USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Hatfield > Hatfield Annual Town Report 1891-1911 > Part 19
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John Coffey,
Theresa Myer,
Barbara (Bockett) Betzold,
Charles Austin Jones,
William P. Cowles,
Carl Henry Smith,
Anthony Wanczyk,
John Pele,
Samuel P. Billings,
Clara (Reidel) Foley.
Stillborn and Premature births, six (6).
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DOG LICENSES.
The number of dogs licensed during the year ending November 30, 1902, with the receipts and settlements of the account with the County Treasurer, is as follows : 98 male dogs at $2.00 each, $196 00
3 female dogs at $5.00 each, 15 00
$211 00
Less fees, 101 dogs at 20 cents each,
20 20
Amount paid County Treasurer, June 1 and Dec. 1, 190 80
Amount paid County Treasurer for the five previous years :
1897 1898
1899
1900
1901
$169.00 $129.00
$286.00 $204.00 $221.00
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM D. BILLINGS, Town Clerk.
Assessors' Report.
Total value of Assessed Estate, $1,250,282 00
Valued of Assessed Real Estate, $925,813
Personal Estate, 324,469
Buildings assessed value, 467,946
Land 457,867
$925,813 00
Number of Male polls assessed, 548
residents assessed on property, 327
66 non-residents 92
Total number of persons
419
poll tax only, 296
Number of horses assessed,
527
COWS
369
is neat cattle other than cows ass'd 68
sheep assessed, 3 -
66
swine
66
38
1 fowls 1,165
Amount committed to the Tax Collector, (July 1902) for collection :
State tax,
$585 00
County tax,
2,012 85
Town tax, 13,132 00 ~
Overlayings 357 71
Northampton & Amherst St. Railway Co. (Oct. 1902) 124 28
Estimated Bank and Corporation tax, 1,200 00
Value of property exempt from taxation under Chapter 12, section 5, Revised Laws.
Literary Institutions, $66,395 93
Church Property,
24,000 00
2
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ASSETS OF THE TOWN AS REPORTED TO THE TAX COMMISSIONER.
School houses,
$15,000 00
Other public buildings,
12,000 00
Cemeteries,
1,000 00
Water Works,
50,000 00
Fire apparatus,
1,500 00
Sinking Fund, (water) May, 1902,
5,000 00
$84,500 00
Respectfully submitted,
WM. D. BILLINGS,
LEWIS H. KINGSLEY, JOHN VOLLINGER,
Assessors of Hatfield.
- List of Books added to the Public Library, Hatfield, Mass., March 2, 1903.
AUTHOR
TITLE
Matthews, Ohio and Her Western Reserve.
Stephens, Captain Ravenshaw.
Horning, Shadow of the Rope.
Corey, Highway of Fate.
Belden,
Antonia.
Jerome,
Paul Kelver.
Stevenson,
Tommy Remington's Battle.
Linn,
Bob and His Gun.
Connolly,
Jeb Hutton.
Connolly,
Out of Gloucester.
Ashton,
She Stands Alone.
Townsend,
Wasp's Nest (In the.)
Blanchard,
Loyal Lass.
Waterloo,
Story of a Strange Career.
Thruston, Mistress Brent.
Thruston,
Girl of Virginia.
Rome,
Maid of Bar Harbor.
Pemberton,
House Under the Sea.
McCall, Truth Dexter.
Devereux, Up and Down the Sands of Gold.
Report of Sinking Fund Commissioners.
We have the following amounts deposited to the credit of the Sinking Fund.
Amherst Savings Bank,
$1,258 70
Northampton Institution for Savings, 1,140 76
Haydenville Savings Bank,
1,026 39
Nonotuck Savings Bank,
977 28
Florence Savings Bank,
566 14
Town of Hatfield Water Bond,
1,000 00
Total,
$5,969 27
M. J. RYAN, R. M. WOODS, C. S. WARNER,
Sinking Fund. Commissioners.
I have this day examined the vouchers of the Sinking Fund Commissioners and found them correct.
C. L. GRAVES, Auditor.
Hatfield, February 28, 1903.
Report of School Committee.
To the Citizens of Hatfield :
As required by law your School Committee again respect- fully submit their annual report. We also append a report from our Superintendent, who has given good work in the schools for the past two years, and reports from music and drawing teachers. We think our teachers are all doing good work, and our schools are improving year by year.
We have done considerable repairing on our schoolhouses the past year-more than we intended to do, but when we commence work on a building we always find more to do than we expect. We have paid for painting in West Hatfield school- house, $63 60; West Brook, $38 35; Center, $123 50; · and Hill, $76 70, making $302 15 for special repairs. The bal- ance we have expended would come under ordinary repairs.
