set of the Britanica Encyclopedia, making in all about 200 books in the library. The rooms on the inside are very pretty. Our newly whitened wails are made attractive by a set of Brown's famous pictures which give them quite a domestic appearance. The pride of our school is a portrait of the late President Wm. McKinley. The portrait was pre- sented us by the president of the schoolboard Beside this we have several portraits of novelists, poets and historians. The windows aie adorned with window curtains and flowers. The curtains are somewhat worn but serve the purpose for which they are intended. Among our flowers are geraniums, oxalis, callas, cactus and a fine large begonia, besides others which I have not mentioned, go to make ray school pleasant and attractive. Much credit is given the present schoolboard for the interest they show in our school. They are experienced and manage our school wisely. They are making a re- vision of the course cf study which we hope will improve the condi- tion of our school Our parents show their interest by giving us their encouragement but they fail to make an appearance in our schoolroom I wish the parents and schoolboard would feel it their 45 duty to visit US more frequently. Tiie pupils show their interest by their rej^ularity of attendance. The attendance has been so regular that the register shows a clean, white page. The pupils who are neither absent nor tardy are awarded a certiticate at the end of each month which is very nice. t hope to see tlie day when the Thornburg school will stand at the head of all the schools of Keokuk county. Our teachers are aim- ing to bring the school up to this standard and 1 hope tiiat by another year the untinished room will be completed and an additional teach- er provided for us. I think our worn out etiuipments should be re- placed with new and better ones. Next to hom'i is school and I think school should be made just as pleasant as home— not cnly inside, but outside as well. T want the boys and girls who go out from the Thornburg school to be those worthy of an office of trust. The coming nation will be made up of the boys and girls of today and I hope to see one boy from the Thorn- burg school become a State Governor, or batter still, a U. S. Presi- dent. We are daily being taught the virtues of true life and if we zealously labor for the right, success is certain. ***** DI.<5TRTCT Number Eight, Public School of Jackson Township, was organized — well, I am sorry to say I can't tell w' en, nor can I find anyone else who can, alt* ough I in.:)uired of such parties as Robert Mars' all. .Tacob ITalferty, Mrs. i^Iary Davis and others of the earlier sel tlei's: but no one seen::ed to know just when it was oi'ganized. Therefore, I am almost led to believe it was just always iiere. Tlie first school building was erected near the center of the present school grounds. This building was destroyed by tire in 1872. Tlie following year the contract was let to S. W. Pey- DBLANo Starr nolds to erect a new building. This building was finally sold to Capt. D. C. Baker and remodeled into a tine two-story dwelling, and tlie present building erected to 4B meet the demands of tbe growing district. Some of the earlier teachers were: Mr. Dodds, Jordan Halferty, Rebecca Jones, Edwin Chacey, Van Marshall, Pierce Halferty, A. H. Tutler, C. L. Starr and Guy Durbin. Mr. Ed Duree and Miss Jessie Gemm ill are our present teachers. For the main part, this school has always been successful in securing good teachers. Among some of the earlier pupils we might mention "Wilson Fye and Guy Halferty of Ollie, Mrs. Ollie Comparet of Iowa City, after whom the little city of Ollie was named, and Geo. Worley who is now in ISTorth Dakota Our present school building is a two-story structure, 26x40 feet and consists of two rooms. It is heated by steam, but it is not giving the best of satisfaction. I believe stoves are the bsst for small schools. On account of our furnace we get a half holiday every once in a while. Our school building is painted on the outside and papered and painted on the inside. We have a few decorations. The build- ing needs shingling badly, for when it rains very hard we pupils in the upper room come near getting drowned. Here and there, and in fact almost everywhere, the water comes through the roof on books, desks and children's heads. The seats are in fairly good condition except having been exposed to the jack-knives of the boys. I am in- deed sorry to say we have no library, but we have an encyclopedia, howevei". which is an excellent thing. We also have a globe, a plane- tary, several maps, two physiology charts, a music chart and an un- abridged dictionary, but no stana for it. At the present time there are fifty-two pupils in the primary room and forty-five in the advanced room. The number of visits made by pa^'ents is somewhat limited. The future of our school is certainly encouraging. Already the school board and citizens have taken action on the matter and bonds have been voted for the moving of the present building to the center of the school ground and two more rooms added to it. This will give us a four-room building which I hope will be well lighted, seated with single seats and properly ventilated. I hope that the school board will realize that it is their duty to see that the rooms are prop- erly decorated Beautiful house plants should be provided for the rooms for I believe the school room should be kept as neat and tidy a-" a well kept home. Then, again, the school ground should be improved: a tasty and substantial fence should enclose it. This fence sl^.ould be painted and kept in good repair. A part of the school ground should be set apart for a flower garden. In this garden may be cultivated beautiful flowers. This will afford us children some- 4r thing uselnl to do and not only that, but will beautify the school groniid and by so doing it cannot help but instil! in the children a love lor tlie beautiliil and a tendency for the good things in life. * * * * * LONG years ago. it seems ages to the girls and boys of to- day when there were no land- marks upon the broad rolling prairies of Iowa, a little band of settlers crossed the INIississippi River, and travelled westward until they reached the present site of Soutli English. They built a few log cabins and for convenience sake called tlieir new home Houston's Point. Here in ore of these primitive dwellings originated our tirst school whicli was taught by Mr. Orr in the fall of lS5;i The teacher not being of very pgl- lished manners the scho.';l was shortlived and was soon suc- ceeded by another wliich was taught by Sophronia Matthews in the little log cabin of Mercy Fasold. "Aunt Mercy" would take her babe and st.ny with a neighbor during sciiool hours, and she received for the use of her home her fuel, and tuition of her three children. In 18i"5 the town of South P]nglish was surveyed: hnnber was hauled from Iowa City and Burlington and dwellir)^s and business hionses erected. As tlie population increased the people decided that they must have a schoolbuilding in which to educate their children. A generous land owner named Rodman donated tlie land on which I>r. Newsome's house now stands, but Thomas Seerley persuaded them to exchange it for a plat of ground located two blocks south of the old town well. The s-'lioolhouse was a one-story building with wooden slabs for seats, and desks along the sides which were used in writing. Here our grandparents learned their A. B. C's and how to write with quill pens. Tlien came Reading, Arithmetic, Grammar. Geography—and EMMA LESTER Spelling. How near I came forgetting that good old study which our grand-parents tell of today with kindling eyes! The "spelUn' scliooh' was to them the life of their scoool-days. On every Tuesday night the best spellers from neighboring schools would assemble in the little schoolhouse for an old-fashioned spelling match. Good order was generally preserved and no second trial allowed on a word. Many pupils had whole pages of their spelling-books memorized and in the contests our school would nearly always come out victorious. They also had "jography schools" noted for their exhibitions of vo- cal talent for the shrillest treble and the deepest bass would join in singing the states and capitals to the tune of "Go tell Aunt Rhoda her old gray goose is dead.' The schoolhouse was also used for church services, political speaking and during the winter months the boys and girls would come here to sinj Do, Re and Mi under the instruct- tion of John Wallace, a singing master of considerable reputation. The first school teacher was Manasses Flory, a young man of pleasing countenance and kindly eye, who received $2tJ per month and tauglit from two to three months during the winter. The next teacher was Thomas Seerle y, father of the Presic'ent of our State Normal School. He tauglit for $35 a month and his duties were to quote his own words, 'To make and mend quill pens, to set copies for writing lessons and to hear the pupils read and spell. One term I had eiglity-six (86) enrolled and eighteen (18) classes that expected to have four recitations a day. We had no adopted clas.s-books and some had none at all." Mr. Seerley was one of those (piick-tempered school mas- ters who believed in the practice of that old maxim "Spare 'the rod and spoil the child.", Am.ong his scholars we find Homer and John Seerley who have gained great fame and honor in the educa- tional and political worlds. Jfanifr Srciiei/ ranks first among all educators of Iowa and we may justly be proud that he received his start in THOMAS SEERLEY hfc ill the Soutli English schools. His brother John has distinguished himself as lawyer and 4i statesman having been Representative to Congress from tlie First Congressional District. Their father Thomas is at present residing in Iowa Citj' having attained the g-ood old age of eighty- three (83) years, but wlien he comes home we listen with delight to his remi nescences of those days that he spent in tlie little schoolhouse the witnessi of so many scenes of pleas- ure in which tlie young! folks participated. Here! they would laugh, talk! and have a good time just as we do today. Here the bright-colored threads of romance were woven by the lads and lassies and the foundation laid for many a good character. But by-and-by they grew tired of the old school- house, they began to de- spise its nomely walls and homer h sberley, it was finally sold to Au Prcs. Iowa State Normal School. Cedar FaW gust Xleinschmidt who turned it into a machine shop; later it was used as a Free Methodist meeting-house, and lastly made an ignominious exit as a saloon and was destroyed by tire. The new school- house was completed in 1869 — an attractive building painted white with pretty green shutters, and wonder of wonders a school bell! The tirst principal was John A. Benson an ambitious fellow who was book-crazy. He proved himself one of the best instructors our school has ever had, but avarice led him from paths of integrity and he became involved in one of the greatest land-fraud conspiracies the western states have ever known. In 1879 the Burlington railroad was built through the town and it cut off a corner of the school grounds. This led the school board to the believe that it was not a suitable place for a schoolhouse and they started to move it. They got it into the highway when they were stopped by an injunction issued by the citizens. The building was left in the highway until tbe road-supervisor served a notice upon them to remove it. After this the county superintendent was called 50 Mpon to settle affairs and the biiildiri}? was taken back to its old site but was by this time totally unlit for fervice, so the school board rent- ed Hattie Israel's brick buildino;- and school was held here during- the winter of 1882-83 tauj?-ht by Lulu Jackson of Sigourney. In the spring- a special meeting of the board was called by the superintendent who proposed calling an election to decide whether to build a new school house or not. Two locations were also to be voted on: one and one half (H) acres of Rodman's Park, and two (2) acres of Noffsinger's meadow. SOUTH ENGLISH— NUMBER 1, ENGLISH RIVER TOWNSHIP The election resulted in favor of a new schoolhouse to be situated on Rodman's Park. The sum of four hundred and tlfty (450) dollars was paid for the grounds and the district was bonded for three thousand (3000) dollars to build the schoolhouse— a two-story, four-roomed building, the ground-plan of which was 40x44 ft. Three rooms were furnished with sciool apparatus and were ready for school work by fall with Arnold McCay as Principal, Maude Roberts and Ida McWil- li.ims as assistants. 51 iVnioiii;' students and instructors who liave been associated with our school during its past life are: Alice Ileald Mendenhall once a member of the St;!te Board of Education, Prin. of the Fairfield High School for six (()) years, Co. Sup't of JelTerson Co. for six (6) years: Frank Shinabarger, one of the best postal clerks in Iowa: three doc- tors— C. L. Ileald. AVm Fit zwater and the late T. H. McWilliams; Ida White Robb, daugliter of Hon. Fred E. White, and her brother Virgil, now a risiiij^ lawyer of Des Moines, also lawyers Earl Smith of Mason City. Seth Hall of Cat., and Samuel West Jr., State Senator in Ohio and also an eminent attorney: Kale McWilliams Ex-Co. Re- corded, D. N. Cotfman Ex-Co. Treasurer and lastly our three County Superintendents —S. A. Potts, W. H. Gemmil and Cap ?]. Miller. Mr. Oemmil IS at present the Sup't of Schools at Dallas Center and we all know that "Our Cap" is one of the best Superintendents Keo- kuk county lias ever had and also I lie youngest member of tiie Educa- tional Council of the State Teachers' Association. The South Eng- lish schools are at present under the able supervision of (r. I). Hor- ras and although t he number of pupils is not as large as formerly the scliool is bettering itself day by day. Last summer our enterprising school board gave tlie .schooibuilding a much needed coat of paint and placed a side-walk in front of the sclioolground. A few years before a wire fence had been added, and slate blackboards placed in the school- rooms. On the walls of our schoolroom we have several go d pictures and among them is one that we prize most highly- a portrait of Homer Seerley which he presented to us last year. We have a library of 4o0 volumes including tlclion, history, poetry, encyclopaedias and a good Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and the High School through its own efforts possesses an organ. The .schoolgrounds are well loca- ted and afford an ideal place for oui- game cf Basket Ball. With par- liamentary rules as its basis the Orio Literary Society holds semi- monthly sessions while the President with a broad smile has his first lesson in calling to order tlie unruly ones among liis schoolmates. But alas as Pope says "Man never is but always to be blest" and with all of these past favors we still plead for better educational advantages. We want the schools of English River township centralized and in the center of the township a beautiful building recognized for miles around— not for its beauty of architecture alone but for its inner life. We will have this wish gratified just as soon as the tax-payers realize the advantages of the consolidated school not only to their children but to their pocket-books. ' The day is inevitably drawing near when the little red schoolhouse with its half-dozen barefoot urchins and its "school-marm" will be a thing of the past. These boys and girls and 52 perhaps their instructor will all be students in the centralized schof 1 and will enjoy the priv'ilei,^e ol' preparing themselves at home not only for the Fresliraan but for the Junior year of the State Univer- sity. Successful graduation from college or university is one of the greatest events i i the life of any man or woman, and it is time that the school patrons realize the fact t' at education is the key that will open the doors o' success for their children. Come with me and I will show you that ideal school which we clierish in our hearts only as a bright dream tliat will fade away. We shall find this academic do- main situated in the most healthful and picturesque portions of the township The' college tauildin-s, poems in architecture are cluster- ed around a tine campus rendered attractive by trees and sparkling fountains and glim p.ses of lake and lawn. The main building, ti^e center of the institutional life, is truly a temple of knowledge In it we find the vast ;issembly ha"l capable of seating all of t^e pupils of the township: we also visit the various recitation rooms A Greek Room with its friezes, its columns, its statuary is an inspira- tion to Greek students, and while it dazzles our eyes it carries us back to those ages of long ago Listen! sweet strains of music draw us ir- resistibly toward the music room and adjoining it is a sunshiny room with well-tilled book-shelves and long tables. This is our library, a gift from Andrew Carnegie tliat kind Scotchman who has gladdened the hearts of so many young Americans by his munificent gifts. We visit the gymnasium, the museum and the drawing room, a delight- ful apartment, where tl-.e students entertain their friends and tlie college societies hold tfieir social gatherings. In other departments are instructors in manual training and domestic science. We are t.ighly pleased with tliis for what is better than to educate these boys and girls, the home makers of the future, to lead happy useful lives in the work that God has planned for them to do. As we pass into the hall the clock sounds forth, tlie summons of the departing day and before we go, let us visit the chapel. The last rays of the sun shining through the art windows cast a halo of glory about the room. We feel His divine presence and know that the institution is blessed by Him who is the wisest of all- His wijsdom is intl.nite. 53 ORLA E CIIACEY THE Star sclioolhouse is situa- ted three miles west of Rich- land on tlie Sju^ourne.y road in a beautiful and healthful locality. From its doors in summer is seen a varied landscape, here and there a beautiful dwelling with its lawn and lovely trees, its flowers, garden and orchard. Yonder the pastures decked witli beautiful trees, around which gather tfie horses, cattle and sheep proected from the noon-day sun, and yonder the lovely fields of golden grain and rustling corn, stretching far in the distance till the scene kisses the bending sky. Amid such surroundings the heart of the student will be in spired and its better nature developed. Yes, our Star school is one of the galaxy of Stars in the public school system of our grand country which makes the American na- tion supreme and the admiration of the world. The old schoolhouse was built in the fifties and stood the storms of the years until 1874 when it was sold for a barn and moved one mile west where it stands to this day as a landmark of the long a'^o. It was a small frame building, its furniture the renowned slab seat of back wood's times, a writing desk along one wall, a blackboard. a stool and desk for the teacher, and an abundant supply of well seasoned hickory rods, and the mischievous boy well knew by per- sonal experience the truth of the saying of the wise man, "that the rod is for the fool's back." Tile teacher sometimes boarded around among the scholars, generally was his own janitor and his requisite for the winter school was phj^sical strength, handy with the rod, with .some knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic. In the estimate of tlie big boys, the success of the school de- pended altogether on the size and strength of the teacher. A la,dy teacher never need apply for the winter term. Such opinions pre- vailed in their day but changed and passed away with the old school- house. 