USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 35
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Crawford county's most distinguished educator, Hon. Alonzo A. Abernethy, was never a teacher within her borders. He was elected State Superintendent of
303
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
Public Instruction in 1871 and served several terms in that high office with great distinction. He was the father of the normal institution law and gave form and direction to much that is best in Iowa's educational system. While on his farm in Denison township he wrote much for the agricultural press and was regarded as high authority on all matters pertaining to the farm.
TABLE D
Teachers' Wages
Spring and Fall.
Winter.
Ist 2nd 3rd
Pro.
Ist
2nd
3rd
Pro.
Soldier, 8 mo. .
43
42
40
40
48
47
45
45
Morgan, 8 mo. 48
46
44
48
46
44
Otter Creek, 9 m 48
45 42
40
48
45
42 40
Stockholm, 8 mo.
43
40 37
33
46
43
40
36
Jackson, 9 mo. 421/2 40 371/2
West Side, 9 mo. 40
40 35
32
421/2 40 40 40
35 32
Milford, 8 mo. .421/2
40
35
30
421/2
40
35
30
Goodrich, 8 mo .... 40
40 38
38
40
40
38 37
38
Hanover, 9 mo ... . 42
40
37
42
40
Charter Oak, 8 mo. . 421/2
40
40
40
421/2
371/2
371/2 371/2
Willow, 8 mo. . . . . 421/2
40
40
40
421/2
40
40
25c.
PER PUPIL OVER 25
ENROLLED
Paradise, 9 mo ... . 45
42
38
33
45
38
33
Denison, 8 mo ..
.45
40
35
35
45
40
35
35
East Boyer, 9 mo.
36
36
36
36 5 mo. 40
40
40
40
4 mo.
Hayes, 9 mo.
.40
40
40
40
40
40
40 45
40 45
Nishnabotna, 9 mo. . 45
40
35
35
45
40
35
35
Washington, 9 mo. . 45
40
35
35
45
40
35
35
Union, 9 mo. .
.45
40
35
45
40
35
Boyer, 8 mo. 45
40
40
45
40
40
40 42
Iowa, 9 mo .. 40
40
40
40 5 mo. 45
45
4 mo.
THE DELOIT SCHOOL
To Deloit belongs the honor of having the first school ever taught in Craw- ford county. Elder C. J. Hunt has kindly furnished the following facts regard- ing the early schools of Deloit :
November 4th, 1856, Morris McHenry began a three and one-half months term of school in a log school house in Mason grove, one half mile east of where Deloit in now located. This schoolhouse had puncheon floor, slab seats for benches (the scholar furnishing his own back), slab desks, a dirt fireplace, with a chimney built of mud, cut hay and fine brush. The teacher was paid by dona- tions from the scholars and parents. The following is the list of pupils en- rolled the first winter as near as can be determined :
John Dobson, *Joseph Dobson, *William Dobson, *Elihu Dobson, *Cyrus Dobson, *George Johnson, Noah Johnson, Margaret Mason, *Angeline Mason, Alice Laub, *Henry Winans, Elizabeth Winans, *Sarah Winans, George Winans, Martha Mowery, *Mary Mowery, *Caleb Mowery, *Joseph Skinner. * Deceased.
371/2
304
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
Mr. McHenry taught the second term also, which was held the following winter, 1857-8. ! believe the lady who became his wife went to school to him those two terms.
J. D. Seagrave and E. S. Plimpton taught in that log schoolhouse, one term each, at least.
In the year 1858, Esau McKim and William McKim, his brother, built a frame store building in Deloit which was rented and used for a school house the following year, the log schoolhouse being abandoned.
The store building was used for school purposes until 1864 when a one room brick schoolhouse was completed. Miss Jennie Darling (Mrs. Col. Geo. L. Wright, of Denver), taught the first term of school in the town of Deloit, 1859.
One winter Ed. M. Ainsworth housed and taught 75 scholars in the historic brick schoolhouse.
In the year 1870 a one room frame school building was built near the brick schoolhouse and was then called "The Deloit Seminary." Two teachers were employed that year for the first time in the history of the school.
About the years 1870 and 1871, the Deloit schools prided themselves on being as thorough and as far advanced as any schools in the country.
The following well known citizens attended school in the "Seminary": Eli T. Dobson, John L. Ainsworth, John R. McKim, Miss Kate McKim, James McKim, George Myers, Ninus L. Hunt, Charles J. Hunt, Jennie Morris-Hensen, Ellen Dobson-Horr, Edith Shirtcliffe-Ainsworth.
