History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 70

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 70

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In 1918 there was an immense production of potatoes in Chautauqua county, as elsewhere. Potatoes had en- joyed a general though limited use upon every table. It was found, however, that potatoes could be used in many ways not theretofore understood, and the people were given instructions upon that subject. Exhibitions of the preparation of potato for food in thirty or forty dif- ferent styles were made. Finally we designated a week to be known as "Potato Week," requiring all of the women of the county to devote themselves to the study of a more extensive use of potatoes, and during that week instructions were widely given by a corps of experts, and beyond any doubt there were many times the number of potatoes consumed in that week than at any other time in the county's history. That agitation stimulated the use of potatoes, and was the means not only of utilizing a large part of the enormous crop of the year, but also of effecting a tremendous saving in the other foods which were required by the active par- ticipants in the war.

Thrift Kitchens were established in Jamestown and Dunkirk. In Dunkirk, the Kitchen was in charge of Mrs. Joseph C. White. In Jamestown Mrs. Clare A.

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UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

Pickard was in charge. Miss Helen Smith of Camillus, New York, one of the conservation agents provided by the State. was located at the Jamestown Thrift Kitchen. There was also a conservation agent engaged at Dun- kirk. These agents visited various women's organiza- tions, as well as neighborhood clubs, lecturing and giv- ing practical instructions in the preparation of foods.

Canning centers were also established, and at these points fruit and vegetables were canned by and for large numbers of individuals, and a vast amount of knowledge upon these lines was disseminated which will be of lasting benefit not only to this generation but to the generations to come. Mrs. Claude A. Ahl- strom was very active in the work at Jamestown. She became most proficient in it, and devoted her time and talents in speaking to various clubs of women through- out the county in the promotion of the conservation program and in the disseminating of information along these lines. Miss Smith and Mrs. Ahlstrom, as well as the large number of women in all of the communities, did a splendid work. The organization created for the prosecution of the conservation plan of the local Food Administration was an extensive and effective one. It covered completely the smallest division of the county -the school district.

While it will be impracticable to give the names of all of the women who became a part of this organization yet we can and should record the names of the executive committee and town chairmen. Each member of the executive committee had jurisdiction over certain towns. Under her, therefore, there were town chairmen. Re- sponsibility was further subdivided by the creation of the local district committeemen under the immediate direction of the town chairmen. The executive commit- tee was composed as follows: Mrs. F. W. Crandall, chairman, Westfield; Miss Etta Montgomery, Silver Creek; Mrs. Joseph C. White, Dunkirk; Mrs. S. E. McGinnies, Ripley ; Mrs. C. M. Reed. Sinclairville ; Mrs. L. G. Brainard, Ellington ; Mrs. James W. Pringle, Ashville : Mrs. Daisy M. Stowell, Mayville; Mrs. Guy Chase, Frewsburg; Mrs. Thomas H. Meredith, James- town.

Clare A. Pickard, chairman, ex-officio; Mrs. Alice J. Moynihan, assistant chairman, ex-officio.

The following were those designated as town chair- men : Mrs. Evelyn H. Clark, Brocton; Mrs. Harlow Breads, Mrs. C. J. Bannister, Westfield: Mrs. J. F. Scott, Portland; Mrs. Charles Burrows, West Portland ; Mrs. Hartley Hample, Hamlet ; Mrs. Dr. Harry Hutchin- son, Forestville ; Mrs. John Daily, Nashville; Mrs. Emma Brand, Silver Creek ; Miss Clara Ulmer, Irving; Miss Mayme Ormsbee, Smith Mills ; Mrs. Deloc Cole, Arkwright Center; Mrs. W. F. Royce, Forsyth ; Mrs. E. C. Porter, Ripley; Mrs. Lucas Gleason, French Creek ; Mrs. E. S. Taylor, Mrs. Hubert Deck, Ripley; Mrs. W. L. Nuttall, Findley's Lake; Mrs. Fred L. Jones, North East, Pa .; Mrs. L. N. Lazell, Stockton; Mrs. Jennie Bulger, Cassadaga; Miss Evah Littlefield, Sin- clairville ; Mrs. Dr. Cowden, Gerry ; Mrs. J. W. Hooker, Sinclairville ; Mrs. F. W. Putnam, Dewittville; Mrs. Florence Sylvester. Sinclairville; Mrs. Alice Baldwin, Frewsburg; Mrs. James Broadhead, Jamestown ; Mrs. Ellen Prittie, Mrs. Lena Thompson, Mrs. Frank Stirn- berg, Frewsburg; Mrs. Alice L. Dennison, Jamestown; Mrs. Ruth Haskins. Frewsburg; Mrs. Clyde Curtis, Jamestown ; Mrs. J. A. Russell, Lakewood; Mrs. R. G. Crandall, Kennedy; Mrs. Grant Forbes, Jamestown ; Mrs. Claire Shulters, Mrs. E. R. Anderson, Kennedy ; Mrs. Roie Brown, Ellington; Mrs. Grant Wheeler, Mrs. Hattie Erwin, Mrs. Fred Weaver, Mrs. Willard Gates, Cherry Creek; Mrs. C. H. Waterhouse, Sherman; Mrs.

