USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 39
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There were no schoolhouses, and for several years there was school in the courthouse. John Ward was the first schoolmaster ; it was a sub- scription school, and each householder paid for one scholar, one half scholar, or for the number of children he sent-a half scholar always meaning a beginner. There were thirty-nine pupils in this first school, and it continued sixty-six days. The school term was usually thirteen weeks, the teacher agreeing to "keep school," and the parents obligating themselves to send their children and pay for it. In one article of agree- ment, the tuition for reading and spelling was $1, and if writing were required the tuition was $2, the charge for spelling and the three R's- readin', 'riten and 'rithmetic-being $3 for the term. Each school was a separate business enterprise, and one who mastered the three R's had a liberal education. There were no blackboards, maps or other school- house fixtures because there were no schoolhouses. There are only a few lingering in the community today who tell of the dirt floors, greased paper windows and smoky rooms. There were no swindling school furni- ture salesmen when the youngsters sat on puncheon benches, and the writing desks were against the walls.
Miss Margaret Poague was the first female teacher-the first new woman in Allen County. In later years she was known as Mrs. William
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Cunningham. In 1831, an act was passed providing that "on the petition of the inhabitants of a district when the school examiner had granted such petition such district should appoint a female to teach spelling, read- ing and writing," and when this enactment became a law Lima was nothing but a howling wilderness. In the early '50s free schools were first established in Allen County. An old account says that in a district school near Lafayette, there were forty-two pupils and twenty-one of them were Halls. There were so many Williams among them that they were designated as William, Evil Bill and Little Bill, and the Josephs were Big Joe, Little Joe and Monkey Joe. When the teacher boarded around, she dreaded the by-ways to other homes unless some of the Bills or Joes accompanied her, because snakes frequently crossed the strange paths in front of her. There were all kinds of insects and reptiles along the narrow pathways marked by the children, and today there are hardly enough of those old landmarks left to make the country seem picturesque at all.
There was once a private school in Lima called the Teakettle Semi- nary. Reverend Stirewalt taught this select school one winter. It was above Tuttle's tinshop and all of the girls in town who could afford it went there; the teakettle was a sign in shape of a teakettle in front of the Tuttle store; the unique name was given the school and the story will live as long as somebody relates it again. One of the Lima schools was once designated as the Onion School because so many of the pupils ate onions. It seems that Virginia gave to Allen County its first school teacher. In 1830, John Ward came from Virginia with his family, and he was both an educator and an agriculturist. He began the arduous task of making a farm in the unbroken wilderness; he was a farsighted man, and while he had only been at school three months himself he imparted what knowledge he had gained to others. When he opened that first school at the site of Hawke's mill. he had a vision; he would need help clearing his land in the spring, and he allowed them tuition under that consideration ; he had the necessary foresight to make him a practical schoolmaster.
Mr. Ward was casting bread on the waters which returned to him before many days; with him exchange was not robbery, and he taught the young idea the use of firearms, and later on the boys helped clear his land and split his fence rails. Mr. Ward was a citizen before the formal organization of Allen County. He was a clerk of the court and a school teacher in the Allen County courthouse. After the official sur- vey of Lima he moved into the town. John Cunningham taught school in the Allen County courthouse from 1834, for four years. The Rev. Constantine Southworth, who was a Presbyterian minister in Lima in 1836, taught a term of school in the church; he was a practical man as well as a minister; on warm days he brought a yoke of oxen to school, and with the aid of the boys he cleared the land adjacent to it. Reverend Southworth combined work and play-was many years in advance of manual training under the Smith-Hughes law, and while the boys cleared the ground the girls studied botany, roaming at will plucking spring beauties. Between times the youngsters listened to dissertations on the inclined plane by the teacher-minister.
Tribute is paid by all to Joseph H. Richardson, who as early at 1836 was called "the very best teacher." Mr. Richardson was of royal blood, being himself related to President Andrew Jackson, while his wife was related to President James Madison; they both survived their birth dis- tinctions. Mr. Richardson entered farm land, and for many years he
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taught in a schoolhouse of his own; when he' was the teacher geese roamed the streets and about the countryside; they were common prop- erty, and yet an Irishwoman at the edge of Lima always picked them. They used to sometimes lay eggs on the schoolyard, and the first child to obtain an egg always claimed it. When a goose was on the nest they all watched her; sometimes it would be "books" before the egg appeared, and every child was thinking about it; when it was recess again every child joined a stampede for the nest.
