USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Oakham > Town annual report of the officials of Oakham, Massachusetts 1913 > Part 3
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253 65
Princeton,
1
521
3.897
203 13
Holden,
1
521
3.897
203 13
Hubbardston,
6
82%
3.897
322 81
Auburn,
1
133
3.897
51 69
Rutland,
4
692
3.897
269 93
Millbury,
6
2315
3.897
902 92
Sterling,
1
341
3.897
132 93
Holland,
1
198
3.897
77 26
$3499 48
RECEIPTS.
Milk,
$2757 10
Eggs and poultry,
132 60
Vegetables,
22 07
Outside labor,
851 05
Stock,
115 50
Board received from sundry persons,
245 60
Miscellaneous,
10 81
Hay,
59 82
CASH RECEIVED
Charlton,
$299 44
Leicester,
532 15
Paxton,
250 44
Westminster,
253 65
5
26
Princeton,
$203 13
Holden,
203 13
Hubbardston,
322 81
Auburn,
51 69
Rutland,
269 93
Millbury,
902 92
Sterling,
132 93
Holland,
77 26
$7694 03
Following is a list of towns comprising the Charlton Poor Farm Association : Charlton, Leicester, Paxton, Westminster, Princeton, Holden, Hubbardston. Auburn, Rutland, Millbury, Sterling, Holland, Hardwick, Phillipston and Oakham.
HOBART RAYMOND, President. E. W. MERRICK, Secretary. A. FREDERICK PUTNAM, Treasurer.
1
Fire Warden's Report.
THERE has been only one very serious forest fire in town the past year. That was in Coldbrook. There have been several small fires during the year. One set of buildings has been burned at the North Four Corners and owned by a party in Worcester. No one there at the time. There have been several alarms caused by chimney fires, but not much damage done owing to having a good supply of extinguishers. The town has purchased more extinguishers the past year and they have been placed to good advantage. Still a few more conld be placed to good advantage. A fire wagon at Coldbrook and two extension ladders are needed ; one at Oakham Center and one at Coldbrook. It has been said by parties in the employ of the state that the town is better protected against fire than any town of its size in the state. yet some of these things here suggested would be money well laid out. The town paid out on account of fires the past year $169.29, which would proba- bly have been very much more if we had not had a good supply of extinguishers.
CHARLES H. TROWBRIDGE,
Fire - Warden.
1
Fobes Memorial Library.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT .- DR.
Balance on hand,
$3 38
Fines and cards,
5 75
Town,
5 00
To cash from dog fund,
113 22
$127 35
CR.
Paid F. E. Davis, librarian,
$75 00
G. N. Briggs, exchange of books,
25 00
For books,
8 90
For magazines,
8 55
Express and postage,
3 76
Town, cards and fines,
5 75
$126 96
Overdrawn balance on hand,
$4 62
Amount of library fund Jan. 1, 1913, 8702 14
Contributors to the library during the year : Mis. Geo. Butler, Henry C. Fobes, Mrs. A. D. Adams, Prof. H. P. Wright, Mrs. Celia E. Fobes, Woman's Education Associa- tion, Y. P. S. C. E., F. E. Davis, J. H. Bullard, Miss J. Etta
29
Bullard, Rev. A. H. Plumb, Mrs. Oscar Loring, Horace M. Green, Lynus Bacon, G. M. Dean, John Moore, An unknown friend, E. L. Parker, C. H. Parker, Hon. C. D. Paige, State Library Commission.
- Thanks are extended to all contributors.
JESSE ALLEN, SARA E. BUTLER, MINNIE L. WOODIS, Library Trustees.
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT.
DURING the year the library has been open 102 days
Circulation for home use, 2423
Largest number charged in one day, March 28, 42
Smallest number charged in one day, 10
Loaned for use in the public schools, 54
These periodicals are found on the reading room table : Technical World, MeClure's, Harper's Weekly, New England. Youth's Companion, Christian Herald, Christian Endeavor World, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Farm Journal, Temperance Cause, Appeal to Reason, Woman's National Weekly, Sea Breezes, Our Dumb Animals, Every- body's and Worcester Telegram.