L. P. McCray. Clymer ; Mrs. Orrilla Richardson, Watts Flats; Mrs. Ernest Cross, Niobe; Mrs. Eliza Abbott, Ashville; Mrs. Lena B. Skinner, Panama; Mrs. J. H. Dann, Mayville; Mrs. L. B. Vale, Chautauqua ; Mrs. George B. Leet, Point Chautauqua ; Mrs. H. P. Kinne, Mayville; Mrs Elizabeth A. Bemus, Bemus Point ; Mrs. Charles MeKay, Mayville ; Mrs. Frank Holmquist, Falconer ; Mrs. Hettie Sherwin, Jamestown; Mrs. George Ferguson, Celoron; Mrs. S. C. Houghwot, Mrs. Herman Baldwin, Falconer; Mrs. H. A. Donelson, Jamestown ; Mrs. S. P. Williams, Sheridan ; Miss Helen Case, Mrs. Edwin Stevens, Mrs. William Metzler, Fredonia ; Miss Katherine Wheeler, Dunkirk.

Many notable public meetings were held in Chautauqua county in the interests of the Food Administration. One of the largest ever known in Jamestown was held in the First Lutheran Church in February, 1918, and addressed by Rev. Dr. Julius Lincoln, pastor of the church, who had just returned from France, where he had been sent as a member of the Commission appointed by the Government in the interests of the Food Administra- tion. Dr. Lincoln is a man of great eloquence. His address will long he remembered. Another speaker at this meeting was Mrs. Florence E. S. Knapp, of Cornell University, who was doing Statewide work in the in- terests of the Food Administration.

Hon. Daniel A. Reed, of Dunkirk, now a member of Congress, was a member of the Food Administration Commission which went to France, and after his return Mr. Reed, besides his speeches in Chautauqua county, made a speaking tour through many States. Mr. Reed's forceful oratory and extraordinary personality exerted a strong influence upon the people everywhere.

Dr. Arthur E. Bestor, president of the Chautauqua Institution, tendered to the County Food Administra- tor the Chautauqua platform for a day during the Chautauqua season of 1918. This courtesy was grate- fully accepted. Chautauqua, as is well known, supplies the greatest forum in the world, and from that plat- form the message of the Food Administration was car- ried not only to the people of the county but to prac- tically every community in the nation. The Food Ad- ministrator arranged the program for the entire day. We were favored by the presence of Hon. Charles E. Treman, Federal Food Administrator, who presided at a symposium in the Ampitheater at which Dean Mann of Cornell University, a member of the Federal Food Board, and others, were heard. Preceding the sym- posium, Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, president of Leland Stanford Jr. University, closely associated with Mr. Hoover in the work of the Food Administration, ad- dressed a large meeting. In the evening, Mrs. Beatrice Forbes-Robertson Hale, one of the best known women orators of the world, delivered an address to a large audience. Mrs. Hale, during the existence of the Food Administration, rendered splendid service throughout the country by her eloquent appeals in support of the great cause. It was Mrs. Hale's second visit to Chau- tauqua county under the auspices of the Food Ad- ministration. On the Fourth of July, 1918, she ad- dressed large meetings at Dunkirk and Westfield.

Dr. William H. Crawford, president of Allegheny College. visited Europe early in 1918, and upon his return graciously responded to the request of the County Food Administrator to give an address in Jamestown. This was a memorable occasion. Dr. Crawford spoke in the Opera House to a capacity audience.

