USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > A history of Van Buren County, Michigan a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume I > Part 15
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The principal Van Buren county stations on this line are the villages of Hartford, Bangor, Breedsville, Grand Junction. Hart- ford is a village of 1,268 inhabitants, as shown by the census of 1910, Bangor has a population of 1,158, and Breedsville has a population of 219 souls. Grand Junction is not incorporated.
Of the eighteen townships in the county there are but three that no railroad touches-Almena, Keeler and Waverly; although there are three others,-Arlington, Hamilton and Porter-that have only a small corner cut off, Porter being barely touched.
Two of these roads make close connection with steamship lines to Chicago: the South Haven branch of the Central at South Ha- ven, and the Fruit Belt Line at the same place, and also, by rea- son of its connection with the Pere Marquette at Hartford, at Ben- ton Harbor and St. Joseph in the county of Berrien, thus giving the people of the county the benefit of water transportation to the great metropolis of the west during the season of navigation.
CHAPTER V
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY
ACT OF 1827 MODIFIED-HARASSED SCHOOL INSPECTORS-THE TEACHERS' QUALIFICATIONS-MRS. ALLEN RICE'S REMINISCENCES -THE OLD AND THE NEW.
Schools went hand in hand with the pioneers and their support was regulated by statute at an early day. By an act of the legis- lative council of the territory of Michigan for the establishment of common schools, approved April 12, 1827, it was provided among other things: "That every township within this territory containing fifty families or householders shall be provided with a good schoolmaster or schoolmasters, of good morals, to teach chil- dren to read and write and to instruct them in the English or French language, as well as in arithmetic, orthography and decent behavior, for such time as shall be equivalent to six months for one school in each year. And every township containing one hun- dred families or householders shall be provided with such school- master or teacher for such time as shall be equivalent to twelve months for one school in each year. And every township con- taining one hundred and fifty families or householders shall be provided with such schoolmaster or teacher for such term of time as shall be equivalent to six months in each year, and shall, in ad- dition thereto, be provided with a schoolmaster or teacher as above described, to instruct the children in the English language for such term of time as shall be equivalent to twelve months for one school in each year. And every township containing two hun- dred families or householders shall be provided with a grammar schoolmaster of good morals, well instructed in the Latin, French and English languages, and shall in addition thereto be pro- vided with a schoolmaster or teacher, as above described, to in- struct children in the English language, for such term as shall be equivalent to twelve months for each of said schools in each year."
The statute also provided penalties for refusal or neglect to comply with its provisions, as follows: The penalty imposed on any township having fifty and less than one hundred families or householders was a forfeiture of fifty dollars; on the next grade,
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ar !
HIGH SCHOOL, PAW PAW
LAWTON HIGH SCHOOL
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comprising townships from one hundred to one hundred and fifty families or householders, a forfeiture of one hundred dollars; and on the higher grade of one hundred and fifty families or house- holders or more, a forfeiture of one hundred and fifty dollars. These penalties were all made proportionable for any neglect for a less time than one year.
The same statute provided that a board of inspectors. not ex- ceeding five in number, should be chosen in each township, three or more of whom should be competent to examine both the teach- ers and the schools; that no person should be employed as a teacher without a certificate issued to him by the board of in- spectors; and "that if any person shall presume to keep such school, without a certificate as aforesaid, he or she shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding two hundred dollars to be recovered in any court having jurisdiction thereof, one moiety thereof to the informer and the other moiety to the use of the poor of the township where such school may be kept.
"Provision was likewise made for the division of townships into school districts, for the election of a board of trustees in each dis- trict to have control of the concerns of the district and for the elec- tors of the township to vote a tax for the support of schools.
"Schools and the means of education shall forever be encour- aged." These words are found in the ordinance of 1787. which provided that section sixteen in each township should be set apart as school land; and by act of the legislative council approved July 3, 1828, townships were authorized to choose a board of trus- tees to have charge of such school lands and to lease the same or any part thereof and to apply the proceeds toward the payment of the school teachers employed in their several townships.