54 A new one built the same year, on the same plan, but larger, dates the ending of the old system and the beginning of a new and better one Religious services, geography, singing, spelling and writing schools also very interesting literary societies have been held in it, and Old Star was noted for its good spellers who never knew defeat and the famous debates held under her roof. For miles they came to attend the spelling or debate and invariably victory crowned the ef- forts of the noble young men and women known as the Star boys and girls. When Abe Lincoln, once a country boy, standing amid the prairies of Illinois said, "this land cannot be half slave and half free," and for that reason as that dark cloud of Civil War settled like a pall over our dear land four of her boys answered our country's call, and in the Spanish-American War two otfered their services to stay the hand of oppression . Thirty young men and women have gone out from this school as teachers, two lawyers, a doctor and a minister. None ever readied the presidential chair but most of them settled on farms, as farmers or farmers' wives, as the years went by. Methinks there is no vocation so independed and lovely as the farmer's life. It gives him health and strength and brings him in touch with nature in ail of iier lovelines. Away from the crowded city with its trafic and temptations, out in the fields or by the silvery stream, where the trees and hills and dale are carpeted with green, how good to hold communion with nature and her God. No, none of them reached high positions of eminence in this life, but some have passed to tlie life beyond, being lovers of the hum- ble Nazarene here, are now in the great scliool of Heaven, "Where the sun never sets and the leaves never fade. " In a description of the schoolhouse as it is today, we would say: that it is surrounded by 80 square rods of schoolground fenced only on two sides, therefore it seems impossible to have any flowers or vege- tation except grass and weeds. At one time we did boast of a small lilac bush but it did not re- ceive the right kind of care so after a hard straggle it ceased to exist. As there is no well on the ground the pupils are obliged to carry drinking water from a neighbor's well. The twenty-three shade trees that have stood there for twenty eight years still extend their green branches to protect the children from the hot summer sun as they seek refuge under their friendly shelter, after tbe merry game in which all^have joined. 55 The schoolhouse, size 24 by 32 feet, is tlie largest in Richland township. It is thirty years old and in good cocdition. A few years ago it was painted on the outside and a new brick foundation put under it. Six years ago part new seats were -added for the comfort of the pupils and last winter a new stove. A board blackboard extends across one end of the room and there is a small one on the opposite wall. A long bench under the black-board serves as a recitation seat. There are 16 double seats and desk in good condition, also a table and chair for the teacher. Tlie walls are beautifully decorated with pictures and other pretty articles placed there by childish liands. Tasty window shades well hung, Protect us from the blazing sun. Webster's dictionary, globe, set of maps, br. oms, lamps, scissors and other useful articles are found in our schoolhouse. There is a circulating library the books of which a ciianged each year and new ones added. At present our library consists of 18 books. There are histories and other books of information for tlie older pupils and story books for tlie little folks. The pupils are quite regular as none of them like to have an absent mark. Wlien it comes to wading the mud or snow or facing the bitter cold wind you cannot discouraged them. It takes courage to leave the warm home fire and take a walk of from one to one and a half miles in the bitter cold. Tiiey are (juite punctual as a tardy mark is almost as bad as an absent one. We seldom iiave any visitors except on special occasions. The people of the district are all so industrious they cannot take time to visit us often. The schoolhou.se of the future shall be situated near the center of the township on some lovely elevation. Houses that are now back in the fields, shall be moved to the public road that the cliildren may be taken in a convenient covered carriage or a car over good roads or iron rails to school and returned liome at the close of the .school liours. Its appearance from without shall be stately and sliall be called the schoolhouse beautiful. It shall be open to the four winds of Heaven and its key of freedom evermore lie in the pathway of tl.e poorest comer. Standing in tlie center of a five acre campus, enclosed by a tasty and substantial fence, well seeded to blue grass, planted in Uees and decided here and there with beautiful flowers and ornament # 56 al plants, a well and place of refug-e in case of a storm. Under the trees shall be rustic seats where the cliildren will come and sit be- neath tlieir branches listening- to tbe sonj,"- of the birds perched upon their leafy boughs. Thus with nature's charm and purity about them they shall be led in the noblest paths. Sucli a scene and surroundings shall leave an evergreen on memory's brow whicii shall not fade while time, mind and reason hold. A memory which shall not fail where- soever a heart shall be found that beats to the transports of honor and love. MUM15HU ,;, inClILANU XOWNSHU'. The soft summer breeze, touchir>g the leaves and flowers with its gentle zephyrs calling from the haart the softer and finer nature of the being to clothe with a sweeter love and softer sympathy the ex- panding soul. Within, the schoolhouse beautiful sluill not lack art. Nothing that belongs to humad need in the moulding of the plastic life of the child shall be too costly for within its walls. There shall be school rooms enough, a vestibule or hall and a large room used as a work- shop and play-room. It shall be heated by a furnace, lighted by gas or electricty and well ventilated. Contain comfortable single seats and desks or upholstered chairs and tables, slate black-boards, tasty window curtains, an organ and piano, songbooks, a large library and ahd everything needed to help instruct the child. On the walls shall be maps and beautiful pictures. Shelves in the windows shall be tilled with plants and flowers. The work-room shall contain tools, tables, material and all things needful to teach the boy and girl industry- Here they sluill keep everything in order, whereon rainy days thay may be protitably entertained during re- creation. Tlie student shall not be compelled to sit in liis seat from morning till nigiit, but here and there he may pass his time making the school life home-like. T^e teacher shall be a christian-lovina^, kind and true, able to lead the child in the way of usefulness to his home, his country and his God. The student guided by love and placed upon his honor shall build a character strongly fortified against the evils and temptations of life. Thus armored and cultured as he goes forth in the great struggle and battle of life he shall be able to stand, and the world shall be made better and happier by his having lived. Tlie home life with its bve. its heirthstone, and its charms, truly is "Home Sweet Home."' But when the .school to be shall become a second home, where order and harmony shall prevail, where love shall hold her mild dominion, where teacher and pupil sliall be as one, where knowledge shall increase and home and country and God be ent ironed, then shall it be our ideal. * * * * * (3UR schoolhouse was built in the year of \8VA and has been very well attended by pupils of our district and some of other districts until recently. For the last live or seven years pupils of our district have been attendiijg school in three ditferent towns: respectively. Thorn- burg, Nassau and Til ton. For that reason we have been reduced from thirty-five to nine in number. The meet" ings that have been held in our schoolhouse ae religious meetings, school meetings, literaries and ten cent shows. The school-yard was not mowed last summer. Last year we planted some peach . seeds and some plants but GUY STRASSEK, NO 2, PRAIRIE TOWN ^ve have iiot had irood luck SHIP. with them The men and 58 women of prominenGe who once attended our school are: one lawyer, Harve Vanlaw; three telegraph operators— Edwin Owen. Harry Jen- nings, and Frank Perry: four or live business men, tfiie Wainwright brothers, Rudolph Draegert and others: two shoemakers, Charles and Fred Winders; one section foreman, George Vanlaw; ten school teachers, Anna Wolf, Blanche Conoway, Maud Mikesell, Hanna Van- law, Emma Draegert, Frank llugg, Mabel Atwood, S. A. Molyneux and others; many successful farmers and some not so successful: abun- dance of good house wives The schoolhouse is about 38 years old but does not look bad for one standing that length of time. It has white paint on the out- side. The roof leaks a little and the pastering is falling off. The desks are broken an weathered very much by jackknives. There are enough double seats for twenty-four pupils. The paint on the black board is almost a thing of the past. The window curtains are good stayers. They never move by spring. The roads naarby need grading. We have four wall maps and one globe. Three of the maps were new this year. The walls are well decorated with many small pictures: one in frame of Mr. McKinley, his wife and mother, which belongs to a former teacher Our chart is nearly gone and our dic- tionary is in the same condition. We have twenty-three library books; some are for little children and some are lor older children. The water bucket, dipper, pen, coal pail, shovel, hatchet and poker are in good condiLiLii The teacher's chair is classed with the chart and dictionary and is liable to land the teacher in the middle of the floor most any day. Of course this is a country school— containing but one room, nine feet high, twenty feet wide and thirty feet long. Our school yard consists of one acre on which we have thirty- seven trees in fair condition considering the battle they fought with the ice some few weeks ago; also a good pump and coal house, and a garden of liveforever. The yard has no fence on two sides. -Tennie, Albert and Charley Molyneux: Pearl, Jennie and Harry Hill; Vera Kline; Lucy Raymond and Alton Draegert; Eli, Cecil and Guy Strasser are t^ie pupils who come this term Several of the pupils needed new books so the ttrst thing the teacher did was to ex- amine the latest copyright of every book in the school, and learning that some of them were many years older than himself, explained the matter to the board and now we are up to date again and the books are twice as interesting. In the near future we should have a new stove; placed in the corner of the room with a jacket around it. Then we would have 59 room for single seats which we lonjj for more tlian anything else. As for the apparatus the president of our school board told our teacher that l^ie would try to get anything that the school needs. Ttie rest of the tilings that we long for will probably not come until we have township schools. Then we can have papers containing current events. We can have curiosity tables, beautiful pictures, slate blackboards, a basement with furnace, carpenter tools and lunch tables. I think the time is not far off when one teacher will not be required to teach all the grades taught in one school and then we will have a chance to learn twice as much as we do now. * * * -v- * SYLVIA BLAYLOCK. ABOTTT iifty years ago a little blacksmith shop stood across tlie road from v, here tlie Samuel Flory residence now stands in the western part of the town- sliip. I can see in my imagina- tion a group of stiu'dy farmers standing about the dingy little building They ai'e talking ex citedly Important news has come. Two of their inmiber have jnst returned from the little lownof Iowa City where they had taken a herd of cattle to sell They have brought back A-ilh them the news of the repeal of the Missouri Com promise and the passage by Con- gress, of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Some one has just pro- posed that they get up a crowd of "squatters" to go across the country to help "Bleeding Kan- sas" and to save it from the the southern slaveholders. They have other matters also to talk about I can see the brawny blacksmith finish the rude plow share he is making. It is his turn to talk now. All eyes are toward him . lie has been their leader in many discussion He now makes the sugges- tion that they have very important busine.ss nearer home. He has been counting up during his leisure moments and he now tells them that there are enough people living in the neighborhood and they 60 must soon have a meeting to organize a townsiiip and they must sure- ly have a schoolhouse built and have a school for the toys and girls of the neighborhood, by the next winter. The people just a little ways west of them have their township already organized and he tells the farmers that they must not drop behind. So amid such stirring times as the border war in "Bleeding Kansas ' and the passage of "Personal Liberty Bills" in many of the northern states, the township was organized. I do not wonder that it was called Liberty and that its first .sctool should go by the same name. I think tlie first schoolliouse in the township was built in 1854. It was a small frame building with desks made of broad, rough boards. The seats were made of rough slabs and ihe blackboard was a couple of painted planks. It stood in the southwest part of. the section, a little east of where the Dunkard church now stands, and was used for a number of years by them as a meeting house. As the country was settled more t'-ickly another school was or- ganized and placed about two miles east directly in the center of the township. It was given the title No 1, or Hawkeye, although Liber- ty was organized tirst. I think the tirst term of schoDl at Libertv was taught in the winter of 1854-55 by David Brower. Among the other early teachers in this school were: F. B Flory, Mr. Frego, Mr. Baker and Mr. Thomas Seerley, father of II II. Seerley, who is now president of our State Normal School. In later years some of the teachers have been: Miss OUie Mer- man, .Tames Hilderbrand, Homer Seerley, Yr. Bailey, Cap E. Miller, our present county superintendent, and N'ilo C. Miller Under the leadership of these teachers our school has made a irreat advancement from the rude school which it was in 1854. Among tlie pupils who attended the early terms of sch ol at Liberty the names Westfall, Stoner, Wolf, Rhodes, Flory, w ine and Brower are familiar Among the girls and boys who have made their mark in life may be mentioned: Mark Brower, who writes an M. D. —he is' now practicing medicine near Salem, Oregon; D. N. Coffman, formerly county trer.surer, now a successful merchant in our home town: David Wolf who has become quite a mechanic and is manufac- turing gasoline engines: David Rhodes, school teacher and druggist: George Flory, Druggist: Ollie Morman and Hope Morman are school teachers; Charles Morman, chief salesman for mining tool company: 61 William Huxford, formerly school teacher, now a veterinary doctor: Alosco Moore, principal of sclif^ols in Norway, Iowa. About the year 1870, the western part of the district having be- come more thickly