These are loaned for home use after removal from the table. The library has catal gned 2375 volumes.
ADDITIONS DURING THE YEAR.
TITLE. AUTHOR.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine,
Lincoln
Lords of High Decision,
Nicholson
Wee Macgregor,
30
The Gadfly,
Voynich
The Prodigal Son.
Caine
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall,
Major
Indiaua,
Sand
The Continental Dragon,
Stephens
The Recording Angel,
Harris
The Under Dog,
Smith
Looking Backward,
Bellamy
The House of Mirth,
Wharton
The Four Feathers
Mason
Checkers.
Blossom
Give Me Thine Heart,
Roe
Castle Craneycrow,
Mccutcheon
The Man in Lower Ten,
Rinehart
Captain Macklin,
Davis
Rockhaven,
Munn
Doctor Claudius,
Crawford Kimball
Beatrice Sunapter.
Cheatham
The Tobacco Tiller,
Hackley
The Yokefellow,
Davisson
Hot Coals.
Vincent
Uncle Sim,
Lake
Barselma's Kiss,
Lee
Chaney's Stratagem,
Pinnix
Signa! Lights,
Hopkins
A Maid of Moods,
Shepherd
The Belle of the Bluegrass Country,
Pittman
Son of the North,
Roberts
Beauacre,
Appleton
Jeremiah's Sammy.
Gabriel
Tompkinsville Folks,
Stevens
The Broken Wheel,
May
'The Baronet Rag-picker.
Coom
Piney Home,
31
The Devil Worshipers,
Ray
Old Ninety-nine's Cave,
Gray
Midsummer Madness,
Loring
Priest or Pretender,
Cunningham
A Rocky Mountain Feud,
Loutham
Owl Tower,
Coom
The Vassalage,
Bell
Ou Satan's Mount,
Tilton
Climbing up to Nature,
Lewis
The Tragedy of the Deserted Isle.
Wood
The Divine Seal,
Orcutt
The Mystery of a Miniature,
Edwards
The Misadventures of Marjorie,
Naylor
An American Sovereign,
Merrill
The Haunted King,
Moore
Real Letters of a Real Girl,
Betty
Yarb and Cretine,
Swayze
Thro' the Buhrs,
Wilson
The Vintage of Spain,
Smart
The Heart of Silence,
Cramp
Under the Flag of the Cross,
Sedberry
Love Stories From Real Life,
Champagne
The Tyranny of Power,
Clark
The Untamed Philosopher,
Hastings
Tract Number 3377,
Higgins
The Royal Life-guards,
Dumas
Guilty or not Guilty,
Douglas
A New Graft on the Family Tree,
Pansy
Bobbie, General Manager,
Prouty
In the Days of Queen Victoria,
Tappan.
In the Days of Alfred the Great,
Tappan
In the Days of Wm. the Conqueror,
Tappan
In the Days of Queen Elizabeth,
Tappan
Our Country's Story,
Tappan
L
32
Robin Hood, His Book,
Knight Errant,
Tappan Lvall
The Visits of Elizabeth, Toto,
Glyn Richards
Tigers and Traitors,
Verne
Wild Life Near Home,
Sharp
Forest Neighbors,
Hulbert
Five Cousins in California,
Forest
Following the Deer,
Long
The Riddle of the Universe,
Haeckle
Tom Brown's School Days,
Hughes
Old Lamps for New,
Dickens
England's Story,
Tappan
The Christ Story,
Tappan
Story of the Greek People,
Tappan.
Letters from Colonial Children,
Tappau
The Coming Race,
Bulwer
Life of Geo. Peabody,
Hanaford Roe
Memorial Addresses,
Tirrell
When May Flowers Blossom,
Plumb
Gen. Sherman,
Northrop
Soldiers' Story of Andersonville,
Goss
Andrew Jackson,
Jackson
Adventures in Contentment,
Grayson Grayson Porter
V. V's Eyes,
Harrison
The Following of the Star,
Barclay
Moni the Goat-boy,
Kunz
Ipswich Vital Records.
Newbury Vital Records.
Andover Vital Records.
39th Mass. Reg. Vol.,
Adventures in Friendship,
Pollyanna,
33
Haverhill Vital Records. Tantalus, A Boy's Vacation Abroad, New America and the Far East, nine volumes.
