USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Lee > Lee : the centennial celebration and centennial history of the town of Lee, Mass. > Part 2
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
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development of manly and womanly character, and the exemplification of pious principles and religious truth. Among the many excellences which the pupils and friends of this school love to recount as belong- ing to it, there is none, it seems to me, more characteristic than the generous, unselfish, public sentiment, which was always manifest whenever a fellow-pupil attained any high degree of merit and honor. I never knew of a bitter rivalry or an unworthy ambition. .
And so I deem it extremely probable that the most delightful part of this, the most delightful occasion in the history of this School, will be the tales of by-gone days and deeds, the boyish and girlish recol- lections of joys and hopes, of labors and loves, of tender sentiments and glorious imaginings of future possibilities, and of dreams which were none the less real and delightful, because impossible of realiza- tion in the very nature of things.
But all these reminiscences belong to after-dinner speeches, and private knots of contemporaneous school-mates, rather than to the theme of historical matter, and plain statistics of general public in- terest.
If ever the complete history of the School shall be written, what a mine of information would be discovered and developed by such re- unions ! How busy our memories would be in unearthing the long buried treasures of the daily unwritten records of school-life, and how fruitful the search would prove, must be obvious to all without de- monstration or argument. I bespeak, therefore, in the interest of future pupils and future friends and patrons of this institution, some thoughtful labor on the part of every one who has shared in giving or receiving instruction, that all of the interesting events may be made a matter of permanent record, before they shall be gone beyond re- call.
For the first sixty years of the town's existence under its charter, it had only the opportunities for instruction afforded by its district schools. That these possessed considerable merit is amply shown by the recognized intelligence and virtue of the inhabitants of the town, most of whom received in them all, or nearly all, of their school- training. But these schools were necessarily limited in the range of subjects taught, and in the extent to which any branch might be pursued. Yet they inspired a love of learning which made higher attainments possible. They laid a solid foundation on which to rear the superstructure of academic advantages and college culture.
The immediate forerunner of the Academy was a private school opened in May, 1835, by Mr. Alexander Hyde, who was graduated the year before at Williams College. After teaching this school for
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two years, he transferred it to Mr. (afterwards Rev.) Chester Fitch, of Lenox, who kept it for a short time. Mr. Hyde meanwhile opened a school at his residence, which was continued uninterruptedly for thirty years, to the great advantage and credit of the town. The Academy was organized in the year 1837, and the building erected the same year. Mr. (now Rev. Dr.) Israel Ward Andrews just graduated at Williams College, with high honor, was engaged as its first Princi- pal. He began his labors, Oct. 16, 1837, and concluded them in Dec. 1838, teaching five terms. Miss Jerusha Perry, afterward Mrs. Rev. Francis Le Clerc, became his assistant, and continued till the end of the fourth term, Sept. 1838, when she resigned and was suc- ceeded by Miss Judith Pierce.
Mr. Andrews remained the Principal for two years, when he was called to the Professorship of Mathematics in Marietta College-which call he accepted and which position he continued to fill till 1855, when he was chosen President of the college. This office he has hon- ored by eminent learning and ability for twenty-two years. May his usefulness be long spared to the college and to the youth of the land !
When Mr. Andrews left the Academy in 1839, he was succeeded for one term by his brother, Samuel J. Andrews, and he, by Rev. Samuel Mathews, who was recommended by Pres. Humphrey of Amherst College, where he was graduated in 1829, as " a teacher of seven years' experience." He remained for one year, assisted by Miss Lucy Kimball, who was hired at a fixed salary, and who re- signed " because the school did not pay expenses."
The next year, April 1, 1840, Mr. Alonzo Kimball, a graduate of Union College, became the Principal and remained in charge until June, 1845. When he began his term of office the school had but a small income. He relieved the Trustees of all financial responsibility. The average attendance was from 25 to 30 pupils each term. Mr. Kimball was assisted by Miss Weston.
Mr. Eli A. Hubbard, A. M., a graduate of Williams College, class of '42, was next elected to the principalship. He entered upon his duties Sept. 1, 1845. He taught the School with great acceptance, a period of six terms, until March 1, 1847, when he resigned to take charge of the High School in Northampton. His assistants during this time were Mrs. Hubbard, Mr. (afterwards Rev.) Charles Ball, Miss Sarah M. Bradley (Mrs. S. S. Rogers), Miss Martha Chamber- lain (Mrs. M. C. Uhler), and Miss Eliza Edwards (Mrs. William B. Fulton).