settled, it was decided to move the school build- ing nearer the center of the district. George Huxford undertook the job of moving it. Placing it upon two bob-sleds he started. Af- ter getting it within about one quarter of a mile of its destination, the snow went off the ground. It looked as though our school would have to stand in the center of a tield but after several weeks they se- cured some trucks and tinished the moving. The building was placed on the lot about twenty feet north of where the present schoolhouse stands. NUMBER TW^O, LIBERTY TOWNSHIP. In 1881 the old building had become too small to accommodate the pupils, of whom there were sometimes as many as seventy-tive en- rolled, so a new schoolhouse was built and the old one was torn down. Today we are still using the house built in 1881 It is 23 by 28 feet and faces the south. It is in the southwestern part of the school- ground. It is in fair condition and in the days in which it was built was considered a tine schoolhouse As one person says, "That was last century; now we've grown wiser." Measured by the schoolbuiid- ings of the present, we cannot boast of our Liberty schoolhouse. It is neatly painted inside and out. It is fairly well equipped. We have good slate blackboards, a good chart and a good library of about tifty volumes. The room is neatly decorated with festoonings, flags 62 and Perry pictures which were put up by our present and former teachers. The seats are poor, having done duty for at least two gen- erations The room is well lighted and has good window blinds. It is well ventilated There are several cracks in the floor where you can drop a knife through (of course I mean a small knife). Then, near the door there are three or four passage ways for mice so they can get out quickly if they should happen to get in. Bad boys like to chase mice, you know The schoolground is well sodded, has nice maple shade trees, neat outbuildings, but unpainted, a small school garden and a good stable in one corner of the ground for the use of persons who drive to school. The school yard slopes slightly to the east and is in a pleasant location. The fence is neither neat nor substantial; in fact, there is no fence on the side next to the road. The yard contains three-fourths of an acre but we do not think it is near large enough. In our school at present we have an enrollment of 31, although we have had an enrollment of 36 during the term The attendance is regular and punctuality is fair. The grades are from the first to the eighth The school has 25 recitations daily. We have debates and declamations about once in three weeks. I can see nothing but a better future for Liberty school. Dur- ing the last few years the people in our district have roused up won- derfully along educational lines and our district has liad the honor of paying the highest salary, and of having the largest number of months of school in the year of any school in this part of the county. Our schoolground would be greatly improved by a neat fence, a good walk from the road to the house and from the house to the various outbuildings. It would be a good plan if at least 20 more square rods were added to the schoolground. Some plants, shade trees, flowering vines and shrubs planted about our schoolhouse would help to take that barn-like look. Our schoolground would also be greatly improved by having a good well on it. It has none at present. I would like to see a row of shade trees between the house and road. In regard to improving our schoolhouse in the future, it might be replaced by a new one But at a small outlay it could be made to do duty for twenty years more and at the same time be made a more pleasant place. A hall or lobby and some furniture are needed. In a great many rural schools basement heating is in use, thus saving time, patience, fuel and, last but not least, money for the taxpayer. They also have workshops and gardens, where the boys and girls learn to ob- serve things accurately and to yyprk with tbeir hands. I sge no re^-. 63 sen wl)y Liberty slould not have the;^ Liberty, first organized, lar^^est sclioo township, will liave them. "Our public scliools, our country's pride. Her liope. her wealtli. her light: We will support, defend, improve This gift of God's great might " e tliings in the near f^nurt. and linest people in all the * * * -x- * MY SCHOOL: What It Was, What It Is And What It Should Be. ALMA past. "Still sits the schoolhoiise by the road, A ragged beggar sunning: Around it still the sumachs grow, And blackerry vines are running. Within the master's desk is seen, Deep-scarred by raps official: The warping floor, the battered seats, The jackknife's carved initial " A community is generally known by the school it has kept in the past, by the school it keeps at present and by the school it intends to keep in the future. Fifty years ago in the district which is now known as Grant district, school was taught in a colonial struct ure situated between the resi- dences of Mr. G. C. McCombs ond Mr. R. A Miles. In my imagination 1 can see that school fifty years ago and can also see the school of fifty years in the future Let us hope there may be a far greater progress made in the M'coMiJs. NTTMKER 4 Bjis'^GLisn improvement of the schools in RivEK TowNsi.'ip. the future than has been in the For as Spencer says, t' If education be a daily preparation for 64 life, then should every child have a daily experience of tliis fact" Civilization calls for education. With this fact in mind an independ- ent district was organized in the year 185«. Mr. button, Mr. Peck and Mr. Harris were chosen as first directors. Mr. Nisewander and Mr Crosby built the first schoolhouse in this independent district and named it Grant in honor of t e famous General Grant. Bartley Scott was chosen as first teacher. (Our present schoolhouse was built in the year 1901. It is located on one of Iowa's fair hills, which slopes off toward the sunset. About one-hundred square rods or a little over one-half acre of Iowa's soil is laid out for playground. This one-half acre contains fourteen trees: namely, maple, elm and crab apple. The plant life consists of cinders and weed stubbs, a little grass mixed in occasionally. A very substantial fence sur- rounds it but according to my notion it is not very tasty. The school was at one time blest with a well but it got to leaking and the bottom was removed and a new floor was put in its place. The patrons of the district try to show quite a bit of economy. At one of their annual meetings there was one gentleman arose and asked to liave the well sold because some fellow might want it to work up into post-holes The schoolhouse stands near the northeast corner of the square, .about two feet from the road. It is very beautifully located. The door faces sunrise and the house has lour windows on the north and four on the south. The schoolhouse is 20 by 20 feet and has a hall at the entry which is 20 by feet. The hou^■e is two years old and is in fair condition. The decorations on the inside are composed of a few pictures and two calendars The outside painting is mainly in spots, being completely covered when it was new but wearing away with time. The stove stands near the rear of the house, between the two doors. The pipe, which is now leaning at an angle of nniety-two de- grees, bas been pushed in line a number of times since school began. The stove has a bright crimson color. We have no globes or charts. We have one map of Iowa but it has fringed edges and has seen its best days. The blackboard is located at the front and is composed of four slates, each three by five feet, which are in good condition. The seats and desks are the common old-fashioned double kind. They are not extra good and aie not beautiful by any means. They have done duty for many generations of pupils. Our window curtains are all in fair condition except one which is stationary. We have a fair library of twenty volumes containing such books as: "'Girls Who Became Famous," 'Great American Industries,'' 65 and "Four Great Americans." The books are all in good condition. We have twenty scholars enrolled and have seven who have been neither absent nor tardy during the term Our present teacher is Ellis Kirkpatrick wlio just finished the 29th of February a very suc- cessful term of scliool. Now look with me into the future of not only my school but of all country schools. Will the time ever come when the country schools shall be blessed with adjustable and single seats and also be properly ventilated? When will Iowa decorate her public schools as she does her capital and county seats? When will the room be added which may be used for the purpose of public entertainments? When will they be supplied with a baseirent containing a furnace, a work- shop and lunch tables? When will proud Iowa be willing to give at least one acre to each school for play-ground? Will the time ever come when the schools will be supplied with globes, maps and charts as they should be? Will tlie time ever come when the Keokuk coun- ty schools shall be consolidated and all scholars be given a fair and equal chance at a high school education? Will the time ever come when the patrons will take the Interest that they schould take in our public school system? Why not have the public scliool stand out as an example of art and beauty? Will the time ever come when the Stars and Stripes shall float over every public school in America? When Will the schools become as comfortable and attractive as the home? When it becomes all this it will be none too much for the cause of education. Pupils would liave an Inspiration not only to be in school but to try to obtain an education and be somebody. If the schools are to be the success that we hope for, they should have the atten- tion, interest and co-operation of all citizens. "Our public schools, our country's pride. Her hope, her wealth, lier light: We will support, defend, improve This gift of God's great might." 66 FIRST the past— My school house was built in the year 1868 on the John Trotter farm. From here it was moved to where it now stands which is in the southeastern part of Van Buren township But trouble arose as to its position and it was moved back. Still the pa- trons were not satisfied and it was moved to its present loca lion. / It used to be called "The Rowley Scliool" and "Lick Skillet" but a few years aj^o the name Fairview was given to it which is a very appropriate name — for from here you can get a fair view of the country for a great distance. NORA A. EVEBMANN. PresBUt -The Eairvlew school stands in the northwest part of a large and beautiful yard contain- ing one hundred and sixty square rods. There is a grader shed in the northeast corner. Although this takes otf part of the yard, there is still a large playground left. Twelve trees adorn and add to the beauty of the yard. One a large cotton wood, stands in the southeastern part of the playground, while the others which are box elders and maples are arranged along the west side The yard is enclosed by an iron rod fence which gives the place a neat appearance. The schoohouse is a frame structure twenty-seven feet long and twenty-three feet wide. It faces the south. There is a belfry on the south end of the roof There is one outside door that leads in- to the hall and two 'doors that open from tlie hall into the room. There are six windows, three on each side, so that there is plenty of light and ways of ventilation The outside is painted a dark green. On the inside tlie ceiling, wainscoting and other woodwork are painted a light blue. The walls are decorated with paper chains which are draped across the windows and looped from the four corners to the middle of the ceiling. We have several pictures on the wall including the portraits of sucli famous men as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin who. looking down from their lofty height, inspire us with good resolutions which may enable us to become great also. Our stove is in the center of the room so that the room ought to be always well heated We have an exellent globe and as good a set of maps as you will see anywhere. We have a chart that is well adapted to the demands of the primary class. NUMBER 7, VAN BURBN TOW NSH '.P Our blackboard extends tbe entire length of the nortli side of the room and if it isn't vei-y large it is plenty large enough for the number who go to use it . We have a platform in our schoolroom wliich enables the teacher to get a better view of the school. On this platform are reci- tation benches but they are not used anymore. The seats face the north and they are getting old and intirm with age but we expect to have some new ones before long. The desks, 1 am sorry to say, are badly marred and scratched, althougli the present pupils have done a part of it the most was dons by our fellow students who have come and gone before us. The teacher lists a real nice desk and comfortable chair. 68 We have a bench to put the water bucket on and a place for the wash pan, soap box and dinner buckets There are no curtains for the windows but shutters take the place of them. Altliouyrh tliey are not as good as curtains would be, they will do for the present. Our library tliough small is steadily increasing. It contains some very good books some of which are Louisa May Alcott's works on "My Girls" and "My Roys'" and other* written by Jane Andrews, W. H Longfellow and Xathaniel Hawthorne There are nineteen pupils enrolled but they do not come very regularly Most of these are the small ones who live quite a distance from the schoolhouse. There are only two wlio have "Certificates of Award." One is a boy ten years old— the other, a girl. There have been quite a num- ber of visitors who show that they take an interest in the work that is being done. Our present teache -^ is Miss Dora E. House Future— We would like to have a new schoolhouse. If we could have it furnished with the modern improvements. ^A e would have an auditorium lighted with gas lights to hold our entertain- ments in— a room for the library, a study room with single seats, an upright piano would be very welcome also— but above all we want a well with a pump in it so we can have fresh water whenever we want it. I hope that our school may always be blessed with good teach- ers and stand at the head of the list entitled—' ^A Model School.'" 6fl TONY GREINEK, NUMBER 2, CLEAR CltBEK TOWNSHIP. WELL, the old Stone sclioollioiise has been stand- iuo; Miere as lon^^ as I can i-einember The school- fj^rouiid was j,'-iven b}' Mr. r.iul J'eirt'er and Mr. Stone. T\w rocks were quarried by the Wehr Brothers and the lumber was bought in Wash- iiiutcMi. The schoolhouse was built by tlie Wehr Ihothers in 1868 Tlie first roofing was put en by Mr. Stricklen of Talleyrand. There is no fence around the schoolground which con- tLins52i .square rods. There is plenry of shade. There are 28 trees- blackoak, box elder, the fragrant crabapple and elm. Underneath these trees the grass grows long and green in the summer time making a good place to play. Our yard is bounded on the north and west by a forest, on the east and south by the road. There is no well. There was one in by- gone days, but no more. The schoolhouse is 21 by 24 feet and faces the south east. From our door we can see the big Catholic church and some pretty homes and the fine mossy stone quarry with the pretty forest beyond. The schoolhouse is not painted outside but is of the natural stone color. Six windows let in the light and at times too much sunlight— for there are neither blinds nor shutters. The building is whitewashed inside and the woodwork is painted a gray color but needs painting again. The furniture coD.sists of seven desks beside the teacher's, two long benches and the teacher's chair, a new stove, four square yards of blackboard, three maps and a box for our library books of which we have nine. They are mostly historical and some of them were written by Edward Eggleson. We have four penmanship instructing charts. Our seats are not good ones. Some of them bear the marks of the boys' jack knives who thought they were artists I suppose. The schoolhouse has been repaired several times. Once a new roof was put on by Frank Ackerman, who is now in Germany. And 70 about two years ago a new floor was put in by Peter Engeldinger and George Greiner. I would like to have a very nice shoolhouse that is painted nicely inside and outside. 1 would have fours windows on one side and on the other side four little windows at the top. Then there would be no cross lights. I would have the schoolroom very nicely decorated in the inside and a nice big library and big blackboards low down so the little children could reach to write their lessons. I would have nice varnished single seats nailed fast to the floor so they could not be moved And it would be healthy to have the school- room well ventilated: a stove jacket around the stove sojwe couldjwarm every part of the room and not burn our faces and freeze our backs at the same time. If we could have more maps, more library books and a big globe of the world, then it would be easier for the children to learn something. It would be nice to have a good coalhouse close to the schoolhouse so it would be handy to get coal in the winter time when it is cold . I would have a good fence around the schooiground made of the galvinized rods and a good deep well with a good pump in it and a tight platform so nothing could get into it. In fact, I would like to have a schoolhouse with everything out- side and inside as nice as possible for you know we have to spend so much of our time at scliool when we are young. 