While Mr. Richardson was a stern desciplinarian, the prospect of a goose egg to carry home stimulated the mental and physical activities of them all. The goose that laid the golden egg would have meant noth- ing more than this playground goose egg, in early school history. Both Mr. Ward and Mr. Richardson are described as self-made men and exemplary citizens. Both were politicians and both served in the Allen County courthouse in official capacity. Sometimes a pedagogue still walks into the county courthouse. Teaching is still regarded as a step- ping stone, and pedagogues are still ambitious. The importance of giv- ing the rising generation an education was recognized by the pioneers, who built rude log schoolhouses for the purpose. When Miner Weeks of New York was engaged to teach a select school on Riley Creek, his curriculum read :
"Readin', 'Riten' and 'Rithmetic, Taught to the tune-the hickory stick,"
and the puncheon floor schoolhouse was the order of things.
There is a Richardson School in Lima that stands as a monument to the memory of Joseph H. Richardson and his family; in the second gen- eration there were some excellent teachers. Mrs. Martha Richardson Ballard was for many years a teacher ; she was the first woman in Ohio to serve on the county board of examinations. Lima has always honored the Richardsons. Women have been signally honored in connection with the Lima public schools; for ten years Mrs. George Vicary was a member of the Lima school board when it was first possible for women to serve on boards of education. Under the provisions of the Smith-Hughes educational law, Mrs. Kent W. Hughes of Lima is a member of the State Board of Vocational Education, the first woman appointed to membership on the State Board of Education. Mrs. Hughes had charge of the educational features as a member of the Allen County Council of Defense. The women have always been among the best teachers in Allen County. Today some are teaching children in the third generation. Men as well as women grew old in the service.
There have been long educational strides since the days when the school teacher boarded round, and the schoolhouses were built of logs and daubed on both the inside and the outside. The smoking school- house fire in the middle of the floor, with greased paper windows-there are only a few who tell about such conditions today. The log school- houses are gone, and that old coterie of highly honored teachers laid down to their last sleep years ago. Why do orators who discuss that epoch in history always draw tears from the eyes of sympathetic listeners? They were the vanguard of civilization; they stood for the best things in community history. The little red schoolhouse of other days was a uni- versity within itself, and the great men of the past have all pointed to it as the helpful agency of their lives; things are changed today. The country school no longer sways the universe; the children are graduated from it before they are old enough to have so much sentiment for it.
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They are somewhere in high school at the impressionable period in their life history. It was hard work that won, and there were no boasted short cuts to a liberal education.
There were no free schools established in Allen County until 1850, and for some years thereafter the private schools were the most popular. Prior to the Civil war, the public school was regarded as a charity in many parts of the country. In 1852, the Lima Acadamy was estab- lished by Rev. James Campbell, and it was patronized by all in the com- munity who felt able to pay private tuition. It was a struggle for the public school until sentiment changed toward it. In 1856, the Union schools were organized in the community. Professor Wilhelm was the first superintendent, and the first class graduated from public school was June 3, 1864, when three girls, Fidelia Bennett, Josie Cunningham and Mary Watt, were awarded diplomas. In 1865, there was only one gradu- ate and there were no more until 1872, since which time public schools have been in favor. There was a time when the course of study was: Kirk's Grammar, Elementary Speller, Pike's Arithmetic, the National Reader and the New Testament. The first commencement, in 1864, was held in Ashton's Hall, and it was packed with the friends of the gradu- ates.
With the change of sentiment toward public schools new schoolhouses were built, and now the public school is the pride of Allen County. Allen and Van Wert counties both contributed to the support of the Delphos school until 1859, since which time it has been supported by Allen County and Delphos. At that time the Delphos Union School was organized under the law governing villages. William A. Shaw was an early edu- cator in Lima, while C. P. Washburn, W. H. Wolfe and E. W. Hastings were early Delphos teachers. Ohio was late in establishing teacher train- ing schools, but there were always teachers who went away for their education. Governor James M. Cox is credited with advancing the educational cause in Ohio. Teachers' training and school supervision had been adopted in all other states but Arkansas when Ohio came into line, and while it was late it had other methods to choose from, and through observation the state was able to choose the best from all. While Ohio had been pointed to as an 'orrible example, it finally wakened from its lethargy and now has an excellent educational system. Teachers no longer need leave the state for professional attainment.
It is said that every great improvement in the world's history is due, directly or indirectly, to the munificence of some man successful in the world's affairs, and to Governor Cox is given credit for educational advancement in Ohio. At a recent joint session of Lima and Allen County teachers, State School Superintendent F. B. Pearson made the assertion that in ten more years the educational system of Ohio will have undergone a complete change. The trend is toward the more practical education, and some of the studies are being eliminated that have always been in the school curriculum. In his lecture, The Master American, Professor Pearson portrayed the type of citizenship which would be the product of the changed system of education. Business men try many experiments and reject those that fail; why not educators do the same thing? While some people advocate doctrines and methods that should be abandoned because of their failure, the world is compelled to admit after centuries spent in searching for good things, that most good things are already old. The world soon recognizes merit.