When Mr. Hubbard left, Mr. Charles Ball took charge of the school for the rest of the year.
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The next Principal, who was the last one chosen for the Academy, and during whose administration of the school it became the High School, and who was its first Principal, was Rev. Thomas Amory Hall, a graduate of Williams College of the class of '38. He began his term of service in the Fall of 1847, with Mrs. Hall as his assistant. The change to the High School was made in accordance with the state law, familiar to you all, under which the School is now carried on. Mr. Hall rendered valuable aid in the inauguration of the High School project, arranging its entrance examinations and courses of study. Miss Mary Ann Smith (Mrs. Elizur Smith), was engaged to assist Mr. and Mrs. Hall, as the number of pupils was, at one time, too large for two teachers.
In the Spring of 1853, Mrs. Hall's health failing, Miss Hattie N. Fletcher of the Normal School at Westfield, was invited to assist Mr. Hall.
In the Spring of 1854, Mr. Hall, after seven years of continuous labor, resigned his position and removed to Otis to resume his pas- toral work.
Mr. Henry Ellsworth Daniels, A. M., of the class of '53, Williams College, next became the Principal, entering upon his duties in the Summer of 1854. He taught successfully for two years, and resigned to engage in the study and practice of law. Miss Fletcher con- tinued as assistant while Mr. Daniels taught, and resigned at the end of the Fall term, 1855.
Before Mr. Daniels left, he secured by his recommendation, the services of Mr. Richard Knight Adams, a graduate of Williams Col- lege, class of '54, to finish the school year. Miss Goodrich was his assistant.
At the end of the school-year, the school committee found it neces- sary to look again for teachers. They were so fortunate as to secure Mr. (now Rev. Dr.) Ephraim Flint, of the class of '51, Williams Col- lege, as Principal, and Miss Phobe A. Holder, a graduate of the Nor- mal School at Westfield, as assistant. They began to teach June 30, 1856. Mr. Flint continued to teach until Sept. 10, 1862, when he resigned to take charge of the High School in Lynn. Miss Holder taught until Dec. 1861, when she resigned to engage in teaching in another school.
During the last two terms of Mr. Flint's principalship, Miss Louisa B. Brown and Miss M. Eliza Gibbs rendered valuable assistance in teaching some of the classes.
The present Principal, Abner Rice, A. M., of the class of '44, Yale College, entered upon his duties in connection with the School in Sept.
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1862. His term of service has been the longest of any teacher, and his work is the best known to many of my audience to-day. For the first four years he conducted the School without help. In April, 1866, Miss Charlotte G. Rice was engaged as assistant and continued to teach for five years. Miss M. Eliza Gibbs was engaged April 10, 1871, and taught for two terms. After her, the place was filled by Miss Isabella S. Wight, a graduate of the Normal School at Framing- ham, who taught two years, and was succeeded by Miss Lizzie S. Bran- ning who taught about a year and a half. She in turn was followed by Miss Wight, who is still in service.
Such are the few recorded facts of chronological interest. The story is simple, but when the final record shall be made, and when the "books shall be opened " and it shall be known how the lives and destinies, the condition and the characters, of the pupils commit- ted to the care of these worthy men and women, who have taught and trained for time and for eternity, have been influenced for good-how magnified will all this appear. Therefore it seems fit to say, that this record is both history and prophecy. The past is secure, and hope cannot cease for the future, for children will always keep the world from growing old. Schools are everywhere improving. New methods, while they do not discover any royal road to learning, do wonderfully improve the old highway. Looking back to the text- books of fifty years ago, and to the popular estimate at that time of what is called the education of the people, and considering what changes have been made during that time, what may we not confi- dently hope and expect during the school-life of some of this audience.
You will doubtless expect me to say something of the lives and labors of this goodly number of teachers to whom has been entrusted for forty years the educational and moral training of the youth of this town. But of the living, many of whom we are glad to have with us to-day, I must not speak by name. They all have earned and enjoy the gratitude of those who knew their sterling ability and faithful devotion, their kindly sympathy and dear companionship.