71 GLENN IIENINGBR. CENTER district No. 3 derives its name from its lo- cation, as it occupies the central part of Steady Run township. A site, thirteen rods S(i ware, was donated by Philip Ilen- inger in 1851, for school and religious purposes It was located in a higli, dry, and healthy place. The first schoolhouse was a small log structure, lacing the south, having but one door, and one long window in tlie west. The furniture and apparatus con- sisted of two long desks used for writing and storing of books and slab benches for seats. Imagine yourself sit- ting all day on one of these seats with no way to ease your position. The teachers in those days wielded the rod without mercy and we are told had other modes of punishment such as wearing the dunce caps, holding rag dolls and split sticks on the nose. Upon our schoolground are twenty very beautiful maple trees whose dense foliage during the warm sunny days, forms a grand arena, in which the scholars of the past have played and those of the future will play the merry games which make their hearts light and gay thus preparing them for their school tasks. There is also a little elm planted in honor of George Washing- ton. Though it is small in size now, may the happy children that play around it and may we as pupils now take it for an example, and try to rise to such a height that we may not be ashamed in the future to stand beneath its foliage. Our school yard is enclosed with a substantial fence, construct- ed of heavy cedar posts, connected with cabled wire, sufficiently strong that we boys need not be afraid to swing our whole weight up- pn it. Though our school y^rd is beavitif ul and a spot we all hold dear, we must not forget the schoojhouse in whjcn we pursue the work putliijed by our teacher, who is ^i'ftr ]^ind, ^tt^r^tJYP) ^^^ willing to 72 help us in time of need. At times we boys, and often the girls, too, forj,^et and cause disturbances, yet when our teacher speaks to us in her kind and alTectionate way, 1 tell you it makes us feel ashamed. But I guess all this must be included in tlie makeup of a successful school. The present schoolhouse, which was built in 18'W is a plain frame building', its dimensions beiiiy twenty-tive by thirty feet, paint- ed white on the outside, plastered and ceiled on the inside, There is one front door which opens into a hall way from which there are two NUMBER 3, STEADY RUN TOWNSHIP. doors leading into the main room. This room is furnished with light and ventilation by thrse windows on eitlier side. A large coal burner, situated near the center of the room, gives out a bsautiful store of heat during the cold days of winter, driving away Jack Frost, soothing the pain in the lingers and toes of the smaller children. It is well supplied with double seats, a very beautiful teacher's desk and chairs. A large slate blackboard 3.i by 19 ft. occupies the front of the room and pictures decorate the walls. As to maps, globes and charts 73 we have none. A small library has been started during- the past two years, in which may be found; Webster's Dictionary, Black Beauty, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Letters to the Farm Boy, A Young Man's Prob- lem, Franklin's Autobiography, Four True Stories of Life and Adven ture, Short Stories from English History. And many others. Our schoolhouse has also been used for religious meetings, sing- ing schools, grange meetings and literary work During th<^ past term there were twenty-nine pupils attended our school and the attendance and punctuality was good, there being as high as 13 pupils neither absent nor tardy. We also had thirty visitors, six calls being made by the directors. Among those who have attended our school and are now climb- ing the ladder of success are the Ogden Bros., mercantile dealers of Martinsburg; Will Fuller, a noted electrician; James Smith, Supt. of the "diamond mines in South Africa; Roland Martin, a minister; Emma Love, Anna and Lucy Jones, teaciiers: Charley Heninger, an Attorney at law; Salor Heninger, former teacher in Elliot's Business College and many others bave possibly been eciually successful. As to the future we expect to accomplish more than we have in the past. Miss Harlan, our present teacher, has partially graded the school, and, if re-elected for the ensuing term, hopes to make a de- cided improvement in our school work. We expect to have tiower gardens, secure maps, globes, and charts and adopt the button system into our school and hope to have parents' day at least once during the term. We trust that onr school may continue to develop and that it may always remain free ana independent Our earnest desire is, that in the future happy ceildren may continue to shout on the old school- ground as in days of yore, though for us these days will be gone for ever. Our motto: "Energy and pluck win." 74 EVA ALI.SUP, NUMBER TOWNSHir. THERE is an old, old song our parents say they used to sing in their school days, which I think could be applied with truth to our school ii district No. 5. "If at first .\ou don't succeed, try try again." Our sclioolhouse was so far to one side of the district that several of the pupils had quite a distance to go. Perhaps some of you have heard of the Honey Grove school. This is the name of the school of which I am spealcing. It w:is nam- ed from the grove and wood sui-iouiidiiig It in which tliere wt'ie many bees to make hon- ey. Now I have told you the wAiiRKN "'"'^'^ of the school of wliich 1 was a pupil. And as 1 have told you a number of the scholars had (luite a distance to go and there we;e ([uite a number of children who were just becoming the age to go to school but could not start on account of living so far away. Well, the question of moving the sclioolhouse to the center of the district came up two or three years ago, but this the majority of the people objected to for it would throw some of them still fartlier from school. After three years of such talk or perhaps at the beginning of the third year they became more in earnest than ever before for some of these .small children were getting so old that they must start soon. Last spring soon after the election tliey called a special meeting of the people of the district which was well attended because the ques- tion of the education of only a part of the little folks or more mon- ey out of the peoples' pockets for taxes to make better schools was to hi decided. This was voted on and the votes were seemingly divided half and half but no one knew. As it happened there was one man who did not attend the meeting because he had no children to send, but finally he was sent for and voted for the schoolhouse and when the time came for the voting to stop the votes were counted and we, listen will you please, had just gained our schoolhouse by this one vote. Think of this will youV Some of them were too much afraid of 75 1 a, little tax money, a saving of money for fnem but loss of edttea^ion for some child or children. i i,,,^ But now a place to put our new schoolhouse came next. A$ we .had already had much trouble in gaining the building that somej of tlie men gave one-lialf acre of ground which was neitlier a very liirge . place nor a very nice one as, one person said, "Not tit to be farmed.'* , But it is a very, very bad thing that has not a little good in it and I •hopfe to prove this to you •- ..-Please let me go back to those people who did not want -*t*ie -schobl house. When they saw what was going on they called another meeting to vote for money to tix up their schoolhouse; in which our parents had gone to school and which had not been; re; paired much since that time. This was carried unanimously and their schoolhouse is at the present as good as new. Also a new well was dug. We and our parents before us had carried water all our school days. Now don't you think this was a good thing all aroundV Mi-. Miller did not want our district divided but after they ,did divide it lie pianritd our ne-.v schoolhouse. The room is 20 by 28 fieet. The work was done by Mr. Milt Taylor of Delta And on Sepfe, 7, '1903, we began our first day of sciiool with several nevv' scliolars, a new teacher, ono who had never tauglit, and in a nice clean room in which children had never been taught. Having every thing new or some thing new in every line we began school and liad school until O.cf., |iO, 1903. The last day the parents brought dinner and surprised., t;he teacher. Then before we went home they asked the teacher, to., h.a.ye a Christmas tree at Christmas time and she said she wo.ujd,. . ,So at.,t)ie tirst of the winter term we began getting our pieces and learning them. And when Christmas came we had our program ready and two of the boys got the tree and we had our Christmas tree . on ..W.^d- nesday night before Christmas. We all had a good t[me.;a;axi;.jtjjEi,d plenty of popcorn and candy. .;, ,...,. ;.o:f>!::-yj^ BPW^^^^"^ ■ r^ lIl^^^H m 1 T^^^^l r ^. i^] jH 1 m %*^^^f^^ ''^^Si^^l ■ j^-jp-' ■ :e^) KJt^^^l I ^Km^^ ■■ ONE mile north of the iiorthvvest limit of the lown. of Keota, Kookuk county, Iowa, stiinds ilic schocjiliouse, where 1 at- tend school. It faces the south and is pleasantly lo- cated. The ground in froMi slopes down to ,thc ijiuiksut Crooked Creek. Tile house is of the same Keener;) 1 size and shape as llie average Iowa school liouse. In size it is 20x24 feet iiaving two front doors and a window between giving a pleasant view iii that direction. Our school house was built in the year 1872. It .was the last schoolhouse built in this township under r the old school tovwiship planiand was built before there was enough pupils in the district to constitute a school district but was built at the time in order to have the township build it. This was the year when the electors voted to change from the school township plan to that of the independent dis- I>LOVD FRY. trjcts. Captain Joseph Smith, who donated the acre of ground upon which tlie schoolhouse was built, was elected sub-director and served in that capacity until tlie change was made in the year 1874. At that time W. C. Smock, .John Klein and Geo. B. McCreary were elected directors. The name adopted was Independent District No. 6. The sclioolhouse is well built and has seven windows. The windows all have fairly good curtains. The blackboard is made of slate and it was through the efforts of W. C. Smock that tbe slate blackboard was procured from Mr. Stoffee wlio had it shipped from the east. Our library is one of the best owned by any rural school in the township and contains tliirty-seven volumes. Among them are books having the titles: "Around the World." "Family of the Sun," "Aunt >farth;>'s Corner Cupboard," "The Great World's Farm," "Christmas Carols and Cricket on the Hearth" and "Pilgrim's Progress." An effort has been made to get a beautiful grove of trees in the schoplyard. The trees, forty-tive in all, are nicely arranged around the school building and are all doing very well except the one which has been used. to support a telephone wire. They are soft miple catalpa. plum and some shrubs. The teacher and pupils have attempted to raise flowers and a vegetable garden. JJadishes, lettuce and onions were planted last spring. Some asparagus has been on the schoolground for three years '■■ >m ■ .. ,.# J- ' ^ ^'S S%t M NUMBER 6, LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP. The tiiot teacher wlio t;iu;4lil ill iny school was .Mr. .loliii Fletcher Gra- liani vviio is still one of tlie citi/ensof Keota and we all look up to him as one of the bright and shining liglits of the twentieth century. The town of Keota at that time had not yet pro- vided a schoolhouse and the size of our school was increased by the attendance of pupils from Keota. Some of them no doubt became prominent persons and of the piiP'''^ belonging to tlie district many have become worthy citizens '>'" our county. One of the teachers. Dr. Eckly, became a physicinn One of the pupils is at present a minister of tbe gospel: another '.v - • ( •■ n time a mission- ary in one of the schools in North Carolina. \,:\j-\) President of •78 the United States was ever a pupil in our school we have no doubt the farmers and stockmen who have come from our school are filling their stations in life as usefully as the average farmers and stockmen in the state. The sclioolliouse being situated so near to Keota has never been used for an„v remarkable meetings. The most important meet- ing was held by the school to raise money to purchase library books. This was a box social and was arranged for and carried on successful- ly by Miss Clyde Gaunder, the teacher. There have been many school exhibitions and closing day pro- grams in tliis school. The number of picnics held on "closing day" of spring terms are not recorded but such days have been about the only time that our parents have taken time to visit the school. The chicken, buns, pies, cakes, to say nothing of tea, coffee, ice cream and lemonade consumed on these occasions is not a matter of history in the strictest sense of the word. A good board fence and a section of hedge surround the school- yard except on the front where the fence is out of repair. There is no well or pump. Tiie directors no doubt thought the children need- ed water. Tliey also feared there was danger of the pupils drowning each other in tiie well. Now if there would be a nice tank in the schoolhouse which could be supplied with ice water or lemonade in summer, we would not see the pupils tolling along the road with a pail of water which might be clean by the time it reached the school- house or it miglit be quite otherwise. If the patrons of the school were only interested I think by the time the town of Keota is extended this far north or farther our schoolhouse would be a very suitable place to hold the meetings of the strategy board Instead of having its members seated on dry goods boxes on the edge of the sidewalk. Or if it were considered not too good an idea we can imagine in time there will be a centralization of the rural schools such as the educators are planning now. We find that tlie pupils in the rural school to he will be taught some of the things useful and necessary for them to know and which are not contained in '"Ileadin,' 'vRitin,' and '"'Rithmetic." For in- stance there are such studies as the following. The study of the habits of weeds and how to extermmate them. For everyone knows that before many years there will be a demand for just such know- ledge as that. For another, the study of good, crops, how to grow them and 79 - haw, tQr^ake them profitable will be a very necessary thing to know TJtjen tjiere are many other things that will be needed both for girls aad boys in training them for the best use and best way of making the best of life. So that 1 believe that what is called "manual tra in- ing" will be a large part of the work done in the rural scliools of the future. And, too, it will be found that the best is none too good to liave for the school and we will find sufficient apparatus in our school- rooms to explain everything and make the work iruch easier for the teacher and pupils as well as more beneficial. Our teacher will be trained to teach the best things, the most useful and most beautiful things and to teach in tlie best and easiest way. And the parents will visit the school and be more anxious and interested to visit and see for themselves what their children are doing in the schoolroom The school board will realize that the education of the young is what constitutes the best welfare and makes the best citizens of the Unit- ed States Jflail the day when our schoolhouses are as comfortable and as beautiful and attractive as the best and most modern homes and with their surroundings may each one of them constitute an inspiration to all. passers by and a source of pride to everyone in the community. And I, want to make a plea tonight that the bo^'s and girls of Amer ica be taugnt to know that the America of the future will be what the boys and girls in our school today make it. ;- ffjet our schools arouse a righteous ambition in the children to be just such children as America will be proud of now and can be re- Ued^upon in the future— this which is the most vital part in the train- ing of American children, the possession of character in its truest and best.sense. This is my plea. 80 THE Center Hall schQ©l house, situated in ,tUe state of Iowa, Keojiyk coi 1 nt y, Jack son to\^nsni"p, district No. 4, was "built iti the year 18<)T.' ^ ''- One hundred -and^WiWfc^y square rods of land w^e ?iven to the disttiot -by Peter Shook. The timber that it took to build the schoolhouse was given to the district by Wm. E€Ki- gers. a good old Me thod ist minister of that daj';" The sc'TOoihouse was bd11t|' by John Harmon, wH«'«vf^| at rhattirae the onlyei||b*n- t e r a 1 o u n d here. ^^^ r. Harmon hewed th«t*^m- ber and prepared w|for the building Center Hall is not a large building- only 24x26: but when it was first built, there were as many as sixty scholars attend- EFFIE SHY. jjjg i^ ^a^g ^}^g Qj^ly school for miles around at that time and of course not only the child- ren of our own district came but those of other districts and neighbw- hoods. ,h^::y/ .q/lT In the days gone by they liad a literary sQciety and people for great distances would come to Center Hall to hear the programs;.