ACT OF 1827 MODIFIED
By an act of the legislative council of the territory, approved November 5, 1829, the system inaugurated in 1827 was modified in a considerable degree. This act provided, among other things, that a board of "commissioners of common schools" consisting of five members should be elected in each township, who should lay out and number the school districts of their several townships and perform certain other prescribed duties; that three school direc- tors should be chosen in each district whose duty it should be to levy a tax for the building of schoolhouses where such structures had not been previously provided ; to employ qualified teachers in their respective districts for a term of three months at least in each year and for such longer time as the inhabitants in public- school meeting should direct, said schools to commence on or be-
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fore the tenth day of December in each year; to make out a rate bill for the collection of the wages of the teacher, to be levied on the inhabitants of the district, proportional to the number of days' attendance of the pupils from the family of each patron of the school. Provision was also made for the same proportional furnish- ing of fuel for the school, which might be delivered in kind, other- wise to stand as a personal tax.
These early laws may be considered as the beginning of Michi- gan's magnificent common school system, which is universally ac- knowledged to be second to none.
HARASSED SCHOOL INSPECTORS
It may well be supposed that in those pioneer days it was not always easy to find teachers fully equipped as the law required, and still less easy to fill the position of school inspectors duly quali- fied to pass upon the qualifications of those persons who applied for the necessary certificates. And this was not only true in those territorial days, but it continued in a greater or less degree long after Michigan became a state, indeed as long as the township sys- tem of examination of teachers continued in existence.
The following well authenticated anecdote will illustrate this matter : It is said to have transpired in the township of Pine Grove, where William Adair, an American citizen of Irish descent, being considered well equipped for the office, was elected as a school in- spector and was the only one of the three chosen who took the oath of office, and he, if he had been better posted as to his official duties, would, without doubt, have declined the honor.
One morning, while "Billy" was industriously attending to his more congenial duties in his saw-mill, word was sent to him that a young lady had presented herself at his residence and wished to interview him. "Eh," said Billy, "What fur?" "To be ex- amined for a certificate to teach school," was the reply. "Ain't got no time to attind to it this mornin'. Tell her to come agin," said Billy. "No," was the response, "you are sworn in and must examine her now." After some hesitation, Billy finally stripped off his "wamus," went to his house, washed and shaved, combed out his bushy locks, donned his Sunday-go-to-meeting garments and a pair of new moccasins, and bashfully presented himself before his fair visitor. "Are you Mr. Adair, the school inspector?" asked the young lady. "Indade, mum," said Billy, reaching up and pulling the "cow lick" that graced the top of his head, "I suppose I be, mum." "I have come to be examined for a cer- tificate to teach school," continued the lady. "Surtificut, is ut?" said Billy. "Yes, sir," she replied. "I must surtify ye kin?"
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enquired Billy, "Nade it be a paper, a writin?" he continued with a groan. "I think it should be," was the reply. "Kin ye write ?" responded Billy. The lady informed him that she possessed that necessary qualification. "Well thin," said Billy, "jest ye write it out and let me see ye do it." The applicant wrote what she thought would answer the purpose. "Rade it if ye will," said Billy, with a show of confidence that he was for from possessing. The lady complied and read over what she had written. "Now," said Billy, "let me see ye write William Adair on it if ye plase." The young lady, after some hesitation, did as directed. "Now," said Billy, "will ye take thot as yer surtificut and go yer way?" "No," was the reply, "you must sign it or it will do me no good, they will dispute it." "They will?" said Billy. "Show me the mon that dare dispute the word of a lady and I will tach him better manners." But the young woman persisted, and Billy finally set to work to write his name. Beginning well at the left side of the sheet in order that he might have plenty of room, he succeeded in spelling out "William Adair," in letters that nearly obliterated the calligraphy of the applicant for the neces- sary document, but he would have preferred that she had asked him to tackle the largest monarch of the forest or thrash a school- house full of doubters as to the regularity of his certificate, which was the only one he ever gave, but it served its purpose. Billy resigned his office shortly afterward.