If teachers could see far enough into the future to know how their pupils would thank them for their earnest and loving counsels and hearty, helpful spirit of self-sacrifice, it would bridge over many a dark chasm which at the time seemed impassable, and would strengthen the courage which was so near to failing, to renewed patience over dullness, and reviving faith in perverse and incorrigible boys and thoughtless girls.
Of the twenty-eight regularly appointed Teachers, eleven Principals
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and seventeen Assistants, the great majority have been spared for long lives of usefulness. Four are gone to join the Great Teacher.
Of Mr. Mathews I can give no definite information.
Rev. Mr. Hall, who died in Monterey, Sept. 17, 1871, at the age of fifty-eight, was for seven years an able teacher. His scholarship was of a high order and his services were acceptable to the patrons of the school. His teaching was of the old order of academic hearing of recitations, and he knew whether a pupil had learned his lesson. As a preacher he was earnest, convincing, and sincere. His loss was deeply mourned by those who knew his worth.
Mr. Daniels fell a victim to consumption, Oct. 16, 1866, at the early age of thirty-six. He came to his work well fitted. His methods were modern, and his teachings imparted an impetus to the school activity which is felt to-day. Admired by his pupils for his brilliancy and thoroughness, he will remain for many the model teacher and gentleman. When the tidings came of his death it seemed as if one of the brightest stars in the firmament had set. His influence was left behind permanently impressed upon those who were so fortunate as to have had such a teacher.
Mr. Charles Ball, who assisted Mr. Hubbard, and who had charge of the school for one term, was well known in this town. One of the brightest and most promising boys, one of the most reliable and earnest young men, he was an honor both to the school and to the town. By his zeal in every good work, and his thorough devotion to his calling, his presence was an inspiration. As a preacher he was greatly liked, and his early death seemed an inscrutable providence. But he neither lived nor died in vain. His mission was fulfilled, his character complete.
What shall I say further ? Your own grateful hearts will supply what I have left unsaid, as memory runs back to grasp again the warm hand or to look into the dear eyes, long since closed to earthly scenes, and laid aside from earthly activities. In after years may it be possible for our friends to recall us, as we to-day, recall these whom we love and reverence.
Of the many friends of the school who have been its faithful adher- ents and warm supporters, and who are here to rejoice in its success to-day, I cannot find fit phrases to tell their merits, true, and tried. Yet I must mention the name of one who for more than forty years has been the able and loyal friend of education ; one who has had for this whole period one of the laboring oars, and to whom, I doubt not, this school not only, but this town, is indebted, more than to any other man, for hard, faithful, long-continued service. May his activity . 3
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in the good work never cease. You all know this can be no other than Alexander Hyde.
Of the friends of the School whose counsels can never be ours again, and whose loss we mourn as we celebrate their triumphs to-day, there is one man, I think, deserving both by his prayers and his efforts for this School, of the highest honor and the deepest regard in the heart of every graduate. Whenever any trial or discouragement or diffi- culty arose, all eyes were turned to him and never turned in vain. No sacrifice of time in the midst of an active business life, no measure of responsibility while beneath the heaviest loads of care, no amount of labor when weighed down under toil, was thought too great, if by it he could serve this School. In town meeting, in the social circle, in the legislature, in the street, in the School itself, in every place, he talked and he worked for, and he was well and honorably known as the friend of, education, and of public schools. His reputation needs no words of praise, but I feel I owe him a personal debt. Every boy and girl who ever studied within the walls of this institution is happier and wiser to-day because of his toils and sacrifices. I know that all who felt his influence in the earlier days of the school, when such in- fluence as his was needed, will be glad to honor his memory. I need not tell you that I refer to Samuel Augustus Hulbert. One such man as he in a community is a tower of strength. Upon whom has his mantle fallen ?
There are other names which should be mentioned. The older pupils remember Ransom Hinman, with his pleasant talks on grammar and penmanship and good manners ; in all of which he was a model worthy of imitation ; Alexander P. Bassett, who served so many years on the Committee, and who was ready and able when teachers failed, to lend a helping hand ; Dr. Gale, so long and so firm a friend and advocate, 'in school and out of it, for the highest intellectual, moral and religious culture ; a man who has left his impress on the town for good, in so many ways never to be effaced,-these, and many who should be mentioned did time permit, we will hold in honor and ever- lasting gratitude.