HENRY S. HUBBARD, SAMUEL H. FIELD, JOHN J. BATZOLD,
School Committee,
-
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SCHOOL EXPENSES.
Mary J. Breor, teaching school, 66
$360 00
Mary E. Breor,
324 00
Margaret Allaire, 360 .00 66
Carrie H. Warner, 16
261 60
Katherine Day, 66 324 00
Elizabeth Gilson,
66
312 00
Susan Casey, 120 00
Fanny E. Bixby,
104 00
Nora M. Connery,
192 00
Mary E. Lyman,
135 00
Mary C. Pollard,
81 00
Mary Coffey, janitor,
16 25
Annie Merrick, sweeping,
2 00
A. L. Strong, wood,
99 00
G. W. Danforth, coal,
68 34
Kimball & Cary,
16 00
Patrick McCarthy, 66
45 00
H. S.Hubbard, drawing coal, 2 00
S. W. Field, sawing wood and drawing coal, 14 90
R. M. Woods, Treasurer, coal, 54 13
Mary J. and Mary E. Breor, sweeping,
6 00
Margaret Allaire,
14 00
Helen Moore,
3 75
Frank Minosky, sawing wood,
5 00
John Machine, 66 6
5 50
H. S. Hubbard, cash, 66
3 50
Martin Chola, 66
4 00
Frank Bell,
3 00
Claude H. Hubbard, janitor,
35 00
Hilary Levitre,
10 50
Patrick Brennan, 66
21 20
Mrs. A. Hilbert,
43 00
Scott Harris,
20 64
Mrs. Fred Cleval,
sweeping,
3 00
Susan Casey,
1 00
.
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John Batzold,
sawing wood, 10 25
Miss R. E. Montague,
teaching, 34 20
A. L. Strong,
for wood, 11 00
Patrick McCarthy,
coal,
40 00
Mrs. M. Hilbert,
sweeping,
22 00
Transportation of Teachers,
9 00
$3,196 76
SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
W. H. Cummings,
$
4 11
Ginn & Company,
126 09
S. E. Bridgman & Co.,
3 52
H. S. Hubbard, Sup'y, Agt. and Express,
14 25
The Applied Arts Guile,
70
Milton Bradley Co.,
6 67
American Book Co.,
12 48
Edward E. Babb & Co.,
63 90
Silver Burdett & Co.,
12 51
Boston & Maine Railroad,
1 30
J. L. Hammett Co.,
105 95
W. H. Cummings,
1 71
$353 19
TUITION SMITH ACADEMY.
Rev. R. M. Woods, Treasurer, 500 00
DRAWING IN SCHOOLS.
Lepha N. Kingsley, 90 00
32 00
Mrs. L. H. Kingsley, carrying teacher, .
$122 00
SCHOOL HOUSE REPAIRS.
John Salver, labor school-yard No. Hatfield, $ 5 00
Shumway & Riley, repairs, 22 50
Frary Bros., repairs, 8 50
- 38 -
H. S. Hubbard, cash for labor,
5 90
" keys,
65
H. W. Wolfram, labor,
51 95
Harry N. Hunt,
5 50
Foster Bro's,
mdse.,
88
S. H. Field,
repairs,
8 50
shades,
14 30
E. P. Lyman,
labor,
9 08
S. W. Kingsley,
1 00
O'Connor & McGrath,
8 10
John J. Batzold,
3 00
M. H. Burke,
painting,
302 15
F: D. Jacobs,
repairs
6 32
S. H. Field,
4 10
Chas N. Fitts,
shades
3 00
$460 43
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
W. H. Cummings, . $480 00
MUSIC IN SCHOOLS.
Thomas Charmbury, $150 00
TEACHERS AND SALARIES.
NAMES.
WHERE FITTED.
SCHOOL.
TIME.
PAY.
Margaret A. Allaire
Westfield Normal School Smith Academy
Cent. Gram. & Hill 6.
The Year. 6.6
$360 00
Mary J. Breor
360 00
Mary E. Breor
Hill Primary Center Primary 66
30 weeks. 5 weeks. The Year.
34 20
Katherine Day,
Smith Academy Stoneham High
W. HatfieldGram: Prim.
312 00
Fanny E. Bisby
West Brook
12 weeks.
104 00
Mary E, Lyman
15
I35
00
Mary C. Pollard
9
81 00
Susan Casey .
Bridgewater Normal School
North Hatfield
12
120 00
Nora M. Connery
192 00
Thomas Charmbury
150 00
Lepha N. Kingsley
Teacher of Music " Drawing
90 00
-
HENRY S. HUBBARD,
COMMITTEE : SAMUEL H. FIELD, JOHN J. BATZOLD.