-::! have heard my fatlier and mother talk about attending literary -at Center Hall wlien they were young. ;■:■:,. Many boys and girls who have studied under its roof have be - come famous. I need not mention but a few of the occupations that tlie boys and girls of that day are now leading. Some of them are now in the ministry, many of them are successful teachers, one or two of them are in Alaska digging gold, one of late years served Uncle Sam in U. S Navy and many of the boys are rich and prosper- ous farmers. Our present schoolhouse has stood the storms for thirty-seven years. It is the same one Mr. Harmon builtrlong ago. It has beefi 81 remodeled only one time that I know of, and I am sure you will not be surprised when 1 tell you that it is now in a very pooi- condition but nevertheless it is located in a beautiful and healthy locality hav- ing a good clean playground with sixteen large trees on it thirteen of which are mr. pies and the other three are. willows. These furnisli plenty of shade in the summer and serve as a good wind break in the winter. The playground is not fenced in front but the other three sides are fenced. The fence belongs to the people who own the land surrounding the school. There is no well on the school ground at the present. It was covered up two or three years ago because it did not have good water in it and the curb was not very good. I think it was a good thing that I hey covered it up for some one mi.nht have fallen inio it. Our .■school house isp;iiiiii'd o.'i the outside with wliitc pnict having been |):iiiiieil \\4ft long. It faces the ea?t . It has a door in the east and three windows on each side. It was painted several years ago on the outside but it is about all off now. On the inside the wood work is painted a dark blue and the walls are plastered and whitewashed. At first the seats from the old house were used but now it is seated 84 with twenty-four modern seats, four of which are small and twenty large The inner decorations cotisist of pictures, strung corn and ever- green twigs. The corn is several colors and strung on cords. The st'-inging was done by the 2nd and 3rd grades. The pictures are a large framed portrait of Washington and many smaller ones on mattwg. Our apparatus consists of seven maps, a globe a chart and a blackboard, which was made by painting a boird black, and a library which was started in 1900 and now consists of 5 volumes. Tliese books are books of history, fiction and myth- ology. This sclioolhouse is located on a hill in the southfvestern part of the township about one-half mile from North Skunk river. The location is beautiful and healthful and issurronded by beautiful farms The schoolyard contains 80 sq. rds. The public road is on the north and west and a board fence on the south and east. In the yard are tifteeen trees, three hickory and twelve oak. Other vegetation in the yard consists of grass and gooseberry bushes There is no well on the schoolgrouird but the water is carried from a farm house near by. In the old schooMiouse my grandfather and grandmother re ceived their education In the new one my imother and myself re- ceived part of ours. The first teacher in the new schoolhouse was Henry Wright and the last one is Miss Adella Priest We are having a tine school now. Tliere are forty-two pupils enrolled They are mostly boys from twelve to fourteen years of age. Most of the pupils are well advanced and are regular and punctual in attendance. The Methodist people held a very interesting meeting here in the winter of '71 and "72. There were received several additions to the church during the meeting. The pastor's name was Armstrong. He was English by birth and was very strict about the manner in which his people dressed . He organized a very large class at that time. Only one of whom is now living, Mrs. Cowell, of Delta. There was a Sunday school held here twelve years ago by a Sun- day School Evangelist by the name of Hart. In the future I see ourshoolhouse built as a modern home with a telephone by wliich the teacher and schclars may comumnicate with the parents and school board as is sometimes necessary. It will be finished with a basement and a furnace. It will consist of two rooms connected by double doors which may be opened into one room and with the windows placed to the back and left of the pupils also hav- 85 inf? better modes of ventilation making it possible to have the school supplied with pure air continually In this house we will hold our public meetings and entertain- ments wliich will make social life in tlie community far more pleas- ant and agreeable than it is today. It may recjuire consolidation of schools to make all of this possible. I hope that the scboolground will be enlarged, with many nice shade trees, making a large and pleasant playground for the pupils. I hope that the school will continue to prosper and that the scholars will take more and more interest and strive to be useful men and women and when their school life is finished may they be respect- ed and loved by all and lead good and noble lives. THE first schoolhouse in dis- trict No. 10 German township was built on the divide between Bridge Creek and German creek, now Mr. Fred Meyers' field, near the stage road then leading from Sisiourney to Wasliington. The schoolhouse was built in the old pioneer style of un- dressed logs with a roof of clap- boards. There were two win- dows, one on each side, the size of the panes being eiglit by ten inches. The seats were made of slabs and the desks of un- dressed boards. The school- house was erected in 1850. It was also used as a church by the people of the community and in it my mother was baptized. Afterwards a stone schoolhouse was built at the place now known as Stony Point. The stone was procured in the vicin- ity and the work was done by Mr. Ahrens, Fred Dorman and Peter Frit/. About 1873. Mr. Henry Miller bought the old log schoolhouse and has since used it for a stable. Once two bo.ys were sitting together and since no other amuse- ment offered itself Lhey began to kick each '^ther. Of course, the teacher noticed the disturbance. He went to the boys seized thera LOUIE HTHOnMAN. 86 by the hair and bumped tlieir heads together. The boys thirsted for re ventre. While sliding that noon, they found a large stone in the way. They let it alone and went to get their teacher. The two boys got on the sled with the teacher, but just before they reached the stone, they jumped off: the teacher went on. He did not soon wish for another sleighride. E:;:^-:- in the course of yearS; the schoolhouse was found to be too small for the number of pupils. Those from the western half of the district found it very inconvenient to walk so far. The patrons of the western half of the district petitioned the schoolboard of German township for a division of the sub-district. It met with much op- position but was finally granted and division made as it now is and a new schoolhouse was built. For the first year it was agreed to select a room near the center of the district. This was before the new schoolhouse was built. The room selected was a southeast room opening from a porch in what was then Ferdinand and is now the William Wickenkamp residence. The teacher was Miss Lizzie Dunker; the sub-director was Fred Kilmer. It was decided that Mr Fred Schwenke Sr. and Mr. Kilmer were to choose the site for the new building. They selected the crest of the hill east of Bridge .creek, on the north side of the road, and about a mile and a half northeast of the mouth of Bridge creek. The new schoolhouse was built in 1880 by Dan Seger. The first teacher who taught in it was Miss Dunker. The second teachers's name was. Mary Young. Mr. Fred Schwenke was sub-dir- rector. The school boys frequently hunted rabbits on the newly plowed sod and then had disputes about them. Some of the teachers we have had since then are Libbie Wyant, Susie Jennings, Lettie Adams, Jessie Holland, May Jackson, Sue Downing, (in whose reign we used to have fine times skating) Nancy Frey, Antoinette Merz, Minnie Strohman, Rufus McVicker, Harry S. McVicker, Milton Hoff- man and George Schwenke. While Milton Hoffman was teaching at ]So.. 10. the boys caught three rabbits. M r. Hoffman proposed that we have rabbit soup. It was a dish never to be found in any cook book. The girls would have nothing to do with such haphazard cooking. We boys and Mr. Hoff- man did it all alone and it was fine. Mr. George Schwenke is our teacher at present. We have had rabbit soup this winter and we had a picnic dinner Monday, Feb. 2, 1901 for just the pupils and we had ail manner of good things to eat. The size of our schoolhouse is 16 by 27 feet. It is oblong in shape. The schoolhouse is in fairly good condition except that the 87 foundation is crumbling away. The schoolhouse was painted on the outside about a year ago XUMBEli 10, GEllMAN TOWNSHIP. The schoolhouse is nicely plastered on the inside and the ceiling has been painted. It has shelves for the dinner pails and hooks upon which to hang the wraps. We have nice pictures framed in various ways hung upon the walls, also tissue paper chains and silver stars on them strung across the front of the room. Our apparatus consists of mensuration blocks, McGuffy's read- ing charts, Caxton's charts, a globe, a map of Keokuk county and an excellent dictionary. The globe is about four inches in dia- meter. The map of Keokuk county is a new one about four feet square. The chimney is on the west end of the schoolhouse and the stove stands in the middle of the room, which has been considered the proper place since pioneer days. In that position it takes up the best part of the room and does not warm the corners of the room as it would if it were moved into a corner and furnished with a jacket. The schoolhouse has six windows and no window shades but the light is excluded by shutters. 1 1 has two wall lamps, one on each side, which we use wten giving an evening entertainment. The blackboards are six in number, two in front and two on each side of the room. They are made by coloring the plastering with liquid slating, The desks are arranged in three rows, one row on each side and one row in the middle. There are 16 double seats. They are all good with one exception. A few of them have'the initials of G. H. S., H. S. M., M. H. H and J. R. Mc. Where the small seats leave off and the large ones begin, the seats are too high and the desks too low for comfort or health. Our library is a circulating one, The number of books In the 88 township library is 148. The books we have at present are "Nelly's Silver Mine," "'The Story of our Country," "Things Will Take a Turn," "Modern American Oratory" and "Through the Year." We would like to have many more books added to the library. The punctuality and attendance of the pupils are good with the exception of the pupils from two families whose names I prefer not to mention. The number of pupils enrolled is twenty-five. The num- ber of visits from parents and others is about one per month. Our sub director comes very often also. We have a program every two months and will have one at the end of the term. In the near future, I would like to have consolidation of schools so that we might have a high school 1 would like a large building to be heated by hot air, a deep well with good water; paved roads all over the to>Anship and men hired to take the children to and from school in wagons. I would have a little oil stove in each wagon and have the wagon covered like a stagecoach so they could go rain or shine I would like to have a gymnasium and a boys' military com- pany The building should have two or three rooms with tools and material te make things. It should also have a room where girls might be taught by a good teacher how to cook and sew. There should be a yard contain- ing about two acres partly beautified by trees and ttowers, partly used as a playground ana the rest given up to fiower and vegetable gardens The schoolhouse should have adjustable seats, plenty of necs- sary apparatus and many good pictures and casts bought by the dis- trict In fact, it should be a second home. High above the building should float a large American flag. 89 IN securing facts necessary for anything like a connected history of the early school life of District No 2, East Lancas- ter township, I have been great- ly hindered by the fact that all of the parents of those early days are dead, and very few of tlie pupils who then attended school are yet living in the neighborhood! Time has effaced many things from their memor- ies. TTowever, 1 have been en- abled to secure some rather dis- connected items of history. The first school house was located something more than a mile east of Lancaster on the creek bank southeast from where Louis Follman now lives. It DON WALKER. was a Small log building with a clapboard roof held on by weight poles. The floor was made of roughly hewn boards laid loose on the sleepers. The house being .sit- uated on a hillside, one end of the floor was some distance from the ground. \M ischievous boys would creep under, and after school had tak- en up they would play dog fight, howling and barking and otherwise distracting the attention of the school, and even raising boards, and producing great consternation. Uncle James Gilliland of Lancaster might even remember such an instance. On one side of the room a log had been cut out, and the space filled with eight by ten inch window panes. Slab seats were used, which were arranged around the fire place. The teacher occupied the space just in front of the fire thus insuring his own comfort, at least. (Jf the teachers, I can learn the name of but one, Orin White, or "Orange" as the scholars called him. His appearance would cause one to think that he was a direct descendant of Ichabod Crane. The water was obtained from the creek and at one place where the ice had been cut away, it was quite deep, and while one of the boys was making a verdant effort at gallantry toward one of the large girls a little rascal slipped up from behind and sent him head- long into the icy water. It cooled him some. This school accommodated a large section of the country, even Lancaster, the county seat, sent her pupils here. The next school house was located about one hundred and fifty 90 yardsnortheast Of the Doggett Cemetery. It was a small frame building, built by Presley Doggett for a cheese house and donated by him for school purposes The tirst teacher was a pioneer teacher-a woman of virtue and of energy with a good mind and a love for her work. She was a superior teacher with plenty of physical courage, and she did not liestitate to chastise any one who needed punish- ment, and the large.st scholars always linew after the fracas, who had been "Ik-kaV Among the duties the scIioUus, at that time, had to perform was to write compositions on subjects given them by the teachers. At one time a boy was asked to write a composition about "The Ox" and this is what he wrote, ' The ox is a very useful animal Its milk is good for them that like it." NUMBER 2, LANCASTER TOWNSHIP. This building was burned during a term of school taught by Mat'iias Williams. Tlien another sclioolhouse was built one-half rnile south of the Doggett Cemetery on land supposed to belong to Andrew Doggett Jacob Shumaker and Mr Stokes had the contract to build tlie !-choolhouse The shingles were purchased from Mr Hutton who owned a sliingle mill across South Skunk River. The house was built in 18<«. while Bcnjamine Crabb, who was living four and one-half miles east of Lancaster, and William H. Walker, living west of Ilayesville, were directors. At that time there were but three directors in eacli township, Mr. Joseph Reynold, who lived east of Lancaster, was treasurer for the township. After the schoolhouse was built a road was established and it was found to be ou land now belonging to S. A Gilliland, and par- 91 tially in the roadway, and it remained so as lontf as it was lit to be occupied. Some of the most popular teachers were:— Elijah Brolliar John Swearing^en and Frank Harris. The yard around the house was covered with thorn and hazel bushes A north hillside made a capital place for coasting, and one day when some of the Lancaster boys came visiting, they paid too much attention to the big- girls, so the No. 2 boys thought. It had been thawing most of the day and water had collected at the foot of the hill. The visitors were enticed to get on a couple of long boards with an experienced pilot for each. Away they went like a streak, but as the water was reached the guides rolled off. and made haste to reach the schoolhouse. The visitors were mad. but did not feel lik« facing the girls and so went home for repairs The room was heated by an eld cannon stove, the top of which was a place for soot and dust to collect, and it atferded some of boys great amusement to accidentally(V) blow soot in the teacher's face. Tlie pipe was frequently tilled with soot, and one evening when one of the boys, Sara Walker, was fixing the tire for the night;— a couple of boys, Sam Gilliland and Alva Harris, who had been hunting, . came along and said, ••(), we'll blow the soot out for you,"' and wrap- ping a large quantity of powder in a newspaper, put it in the stove. After setting a bu ;ket of coal on the top of the stove and touching a match to the paper, they quickly made their exit. A loud report was heard and the boys rusliing into the house found coal, soot and stove doors strewn over the room The pipe also was blown to pieces but no one reported to the teacher the cause of the catastrophe The benches were home made and furnished by the '■t)arents. The blackboard consisted of boards painted and hung on the wall. It was generally too slick to write on, but it served as an excellent place for the boys to stick their knives. The building was finally sold to Louis Follman and it now serves him the purpose of a granary. A larger house was then built on land bought of S. A. Gilliland. It was erected in 1893 