The brick and single room frame buildings were abandoned in 1886, when a two room frame building was erected. This house is still in use but must soon be supplanted by a four room building to accomodate the growing school.
Deloit became an independent district May 2, 1908. The first directors were Ellsworth McNeal, president; Abram N. Galland, Francis H. Brogden, Myron Myers, Henry Dethman. Stanley Browne, secretary ; R. D. Darling, treasurer. The establishment of the independent district is due in a great measure to the persistent efforts of J. Stanley Browne.
Miss Jennie Morris, now Mrs. R. Hensen, taught a greater number of terms -eighteen in all-than any other teacher in the Deloit schools. A. G. Meyers also taught many terms.
The Deloit school has had many staunch friends who have stood for efficiency and advancement among the most prominent of whom may be named Thomas Dobson, Ethan A. McKim, Benjamin F. Darling, William J. McKim, Geo. L. Wright, Ninus L. Hunt, J. Stanley Browne.
School enumeration 93, enrolled in the schools about 80.
Present board: Samuel Anderson, president; C. W. Winey, L. F. Morris, Fred Hansohn, Earl Winans, secretary, C. J. Hunt, treasurer, Bert Darling.
The teachers of 1910-II : Advanced grades, Miss Bertha Tittsworth ; primary, Miss Eunice E. Dobson.
Value of school building, $1,000. No indebtedness.
THE DENISON SCHOOL.
The first school in Denison was taught in the winter of 1857-8, just one year after the town was platted. The schoolhouse was a small building about 14 by
HIGH SCHOOL, DENISON
NORTH BRICK SCHOOL, DENISON
WEST BRICK SCHOOL, DENISON
305
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
20 feet, located on the ground where now stands the mansion of Mr. W. A. McHenry. The teacher was one Thomas Aldrich, who later was village post- master. The second teacher was a lady whose name cannot now be determined. She was very successful and the fame of her school brought pupils from far and near, some from adjoining counties. The little schoolhouse was found too small and in the winter of 1859, the school was moved into the courthouse, occupying the north half of the lower floor. These quarters were soon found too limited and the courtroom above was occupied instead.
In the summer of 1861 a brick schoolhouse was built in the west part of town, H. C. Laub, contractor. After fifty years of service, it is still standing, No. 320 W. Chestnut St., is in good repair and still does duty as a schoolhouse, having been occupied by the Lutheran parochial school since the middle of the '70s. Here the school was moved in the autumn and H. C. Laub taught the winter term of 1861-2. In February, 1862, he closed the school to enlist in the Home Guards.
I. T. Martin was the next teacher, but how long he taught cannot now be determined. He was followed by a returned soldier of the civil war, disabled through sickness, J. H. Woodruff in 1865. A. D. Clark followed, 1866. Before the close of the year Clark resigned and H. C. Laub finished the term. John Funk was next on the list, 1866-7, and then A. M. McNeal, 1867-8.
In the early days of Denison lady teachers were either at a discount or difficult to obtain ; but now appears one, Miss Jennie Haskell, 1868-9, beloved of her pupils and whose name in held in memory green by a number of elderly citizens of Denison. She was succeeded in 1869, by L. E. Hardy. In December of that year on account of large attendance the school was divided, Mrs. Hardy teaching the primary classes in the courthouse. During 1870-1, Col Geo. L. Wright was principal of the school. Of this year's work the Colonel thus writes in a recent letter: "Chas. Morris was my assistant and we both taught in the one room of the old brick schoolhouse in the western part of the city. I think you will find no parallel of two teachers for one year in one room any- where in the history of the public schools of Crawford county. It was a pleasant year to us and I think not entirely devoid of benefit to our students, as I found Mr. Morris to be a faithful and conscientious teacher. There were in the neigh- borhood of 80 pupils enrolled, and I think we were paid $40.00 and $35.00 per month."
In November, 1871, the school opened with Rev. G. W. Gunnison as principal and Miss Louise Grout in the primary. At this time J. W. Denison was di- rector. During the '60s A. D. Molony and A. F. Bond had served on the board. If there were others there is no record to establish the fact. Gunnison taught the winter term only. The Misses Grout, Louise and Nora, taught the summer term. The primary school during the year had occupied a small frame build- ing that stood where No. 217 West Broadway now stands. Sometime before this the school board had purchased an entire block in the west part of the town on the plateau overlooking the Boyer valley and had contracted with Mr. Laub for the erection of a two story brick schoolhouse at a cost of $15,000. It was to contain four school rooms, cloak rooms, and basement. The population of Denison was then hardly 600, yet the schoolhouse was one of the finest in west- Vol J-20
306
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
ern Iowa. It was to have been completed by September, 1871, but unforseen delays occurred and the building was not finished until November, 1872. The township school board in 1872, consisted of the following named gentlemen : George Chapin, L. Cornwell, M. Moloney, Sr .; R. Heffelfinger, Albert Marshall, Joseph Gilbreath and Charles Ainsworth, the last named representing the township of Goodrich which had not yet been set off from Denison township. The board was a unit in its desire to give the sub-district of Denison every opportunity to establish a first class "Union Graded School" in the new building and granted $60.00 per month for a principal and $40.00 per month for an assistant, quite liberal salaries as salaries went in those days.