Another instance is recalled of the perspicuity of a member of a board of school inspectors which was exhibited as late as 1860. The writer was at that time a young man, barely turned twenty- one, and his fellow citizens had done him the honor of choosing him for an inspector of schools. The two other members of the board were elderly men-one of them a teacher of years' standing, the other a minister of the Gospel, highly educated. A class of young ladies and gentlemen were being examined before the board, when this question was propounded by the gray haired school- master member: "Why is a nautical mile longer than a statute mile ?" None could answer. Indeed the only correct answer that could have been given would have been, "Because it is;" but the schoolmaster proposed to enlighten the class on the matter, and proceeded to explain that the nautical mile was measured over the level sea, while the statute mile was measured over hill and valley and therefore does not reach as far as it would on a level and that the difference in their length was an allowance made for the inequalities of the earth's surface. Being scarcely more than a boy, we did not dare to dispute the absurd proposition of the schoolmaster. No so, however, with the preacher, who, to the great confusion of the would-be savant, promptly replied "It
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isn't so. It isn't so. There isn't a word of truth in such a propo- sition."
The following quoted extracts from a paper written in 1899 by the late Charles D. Lawton, one of the regents of the Michigan Uni- versity, will serve to illustrate the methods of conducting the schools of early pioneer days. "Every old pioneer," said Mr. Lawton, "and all who have passed the three-score mark, will vividly recall the primitive educational facilities of their early school days in Van Buren county, if perchance, they were so fortunate as to have their lot cast so long ago in this far away wilderness. But, whether here or elsewhere, the experiences of school life in this northern or western country, where the conditions were the same, did not greatly differ. So long as memory retains its grasp upon any of the past events of life, the lights and shadows of school days in the little old log schoolhouse will remain among the most permanent of one's reminiscences. 'Memory reveals the rose, but secretes the thorn,' and thus we are apt to recall the lights and ignore the shadows of those early school days, when in truth, school life was not a period of unalloyed delight. We did not, at that time, consider it so very much fun to sit all day on the high benches made without backs that extended around three sides of the school room." So high in fact were these seats that were sim- ply slabs with legs under them-tempting, indeed, to the pocket knives of the lads-that the younger pupils could not "touch bot- tom" so to speak, but were compelled to sit during the long hours of school with their feet just aching to touch the floor. Back of these seats, or in front of them, it depended how one sat, was a wide board for a desk, with a shelf underneath to hold the few books that the pupils were so fortunate as to possess. The usual position for the more advanced scholars who had attained to the dignity of studying the three R's was facing these desks with their backs toward the teacher, which gave the schoolmaster or ma'am what seemed to be an undue advantage, enabling him or her to see without being seen, save only by an occasional furtive glance.
THE TEACHERS' QUALIFICATIONS
To quote again from Mr. Lawton: "Unfortunately for the hap- piness of the pupil, the teacher was generally chosen for his mus- cular development, for his ability to punish and from his willing- ness to put this ability into constant practice, rather than for his superior mental acquirements and ability to impart instruction." Especially was this the case with the winter schools, which were practically the only terms attended by the "big" boys and girls. "As a rule, in the schoolhouse of pioneer days, the whip and fer-
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ule predominated and the chief ingenuity shown by the teacher was in his methods of administering punishment. Many an elderly man can recall the torture he endured by being compelled to hold his finger on the head of a nail in the floor, or forced to lie over a chair and grasp the lower rungs with the hands, thus placing himself in the best possible position for application of rawhide or birch. Possibly, to vary the method of punishment in the case of girls, resort was had to the ferule applied to the hand until it was blistered. There was sometimes a sequel to these punish- ments, the scene of which was laid in the home, where, if the school episode became known, there resulted a further trouncing administered by the paternal hand, so that it became an important matter for the pupil to suppress information."