Kimmell King
Respectfully submitted,
FRANK E. DAVIS. Librarian.
-
REPORT OF THE Cemetery Committee.
RECEIPTS.
From town appropriation,
$100 00
Perpetual care of lots,
38 25
Individual care of lots, 60 50
$198 75
EXPENSES.
Paid Edwin Green, superintendent, services,
$137 74
M. S. Dean, paint and postage,
6 38
G. S. Butler, lawn grass seed, 3 30
Ira Stone, dirt,
9 40
William Gaffney, fertilizer,
10 00
William H. Parkman, fertilizer,
10 75
W. A. Woodis, fertilizer,
1 20
W. S. Crawford, wheelbarrow,
3 75
John Dwelley, labor,
8 00
C. H. Parker & Son, cement,
1 50
$192 02
LOTS PROVIDED WITH PERPETUAL CARE.
George H. Gould, Stephen Lincoln, Mrs. S. B. Ripley, Weeks & Elliott, Lewis Allen, Ione E. Holden, Daniel H. Dean, Charles H. Fobes, Fannie W. Kimball, Sumner Reed, Jesse Allen, Lyman S. Walker, Caroline M. Maynard, Martha
35
M. Macullar, Mary E. Brown, Lewis N. Haskell, Ruth H. Robinson.
The number of those providing for the perpetual care of lots is increasing every year. The income of one hundred dollars, given to the town "in trust," amply provides for needful care and improvements.
Oakham is very fortunate in having a superintendent of cemeteries who is a man of excellent judgment in grading and beautifying the grounds, and very reasonable in his charges.
Respectfully submitted,
MASON S. DEAN, JESSE ALLEN,
J. P. FAIRBANK, 1 Cemetery Committee.
AUDITOR'S REPORT.
THIS is to certify that I have examined and approved all bills of the selectmen, overseers of poor, school committee, road commissioner, cemetery committee, tree and fire wardens, moth exterminator and library trustees, and found them to be correct. I have also examined the accounts of the treas- urer and collector and found them to be correct.
W. M. ROBINSON,
Auditor.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
APPROPRIATIONS AND OTHER RESOURCES.
School fund,
$1087 68
Support of schools,
1200 00
School superintendent,
60 00
Medical inspection,
25 00
State return for school superintendent,
187 50
Education of State children, 25 50
Education of Boston children,
91 50
High school tuition refunded,
694 00
Education of Barre children,
57 50
$3428 68
School Expenses.
SALARIES.
Paid Superintendent C. L. Randall,
$128 75
Superintendent R. I. Bramhall,
112 50
Miss F. E. Bothwell,
363 00
Miss Ethel M. Braman,
352 00
Miss R. E. Butterfield,
121 00
Mrs. Effie T. Swindell,
330 00
Miss C. D. Putnam,
220 00
Miss M. E. O'Donnell,
330 00
38
Paid Mrs. R. B. Dwelley, Miss Harriot Andrews,
$136 00 95 00
$2188 25
SUPPLIES.
Paid for supplies, $144 75
FUEL.
. Paid William Gaffney,
$16 50
S. F. Fairbank,
6 75
J. P. Day,
15 75
H. W. Stone,
22 50
T. Winter,
54 00
Miss Bothwell,
15 00
Mrs. Tottingham,
13 50
G. T. Butterfield,
13 00
M. S. Dean,
22 50
J. N. Ball,
2 25
$181 75
TUITION.
Paid town of North Brookfield,
$194 00
Town of Barre, 450 00
Town of Hardwick,
50 00
$694 00
REPAIRS.
Paid for repairs, $297 47
CARE OF HOUSES.
Paid W. W. Russell,
853 90
Willie Gaffney,
18 35
Walter Tucker,
4 00
1
39
Paid Miss Putnam,
$7 00
Mr. Foster,
5 00
Mrs. Carpenter,
6 00
$94 25
TRANSPORTATION.
Transportation,
$60 90.