Mr. Heffelfinger selected as his teachers Z. T. Hawk, of Sigourney, Iowa, for principal and Miss Emma Wheeler of Denison for assistant. Miss Wheeler resigned at the close of the winter term to resume her studies at Ames and Miss Julia King finished the term. The school moved into its new quarters the sixth of November, 1872, and the work of organization began. A course of study such as was adapted to the existing conditions was prepared and classifi- cation made to conform to it in a general way. It would be regarded as a curiosity by the teachers of to-day yet is throws much light on educational methods of the time. There were then scarcely a hundred graded schools in Iowa and by far the greater number of those that were organized based their classification on the readers in use in the school and did not specify the limit of work to be accomplished in a term or a year. Promotions were made when the reader was completed to the satisfaction of the principal. The following is the work of the second grade, intermediate department : "National Third Reader, spelling and dictation, Ray's Intellectual Arithmetic commenced, Practical Arithmetic commenced, Guyot's Elementary Geography completed, Hadley's Language Lessons, writing.
An extended outline for oral work in nature study was embodied in the Denison course and was given much attention in the lower grades. This sched- ule of work was formally adopted by the board in October, 1873, thus giving to Denison the distinction of having the first graded school between Jefferson and Council Bluffs.
A third teacher was employed in the fall of 1873, the assistant now being Mrs. M. A. Jones, primary, and Miss Ella Child, intermediate. It may safely be said that no other Denison teacher has ever been so intrenched in the affections of her pupils as has Mrs. Jones. Her skill in teaching the little ones, her moth- erly solicitude for their comfort and welfare and, above all, her utter effacement of self in all that pertained to the happiness and success of those about her, endeared her alike to the children and her associates. And now, in the declining years of her long and busy life, there gathers each year at her pleasant home, a company of middle aged men and matrons to talk over again with their be- loved teacher, the happy days of long ago. She remained connected with the school until 1879.
In March, 1874, Mr. Hawk resigned and Miss Allie M. Cowdrey (Mrs. Judge Conner), finished the year. The winter term of 1874-5, was under the management of J. F. Escher. In March, 1875, a heated campaign for director resulted in the election of C. H. DeWolf, and Z. T. Hawk again became princi-
307
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
pal. In July of this year the school held its first industrial exposition, an event that attracted wide-spread attention and brought many people interested in education from distant points to examine the exhibit. The next year the ex- periment was repeated with even greater success and there was some talk of establishing a department of manual training and domestic economy in connec- tion with the school. But the idea was in advance of the time, money was scarce and, greatest difficulty of all, trained teachers in these lines were not to be had- in fact they did not then exist, and the plan was dropped before it had fairly taken shape. It was a prophetic dream of the splendid future of the Denison school-a dream that began to be realized just thirty years later, 1905, and was still further developed in 1910, by the establishment of the departments planned so long ago. There is undoubtedly a great pleasure in being "in at the finish" in the upbuilding of a great enterprise, but there is also profound satisfaction in having been "in at the start" and in knowing that the start was in the right direction.
A number of these exhibits were held in later years, the last being in Ger- mania Halle in 1884, until they were revived by the Germania Verein in 1896. Since that time they have been practically a part of the annual work of the school.
In 1875, the enrollment in the high school was as follows: Lewis De Wolf, Henry Stovall, Charles K. Meyers, Ella Familton, Carrie Fegtley, Nellie Wight- man, Issora Palmer, Josie Welch, Mattie Wagoner, Carrie Wygant, Alma Herri- man, Lucy Miles, Carrie Plimpton, Kate Moloney, Marcus Jones, Lonnie Chapin, Frank King, Mary Pett, Mary Burk, Mary Molony, Mary Palmer, Nellie Mor- rill, Adelbert Jones, Wm. Wakeham, Fred West, Morris Wygant, Edmund Woodruff, Dennis Woodruff. Total enrollment in the four rooms, 234. Teach- ers : Mrs. M. A. Jones, primary ; Miss Lillian Barr, intermediate; Miss Emma Wheeler, grammar ; Z. T. Hawk, high school. Director, C. H. DeWolf.