W. H. CUMMINGS, Superintendent.
- 39 -
324 00
Carrie H. Warner . Montague .
.
261 60
324 00
Elizabeth Gilson
.
-
-
Superintendent's Report.
To the School Committee of. Hatfield,
According to your rule I herewith present the second annual report of the schools in town.
The school work of the past year has in general followed the lines indicated in the superintendent's report of last year,. giving special attention to the quality of the teaching and to attendance.
In the judgment of the superintendent the work has steadily improved in all the schools, in some of them improv- ement has been made in a marked degree. This will always be the case when teachers are intelligent and enterprising and constantly endeavoring to improve themselves and the quality of their work.
Our teachers have made visiting day of real benefit to themselves by selecting some school in which they can find just the object lesson they most need and there spending the day in observation and study in order to strengthen up some weak plece in their own work. This is a decided advantage over merely passing the day in general observation with no definite object in view.
Teachers' meetings have been used to some extent as a means for improving school room work, but individual sug- gestion, direction, and discussion have also been relied on to some extent instead of the teachers' meetings which cannot
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be held in our town without some expense to teachers and considerable loss of time to the schools.
The slight additional outlay for wages in order to secure teachers of skill and experience has brought to the schools more than an adequate return.
ATTENDANCE.
Much attention has been given by teachers and superin- tendent, to the important subject of attendance and some im- provement has been made.
In some schools it is now true that the comparatively few cases of absenteeism are those caused chiefly by sickness. In such schools, as is always to be expected, there is corres- ponding improvement in the interest and progress of the pupils.
Teachers, truant officer, and superintendent have talked personnally with parents in regard to the importance of a punctual and unbroken school attendance and in most cases this has had its effect in bringing up the standard.
But much remains to be done. In many families absentee- ism is as great a drawback as ever and it would seem that in a few cases at least it is not enlightenment that is needed so much as an application of the law that is provided for such cases. Our schools cannot be as efficient as they may and ought to be till there is a reasonable degree of regularity in attendance.
In his annual report Secretary Hill says : There are scores of reasons assigned for the non-attendance of children that cannot, in any fairness, make the absence necessary. They are reasons that parents or pupils may readily over- come by a little extra pains, a little greater sturdiness, a little
- 43-
more self denial, a little greater forethought, a little higher conception of duty.
FACILITIES.
One new set of supplementary readers has been purchased and placed in the hands of the pupils. This has stimulated interest in reading and aided materially the special efforts of the teachers along this important line of work. A. child should not be required to read a book the second time; it kills all interest. True, there may be some special selection that he enjoys and may like to read more than once, but his inter- est is gone if required to read the whole book in course. If compelled to do it he will not learn anything but the bad habit of reading without thought. This makes supplementary readers a necessity, but as a pupil must always be using a reader, they are in the long run no more expensive, and by a judicious distribution and exchange between schools, a few books may be so used as to be new books to a large number of different pupils. I would recommend the purchase of one new set of readers for the coming year.
The work of the teachers has been made easier and the surroundings more pleasant for the pupils by the renewing of the interior of the school rooms in the summer vacation. The teachers are appreciating and greatly enjoying these, improve- ments.
In the ideal schoolhouse and grounds there will be nothing unsightly and ugly. Everything outside and in will be kept in repair. The whole will be plain and in good taste, but not necessarily expensive -- certainly not gaudy. The walls and ceiling will be tastefully tinted and decorated with good pictures-the work of artists. Every part of the room is cleaned and dusted daily, an air of neatness and order: per-
·
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vades the whole room. The building itself is pleasing to the eye-beautiful as well as comfortable and convenient, beauty is as important as comfort or convenience. The grounds are well laid out, and some parts of them contain foliage, plants and flowers. The outbuildings are constructed and cared for with reference to sanitation, neatness and refinement.
All are unconsciously but surely influenced by their sur- roundings. The "ideal schoolhouse" is desirable because it trains the children in ueatness, order and in forming a refined taste.
The town employs a teacher of drawing, and wisely, I think, spends several hundred dollars annually on this subject. The object is not to make artists, but to train the children to appreciate the beautiful everywhere, for the most effective way of training the moral faculties is to open the mind to the influence of beauty. An appreciation of moral beauty is pretty certain to go along with a love for natural beauty.
Now a dirty and disorderly school room, a schoolhouse of ungainly proportions, a stove-pipe with a twist or a crook, any ugliness in a child's environments has its influence and is militating against the work of the drawing teacher.