High school transportation,
$395 70
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
Paid J. N. Ball,
1
$4 00
Jesse Allen,
65 00
Mrs. M. L. Woodis,
10 90
$79 90
$4136 97
Total,
Respectfully submitted, JESSE ALLEN, J. NELSON BALL, MINNIE L. WOODIS, School Committee.
REPORT OF THE
Superintendent of Schools.
-
HOLDEN, MASS., MARCH 7, 1914.
To the School Committee of the Town of Oakham :
I TAKE pleasure in submitting to you my first annual re- port as superintendent of your schools. With so brief an acquaintance with your schools my report will necessarily be partial. I cannot attempt to treat matters that came up before I took up the work.
TEACHERS.
Oakham has been fortunate to retain the services of its teachers from year to year. In this way one of the great wastes of rural schools is avoided. There has been but one change in the force this year. Miss Butterfield resigned in June to accept a position in Holden. Her place has been taken by Miss Putnam, a graduate of the Rutland High School and Fitchburg Normal School. The discipline of the schools has been good. Only two cases have been called to my attention this year. I believe Oakham should seriously con- sider whether it can afford to reward its faithful teachers either by lengthening the school year or by increasing the salary per week.
41
TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
_ Under an act of 1913 there will be started on July 1, 1914, a Teachers' Retirement Association. All teachers in service in the state on that date may elect to join or not, but all entering service after that date must become members. The annual dues will be five per cent of the yearly salary, - with a minimum assessment of $35, and a maximum of $100. Teachers will continue to pay until they have made thirty payments, or reach the age of sixty. Any teacher who is a member may retire at the age of sixty and must retire at the age of seventy. The retirement allowance will be made up of two parts. The first will be an annuity, the amount of which will depend on the amount paid in. An annual pay- ment of $35 will produce an annuity of about $150. This has accordingly been set as a minimum payment by law. The rest of the retirement allowance will be a pension, paid by the Commonwealth, and equal in amount to the annuity. In this way, the minimum retirement allowance has been fixed at $300 a year. Arrangement has been made for re- funding all money paid in, with three per cent compound interest, to all teachers leaving the service of the state before they become eligible to a pension. As many of our teachers teach only five to seven years, this will enable them to withdraw the money with a reasonable allowance for interest.
It will be the duty of the school committee to notify all new teachers of their duties and privileges under this act, to send to the retirement board on October 1 a list of the teach- ers and their salaries, to notify the board on the first of each month of any changes in the teaching force or their salaries, to deduct each month from the teachers' salaries the amounts due the retirement board. This sum will be forwarded each month by the town treasurer to the secretary of the retirement board.
-
42
It seems probable that the salaries of teachers in the small towns all over the state will have to be readjusted to meet this new expense.
HIGH SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION.
Another law passed last year which will seriously affect Oakham provides that a town of less than 500 families in which a public high school is not maintained shall provide" for the transportation of any child who resides in the town and attends high school in another town, and shall pay for such transportation a sum not exceeding one dollar and fifty cents per week of actual attendance. A town which has ex- pended for the support of its schools during the preceding year from the proceeds of local taxation an amount not less than four dollars per thousand of valuation shall be reimbursed for one-half the amount actually expended; and a town which has expended at least five dollars per thousand shall be reimbursed in full by the state.
During the year ending June 30, 1913, Oakham expended $3.11 per thousand of valuation. This means that Oakham will probably have to bear the entire expense of this trans- portation, although this cannot be finally determined until certain phrases in the law have been interpreted. With a valuation of about $381,000 Oakham will have to expend for the support of its schools from the proceeds of local taxation about $1525 in order to receive one-half of this expense from the state.
COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE.
Another law passed last year relates to the employment of minors. All minors under 21 are now required to have em- ployment certificates to work in mercantile and mechanical establishments. All minors under 16 must regularly attend day school all the time it is in session unless they have the
43
written permission of the snperinter dent of sch. ols to engage in profitable employment at home or to work in some mill or store. Children under 16 are no longer allowed by law to waste their time on the streets. They must be either at work regularly or at school. Failure to comply with this law is punishable by a fine of twenty dollars.
DRAWING AND SEWING.