at a cost of $800. The schoolground consists of half an acre of ground, with sev- eral shade trees and eticlosed by a substantial woven wire fence The building is neatly painted inside and out. It contains thirteen square yards of blackboard covered with slating. The decorations inside consist of several pictures of noted men and famous paintings. The district at one time furnished the school with a globe but the boys used it for a foot ball and it did not last long. The school 92 is supplied with a chart, also a large map of the United States. The library of thirty-four books consists of biographical, geogra- phical, historical, philosophical poetical, and juvenile literature. Theee books were selected by the school board. There are enough seats for thirty scholars but only twenty-one are enrolled. Tiie average attendance for .Tanuary, 1904, was eighteen and the punctuality was 951 per cent "Parents Wont Visit the School"' is an an appropriate song for District No. 2. The very efficient teacher of the present time is Miss Sophia H. Strohman much loved by her pupils. Among the students who attended 'school at District No. 2 and afterwards entered a profession are Dr. S A. Walker, Dr. J B. Keaster and Frank Harris, a graduate of pharmacy. As to the future of the school, I can only give my ideas as to what the school should oe. I hope to see a large school rouse heated by furnace so that all parts of the house may be equally warm, and furnished with all the necessary apparatus needed for thorough teaching of all branches taught in the country schools. There should be an extensive library of choice literature and the room tastefully decorated with pictures and potted plants and seated with adjustable and suigle seats. The school should be .supplied with pure water, wash basins, and a sink connected with .sewer pipes. A cloak room is also a neces- sary adjunct. The schoolyard should consist of an acre or more of ground which should be kept neat and clean with nicely arranged flower gardens, some shrubbery of the easiest grown varieties and plenty of shade trees. In short, the school and its surroundings should be made as beautiful as possible for "A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever " KAV IIAIIDINO TITE history of the Pleasant View school is a very interest- ing' one. A small tract of land (•()(itainin<( about sixty S(iuare rods was purchased of Row ('lemens and chosen as a school- house site. In order to raise money to huHd t he school house an assess- ment was made and about six hundred dollars was raised— but this beinj,"- insutllcient— thd late Reuben Davis, who was then treasurer of the district, was authorized to loan the money. Sometime afterwards another as-,essinent was luade. and th's toijether with the tirst, was enough to build the schoolliouse. But Mr. Clemens to whom the inoney had been loaned was un- able to return it. However, as he owned a sawmill he proposed to saw enoujrh luuiber for tlie building- and ui this way pay back the money. The proposal was accepted and in 18(i9 the tirst .schoolhou?e in district No. 4 was erected. It was a rude structure with e([Uipments and seats of wooden slal)s. Several years later new seats were purchased and this mads the pupils m:)i-e comfortable in one respect at least. Here, ^ arion Garrett, Garley Head lee, Mrs. Fred Procrantz, Mrs. Charley Sanders and many others received their tirst education One of their teacliers, Miss Mary Kendell, decided to have an exhibition on the evening of the last day of her school and careful preparations were made As the .school building was a very small one. it was thought impossible for all who wished to attend to gain admittance, so Will Clemens invited them to hold the entertainment in his newly built barn. The invitation was accepted and on the ap- pointed night a very large number of their parents, neighbors and friends gathered there and heard the well rendered program. Fifteen years later it was decided to build a larger and more substantial schoolliouse and the old one was sold ro Harrison Covey and soon enshrined in memories of th^ past. 94 The new building- which took its place still stands, and could it speak, it would no doubt have many an interesting]: tale to tell of the boys and ^irls who assembled there, many of whom are now men and women of prominence possessing beautiful homes of tlieir own, others are teaching- in the public schools, and some have been laid to rest in tlie silent grave NUMKER 4, WASIIUsOTON TOWNSHIP. The present school was built in 1884. It has a healthy location and also a beautiful one for it is situated on, the main road leading to Delta. Sigourney and Wliat Cheer On either side are large farm houses, to the northwest we can see a large part of What Cheer and to the northeast the tall spire of the German church several miles distant. The schoolground is almost level and is surrounded by thirty- one trees -two rows on the north and one row on the other three sides The trees are beautiful, tall maples, but the recent storm has •broken many of the large limbs and it will be some time before they will be as large again as they were. We have four (lower beds consisting of roses, lillies, bluebells and Bonncing Betty and also a strawberry bed. The yard is not enclosed with a tasty and substantial fence for Oti one side there is a board fence, on two sides wire fences and alone 95 the road hitch rivcks. Neitlierdo we have a well with a pump in it on the school grrouud. The schoolhouse is of a rectangular sliape. beinjr twenty-four feet long and eiKhteen feet wide and built on a rock foundation. It stands facing tlie west witli a boa'-d walk extending from the door to the road, and lias tliree windows on the north and tiiree on the soutli. The school building is painted wliite on the outside and l)lue on tha inside. Its walls are decorated with pictures of children, fruit and flowers. On tlie blackboard is a border of red carnations and a picture of the Martyred Presidents. We have twelve good desks and double seats, two blackboards, one in the front and the other in the back of the schoolroom, but they are not in very good condition. The stove is old and almost worn out There is a large bell on the schoolhouse and on these cold winter mornings its clear mellow chimes can be lieard for (luite a dis- tance The library books, forty-one in number, are not kept at the schoolhouse but are left with the secretary of the school board. I have only attended school liere a few terms and we have usu- ally had about twelve pupils enrolled but this winter owing to sick- ness and other reasons welhave liad but tive. My classmate, Leona Couplin and I are the only ones coming regularly and being punctual in attendance. We have had nine visitors this term, one visit was made by the president of the school board and one by my mother. With the exception of school and telephone meetings no other remarkable meetings have been held in the school house. We have no maps, charts or globes to make our work more sue cessful and interesting. But I hope improvement will follow im- provement so that we shall soon have a large, well ventilated .scliool- room: tlie windows so arranged that the light will not fall directly on our eyes, and have window curtains to exclude tlie light at our will; also well'supplied with maps, charts, globes and solid slate black boards, adjustable and single seats; the walls of the schoolroom neatly painted and decorated; the yard enclosed by a good, substantial fence and made so pleasant and corrfortable that our school shall become a second home. Rut while we are waiting for these things let us wisely improve the present by studying diligently aild e^ver bear in mind the quota* tion we have committed this term; 96 "Labor for learninj? before you are old, For knowledge is better than silver or ^^oid: Gold if you had it. would soon fade away. But learninj,' once s^ot.ten will never decay. And m^y we so live that we shall grow up to be useful men and wouKMi, and when life's school is ended and the last roll is called, may each one of us be there and hear tne welcome words of the Master:— "VV Income, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord." * * * * * THE school which 1 am now j,''Oinf;f to describe was named in honor of the Father of our country and is known as the Washin^'-ton school. It is lo- cated in the southeastern part of section No. 2, District No. '2, Adams township, Keokuic county, state of Iowa. An acre of land was pur- chased from Joseph Bailey, in the \ear 1874 and on this site which is the most suitable and healthful location in the district, the present school- house was erect?d. It was built by Joshua Jones and is a one story structure facing the south, with a base of 20 by 30 feet. .siDXKV AXMKAR. NUMBER 2. ADAMS Wcslcy Greene of Iowa TOWNSHIP. county was the flrst instructor of this school and Howard Dansdill of Thornbnrg the last of its list of teachers. After the opening of the school, the members of the district put out a large number of maple trees along the north and west sides of the schoolgrounds, also a pan- of boxelders in front of the school house and an apple tree nearby, which never fails to yield annually its share of troubles to the boys and girls. Originally there was a four board fence around the playground but in later years the directors of the district decided that no fence was needed along the road and accordingly it was removed and has never been replaced . 97 In the year ISiXi the sclioolliouse was repaired. II was then painted on the outside and replastered on the inside This made a very handsome and comfortable schoolhouse. In the spiing of 1898 a well was diij^ a short discauce south- west of this and it was furnislied with an iron pump. Previous to this, water was carried from tlie neigliborhood wells by the pupils; but since that time an abundant supply of water can be had without much effort. In the year 1899 a tine coal house was built a short distance back of the schoolbuilding. One year later a library was placed in the school. This library consists of thirteen books which were se- lected by the county superintendent. Of those who finished the common branches in tliis school, some have entered higher schools but most of them are [cKinley, wife of our late martyied piesident. Abraham Lincoln, the great Emancipator, George Washington, the illustrious of Father our coun- try, and the county suparintendent, vir. CapE. .1/iller, to whom we should bestow honor for the result of the many improvements of late in the schools of the county, and consider him as the chief exponent 98 in the origination of the present meeting. No greater incentive than these images is necessary to encourage the mind of the industrious and ambitious pupil to strive to emulate the virtues of |the illustrious patriots of our country. In their grave but calm features can be traced the true trend of character. How well it may all be stated in this most beautiful poem:— "Lives of great men all remind us We con make our lives sublioie, And, departing, leave behind us Footsteps on the sands of time." Among the aids that assist the instructor in imparting know- ledge to the pupils are two charts. (>ne of these describes the physic- al features of the earth by written description and drawings In the other are embodied all tlie important principles of arithmetic. In other words, it is supplied with the ordinary equipments of a fcodern sell 00 1. The outward features of this building present a somewhat quaint appearance. Si ice its remodeling its changes speak plainly how thoroughly it has fulfilled the purpose for which it was intended. Tlie infant trees as they existed some thirty years ago are to the present groA'e as the tiny acorn is to the mighty oak. Ofttimes has their grateful shade been employed as a substitute for the mono- tonous quietness of the schoolroom in warm sunny days. The birds and rustling leaves seem to tell tales on the mischievous pupil who was successful enough to escape the keen glance of the master. The future of this scliool is an unknown quanlty. It may stand for many years or it may be absorbed by tlie almost universally dis- cussed problem of consolidating the schools. Doubtless a time will come when the country school will be a thing of the past. The building in wliich Abraliam Lincoln received his tirst bit of education was a log structure. In one end of the building was a tire- place and the desks and seats were made of slabs. Today we have thousands of tine schoolhouses throughout tiie country besides the many colleges, universities and state institutions where we can com- plete our education We can scarcely believe that so great a progress can be made in the next tifty years Yet many things which seem im possible are accomplished. Much time and immense sums of money are expended annually by our youth in acquiring an education. Let us pusii our efforts in the right direction. If the country 99 school is not givinsr satisfactory results, let us east it aside and get something better. 1 cannot predict with any degree of certainty a future whether of progress or otherwise for Washington school. 1 can only say that it may be judged by the past and leave the matter rest in the hands of Father Time PART 4- BI-COUNTY HISTORICAL CONTEST. The worli has been a remarkable success and is wholly originaJ with the county superintendent of our county, who is trying to im- proye the schools in a practical way— penmanship, the ability to writ« a good, plain, legible hand the ability to express thoughts clearly and well. The work has created an unusual interest in the schools of the county.— The Keokuk County News, March 3, 1904. We note with pleasure that Supt. Cap E. Miller's example is be- ing emulated by Ports of Iowa county, who pulls off a bijr rural school contest along lines almost identical with those followed by Miller in his recent big meeting at Sigourney. May this good leaven spread until it is working in everyone of Iowa's «9 counties.— Keota Eagle, April 4. When 1 learnd that Sup't. Ports was following our plan in Iowa county I asked him if he would cor^perate with us in holding a bi-county historical contest. He was willing to help with the work and a program was arranged accordingly: ***•»* JSi-aountB Scbool Contest nnt> Educational Meeting ot fowa anO lieohuit Counties at "Woclb EngUsb, f Owa, jfrlOai? anO SaCuiOae, ftnv 13 14, iix»4. A Gold Medal will be awarded to the contestant who receives first place hi each contest and a Silver Medal will be awarded to the contestant who receives second place in each contest. PROGRAM. Friday Evening 7:30 o'clock. Music North English High School Chorus (1) GRADED SCHOOL HISTORICAL CONTEST. "The Russo-Japanese War" Carl Lewis 100 '■ My School— Past, Present and Future" Emma Lest/er Music Boys' Quartet (2) RURAL SCHOOL HISTORICAL CONTEST. My School— 'Past, Present and Future," Don Walker, Albert A. Hogan, Sylvia Blaylock, Ethel Roberts, Lloyd Fry. Music ...North English High School Chorus Thomas McDonald Eva Allsup Ella Jones Orla Chacey Heriton DeLana. Music Boys' Quartet ■ (3 ) GRADED SCHOOL DECLAMATORY CONTEST. "Mice at Play" Rub/ Evans "The Royal Bumper Degree" i . : Artiiur Prentiss "The Yankee in Love" Wilber Baughman "The Debatin Society ' . Lorene Allison Decision of Judges. Awarding of Medals. Music .... North Eiigllsh High School Chorus EDucattonalTRectlnfl, A bi-county educat onal meeting was held in North English the day following the bi-county contest ajid the following subjects were discussed in an informal way: "How Can a Better Educational Sentiment be Created'?" "How Can School Sites be Beautified and School Property Im- proved?" "How Can we Introduce the Elements of Agriculture in our Schools? Hot Shots— "Things that Need our Special Attention." This was an interesting meeting. Teachers from both counties took an active part in all of the discussions. The most pleasing part about the discussions was that they were all informal. Not one paper was read during the entire session. It is a good thing for teachers of neighboring counties to meet together occasionally and exchange ideas and experiences. 101 BI COUNTY CONTEST. Held at North English on Friday Evening. Miss Emma Lester Wins First Prizp and Receives the Gold Vledal, Don Walker (ier,s Silver Medal. The bi-county school contest was lield in North English last Friday nigfit and was a success in every particular. The weather was not very favaroble but nevertheless t)ie house was crowded wiih people who came from both counties to hear their representative?. The plan of historical product ions using the subject 'My School, Past, Present and Future" and originated by Sup't Miller is being followed by a rnniiber of counties in this st*ite and in other states. It raakts the school house and yard a foundation for the introduction of the elements of agriculture in our schools. Study the tables of the grades given by the three judges and you will notice all the judges gave Miss Emma Lester tirst place in the Bi-county Graded Historical Contest and of course she received the gold medal. Miss Lester is a remarlcably intelligent young lady and if Keokuk county always sends out such representatives she will win many honors. The total for this contest was as follows: Carl Lewis. Iowa county 86^ Emma Lester. Keokuk county 88.16 The rural contest was very interesting and below are given t]\e names of the contestants in the order of their success Friday evening: Thomas McDonald, Iowa county — 93"i Don Walker, Keokuk county 91| Orla Chacey, Keokuk county 87| Sylvia Blaylock, Keokuk county 87* Lloyd Fry. Keokuk county 87 Ella Jones, Iowa county 86* Eva Allsup, Keokuk county 85* Benton DeLana 85* Albert A. Hogan, Iowa county 83* Ethel Roberts, Iowa county l 80 lowji OQVinty 428 andj5-6, Keokuk county 439*. 