P
The time is coming when tasteful and beautiful surround- ings will be deemed as necessary for a school as a healthful location, when decorated walls will be considered as important as good discipline, and when it will be thought as important to train the sensibilities of a child as now to train his intel- lect.
Of course it is not practicable to have "ideal" conditions in every part of the town at once; but some improvements we have already, and in every change that is made the aim may be to have the best, especially when the tasteful is no more expensive than the ugly.
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In this connection I desire to call attention to a much needed reform, and one that would involve perhaps a special appropriation by the town. I refer to the need of new out- buildings for water-closets for all but the hill schools. These ought to be constructed, one for boys and one for girls, with some space between them and with separate approaches. Then it should be the duty of a competent janitor to keep them clean and in proper condition.
Bearing in mind the fact that pupils are to be trained for citizenship, and therefore that good morals are quite as im- portant as a trained intellect, their environment and every in- fluence should be such as to strengthen and not destroy moral sentiment. The condition of the outbuildings in connection with most of the school houses is not such as to help, but rather to hinder sound, moral development. The influence of disgusting and filthy surroundings is very injurious to the morals and manners of our children. We would not allow them to breathe the exhalations of a cesspool for fear of poison to the system, but we seem indifferent toward surroundings that poison the mind and coarsen the manners. Every parent in town should insist that degrading surroundings should no longer exist. With but little care, one outbuilding in town is being [kept clean and decent for the use of the pupils. If all were once put in proper shape, and provision made for proper care and oversight, then, in every case, we believe the abuse can be corrected, as it has been in this case, where the experiment has been tried.
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TEACHERS.
That we have not more young women from Hatfield in the normal schools is a thing to be regretted. There are in the 8th and. 9th grades, the. academy and among the aca- demy's graduates, a pretty good number of capable girls and young women who should be encouraged to train themselves for the work of teaching. The present demand for normal school graduates is itself an encouragement and also a pro- mise that a good teacher properly trained would find ready and remernerative employment.
For small tows paying not more than $9 or $10 per week it is almost impossible in mid-year to find a teacher with a normal school training notwithstanding the fact that normal schools of the state are turning out five hundred as an annual product.
The most of them, certainly the more desirable, are sooner or later, taken by the cities and larger towns that can pay more attractive salaries. In this region Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield use the larger part, and yet there is probably not a superinteneent in the state, in city, or country that does not prefer, other things being equal, . a normal school graduate.
80 per cent of all the teachers in the state have had nor- mal school training in whole or in part and still the demand is increasing and their price is rising.
I have dwelt upon this topic at some length hoping that our young women may be encouraged to enter this field of work which offers ready employment as well as a useful and honorable career.
With free tuition and text-books and living expenses at normal schools purposely kept within the limits of moderate
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means a two year course of training is within the reach of al- most everyone. .
There is still another view of the subject aside from the one that has been considered. This is the value of such a training to one's self.
It is thought by some that a technical education es- pecially a training for teaching where so much attention is paid to methods, is inferior for purposes of mental discipline and general culture,
It is probably true that there is no general preparation for a life work of almost any kind superior to that furnished by a four years course in college, but with the normal school student the thought that to serve others is the object of all her preparation is more vividly present to her mind and this altruistic feature of her daily work is a large factor in the de- velopment of all her powers. Hence it may perhaps be fairly said that the result of the years spent in normal school may not be, for general purposes, much inferior, if at all so, to that of the same number spent in college.
It may be said that there are many excellent teachers who have had no special training of any kind. This is true and might remain so if it were not for the significant fact that the time has come, almost everywhere in Massachusetts at least, when an applicant without either experience or special training cannot find employment. The only place to learn to teach by teaching is in the training school of some city, or, better, in the normal school.
The value placed on the work of skilful and able teachers is increasing, but only in a few cases is the money consider- ation sufficient to become a great inducement for choosing that special calling, and it never should be the inducement. The teacher that is in the work merely or chietly for the
-
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salary has no right to be there. Only the self-denying, child- loving and broad-minded are suited to undertake the great , work of preparing our children for the grave duties of citizenship.
To be able to help a little child or to inspire boys and girls to noble thinking and living should be the teacher's ruling motive always.
In the machinery of school work the teacher is the all important factor.
A good teacher means a good school, without a good teacher a good school is an impossibility no matter how fa- vorable all other conditions may be.
On her personality and character depend not only the in- tellectual progress of her pupils but also, a thing of more con- sequence, the planting and growth to a large extent of those moral traits that make for character and good citizenship.
How important to the welfare of our town that every school in it be provided with a teacher whose personality shall be an abiding influence in promoting true manhood or womanhood in her pupils.