Your attention is called to the report of the supervisor of drawing and sewing. I believe that all who have seen the children engaged in this work will agree that the introduction of this work has been a step in the right direction. It will probably be possible to arrange for an exhibition some time during the year in order that more may see what is being done.
HOME GARDENING AND HANDWORK.
A very successful exhibition was held last fall under the auspices of the Grange. The exhibits were a credit to the young people who took part. With the con- tinued interest and cooperation of the Grange we can make this a greater success each year. This year I am planning to secure the cooperation of Professor O. A. Morton, of Massa- chusetts Agricultural College, who has charge of this work all over the state. Under his supervision there are going to be state contests in raising potatoes, tomatoes, corn, and vegetables. There will also be contests in cooking, sewing, mending, and general housework. These contests are open to all children between the ages of 10 and 18. The prizes include a trip to Washington, a trip to places of interest in New England, and a week at the Agricultural College. A member of the young people in Oakham ought to enter some of these state contests. Those who have attended the Farm- ers' Club this winter have heard how general is the interest
44
in this work all over the state. The federal government is working with the state officials to make it a success. We ought to do our part to help in the work. It would be a proud moment in the life of any young person to win a trip to Washington as a result of a summer of hard earnest work.
In connection with this work I hope to be able to arrange for a Farmers Week somewhere in this district the coming year. I believe all interested in farming will find it helpful.
REPAIRS.
There is urgent need of immediate attention to the toilet arrangements at the Center school and South school. The out-building for the boys at the center is in very bad condi- tion. If the state inspector should visit it he would doubt- less condemn it at once. The vaults should be made fly-tight, and arrangements should be made for locking it up at night. Recent investigations of typhoid in the north and hookworm in the south have proved the danger to any community of open vaults. There is no better breeding place for the com- mon housefly, better called the typhoid fly. At the South school there is but one out-building, whereas the law requires a separate one for each sex. I would suggest an arrangement similar to that at the West school, where provision is made for a shelter for a horse in connection with the out-buildings.
I think it would be a good policy to replace some of the wooden blackboards each year with slate boards. The slate board requires no attention after it is installed, whereas the wooden boards ought to be planed and refinished frequently.
The experience this winter in heating the schools during the extreme cold weather has again demonstrated the efficiency of the jacketed stove. I believe it would be an economy of time and fuel to put them in our three district schools. The rooms would not only be better heate l, but
45
also better ventilated. About one-third of the rural schools in America are now provided with jacketed stoves.
GRADUATION EXERCISES OF THE NINTH GRADES, FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 1913.
March, Schools
Invocation,
Rev. A. H. Plumb
Song, "Let the Waking World Adore Him," Schools
Welcome, Earle Clarence Parker
Essay, "Our Bird Neighbors,"
Marion Corbin Rutherford
Music, "Song of Spring," Schools
Essay, "Some Ways of Travel," Ralph Monroe Cody
Recitation, "A Lost Chord," Grace Eleanor Scott
Essay, "My Life on a Ranch,"
Henry Wilber Blake
Music, "Questions," Schools
Essay, "A Visit to the Putnam Home,"
Susie Webber Winslow
Essay, "Our Future,"
Agnes Helena Woodis
Music, "Santa Lucia," .Schools
Address,
Supt. Charles L. Randall
Farewell, Hazel Elizabeth Grimes
Presentation of certificates, Deacon Jesse Allen
Chairman of School Committee
Class Song. Benediction, Rev. C. H. Smith
ATTENDANCE.
I want to call the attention of all to the data relative to school attendance. Oakham should take pride in this feature. The average attendance for last year was 95 per cent in Oak-
46
ham, while it was only 93 in the whole state, and 92 in the towns of a population of less than 5000. I wish to especially commend to the attention of all the young people the re- markable record of George Dean, who is now completing his ninth year in school without a single absent or tardy mark. He is to be congratulated on his splendid success. I am sorry not to be able to compile an honor roll for last year, but the registers for last year have been mislaid and so the statistics are not available at the present time.
COURSE OF STUDY.
I wish all parents would consider the advisability of con- tinning Latin and Algebra in the grammar school. Would it not be better to give more time to English and Arithmetic and leave the other two studies for the high school ? Would it not be well to give more time to such a study as civics or physiology which would benefit all, rather than to a study of advantage to a very small minority ?