The Academy building was erected by a stock company in 1837. The shares were $25, and 120 in number. In 1865 there had been transferred to the town sixty-four of these shares, representing $1,600. The land on which this building stands was donated by the American Bible Society. The house may now fairly be regarded as owned by the town, for it controls a majority of the shares of stock, and the few surviving stockholders are well disposed to the school.
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The average attendance of the school has been very even.
Under Principal Andrews it was 54; Hubbard, 66; Hall, 62; Dan- iels, 52; Flint, 67; Rice, 70.
The number of teachers averages 2. The rate of tuition (as an Academy) was four to six dollars per quarter.
The appropriation (as a High School), for the last twenty years, av- erages for the school at the Center, $1,500; for the school at South Lee, $250; making a total of $1,750. This divided by 70, the aver- age number of pupils, gives $25 per pupil for the four quarters of the year. This, in the number of dollars, equals the rate of tuition in the Academy. But as the purchasing power of a dollar was then at least twice what it is now, the school costs at present but one-half what it used to cost, and the poor man sends his boys and girls. This great gain is matter of public congratulation.
I must not fail to mention the Branch High School, which for many years has been sustained at South Lee during the Winter months, for the accommodation of pupils who could not conveniently attend the school at the Center. The teachers and the pupils have done faithful work, and this school may now be considered as established on a per- manent foundation.
" I am aware that what I have given of the history of the school is known to many of you as well as, or even better than, it is known to me. I am sure my account is incomplete. I trust, however, it is not inaccurate in any important particular. I have made careful examin- ations of records, many of them too brief to tell all the story ; I have endeavored, by extended inquiry and correspondence, to get additional information, and I hope I have found sufficient to encourage some one to undertake the task of writing a complete history.
While the standard of attainment has always been high, the effi- ciency of the school has steadily increased under its present able ad- ministration, until it is considered, I am assured by competent judges, as second to no similar institution in this section of the State. Since 1872, there has been a regular course of study, on the completion of which, the graduate receives a diploma.
But while the school is so well managed and taught, its possible usefulness is very much impaired by the lack of desirable necessary apparatus in Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the general sciences. Would it be amiss for me to suggest that those graduates who are able to do so, should, in return for what the school has done for them, see that this want is speedily supplied? Will you pardon me if I further urge your attention to the condition of the grounds, which may be improved at small expense, and beautified by shrubbery, flowering, and
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other ornamental plants, and a well cut lawn. I am sure there are many who will be glad to contribute towards placing this new department of æsthetics among the educational forces of this excellent institution.
The friends of this School have always been ready to do battle for it on all occasions. The rich and the poor, who know the blessings of free universal education, have joined hands in its support. I well re- member the pride with which many a boy listened in town meeting to the speeches made by its friends, for the necessary money to carry it on another year. I seem to see, as if it happened yesterday, a poor man, abjectly poor, rise to his feet and tell the voters what the school had done for him in his poverty; how his children had been taught year by year, as if he had untold wealth at his command; how they had been fitted for stations in life far better than the one to which they had been born; how, by the blessed influence of this education, he looked hopefully to coming years, feeling that he could lie peace- fully down in the silence of the grave, thanking God for nothing bet- ter for those he loved than the advantages of such instruction. When he sat down, the vote was passed by a good majority. I remember, too, on another day, when the law was cited that the town was liable to a heavy fine if the school should not be sustained according to the provisions of the statute, and a man of some influence had said that "nobody would enter a complaint," that he " would stand between the town and all harm," a man of another stamp, who was accustomed to do what he promised and whose children had enjoyed the advanta- ges of the school and who prized it highly, rose to his feet and said, "Mr. Moderator, I wish to give notice that if this vote is not passed, I will enter a complaint against the town before to-morrow niglit." The vote was passed that time, too.
Indeed, I think there has never been a year when the town has failed to do its duty. In its earlier years, the fate of the school used to tremble in the balance, but the sterling sense of its many support- ers, backed by the strong arm of wise statutes, has turned the scale in its favor at last.
The great money-making machine of Massachusetts is not lier fac- tories or her mills, but her public school system. It is this which has given her wealth and capital; it is this which has given lier such ad- vantages in controlling the industries of the country. The larger the sum she expends for education, the richer she grows.