And sometimes there was a good deal of ingenuity displayed on the part of the pupil in trying to "get even." Occasionally the master would sit down on a bent pin or receive a severe thrust from a darning needle, which by some device would be vigorously projected through a hole in his chair causing him to make a sud- den spring from his seat, much to the amusement of those who were in the secret and to the great surprise and mystification of those who were not.
In some districts the pupils asquired an unenviable reputation for "cleaning out" the teacher, the "big boys" being too many for him. When a teacher was disposed of in this way another and more muscular one was procured if possible.
An instance of this kind is related as follows: Two or three teachers had been turned out in this manner by the unruly pupils, and the officers of the district were beginning to despair of find- ing anybody who could "keep" the school successfully. Finally . an application was made by a young man who did not appear to be particularly "husky." The directors explained the condition of things to him and suggested that his appearance did not seem to indicate that he would be able to fill the bill. The young man insisted that he could manage the school and as a last resort was given a trial. Things moved along very smoothly for two or three days, when the ringleaders concluded the time had arrived to test the teacher's mettle. Standing by the fire near the mas- ter, one of the boys picked up the poker, and, assuming a military attitude, brought it briskly to his shoulder and in a loud voice commanded "shoulder arms." Instantly the schoolmaster's fist came in contact with the point of the young man's chin, and, as he went down, the master commanded "ground arms." This speedy adaptation to the situation so pleased the boys that they became the teacher's firm friends, and the entire school term was com- pleted without further trouble.
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The lot of a teacher in those early days was not a "bed of roses" and he had to put up with many unpleasant experiences. He had to "board around;" that is, board and lodge with each of the families patronizing the school, apportioning his stay according to the number of children that attended from each particular family. Some of his boarding places would prove to be very pleasant and agreeable, while others were-well, let us say not quite so satis- factory. Teachers were prone to overstay their time in the pleas- ant homes, where they were always welcome, and cut short their allotted time at the other places, but these latter could not be wholly ignored, as that would be the cause of immediate trouble, and if he delayed too long he was sure to receive a message sent by one of the little boys or girls, as follows: "Teacher when are you coming to our house ?". And that was a question that it would never do to ignore.
Frequently the sleeping accommodations in these pioneer homes were very limited; the teacher would have to sleep with the chil- dren, and often the space was too limited for any great degree of privacy. The schoolmaster was paid but a meager salary-the school ma'am a good deal less-the major portion of which had to be collected by a "rate bill" and came very slowly, the people of those days not usually having very much ready money at their command and some of the patrons of the school furnishing only children and promises. Text books were crude and scarce, consist- ing principally of the "English Reader," "Daboll's Arithmetick" (as it was spelled), "Kirkham's Grammar" and a "Webster's Ele- mentary Spelling Book," with an occasional copy, perhaps, of "Hale's History of the United States," which was not studied as a history, but used as a "reading book." One set of these books had to serve for the entire family, if indeed they were fortunate. enough to possess them all.
MRS. ALLEN RICE'S REMINISCENCES
The following sketch written by Mrs. Allen Rice, of Lawrence, one of the very, very few remaining pioneers of those early days, is a fair illustration of pioneer schools. Mrs. Rice, teaching a summer school, did not have any unruly "big" boys and girls, who so often made the teacher's life a burden grievous to be borne. She says: "In my sixteenth summer it was my fortune to teach the first school in the township of Bangor, which was then known as South Haven, as that township embraced all the terri- tory from the west line of Arlington to the lake, the town of Ar- lington being included in Lawrence.