102 Notice that while Iowa county received first 'place and gold medal in this contest that Don Walker and Keokuk county received second place and the silver medal. Also notice the sum total marks received by Iowa county is only 428 and 5-6 while that of Keokuk is 439s— a difference of 10 and 5-0 in favor of Keokuk county. Notice, too, that Sylva Blaylock and Orla Chacey tied for third place and that Lloyd Fry received fourth place Notice, again, that not one of Lloyd Fry, Orla Chacey, Lorene Allison, Sylvia Blaylock, Emma Lester, Don Walker, Eva Allsup, Arthur Prentiss. Kejkuk county's represantatives received a place lower than 6th in this contest in which ten persons took part. The comparison of marks for the two counties in the Graded Historical contest gives a difference of 1 and 62-75 in favor of Keo- kuk county. 1 and 62-75 plus 10 and 5-6 equals 12 and ;i.9-50 or the difference in favor of Keokuk county as a result of the two historical contests. In the declamatory contest Iowa county received both medals. The representatives from Keokuk county did well even if they did 103 not receive medals. Below are the grades received by the contes- tants: Wilber Baughman, Iowa county 97i Ruby Evans, Iowa county 93 5-6 Arthur Prentiss, Keokuk county 90i Lorene Allison. Keokuk county ,-..84* Iowa county 190 and l-(i. Keokuk county 175. The bi-cuunty educational meeting held Sathrday was fairly well attended. It was a success in every way. The people of North English entertained the teachers well.— The News, May 19. It may not be out of order to publish a letter from Benjamin F. Shambaugh. Iowa City. Iowa, who represents the State Histori- cal Society of Iowa. Supt Cap Miller. Slgourney. Iowa. My dear Mr Miller:— Mr S K Stevenson informs me that you have been condutcing an interesting experiment in collecting information relative to the history of the schools of your couirty. I am very much interested in this matter and would be greatly obliged to you if you could give me a general account of the plan pursued and the results accomplished. Perhaps the essays or papers prepared during the past 'year could be permanently tiled in the library of the State His- torical Society of Iowa V'ery cordially yours. Benjamin F. SIiambaugh. This letter delighted our representatives for they think that It will be an honor for them to have their historical compositions placed on permanent tile in the library of the Historical Society of Iowa. 104 Finsneial Standing as a Result of the Township Entertainments. PLACE MONEY i REC. j 1 MONEY SPENT BAL'NCE SlO 85 JUDGK8 'HALL or CH $4 44i S3 00 TOTAL Richland S 7 44 $ 9 41 Ollie 19 55 3 46 3 50 6S96 ' 12 59 Marti nsburg 12 25 i 40 1 00 3 40 ! 8 85 Hedrick 14 85 1 50 1 50 13 35 Hayesville 5 05 1 25| 1 00 2 25 2 80 Delta 11 00 2 43 1 50 3 43 7 07 B&st Laffer 3 50 2 00 2 00 1 50 Number Six 4 95 2 00 2 OO 2 <*5 Number EigUt •» 95 2 00 2 00 7 95 Keota 23 20 4 23[ 2 00 23! 16 97 Talleyrand 10 ao 2 42! 2 42 1 7*78 Kinross 20 30 5 02 2 00 7J02 ' 13-: 28 South EniflisU 13 4*1 2 50 2 50' 10^90 10135 Keswick J4 35 3 00 1 00 4 00 Gibson 17 40 1 1 00 1 00 : 16 40 What Cheer 22 40 2 OOi 15 00 17 00 5 40 Total fn9 2(* S40 051 $31 IX> $71 65 «147 55 Money Received Money Paid Out Balance $219 71 $147 55 Financial Standing as a Result of County CntertSlwi$pents. Received from sale of tickets Friday niirht " " Saturday night Total John Cameron $20 OO Alice Mendenhall 5 00 Henry Wallace 7 70 P. G. Holden 8 00 M. E. Log^an 2 65 Bruce Francis 1 68 S. J. Finley 1 44 J. R. McCoUum 2 54 Prof. W. R. Lytle 3 39 Janitors 8 75 Music 5 86 Total Amount Received $87 00 For Board and l,odfiri|itf 3 00 Total Amount Paid Oui 76 51 Warren Mcx^pan 6 50 Total $76 51 Balance $10 49 Expenses For Excursion and Publication. Larsre Posters for Excursion $ 17 00 Alice Williams 8 00 Maurice Shortess 100 Cuts from Michael is Etterravintr Company 30 50 Cuts from other parties 5 00 Express on Cuts 3 00 fibbon and Printing for Excursion Badges 8 50 xcursii>n Banners 5 52 Telephone CaWs ^^^1^ Tota'l $ 79 52 Finanfial Standing Today. RECEIVED PAID OUT Balance from Twp. Entertainments " " County " Bi-county ■■ " $147 55 10 4sell. Hedrick. Cora Rasmus, Hedrick. Van Buren, Bessie Fitzgerald, Sigourney. Buda Keller, What Cheer. Warren. Eva Allsup. Delta Benton, Alta Utterback, Hedrick. Blanche Henry, Hedrick. Washington, Fay Harding, Wliat Ciieer. Fay Slanders What Cheer. part 2 EDiicational Eicnrefon The Keokuks are very much interested in practical things along educational lines and they don't hesitate to gather some pleas ure as they go along. Indeed they are a liappy and energetic set of boys and girls. They are beginning to realize that the farm is one of the best places on earth. It has been a long time since we first began to plan for An Educational Excursion under the auspices or the Keokuk County Boys' Agriculture Club and Girls' Home Culture Club to the College of Agriculture and Experiment Station of Iowa, at Ames, June 3rd, 1904. I don't need to tell you why such an excursion is appropriate fer these boys and girls. The word experiment tells the why for the boys and the words elome.stk sdcmc tell the ivhy for the girls. And a visit to tshe Capitol means something to every person in our state. Everybody was invited to go with the Keokuks and almost ererybody went as you will notice from the newspapers: 109 FIFTEEN HUNDRED MAKE TRIP. Excursion the Greatest in tlie County's History. The excursion to Ames last Friday drew a larger crowd than anyone ever dreamed it would. When Mr. Miller be^an ti>,niriti:; oi this excursion with the railroad authorities he believed he might get four hundred people to take advantage of the cheap excursion and see the state agricul- tural school. As the time drew near he was sure of that number but it swelled far beyond his expectations. Tiiere were somewhere close to 1500 people on that excursion. The exact number is more likely to exceed than fall below that number. There were 590 tickets sold at this place and the cars seemed filled before they arrived here. The plan was one worked out in connection with the boys' ag- ricultural clubs that have been organized in the county during the past six months. lihese boys and girls were given an opportunity to see for them- selves how the state is prepared to help them in their agricultural studies, consequently the trip to Ames. The crowd however was not confined to school children exclu- sively. Their parents went with them in very many instances and en joyedthe treat as much as did the youngsters. We venture that the effect of this will be seen in the boys and girls for years to come -especially those who determine to be fcirmers and farmers' wives They will know that there is something to the scientific problem of agriculture and will study it out for themselves in part at least. The train was due here at 5:30 and arrived here Jabout 10 min- utes late. The train was decorated and contained a band a«id the four boys from German township to sing as musicians. of course the faculty and all the school authorities gave them a royal greeting and everybody was delighted with the reception ac- corded . It was a great treat and will long be Jremembered by the boys and girls of this county.— Sigourney Review, June 8th. 110 SCHOOL CHILDREN GUESTS OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 1,400 Excursionists From Keokuk County Spent the Dav in Sio-ht Seein"- at Ames. Unifiue Plan, Fostered by County Superintendent Cap E. Miller, Won Deserved Success. Vmes, la. .Jane3: (Special)-The State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was host today to nearly 1,400 .boys and girls and men and women who came all the way from Keokuk county to visit the inst itution and enjoy an outing They arrived at noon and from thattimeon the college was at their command. Every department was thrown open to their inspection, and a short series of special lectures was given for their information and instruction on corn breedhi"- and seed selection, on the work of domestic economy, and on the modern market types of horses. Most of the visitors brought basket lunches and enjoyed a picnic upon the wide spreading lawns of the campus while the remainder were provided with ample refresh- ments by the college. This unique excursion was organized and conducted by County Superintendent Cap E.Miller of Keokuk county. He organized it for the especial benefit of the Boys' Agricultural Club and Girls' Home Culture Club movement, which is under splendid headway among the school children of his section of the state. The excursion was also a great plan of the college to get into close touch with the people. The -short courses in corn and live stock judging during the winter season, which brings many hundreds of young farmers to Ames for a couple of weeks' study, constitute one part of this plan; the schoolchildren excursions which are now being conducted form another part. The excursionists arrived at about noon today and returned in the evening. ^They were carried in two special trains over the Rock Island and the Northwestern systems— The Register and Leader, Des Moines, Iowa, June 4-, 1904. HI The Keokuks Ar;d Their Friends A3 Tbey Enter The Capitol. ''^y'?^*"' 112 Eager To Visit The Capitol. 113 Our Luii;4' Train. Some Of The Keokuks Eager To Board The Motor At Ames. Agri&wltuial Hall As The KeoUuUs Saw It At Ames. A mtmh,r of views were t<(ken hif Ben Yahnl^e, Sigountey, Iowa and Paul Xeal, Ktnta hnra. Tim/ null sell photoyraiihsfor 15 cenfs earl,. Ipart 3—2=1 Scbool ffair. Some time last spring I sent a letter to the teachers of the countv asking them to plan for a school fair this fall Later a letter was sent to tlie boj s of the county and finally a letter was sent to the girls of the county and here it is: Sigourney. Iowa, April 28, 1904. To The Girls Of Keokuli County: Some time ago 1 sent a letter to the boys of our county and out- lined some work for them. Many of them have written to me telling me that they are following the suggestions in that outline and that they are interested in the work. It seems to me that girls can do just as much as boys and 1 am going to outline some work for them I want every girl in Keokuk county to plant some seeds, watch the plants which come from these seeds, taKe care of them, study them and finally take the products or fruit to her teacher who will 115 place these products on exhibition at a school district fair. This school fair will be held this fall Voiir teacher will tell you about it. The bi St pnuiucts will be selected and taken to a township school lair. Then the best products at the townsliip fair will be selected and placed on exhibition at a county school hiir. Your work must be done soon but tlie fair will not be held until fail. Your planting can be done at home or at school -on the farm or on the school yard. Some girls will plant one Ihingand some at. other. 1 don't care what you plant just so you plant something take care of it, watcti it and study it . Give special attention to lawn and garden at home and to tlie yard at scliool. Ask your parents for a small piece of ^^round to be used as a vegetable garden where vou can experiiuent and study plant growth. The\ will be glad to give you this ground and to know that you are interested in this kind of work l^eep an account of the time )0u W(-ik ai,id luing ^;lmples of what yon raise to the school fair. Wouldn'i jou like to bring to that fair some samples which would be of such a (luality lliat it would be taken to the township fair and finall} to tfie county fa rV 1 It may be that some of the g' lis working with their teachers cain grow enough Howers to justify them in holding a Jlower fair this spring or summer. I would like to get an invitation to attend such a fair If you hear of one, plea.se let me know so that 1 can attend it. A teacher told me a few days since that she is going to hold a dower fair. 1 tiiink this will be grand Did you attend our County Girls" ConventionV Did you enjoy your visit here and the program? We will hold another large meet- ing in Sigourney Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30. Uncle Henry Wallace, Prof. P. G. Plolden, J/rs. Alice Mendenhall, Mrs. Mitchell, Des Moines, Iowa, and Dr. A. E. Winsliip, Boston Mass will be here to talk to us. Dr. A. E. Winship is an excellent man and can tell us all about Boston and the , American poets .so many of wiiom he knew personally. He will give two talks. The subject of one of them will be "Girls, Old and Young.'" The subject of the otlier talk will be "Boys " This will be a great treat for all of us. "No nation can (ulrancc except til rouf)li ili( iinprorenunt of the na- tion'' s homes: and theij can onlij t)e improved titrouyh the intitrniuentality of worsen. Tliey must know henc to make home comfortahlr: and before they knmc, they muxt hart lieen taught. -Saiuuel Sviilcx Do you know that tlie person who won the highest lionor con- nected with the tri county spelling contest is a girl? Are the girls ahead of the boysV If you are ahead of them, stay there. Don't allow the boys to do more along the line of school gardens, improve- 116 ment of school and home surroundings than is done by the girls- Don't allow them to win all the honors at our school fair There are now 150 boys who belong to the Boys' Agriculture Club. Do you know that there are only 50 girls who belong to the Girls' Home Culture ClubV Can you do something to increase the number of membersV You will notice lliat the boys have just three times as many members as you have. They are sending me the names of new members every day Don't allow them to be more enthusias- tic In the matter than the girls. I suppose there are as many girls as boys in our county. Thus far we have ouly a county organization. We hope to have a township organization soon and finally a school district organization. Get your schoolmates to join the club. And don't forget the excursion to Ames, .Tune 3rd. Full in- formation will be sent to you soon. Some people think that this ex- cursion is for boys alone Tbey are mistaken. The excursion is for the girls just as well as for the boys, we want to start early that day and return that evening if possible. There will probably be 500 or 600 boys and girls who will take advantage of the excursion, we will stop at Des Moines one hour or more to visit the State Capitol. The fare for the round trip to Ames and return will be only $2.25 for adults and one-half this amount for children under 12 years of age. we hope to start to load up at Keota— stop at Harper, Sigourney. Delta, At wood and Oskaloosa Bring your lunch baskets with you so that we can have a picnic breakfast, dinner and supper and so we will not have to hunt for something to eat. All in all it will be tne greatest 'picnic' to which you were ever invited. Everybody is invited to join our crowd— your parents, friends and neighbors. I will send you some blanks soon and you can have them filled out by your friends who wish to go. See how many of them you can get interested in the excursion I dont want you to be marked absent at school on account of this excursion and lam asking your teacher to arrange matters so that you will not need to miss school. In case your school does not close before June 3rd, your teacher should ask the board to give you this day as a holiday. If the board will not do this, your teacher ought to be willing to teach some Saturday I will often send you reading material. Always read it care- fully. Keep it and use it in the best possible way. Notice the plan for a school or vegetable garden which I am sending you. Get some seeds and follow its suggestions. Let me know what you are doing for the Girls' Home Culture 117 Club Let no g\r\ surpass you in her effort to improve school and home surroundings. lam Your friend, CAP E. MILLER. Till girls arc dnhnj htttrr noir nini their rluh uhU sooji Ihfiyi' <(s large a ))t?ntb(:rs]i>p as the bniis' vhih. Following is given a part of a letter which was sent to tlie teachers in regard to the school fair work. Get all the boys and girls interested in the matter so that each one will bring something to place on exhibition at the school district fair. Ever}' school in the county will be required to hold a district fair. Samples of rocks, soils, woods and minerals in your district can also be collected and placed on exhibition. When you hold your fair request a number of pupils to write papers telling what has been done for agriculture in your school. Have some songs, recitations and specimens of hand work ready for your fair. It might be well, also, to have some of your pupils write compositions on "'Our Escursion to Ames" for I am sure that some of your pupils will go to Ames June 3rd. If your flowers and flower gardens and school garden.s itre a suc- cess this spring it might be well for you to hold a spring fair. Get all of the people in your community interested in the matter. It is practical and they will take hold of it. Ask your pupils to draw a map of the district locating every farm, road, creek, woodland any other things of general interest. Ask them to And dimensions of houses, barns, corn cribs and other build- ings in the district and cost of each: number of acres of different kinds of grain sown in the district each year: how much pasture land there is in the district: how much meadow: how many trees are growing in the district — kind and for what purposes they are used: make a record of the number of animals in the district— horses, cows, sheep and poultry in all varieties— give value of each and of all: make a record of stock sold during a given time, of eggs and various pro- ducts sold during a given time: number of citizens, voters and school children in the district: what help is employed in the different kinds of labor and what price is paid for such labor. Let all of this mater- ial serve to add interest and profit to the school fair and agricultural work. '•rncle Henry"' Wallace read the letter which was sent to the girls of the county and this is what he says about it: This is teaching agriculture in i >ie public school on right lines. 