April 12, 1876, the district voted in favor of an independent organization ; and on May II the following board was elected: C. F. Cassady, W. J. Wagoner, E. S. Plimpton, Morris McHenry, Wm. Iseminger, and J. B. Romans. Wagoner was chosen president, A. F. Bond, secretary, and R. Heffelfinger, treasurer. The teachers of the preceding year were reelected and Miss Julia King was added to the corps. The primary school was divided and half of it removed to Mrs. Jones' residence on E. Vine street where she furnished a room and taught for $50.00 per month. The school remained under the same management until March, 1878, when Mr. Hawk resigned to assume the duties of county superin- tendent. Mr. C. C. Chamberlin succeeded him and taught three months. G. N. Vanwormer took charge of the school in September, 1878, and remained two years. The course of study had been remodeled in 1877 and the work given a definite form. The plan adopted gave the school eleven years, primary school, four years; grammar school, four years, and high school, three years. Van- wormer preserved this organization as did his successor, M. Booth, who was superintendent from 1880 to 1882.
The growth of population was so rapid that the board found it necessary to provide more room. A two story frame building of two rooms was erected on E. Chestnut street in 1879, and an additional grade teacher employed. In
308
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
three years the capacity of this building was doubled by adding two more rooms. The west room in the second story was the home of the high school from 1882 to 1890, and a small room about 10X12 feet in size, originally designed for a cloak room, was the superintendent's office.
The board now conceived the idea of establishing a normal school in connec- tion with the public school and looked about for a competent and experienced man to carry the plan into effect. They chose Prof. C. W. von Coellen, ex- State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and gave him a corps of experienced and enthusiastic teachers as his aids. But the indifference of the community toward the contemplated plan was such as to preclude all hope of success, and von Coellen, disappointed in his hopes of founding a normal school, tendered his resignation in April, 1883, and Z. T. Hawk, who had acted as principal in the "West Brick" during the winter, was elected to fill out the remainder of the year.
In von Coellen the school lost an accomplished scholar and able supervisor. Had he been given an assistant in the high school and an opportunity to carry out his well matured plans for the improvement of the school the history of education in Denison would have been greatly changed.
The membership of the school board in 1883 was as follows : J. Fred Meyers, president, M. Smith, C. Green, Geo. L. Wright, A. J. Bond and Gus Anderson. D. L. Boynton was secretary and R. Heffelfinger treasurer.
Supt. Hawk was a candidate for reelection but the first meeting of the board showed a tie vote between him and Supt. Coleman of Missouri Valley. The deadlock continued until late in August with many candidates in the field. Finally the patrons of the school were canvassed for an expression of their wishes. Nearly a hundred votes were recorded, only seven of them being against the reemployment of Mr. Hawk. The board, with its 149th ballot, promptly ratified the choice, August, 1883, and within a week the new superintendent entered upon his duties. He submitted to the board his plan of carrying classes through to graduation, a plan then almost unheard of outside the larger cities, and they gave it their hearty approval. The pupils were pleased with the prospect and bent every energy to the work before them. The school had no laboratory and no apparatus worth mentioning, but enthusiasm, ambition and loyalty to their teach- ers and the school overcame all difficulties, and in the midst of great rejoicing the first graduating class was given its diplomas, June 4, 1886. Many classes have come and gone since then-classes of earnest, accomplished young men and women-but it may truthfully be said that the classes that came out of that old high school made a record that was long the standard of comparison for those that followed.
The course of study was revised and published in January, 1884, and an assistant was first employed in the high school in the winter of 1884-5 when Marcus E. Jones served three or four months in that capacity very acceptably. A supervisor of music, Mrs. Clapp, was first employed in 1885. C. K. Dukes was high school assistant from 1885 to 1887, and when Supt. Hawk declined a reelection in 1887, Dukes was elected to succeed him.
In 1890 a fine high school building was erected in the northern part of the city at a cost of $14,000: L. J. Carter was the architect and Wm. Raine the
309
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
builder. The building and grounds occupy an entire block. It contains four school rooms with two wardrobes each and the superintendent's office. It is heated by hot air and steam.
In 1891, Supt. Dukes was succeeded by A. C. Warthen who remained at the head of the school two years. He was followed by N. Spencer, 1893-'97. Spencer revised the course of study but the high school work was not materially changed.