Many public meetings were held in the various com- munities in the county, all of which were most effective in the promotion of the work of the Food Administra- tion.

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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

With the signing of the Armistice in November, 1918, the large number of persons affiliated with the Food Administration viewed with relief and thanksgiving the approaching termination of their labors. Restoration to normal conditions, however, could not immediately be effected. Time was required for the necessary re- adjustment, and it was not until the first of February, 1919, that the United States Food Administration was demobilized. However, the County Food Administra- tors and their office staffs were retained unofficially to aid in the prosecution of the work that remained. Vari- ous duties were performed until about the month of May, when all activities ceased locally and the County Food Administrator and those associated with him were permitted to devote their time and energies to their personal affairs.

The work of the Food Administrator was neither popular nor spectacular, but it played a vastly important role in the successful prosecution of the war. The result of the discipline upon the American people is of inestimable value which will be felt for many years.

The Food Administration was a unique feature in American government. Its existence could be justified only by the exigencies of war and a crisis in the food

supply of the world which could not be met and over- come except by means of governmental regulation and control. The results fully vindicated the vision and wisdom of Mr. Hoover. No other war had ever in- volved so many nations, or so seriously disorganized and demoralized the food production of the world. The Food Administration met the crisis, and its vital part in the great war machine will be acknowledged by his- torians for all time. The Food Administration made its appeal to the patriotism and citizenship of the people in the solitude of the home. The observance of its requests were not produced in the glare of light, in front of trumpets and loud huzzahs, but by the fire- side of practically every home within our land. No greater evidence of devotion, sacrifice, and patriotism has ever been displayed by the people of this, or any other country, than in the co-operation of the people of America in maintaining, through the uninterrupted supply of food to Europe, the morale and fighting spirit of the armies, and in sustaining the hope and the cour- age of the civilian population of our allies across the seas.

January Ist, 1921.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

The narrow limits of a single chapter do not allow even an outline of all the interesting events which have marked the founding and development of the educa- tional institutions of Chautauqua county. Into the building of these schools has gone the unselfish service of a multitude of men and women. Former histories have given much of the details of their activities, and some mention of them will be found in the sketches of the various towns in this publication. For the most part, however, the purpose of this chapter is to record the present degree of advancement of the schools as a whole, with only such brief reference to the earlier days and the people then prominent as shall furnish an effec- tive background for the picture; and again, by giving in something of detail the upward movement in a few of the large communities, give due recognition to some of the leaders in the educational progress of the county.

Among the pioneers of Chautauqua county were many men and women of education and refinement, and one of their first concerns was to furnish such means for the education of the children of the community as their circumstances permitted. Although the conditions of life were rude and hard and consequently there were but scanty facilities for schools, yet it is not to be concluded that because of these handicaps the instruction was not genuine and helpful. For in these schools many men of power and influence received their first impulse to achievement. Moreover, the home life and social en- vironment of the day rendered unnecessary much that is now included in the school curriculum.

In some instances the first schools were privately supported, but later advantage was taken of the State law and public schools were established. For many years these were not free schools, as a portion of the expense was paid by the parents or guardians of the pupils, the amount due for each child being determined by the ratio of his attendance to the whole number of days of attendance. This was the famous rate bill, and this was in force in some places at least as late as the sixties. In the more populous centers, in order to secure more efficient instruction or instruction in the higher branches, private day schools were often maintained.

These were commonly known as "select" schools. Fol- lowing these and in some cases contemporaneously with them were the old line academies.

To found and maintain these academies, stock com- panies were organized and chartered under the pro- visions of the State law. There seems to have been little or no thought of financial return in these under- takings; on the contrary, the stock was bought by public-spirited citizens to further the cause of educa- tion, though in some instances, no doubt, local pride played a not unworthy part. The academies were managed by boards of trustees selected by the stock- holders. These trustees hired the principals, who in some cases at least appear to have employed their own assistants and have been responsible for the success or failure of the school, financial as well as scholastic. From an early day the State of New York has encour- aged local effort by appropriation of State funds both to elementary and secondary schools, and the academies shared in this support upon complying with certain easy terms. These academies were organized in different parts of the county. In fact, every considerable village maintained an academy, though some do not appear to have been chartered by the State, yet were called academies. The academy was the center of the intellec- tual life of its community, and next to the church, and in some respects even surpassing the church, it was the most potent force for right living and high thinking. Even in small communities these academies gained a reputation that extended for considerable distances. Especially deserving of mention in this respect were the Forestville and Ellington academies.