I wish to put on record my appreciation of the faithful- ness and efficiency of our able corps of teachers.
Respectfully submitted,
W. H. CUMMINGS.
1
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To Mr. W. H. Cummings, Supt. of Schools :
DEAR SIR :- On the whole there has been a steady im- provement in the work in drawing since last March, although it may not be as apparent in some rooms as in others. This of course is due largely to the change of classes from one room to another.
To review at any length this year's work in drawing seems unnecessary, as only the smallest idea of what has been done can be presented here. Instead, I would urge that every one interested should be invited to come and see work. They can then form their own opinion in regard to its value.
Some time ago, you asked me to speak of the advantages to be derived from the study of drawing by the pupils in our public schools. Mr. Frank A. Hill, Sec. of our State Board of Education has stated these advantages so clearly in one of his addresses that I take the liberty to quote from it : "There are some who say that but few can really draw, and that those who can excel in drawing are fewer still. Possibly there is a grain of truth in this very sweeping assertion. But, even if it were true in some larger sense, it would not by any means follow that drawing should not be generally taught in the schools.
A hint or two as to a proper attitude towards drawing in the schools can be gained from our attitude towards what is now doing in language work in the schools. We want the children to read, write and speak the English language. A re- view of their work usually shows that some do it wretchedly, some passably well, some very well and some superbly. We also want the children to read good books, to appreciate what is fine in literature, it being unquestionably true that children in large numbers are capable of appreciating fine things in
- 50 -
literature long before they can hope to do fine things in litera- ture, indeed, most of them never will do fine things in litera- ture. So in art instruction, some may draw wretchedly, some may draw fairly well, some may draw very well indeed, and now and then a person may draw superbly. But nearly all, whether they can themselves draw or not, can learn to appre- ciate good drawing in others, that is to say, there is in drawing instructions something corresponding to literature in English instruction. We want to get at the hearts of the children, and enlarge them for the fine and beautiful things in life."
Respectfully yours,
LEPHA N. KINGSLEY.
Vocal Music.
Mr. W. H. Cummings, Supt. of Schools :
I herewith hand a brief report of the year's work in vocal music in the Hatfield schools. At the beginning of the spring term of last year, by your consent and advice, the Weaver system of individual singing was put into the West Brook school as an experiment, and was given a good and faithful trial. The results were eminently pleasing and satisfactory. At the beginning of the present year, the system was put into all the schools, and it has been in successful operation since that time, and we have now reached a point in our schools where it may be said that all are singing with more or less proficiency, for there is not a boy or girl in all the town who does not stand and sing alone when called upon to do so.
This system has enabled us to find the weak places, and to help the deficicient, and has given a self-reliance and confi- dence in his ability, which many of the pupils did not before possess. We are realizing more and more in these days, that to educate is not to cram the pupil, but to develop and lead out what is already there. Music has this leading out power, not only by listening to music, but by trying to reproduce it, do we come into the enjoyment of the real beauties of the art.
No richer heritage may be carried onward into life by the young than the love of song, and that knowledge which enables him to understand it to his comfort and delight.
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Every child should get at least this, from the brief daily lesson, and getting this, he will be a better man and citizen. The changes made in the Hill and Centre grammar schools have made the teaching of music in those schools more easy. I close this brief report with sincere thanks to you and the teachers, for the hearty support and cooperation given me during the past year.
Respectfully,
THOMAS CHARMBURY.
·
ANNUAL REPORTS
- OF THE
TOWN OFFICERS
- -: OF THE :
Town of Hatfield
HATFIELD
670
INDUSTRY
PROSPERITY
-- FOR THE
YEAR ENDING MARCH 1, 1904.
1904 HERALD JOB PRINT NORTHAMPTON, MASS.
Articles in the Warrant for Town Meeting, March 21, 1904.
ARTICLE 1. To choose a Moderator to preside at said meeting.
ART. 2. To choose all necessary town officers including one member of the School Committee for three years, one member of the Board of Water Commissioners for three years, one member of the Sinking Fund Commissioners for three years, one member of the Library Trustees for three years.
ART. 3. To choose an Elector under the Will of the late Oliver Smith.
ART. 4. To vote by ballot "Yes" or "No" on the ques- tion, Shall license be granted for the sale of intoxicating liquors in this town for the ensuing year.
ART. 5. To revise and accept the list of jurors reported by the Selectmen.
ART. 6. To hear the report of the various town officers and act thereon.
ART. 7. To receive and pass on town accounts.
ART. 8. To take action in relation to maintenance and repair of highways and bridges for the ensuing year.
ART. 9. To take action in relation to raising money to defray the necessary expenses of the town for the ensuing year.
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