On retiring from the superintendency of the Denison schools in 1897 Spencer made a very complete report of his work, embodying not only the statistics of the school for four years, but also the history of various original investigations in the field of child study. Considerable space was devoted to reports of ex- periments to determine the comparative value of the senses of sight and hearing and also to investigations into the effects of the tobacco habit on boys from the fourth grade to the high school. "Out of 126 boys in the classes reporting, 44 used tobacco in some form, and in varying quantities. On an average the to- bacco using pupil is one year behind in school work." He reaches the same con- clusion that is reached by every superintendent who investigates this subject : "Good mental work and free use of tobacco by boys is impossible." The total enrollment of the school for the four years was as follows : 1893-4, 588; 1894-5, 555; 1895-6, 575; 1896-7, 585. Number of teachers employed, 14. The mem- bers of the board of education in 1897 were A. J. Bond, R. Knaul, E. S. Plimp- ton, L. A. Sewell, B. Y. Nicholson, L. M. Shaw, President, D. L. Boynton, Sec- retary, M. E. Jones, treasurer.
H. V. Failor was promoted from the high school to the superintendency in 1897 and retained the position until 1900. In January, 1898, a kindergarten was organized and Miss Elva Dell Bond, a trained kindergarten teacher, was made director. The school enrolled 80 pupils in 1900. At first Miss Bond's assistants were untrained, but in 1900 and succeeding years, trained assistants were elected. In 1905 a second kindergarten was established in the "West Brick." Miss Nell Stoner was director of this school three years, Miss Vera Fluent two years. In September, 1910, the two schools were again united under Miss Bond. The kindergarten has now come to be considered as one of the most important de- partments of the Denison schools and under Miss Bond's most capable direction has attained a high degree of excellence. She has given upward of thirteen years service to the Denison kindergarten, and her determination to remove to the Pacific coast at the close of the present school year is much to be regretted.
For several years there had been an insistent demand on the part of the patrons of the high school that the course of study be extended to four years and that such branches be included in the work as would enable the graduates of the school to enter the State University or other great colleges of the state with- out being compelled to do two or three years of preparatory work before ad- mission. The high school had taken no advance steps whatever in more than ten years other than to introduce a few new text books as the old ones became obsolete with the lapse of time. But in 1898, in answer to the popular demand, the fourth year was added and the school began to adjust itself to modern con- ditions.
In 1898 the various school buildings of the city were greatly overcrowded. To relieve the congestion the board determined to remove the old frame house
310
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
on Chestnut Street and erect in its place a large, modern building that would accommodate the high school, several grade schools and various special depart- ments. March 13. 1899, the district voted to issue bonds to the amount of $15,- 000. It was soon discovered that this amount would be insufficient for the pur- pose required and $7,000 additional was voted, May 12, 1899. The plans for the new bullding were drawn by the W. R. Parsons Sons Co. of Des Moines. The building contract was let to J. F. Atkinson of Marshalltown, Iowa, for $22,- 500. The board extended the school grounds to Washington Avenue on the east by purchasing the Kirkup and Helsley properties, three lots for $3,150; and on the west by the purchase of two lots from Mrs. Familton at $1,600. The school- house was erected at the corner of Washington Avenue and Chestnut Street and the other lots were graded for play grounds. This central high school building is of brick, two stories in height, with basement. It contains a high school room, five recitation rooms, eight grade schoolrooms, superintendent's office, laboratory, library, workshop for manual training classes, and cloakrooms. There are closets in the basement with sewer connections. It is heated by hot air, circu- lated by a fan driven by a gasoline engine. The plant cost $3,310. The seating of the various rooms cost $750. Total cost exclusive of grounds, $26,560. In obedience to instruction received from the people at a special election held in November, 1909, the board purchased for $4,000 the remainder of the Familton property, at the corner of Chestnut and Locust Streets. The district thus came into possession of the entire south half of block 83, an ideal school location in the heart of the city.
The high school was moved into its elegant new quarters in January, 1900. Being no longer hampered for want of room the teaching force was increased and the departmental plan of work inaugurated, a most important step in the evolution of the school.
Failor having declined a reelection, the board chose H. H. Savage, to suc- ceed him, 1900. The selection proved to be a most fortunate one. Supt. Sav- age's qualifications were of a high order, he being a graduate of both the Iowa State University and the Iowa State Teachers' College. His candor and fairness won for him the admiration and enthusiastic support of his assistant teachers and made him the idol of the pupils from the primary to the high school. Dur- ing the five years of his supervision, 1900-05, the Denison school became known as one of the very best in the state. Having been offered a much better salary than Denison could pay and a wider field for the exercise of his talents, he ac- cepted a call to Waterloo, 1905. The next year while teaching in a summer school at Cedar Falls, his health suddenly gave way and he died soon after, mourned by hosts of school children and a state wide circle of friends.
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