It is only since 1914 that there has been public supervision of rural schools in Allen County. As superintendent of schools in Allen County,
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Prof. C. A. Argenbright has supervision of all schools outside of Lima and Delphos-the towns with city charters providing their own school superintendents. The county school superintendent may be appointed for from one to three years. He receives his appointment from the county board of education. There are five members of the board, and the. aim is to keep educational affairs out of politics. Professional interest, experience and competency enter into the consideration when selecting a school superintendent. Professor Argenbright was the first Allen ·County school superintendent. The high schools under his supervision are Bluffton and Richland Joint High School; Spencerville High School, Lafayette and Jackson Township Joint High School, Elida Village High School, Sugar Creek Township High School at Gomer, and there are secondary high schools with shorter courses of study, and Beaver Dam Village and Auglaize Rural at Harrod. The schools at Gomer and Har- rod are in reality consolidated or centralized schools, although the fact of centralization is not emphasized in Allen County.
The first centralized school in Ohio was in 1892 in Ashtabula County and the system has found favor in many localities. In 1914, when the new school code was enacted providing for school superintendents in the different Ohio counties, some of them immediately began centralization projects. Recent reports show that from fifteen counties in the begin- ning the number has increased to seventy counties, and that other states are rapidly adopting the method of bringing high school advantages within the reach of all. As has been said: "Governor Cox was keenly conscious of the great importance of the movement to organize rural life and he realized that a high school system commensurate in efficiency with the importance of rural life and its industries was necessary and fundamental to the progress of such a movement, and that the country boys and girls were not getting a square deal because the socalled system then in use was inadequate to their needs and interests and failed to reveal to them the possibilities of rural life and rural activities," and he called the Ohio Assembly into extraordinary session in order to enact the new school code in Ohio. For a time Governor Cox vigilantly guarded the new law against reactionary influences and measures, and its wisdom has since been vindicated in the minds of Ohio educators.
There are about ninety one-room schoolhouses in Allen County A. D. 1920, and there are a few two-room schools. In all there are 170 teachers under the oversight of the county superintendent. The claim has been established that the schools of Monroe had led in efficiency in Allen County. One explanation is that there were more two-room schools in that township than in others. In many instances there was one room above another and instead of one teacher having an enrollment of eighty pupils, the school was divided and two teachers were able to give more personal attention to pupils. The results were apparent. The two- room school contributed to efficiency, and centralization serves the pur- pose much better. In writing of centralization, a leading educator says : "It has proved beyond the anticipation of its most ardent advocates its worth in meeting the rural school conditions. When fully and properly administered, it is a corrective agency for the readjustment of the affairs of rural life. Fortunate are the children whose heritage it is to have the opportunities made possible by its provisions, and only the coming years can reveal the full measure of its benefits," and without much emphasis Gomer and Harrod are already centralized, and in time other communities will recognize the wisdom of it. In a sense all high schools are centralized, the Bluffton High School drawing its pupils from three
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counties and six townships. The same thing may be said of all border communities, as Delphos and Spencerville.
None will gainsay the statement that a liberal education increases one's opportunities for success and paves the way for usefulness and influence in the community. In the way of professional interest public school teachers are required to have thirty weeks of Normal training beside a high school education, and in future the standard is raised to thirty-six weeks Normal training. A scholarship certificate is not issued until the teacher has had the necessary professional training. When the professional interest and moral conduct warrant it, teachers are exempt from examinations. They may have their certificates renewed from year to year. While some are imported, most Allen County teachers are products of the Allen County public schools. The Lima Training School was established in 1899, with Miss Ruth English as its first training teacher, and many beside Lima teachers have studied in it.
In 1919 the Allen County Welfare Society was organized, covering the public schools outside of Lima and Delphos. It is not incorporated and is wholly sustained by voluntary subscriptions. Contributions and drives are made for it in the villages and rural communities. There has been excellent response to the calls for funds. The society maintains a visiting nurse whose duties are to examine all children in public school and to report as to their physical fitness. Miss Ida Nikel was the first visiting nurse. She reports to Professor Argenbright. In one rural school where forty children were examined, twenty-two had physical defects, and as a result of her suggestion fifteen of them sought expert advice. She finds defective eyesight, defective hearing and many under- nourished children. In one room in a village school where the nurse examined forty-five pupils she found thirty-four who were defective and sixteen of them sought advice from experts. The nurse weighs and measures each child and she arouses an interest in better physical care of the body. She explains anatomy and physiology and urges the impor- tance of caring for the teeth. As a result of the suggestions of the vis- iting nurse some have stopped drinking coffee in an effort to make their bodies fit temples, and personal cleanliness is a long stride in that direc- tion. The nurse usually spends an entire day visiting one school. She works in harmony with the county welfare doctor, who visits schools where there are epidemics. In one rural school where there were thirty- two pupils enrolled only seven were present. There were flaming posters on a house in the neighborhood and the teacher was powerless to secure attendance. It is the duty of the county welfare doctor to visit such homes and explain that the children are safe in school because those exposed to epidemic are in quarantine.