In connection with the physiology work in the grades I ยท hope we shall be able to give more attention to such practical features, of the course as care of the teeth, first aid, the selection of proper foods, the dangers of cheap candy, the dangers in the use of tobacco and alcohol.
LENGTH OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
I wish to call your attention to the length of the school year in Oakham. There are but nine other towns in the state with so short a school year. Would it not be well to consider the advisability of lengthening our year to thirty-six weeks ? It would enable our teachers to do better and more thorough work than they can under the present arrangement. The added expense might prove to be an economy by bringing our appropriation up to a point where we would be reimbursed
>
-
47
for at least half of the expenses of transporting high school scholars.
SCHOOL LIBRARIES.
I believe it would be a good plan to buy a few carefully selected books each year as a part of a shelf of books for reading. Pupils, especially in the district schools, have much time that might be spent in silent reading. There are now many excellent books of biography history, and travel, as well as story books that might be read with profit in this way. A small outlay each year would in a few years provide a valuable shelf of books for each room.
In concluding, I wish to thank the teachers for their hearty support and cooperation during this first year, and the school committee for their helpful suggestions and advice.
Respectfully submitted,
ROBERT I. BRAMHALL,
1
Report of the School Physician.
Mr. Robert I. Bramhall, Superintendent of Schools, Holden :
DEAR SIR : In the performance of my duties as School Physician of Oakham, I visited the schools of that town April 30, and again September 24, 1913. A fairly typical inspection report follows :
'Number inspected, 85
Vaccinated, 65
Unvaccinated, 20
Enlarged tonsils, 5
Pediculosis, 2
Ringworm,
1
Nasal obstruction, 1
I would suggest that the town provide a convenient op- portunity for vaccination, and thereafter exclude unvaccinated pupils, unless exempt under a physician's certificate, from school.
Toilet conveniences at some of the schoolhouses need at- tention. In one instance the statute requirement for separate accommodations for boys and girls is neglected. In other cases the vaults need cleaning and the use of deodorizers. In all cases the vaults should be so enclosed as to prevent the entrance of flies.
Two brief practical suggestions : Individual pencils, and as far as possible, books, for the pupils. Somewhere, during the year, a teacher in my presence distributed to her pupils
49
pencils which probably had been used before, and within a minute three or four pupils had their pencils in the mouth, one was poking a pencil into his nose, while others were using them for scratching the head or face. Comment is needless. Also wash basins with individual towels and soap. This is done in some schools-with good results-it can be done, and is not a serious burden, in all. Dirty hands and faces would then be inexcusable.
Respectfully submitted,
C. W. STICKNEY, School Physician.
Holden, Mass., Feb. 9, 1914.
4
Report of the Supervisor of Music.
OAKHAM, MASS., MARCH 10, 1914.
Mr. R. I. Bramhall, Superintendent of Schools :
DEAR SIR: The question is sometimes asked, "Does it pay to spend money for public school music since very few good singers are ever sent forth from the schools?" In reply I would ask, "Does it pay to have pretty homes, gardens, parks, libraries, etc?" The answer is "Yes." How much does it pay? No answer can be made, because the finest things of human life cannot be measured in dollars, pounds, pecks or pints.
It has been my aim to stimulate an appreciation of the best music, to develop tone quality, and to teach the funda- mental principles of note reading.
The individual reading of music is doing much for the pupils, and the time spent in this way cannot help but show results.
The special aim, particularly in the lower grades, has been to develop the individual. In all grades the pupils are being taught more of the esthetic. The average child should be able to sing with enough feeling and comprehension to derive enjoyment from this branch.
The pupils need help to realize and really believe that music must be studied, not only as a subject in the school course but for the pleasure to be derived therefrom, now and
51
in the future. We must strive to arouse enthusiasm and inspire confidence, in order to gain the best effort on the part of the pupil.
I am pleased to be able to state that I continue to enjoy the hearty co-operation of teachers and pupils that has been characteristic of the work from the first. It is a pleasure to work under the conditions I meet here. At this time I want to thank all for the kindly spirit and enthusiasm accorded my subject.
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