"Some six or eight families had settled in the southeast corner
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of the town and across the line in Lawrence, and they were anxious that their children should be sent to school. Accordingly, in the spring of 1840, they were organized as the first fractional district of Lawrence and South Haven. As there was no money with which to build, they proceeded in pioneer fashion to roll up a log cabin about fourteen by eighteen feet in dimension. They had no money with which to buy shingles and lumber was scarce, as it was a long way to a saw-mill, and so the cabin, which was shanty roofed, was covered with troughs-that is, with logs hollowed out, one tier being placed hollow side up and the other hollow side down, breaking joints and thus effectually excluding the rain. Two holes were cut for windows, but they were guiltless of either sash or glass; a rude door was made, and a table constructed by nail- ing a board across a frame made of poles. They did not have quite boards enough to complete the floor and so a space about two feet wide was left on one side. Seats were made by putting legs into a couple of thick slabs ; a little shelf was made in one corner near the door, by driving pins into the logs; lastly some one furnished an old chair for the use of the teacher.
"When these preparations were complete, they looked around for a teacher. The director came to me and said: 'We want you to teach our school this summer. The schoolhouse is all ready and we want school to begin next Monday.' I told them I did not feel competent and, besides, I thought my mother could not spare me. My objections were overruled, and, with my mother's consent, it was agreed that I should begin school the first Monday in July and teach three months at a salary of one dollar per week, which was the usual pay of pioneer teachers, although in some districts, where there were thirty or forty pupils, they paid $1.50 per week.
"The following Monday found me at my task with nine pupils ranging from five to fourteen years of age, five of them being members of one family. The books used were 'Webster's Ele- mentary Spelling Book,' Cobb's First Reader,' 'Peter Parley's Geography,' 'Daboll's Arithmetic,' and the 'English Reader,' all of which are unknown to the present generation.
"After I had begun my school I was informed that I was ex- pected to teach six days every week and thirteen weeks for a three-months' term, so that the district could draw public money. Of course I boarded around, and so I had about six weeks to board in one place.
"One day near the close of August I was surprised by the en- trance of three stalwart men into my little school room, who an- nounced themselves as the township school inspectors. I gave one of them my chair and seated the others on the bench with the pupils and proceeded with my work as well as my embarrassment
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would allow, and, I must say, never were better behaved pupils. Well, the time passed at length, and I dismissed my little charges. Then the inspectors proceeded to ask questions, and, after about an hour of questioning, I found myself in possession of a document certifying that I had been examined as to moral character, learn- ing and ability to teach a common school, etc. The names at- tached to this certificate were Nelson S. Marshall, George Par- malee and Mansell M. Briggs. These men, as I afterward learned, reported my little school as a model school, at which I was not a little vain.
"As the season advanced and the weather became rainy and chilly, I procured some cotton cloth and nailed it over the window spaces; then we built large fires, using the dead wood that lay all about, and carried coals in an iron kettle into the school room to warm it.
"Teachers' wages had to be collected by a rate bill and the law allowed sixty days for collection, but I did not get my pay until New Year's, and then I found myself in possession of twelve dol- lars and two pigs. The possession of the pigs is a part of my story.
"Soon after I began my school, my two little brothers came to see me and went home with one of the little boys who told them that their father had a swine that had more young than she could care for, and he was going to kill a couple of them. My brothers begged that they might not be killed until they had asked their father if they might get them, and the next day they returned and got the pigs. Nothing more was thought about the matter until I received my pay for teaching the school, when I found myself charged with two pigs at fifty cents each. I did not like it very much, but the pigs had grown to thrifty swine and my father said 'let it go,' but we had more than a dollar's worth of fun over my pigs.
"Although this term of school did not leave me in possession of much money, it was not an unprofitable season. Books were not abundant in the pioneers' cabins, but I found a number of valu- able ones and I read all I could get hold of from 'Scott's Pirate' to a volume of sermons, and I even took a dip into the 'Book of Mormon,' which I should have read through, if the owner had not gone away taking the book with him."
Occasionally a teacher like Mrs. Rice, would be secured who was broad minded, resourceful and really in love with the work. Such a teacher was a power for good in the community that was so fortunate as to secure his services, and the time under his in- struction passed all too swiftly. In those days the teacher was without the aids that are provided in these modern days. He had
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