Along in the early '70s the country schools were the community cen- ters. There were few neighborhood churches and it frequently fell to the lot of the rural pedagogue to clean out a school house on Monday morning that had served as a Sunday community center. If a pupil is backward in his studies it is the duty of the teacher to learn his difficulty. When there were subscription schools-scholars and half-scholars-that was a system of grading and while advance has been noted there were some good results from the old-fashioned pedagogical methods. When Allen County teachers received $1 a week and boarded round, there was nothing said about the scale of wages. The high cost of living did not disturb them as today, when increased salary is the prime con- sideration. There is a lot of sentiment attached to the one-room country school house that so well served the educational needs of the past, but with the modern trend of things it is everywhere being left behind in
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the onward march of educational progress. While some cling to it because of what it ineant to them, others accept the utility side of the question and discard it. A recent versifier exclaimed :
"The little red schoolhouse stands Just like it's always done- But I can't grow reminiscent- I never went to one."
Some of the adherents to old-time educational methods assert that children of the past knew more at twelve years old than they do now when they graduate, not taking into the account the fact that many studies are pursued now that were unknown to the school chil- dren of a generation ago. It was said "the the pupils in our common schools were much better spellers than now is beyond all question." It is well known that greater emphasis was placed on spelling than on any other accomplishment unless it were "figgers." Another fact remains
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CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, LIMA
unquestioned-the early teachers were better writers, much of the hand- writing of half a century ago being as plain as the script of today. There were good spellers and good penmen came out of the one-room schoolhouses in every community. There used to be writing school and the teacher was an adept in ornamental penmanship-could make a spread eagle or a zebra-but where is the man or woman today who attempts so much as a slight flourish in his signature? In the old church records, and in some family Bibles, one sees excellent penmanship. However, the fellow still exists who can "read readin' readin', but who can't read 'riten readin'." The backwoods school teachers were wel- comed into the liomes of Allen County while under twentieth century living conditions the teacher has difficulty in finding a boarding place in many communities.
While there were no prescribed qualifications in the past, as has been stated. the pedagogue of today must have professional training. The man who exclaimed : "But you can't make whistles out of pig's tails" evidently meant to convey the impression that the efficient school teacher is born and not trained for it. While everything is commercialized, nature has something to do with equipping the efficient pedagogue. An
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old account says the backwoods teacher "taught twenty-two days for $8 a month and found," but such an opportunity would hardly tempt the twentieth century teachers. There was a time when brawn rather than brain was considered, when muscular development rather than mental achievement secured recognition. There were unruly boys in the long ago and they remained in the rural schools longer than now, when they are graduated before they are old enough to terrorize even the twentieth century female teacher. While in the adolescent period they are pur- suing higher studies in other schools. Someone exclaimed "Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, and make me a child again," but with the environment so changed it might be unsatisfactory to him.
While in the past each "master had his own system of handwriting and the query of the age is what became of the legible handwriting of yesterday," scribbling describes the system as one sees it today as con- pared with the handwriting still preserved in ancient letters, and in the archives of Allen County. Along with mathematics, science, lan- guage, literature and history -- the men and women of the past acquired an excellent handwriting. They memorized much of the New Testa- ment-learned it by heart-and on Friday afternoons and in Sunday school they recited it. There were "whispering schools," and there is an occasional newspaper reader today who had his training in them. Watch for him! He is unable to grasp the thought unless his lips move in unison with his mentality. Time was when "passing the water" was the reward for careful study; now there are sanitary drinking foun- tains. An old account says: "Nothing modern can equal the spelling schools of those early times. The young people would go many miles to a spelling school and it was district against district. It was wonderful how each would back its champion speller."
While Webster's Elementary Speller is an heirloom today, it was once a vital part of the school community. The McGuffy readers had their day and there was never any uniformity in mathematics until Ray's Practical Arithmetic became the standard, and many adults in Allen County today learned mathematics-what they know of the science from Ray's Part III Arithmetic; it was always thumb-marked as far as common fractions; it had the multiplication tables in it. No doubt some who used Ray's Arithmetic would still be able to settle the John Jones estate-the last problem in Common Fractions. There were always young people with the commendable ambition to secure a lib- eral education, and among some of the older men and women are a few college graduates.
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