118 If the superintendents in the state wake up and follow the example before the next legislature meets agriculture will be taught in the most effective way possible in every county in the state. Agriculture in the public schools will come in not as something from the outside, as information poured irjto the boys, or pounded into them, or cram- med into them, but as something from witliin. the boj's and girls naturally taking hold and obtaining the lirst rudiments of agricul- ture in the only way in which they can be taught effectively, and that is by tlie boys and girls themselves. We regard tt'is movement as one of the most hopeful signs of the times and if it is introduced in other counties In Iowa and other states, it will be but a few years until the agriculture of the west will be revolutionized and tltese states be in advance of any other states in the union and of any country in the world- We can not recommend this moveiru-nt too Lighly. — Wallace Farmer, >jay 13th. H Scboo( jfalr. It is the intention to hold a school fair in ITedrick tnis fall, at whicli products will \tv. exliiViited of tfie raising of the students of the schools All gr.ides ;i.re eligible to contest. The best specimens will be sliowii at a township fair, nod later at a county fair to beheld this fall —The Iledrick .Journal The Iledrick pupils are very aiuch in- terested in this fair ;uid Miss liryant tells me that specimens of sew- ing and cooking will be included in the exhibit. We are very much mterested in tlu^ Fair and are going to try our luck — Lillie Long. Pupil in District No. .5,- Lancaster township. Many of my pupils are getting interested and I think they will have some specimens for tlie exliibit this fall akthub davis The nnprovement of the scliool grounds i« very cio.^eiy connec- ted with agriculture. On May 21, 1901, 1 asked all of the teachers to answer tlie following r|uestions for me in the following order: (1) What did you do Arbor Day? (2) What are you doing to get- your pupils intererest in the school fair? (3) Plow many persons in vour district will go to Acaes June 3rdV (4) Remarks, Below are given tlie answers from a number of teachers. Please read them if you liave ti-me. Made two flower beds, one vegetable garden and went to the woods to get a tree. The school fair is a good thing and I am doing :ai9 r, all I can to make it a success. 1 Ella Klbinsciimidt Planted (lowers and trees. Have talked with the pupils con- cerninj,^ the object of such a fair and the value of this kind of educa- tion. 4 The children are very much interested in tiieir s'ardens and like the idea of a scliool fair very much. Adella Priest. Made three flower gardens. All pupils have planted something and are very much interested in the work for a fair. Berenice Wade Raked the school grounds and prepared mounds for plants. Try- ing to get pupils to feel that it will be of much benefit as well as pleasure to work for the fair. Addie Bales. Cleaned school yard and planted flower seeds. Have lessons in nature study. 6. Ada Coffman. We set out 40 trees and shrubs, made Hower beds and had a good program Pup Is are planning to raise a number of products. 4. Zi a Goodhart We c-eaned tie yard. We are trying to raise an exhibit. 15 Josephine Miller We had a good program and planted some vines We have same potted plants in the room, a wild flower garden and another bed planted with flower seeds. Elva Downing. Planted trees. Pupils are cultivating different kinds of flowers and plants at home and at school. Si'sie Lahr Planted small trees, flower bushes and seeds. All have planted something. 7. The pupils desire a beautiful school lawn. Flora Mohme Planted shrubs and flowers Have told pupils how to plant seeds for a garden . Lizzie Vanauken. We had appropriate exercises, made (lower beds and set out plants. Have asked each pupil to raise something arid bring to the fair and nearly all of them are doing the work Kate Wood Made flower l)eds. Some are planting vegetables, others (lowers. Lillian Harlan Planted trees and rose buslies. Making preparations for the fair and are very much interested in the (lowers we have planted. Eva Dansdill. Planted five trees and several shrubs. We have a flower garden and a vegetable garden at school, and the children have gardens at home. Minnie Strohmann. Planted (j trees, S shrubs and made a flower garden, Pupils are making vegetable gardens at home. 7. Every one of the pupils is entliusiastic in regard to the planting done. Sophia Strohmann. Planted window garden My pupils are mainng favorable re- ports of their work done. :i We are planting late flowering plants and planning to have the flower and school fair together. CtUssie Sonner. Planted a tree and some shrubs and held a program. We have gardens on schoolground. Pupils are making a collection of woods and rocks for the fair. Each pupil has a garden at home. 9. The children are taking a great deal of interest in the fair. Almost every one has planted the seeds of product^ which he or she intends to ex- hibit at the fair. ^ ■ -■ .■ Pearl Scott. 120 Planted 5 trees, 4 varieties of roses, 1 lilac and a lily. By try- ing to help them select things to plant and care for. May Rogers. We made garden and flower beds and held a program. Reading and talking to their about it, 8. My pupils seem to be very much interested in the school fair and in the excursion to Ames. Maud Wilson. Raked the yard and planted tjowers. I am talking and helping the pupils plan for the fair. 5. Mamie Claraiian. Talked about trees and gardens. Making vegetable gardens at home, tlower gardens at school. 8 Maggie Doxova.n. Set out shrubbery, made a tlower garden and had a program. Have told pupils to plant seeds and prepare for the fair. 20 will go to Ames H. P. Trumbo. We planted trees shrubs and seeds. Each pupil has the care of some plant which will be at the close of the term 3. My pupils take much interest in improving school grounds and are anxiously waiting for June 3rd. Katie Clarahan. The above are only a few of the reports sent to me by the teachers of the county. The number is large enough to show you that the teachers of our county are trying to improve the school sur- roundings, to make them more beautiful and attractive and home like. H Xetter. Bepartment ol' Ajiriculture: "Ih>w To Set Out Trees And Shrubbery" and "Ideal Sclioois" were sent to them free of cost by the Youth's Companion, Boston. Mass H>art 4-71 Fatmcio' Knstltute. Many counties in our state have organized farmers' institnics where farmers come together at laast once in a year for mui iial help and improvement Our legislators realized that Jowa is an afiiicui- tural state when they voted for a law which provides for a fiirmurs' institute and which gives $75 for the support, of such an itisi it ul*' in each county each year. Many counties have taUen advantage of this law bur. Keokuk county has not The farmers of our coutitv have been taking groat interest in ttu^ meet.iugs of our 1 \v(t new oigani/.a- tions and in the work which these l)oys a. id girls are doing They went to Ames with us ari(i were pie.-t.scd w^th tlM; excursion in every way. They say it is remarkable that so many could -o to Amos on ar» excursion ;ind no one get hurt and th.it trie visit to Ame.'; was such an education for them A innabei <>'' them say that they are j.'Oing again when they will remain one week or lon^^er. They are anxious to get i?j touch with the great experiment station. A number of them told me that they were ready to organize a farmers' institute and accordingly notices were sent to a number of energetic farm- ers in each township of the county and a meeting was held in this of- fice at 2 o'clock p. m.. Fridajs June 24, for the purpose of forming a temporary organization for a Keokuk County Farmers' Institute It rainsd that day but nineteen farmers met and formed a temporary orffankation for said institute. They will meet July 29th and .30th to form a. permanent organization. They will liave a number of prominent and able men and women on their program. They hope to secure the help of the president of the Iowa Corn Growers' Associa- tion, Prof. P. G. Holden and "Uncle Henry'' Wallace. TK MPOKAllY 01< r ICJSllS. President J . W . Lemley, Richland, Iowa Secretary Ceorge Barnhart, South EnglisJi, Iowa ( Cap K Miller, Sigovirney. Jowa Executive Committee ' < L. Jieall, Sigourney. K 1, Iowa l*\ IJolmes. Keota. Jowa Unstnictorg. FIRST WEEK. DR. A. K WIXSHIP - Boston, Mass. (reneial Metliods. Mrs H ATT IE M. MITCHELL - - Des Moines, Iowa Pi-imarv Methods and Nature Study. MANNING JAYNES ^ - Iowa City, Iowa Grammar W H GEMMILL - - - - " Dallas Center, Iowa Mathematics C. E. HUMPHREYS - Delta, Iowa Physics. Mrs RETTA MINTEER - - - - - Sigourney, Iowa Vocal Music. SECOND "SVEEK. ORVILLE T. BRIGHT Chicago, 111 • Englisli. Mrs ALICE H. MENDENHALL - - - South English, Iowa Reading and Literature / W.H. GEMMILL Dallas Center Hand- Book. T M CLEVENGER ...--- Mediapolis, Iowa School Law and Civics MANNING JAYNES ------ Iowa City, Iowa Pliysiology. Mrs RETTA MINTEER Signurney, Iowa A'ocal Music Evening Scseionf. MniKldi/. J III II ,'.-. ^ „T. , • Lecture - - - - ~ , - ,r Dr. A. E \^ inship '•Soloist And Lsader Tiiesdaih J^'^'J ~^- „,. . . Lecture - ~ " ' Dr. A. E, Winship •'The Reign Of The Common People*' Lecture - - '. - - ' , .p. . .. P^of. A. N. Palmer "Some Practical Things Thnrsdaii. Jiihl :.'S. Historical Contest And Common School Commencement. Tni'sdiii/. All Hst ^ . County Declamatory Contest. Wedni'i'diii]. Augmt 3 ^ „ . ^.^ Lecture ----'-- - - O. T. Bright "Tuskegeeand Booker T. Washington" Ffidniu Aiujust :> Institute Commencement „ ^ „ „ Lecture -------- Pi'ot F. E. Bolton ••Mental Independence Versus Servility" Fifty cenl>< iciU he ckarytd for the above course o,t entertainments to those who enroll and one dollar to all other persons The School Teachers* Creed. I believe in boys and girls, the men and women of a great tomorrow; that whatsoever the boy soweth the man shall reap. I believe in the curse of ignorance, in the efficac}' of schools, in the dignity of teaching, and in the joy of serving others. I believe in wisdom as revealed in human lives as well as in the pages of a printed book; in lessons taught, not so much by precept as by example; in ability to work with the hands as well as to think with the head; in everything that makes life large and lovely. I believe in beauty in the school room, in daily life and in out-of-doors. I be- lieve in laughter, in love, in faith, in all ideals and distant hopes that lure us on. I believe that every hour of every day we receive a just reward for all we are and all we do. I believe in the present and its opportunities, in the future and its promises and in the divine joy of living. Amen. — Edwin Osgood Grover. By pcrniission of Alfred Barthtt. Boston, Mass. ©reeting. To The Keokuk Counfcy Teachers: If 1 were to write another chapter for this booklet, its subject would be General Progress and in tlie discussion of that subject I would show in many ways tiuit there has been an improvement in the teaching- force of our county. Tliere is no one thin^? whicii has done more for this improvement than the annual institute and the one this year will be of unusual interest and profit to all who attend. And you will not be "up to date" in Keokuii county if you do not attend, if you want to know what to do next year and how to do it, attend the institute and the instructors will give you this information. I am Yours truly, CAPE. MILLER. JExamlnations. Examinations, as has been the custom for a number of years, will be given before the institute proper. Normal graduates who enroll and attend all the recitatiens as- signed them, and who have shown a progressive spirit during the past year, will be excused from the examination in all the branches cover- ed by their certiticates, if the grades on their certificates meet the requirements for a first class certificate. Other teachers who atrtend institute will be excused from the examination in those branches the grades of which are 88 per cent or above on their last certiticates. Teachers who do not attend the in.stitute will be required to take the entire examination. ♦ Examinations will be given Thursday, Friday and Saturday- July 21, 22 and 23. All applicants for certificates must appear at schedule time. It will be necessary for us to follow some uniform order. The following has been arranged. TJmrxdafi Afteninon. Juh/ Jl. 2:00—2:30 Orthography. .2:30— 4:00. .Reading. .4.00— fi:00. . . .Geography Friday, Julij 22. FORENOON AFTERNOON. 8:00—12:00 Algebra 1:00—3:30. . .Economics 8:00—10:30 History 1:00—4:30. . .Arithmetic 10:30-12:00 Physiology 4:30— 6:00.. Penmanship Saturdaij, Juhj 23. 8:00—10:30 Grammar 1.00— 2:30 Vocal Music 8:00—10:30 Physics 10:30—12:00 Didactics 10:30—12:00 Civics Certificates Two kinds of certiticates will be issued:— First Grade Certiticates, good for two .\ears. will be issued to teachers wiio have had thirty-six weei»i nind schouh and four from graded schools will take part iu thi.'< contest. A gold medal will Ite given to the pupil who receives first place as a result of the contest and a silver medal will he given to the pupil who receives second place. A perfect record will .show .50 per cent for thought and composiiion and f>0 per cent for delivery. The fifty-five pupils who passed the common school examina- tion successfully will received their diplomas at this time. Music, OUle Delano Starr Jjiberty Township , Sylvia Blaylock Pelta ,,, ,... , Mabel Hankins Warren Township ,.,,, Eva Allsup Music Kinross Agnes Hurd Lafayette Township Lloyd Fry Thornburg Carleton Hamilton Richland Township Orla Chacey Music. Presentation of Diplomas..,,.,,,., ,..,.,,, pr, A. f^f Wioghip Depision of Judges- E meeting ®f Zbe Ikeohuhs— 5ul\> 29 anD 30, I9O4. Two days of the institue will be turned over to tlie boys and girls wlio are members of the two new organizations. The program is not yet completed bi.t will be something like the following; FRIDAY MORNING "Farmers' Institutes'" Fred McCulloch. Hartwick, Iowa Mr. MrCuUorh lii(-< (in/niiizrd thr- cntiiiii fann'i:<' iH>ifitutesi)t loini. "Boys" Dr. A. E. Winshlp "What School Girls Can Do" Mrs. H. M. Mitchell FRIDAY AFTERNOON "Girls— Old and Young" Dr. A. E. Winship "Some Things About Farming" Speaker To Be Selected FRIDAY NIGHT "The Common School and Agriculture" Speaker To Be Selected "More Corn Of Better Quality,— The Acre Our Unit" W H. Warburton, Independence, Iowa Prcakleiit of the I(>wer. A number of speakers will talk concerning the organization of farmers' institutes in our state. SATITRDAY AFTERNOON "Domestic Science and Home for Girls". . . Mrs. Alice H.Mendenhall "Good Literature in the Home" Mrs. D. T. Stockman Every person living in Keokuk county is invited to attend tlie program which will continue for two days. It will be free to every body. It will be one of the greatest edcuational meetings ever held in the county because never before did the boys and girls, the teachers and the farmers meet together for a great countu institute . Indeed it will be a teachers' institute, a pupils' institute and a far- mers' Institute combined. The four boys from German township will sing and play for us and music and reading of various kinds will be added to each .session of the meeting to make it agreeable and protitable to all who attend. Declamatory? dontest— August 2, 1904. One repreneidatve from ererti grnded school in the countfi inll he allowed to tdki part ill tlie contest. "Mrs. Smart Learns How To Skate Hazel Bottentield, Webster Selected Viola Oster, Hedrick "The Wrong Train" Dott Smith, Gibson •I Vash So Glad I Vash Here Tonight"' Mable Jones, Richland 'The Lost Heir" '. .V . .' , Etta Axmear, Kewick "A Little Brick" Irma Loftus, Delta "Uncle Daniel" Agnes Hurd, Kinross ■'Reminiscences Of Exhibition Day" Maude Erdice, Keota •'Brnncho Against Bicycle" Stanley C Shrader, Thornburg IFnstitutc Claee ©f 1904. Teachers who wish to graduate must hold tirst grade certifi- cates. They must attend the institute regularly and must hand in an oration not later than the second Monday oi the session. Teach- ers who wish to graduate should notify the county superintendent at once. Commencement exercises will be held in the high school build- ing Friday evening, August 5. Tlie three special music teachers of our county — Miss Blanche Stewart, Keota: Mrs. N. B. Spafard, Hedrick; Mrs. Eetta Minteer, Sigourney— will have charge of the music for this evening. PROGKAM 7:.30 F. M Vocal Solo • Miss Blanche Stewart Music Hedrick Pupils Music Sigourney Pupils Vocal Solo Mrs. N. B. Spafard Music Keota Pupils Lecture— 'Mental Independence Versus Servility" Dr F. E. Bolton, Iowa City, Iowa Music Hedrick Pupils Vocal Solo Mrs. Retta Minteer Music Keota Pupils ( Mrs. Minteer Trio ■ Mrs. Spafard ( Miss Stewart Music Sigourney Pupils Presentation of Diplomas Chorus Sigourney, Keota and Hedrick Pupils ^ C o a. s H »: O ^ 53 O O g5 KS M rs I:^ o o » ^15 as r ^ ■ 1^, to ;) t » 173 C ^ » ?^ > y o 5 ^' W69 V'^^V ^V^^'',/"^ V*~^''\°' '"**''^'