It is a well known fact, that the development of the brain power of a country pays the largest return, not only in refinement and culture, but in dollars and cents. Intelligent ·labor of all kinds is always in demand. The efficiency of the educational system of a country is the
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index of national prosperity. Ideas rule the world. Brains own and control muscle not less than they rule the elemental forces of Nature. Happily for all who reap the advantages of public school education in this town, the value of this highest department is known and admitted by those whose duty it is made by the wisdom of the State, and whose privilege it is considered by themselves to provide for its support. While the course of study here has always been adapted to fitting boys for college, it has not sent a large number thither. Its chief work has been done in giving a good academic training for business and so- cial life. It has always had a goodly number of pupils in proportion to the number of inhabitants of the town, and whenever it has sent boys to college they have not disgraced their course of preparation. It has had, without exception, teachers of ability, of good character, of pious lives, who have trained their pupils by precept and by example, in both human and divine wisdom. The many questions of education which have vexed other schools have not affected it. It has taught science and religion, and discovered no conflict between them. It has gone quietly on its way reading the Bible and asking God's blessings on its pupils in their labors, as if it were a right and proper thing to do. It has abolished corporal punishment because the occasion for it disappeared when the law of love appeared.
The outcome of such a course of training under such influences, is most fortunate. The graduates of such a school must be imbued with good principles and devoted to good deeds. They must grasp and set- tle for themselves, and perchance for others, some of the most impor- tant problems that can confront the human understanding. They are called on as citizens of a free republic, to consider and decide questions of political economy, of State rights, of international equity, of statute law, of public morality, and of Christian ethics. These are but a small part of the task set before the boy and girl who steps out across the threshold of the High School.
What evidence is there that this preparation is ample? In what has there been shown a fitness to discharge such high duties? If we look beyond the ordinary responsibilities of good citizenship and faith- ful domestic life, I think that the most satisfactory answers can be found when we consider the sacrifices made by the graduates of this school, who were engaged in our late civil war, and who must have prepared for such a conflict while peacefully studying the principles of good government, of law and order, of sound morality and political justice. It is the high reward of those who die in defense of their native land, that their names are forever sweet in the mouths of those for whom they died. Their title to nobility none shall ever dispute.
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The men who, in the simple devotion of heroic citizen soldiery gave themselves to the dangers of the camp and the battle-field that the na- tion might not die, were permitted, as few have been in their mortal career, to bear a most important part in making one of the grandest chapters of history the world has ever known. "Events are not his- tory. Behind the events is the law and behind the law is an immuta- ble and a just Jehovah. All history is a growing up into the light." Above the wail and the shout and the shock of battle, Truth strikes out the key-note of a sublimer conflict, and ever and anon "there steps out grandly from the Infinite " one who gives victory to the right. The mission God gave this country, is the lofty ideal of an exalted humanity, the right of men everywhere under the broad canopy of Heaven to become what God made them to be, " heroes and sons of God," working out His eternal purposes in the light of reason and loyalty. Before such a mission all bow in glad and willing homage, for though its approach may be hindered by the darkness of ignorance, though kings may scoff at it and statesmen deride, yet the nations stand on tiptoe waiting for its glorious appearing, and it will come at last crowned with might and majesty. In honoring these men there is no desire to perpetuate the memory of civil strife, or to keep alive sectional animosities, but to show our appreciation of all knightly deeds. The rough school of war taught not only the soldier, but every Amer- ican, to lay aside local prejudice and bigotry when it brought him face to face with the stern realities of loyalty and brotherhood and equal rights ; to entertain a humbler estimate of himself, and a juster one of his own and other countries when it showed him the price at which national blessings must ever be secured and maintained. That government alone is safe and strong which lives in the virtuous homes of its citizens. The heart, and not the head, is the fountain of patriotism. The heroic affections of a people are the strongest polit- ical cords of a nation. In these affections are involved honor and magnanimity, justice and charity. He who loves his home with his tenderest passion, will love his country with like steadfast devotion. The brightest light which can guide, and the most genial warmth which can cheer a human soul, radiate from a happy hearth-stone. All that is dear to us in our social life is strengthened and perpetuated by a righteous government, and that national policy is suicidal which does not shine into the humblest cottage, to awaken in the loving bo- soms of its inmates unbounded trust and unstinted assistance. I care not what section of country a man may claim and glorify as his own, if he have faith in human fellowship and believes in fervent prayers. No labor or sacrifice will be too great for him to perform that he may
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