About the middle of the last century the idea began to prevail that secondary or academic education was also a concern of the State, and should be brought with- in the reach of all. By the terms of the Union free school legislation it was made possible for a group of common school districts to unite in a union school and to establish an academic department. Wherever this plan was adopted, the academies began to decline and in most instances became the academic department of the Union School of the locality. By a still later transfor-

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mation they are now termed high schools, and the his- tory of many of our high schools can be traced back to the old academy.

During the century and more in which schools have been carried on in the county, there has been a con- stant change in school legislation. These changes have necessitated corresponding changes in local procedure, and from very simple beginnings the present complicated systems have been developed. It is interesting to note that the inception of one of the most far-reaching and beneficial enactments of all our school legislation-that providing for the creation of the union free school-is credited to a native of Chautauqua county, Hon. Victor Rice, who served for several terms as State Superin- tendent of Schools between the years 1854 and 1866.

At a time when the supervision of the schools of the county was in the hands of a county superintendent, Wortly Putnam held this office for four years from 1843 to 1847, during which time he rendered a great service to the cause of education by visiting the schools of the county, holding classes for teachers in the vari- ous towns, and arranging programs for school celebra- tions in which the schools engaged in eager but friendly competition.

The "Centennial History of Chautauqua County" con- tains the following lists of teachers who so far as can be ascertained taught the first school in the different townships: Arkwright-Horace Clough, 1811; Busti- Olive Marsh, 1813; Carroll and Kiantone-Stephen Rogers, 1813; Charlotte-William Gilmour, 1813; Chau- tauqua-Rev. Amasa West, 1811, (but there was a school there in 1809, teacher unknown); Cherry Creek -Reuben Cheney, 1818; Clymer-Marie Stowe, 1822; Ellery-Dr. Lazarus Carey, 1808; Ellicott and James- town-Rev. Amasa West, 1814; Ellington-Milo Camp, 1817; French Creek-R. Chitsey, 1818; Gerry-Hannah Johnson, 1817; Hanover-John Sprague, 1808; Har- mony-Abigail Durfee, 1813; Mina-Elisha Moore, 1823; Pomfret and Dunkirk-Samuel Berry, 1809; Po- land-Betsey Tracy, 1816; Portland-Anna Eaton, 1810; Ripley-Anna Eaton, 1809; Sheridan-Squire White, 1808; Sherman-Otis Skinner, 1828; Stockton, Abigail Durfee, 1815; Villenova-Mrs. Elizabeth Browning, 1817; Westfield-Anna Eaton, 1807.

The early teachers of that period were paid from twenty-five to fifty cents per day, and boarded around the district. Twenty-four days constituted a school month, and teachers were often paid in farm products at the "cash and barter" store of the district. In 1819 Fletcher Fenton taught in the now town of Poland and received $10 per month, taking his pay in shingles at fifty cents per M.

Miss Minerva Willoughby in the summers of 1817 and 1818 taught school in what is known as the Wil- loughby district. She received fifty cents a week and boarded herself. Money being scarce, she took her pay from a store in Fredonia. She accepted a wheel-head, a pair of cards-for preparing flax for spinning-and a bake-kettle, all of which she found useful after her marriage to Joseph Van Vleit, which occurred in 1819. Their daughter, later Mrs. S. V. Barton of Westfield, taught a school at Wright's Corners in 1853, receiving $1.50 a week, and boarded around, an increase in wages of over two hundred per cent. in thirty-five years.

The first academy in the county was organized at Fredonia in 1824. Unlike most of the academies of the county which finally became the academic departments of the Union Schools, Fredonia Academy became the academy department of the Fredonia State Normal School in 1867.

Other academies in the county were organized as follows :

Fredonia Academy, the first organized in Chautauqua county, was incorporated November 25, 1824. It was opened to pupils October 4, 1826, and continuously maintained until 1867, when it was succeeded by the academic department of the Fredonia State Normal and Training School. February 23, 1830, it was placed on the roll of the Regents.

Mayville Academy was incorporated April 24. 1834, and placed on the Regents' roll February 5, 1839. On May 15, 1868, the trustees conveyed the property to the Mayville Union School, which was organized in 1867, and Mayville Academy became the academic department of the Mayville Union High School.

Jamestown Academy was incorporated April 16, 1836, and placed on the Regents' roll February 5, 1839. In 1866 the trustees voted to unite the Academy with the Union School which was established under the name of Union Free School District No. 1 in 1863. The people of Jamestown accepted the trust and the Academy was made a portion of the Jamestown Union School and Collegiate Institute.

Westfield Academy was incorporated May 5, 1837, and placed on the Regents' roll February 5, 1839. In 1868 the Academy passed into the possession of the Board of Education of the Union School as the academic de- partment of the Westfield High School.

Ellington Academy was organized March 30, 1851. March 23, 1871, the trustees passed a resolution trans- ferring the Academy property to Union School District No. 2, of the town of Ellington, and it became the academic department of the Ellington High School.

Dunkirk Academy was incorporated May 1, 1837, and in the year 1859 the Academy proper was conveyed to the Union School district and became the academic department of that institution.

Union Free Schools were established as given below. The honor of having the first of these schools in Chau- tauqua county belongs to Forestville, where under the leadership of Town Superintendent Cyrus D. Angell the union free school system was adopted after a stub- born fight.

On March 17, 1858, was passed an act authorizing a Union School in the village of Dunkirk, then in the town of Pomfret.

Union Free School District No. I of the town of Ellicott was organized in 1863. In 1868 the trustees of the Jamestown Academy voted to unite the Academy with the Union School. The people of District No. I accepted the trust and the school took the name of Jamestown Union School and Collegiate Institute.

The Westfield Union School was organized February 10, 1868, by the consolidation of School Districts Nos. 1, 2, 7 and II, of the town of Westfield. Following this, action was taken by the trustees of the Westfield Acad- emy wherehy the Union School accepted it and it be- came the academic department of the Union School.

The Mayville Union School was organized October 21, 1867. May 15, 1868, it succeeded to the property of the Mayville Academy, and the academic department of the Union School was established.

The Sherman Union School is the outgrowth of a log house roofed with bark, built in 1830. In 1836 a frame house was erected. In 1844 this gave place to a larger building which was enlarged in 1860. In De- cember, 1867, a Union School was organized.

Clymer Union School was organized in 1869. The Ellington Union School was organized and succeeded to the property of the Ellington Academy March 23, 1871.

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October 3, 1899, it was advanced to the grade of High School.

The Silver Creek Union School was organized April 8, 1879, taking the place of the Graded School No. 8, Hanover and Sheridan.

The Sinclairville Union School was organized May 17, 1879. The new building costing $6,000 was dedicated January 10, 1881. In June, 1897, a new charter was granted by the Regents, and the school was placed on the list of High Schools.

The Ripley Union School was organized December 19, 1882, by a union of the graded and high school interests which for many years had done excellent ser- vice in the educational field. In October, 1901, it was raised to a High School.

The Brocton Union School was organized in 1887, taking the place of the graded school. It became a Junior Regent School in 1889 and was raised to the grade of High School in 1896.

The Falconer Union School was organized in 1893 from Graded School No. 6, Ellicott.

Fedonia Union School was organized from Graded School No. 8, August 11, 1893.

Lakewood Union School in district No. 1, Busti, in 1893.

The Panama Union was organized in 1895; the Frews- burg Union School prior to that date.

The Stockton Union School was founded November 18, 1896; Cherry Creek Union School, August 4, 1897 ; Chautauqua Union School in 1900: Irving Union School in 1901 ; and Cassadaga Union School July 1, 1901.

The earlier stages of development have been aptly termed the periods of the "log-schoolhouse" and of the "little red schoolhouse." All honor to the pioneers, while we rejoice in the progress of recent years made possible by their forethought and sacrifices. The pupils of today are to be congratulated not only upon greatly improved physical conditions, but much more upon the opportunities offered them in the broader curricula of the modern school. As a result of this broader training we hope for a wiser, happier, more healthful people. It is unnecessary to undertake here a catalogue of these advantages, but it may be worth while to remind our- selves that the advantages secured through the re- placement of the separate school districts by the union free school and the public high school have been made possible only by the willingness of the people to take upon themselves heavy burdens of taxation and to re- member also that the proper development of modern ideals of education will entail still further and increasing burdens.

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History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 70

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc. Number of Pages: 649

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649