|
|
 Jackson County Schools Also see the essay on pioneer
teacher O. C.
Applegate, and those on the Royals. For Medford
schools, click here.
"When we lived on Bear Creek, in the early '60s," said Mrs. Flora Katherine Watt when I interviewed her at her home in Salem recently, "the school teacher, Miss Amarantha Burt, boarded at our home. Father took up a place on Bear Creek in the fall of 1854. Jacksonville was our nearest post office. Today a suburb of Medford occupies our old farm. I think I am probably one of the oldest students of any Medford school, for I started to school when I was 5 years old. Miss Amarantha Burt was my teacher. She later married a man named Nye." Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, June 2, 1934, page 4 FEMALE SCHOOL.--Notice the advertisement of Mrs. J. W. McCully. The parents of misses in this vicinity have been very fortunate in prevailing upon Mrs. McCully to open a school for their girls, as she is an experienced and accomplished teacher. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, June 21, 1862, page 3 MRS. MCCULLY'S SCHOOL.--The second term of this school will commence on Wednesday next, at the former school rooms. Mrs. McCully is an experienced and accomplished teacher, and those having daughters to educate would do well to patronize her school. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, September 27, 1862, page 3 SCHOOL EXHIBITION.--The scholars of Mrs. McCully's school will give an exhibition at the court house, on Tuesday evening next. The exhibition will consist of charades, dialogues, declamations, etc. Parents especially and the public generally are invited to attend. Exercises to commence about half past seven o'clock. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 27, 1862, page 3 SCHOOL EXHIBITION.--The exhibition given by the scholars of Mrs. McCully's school, at the court house, on last evening, was a fine affair. The exercises consisted of singing, compositions, declamations and charades. The singing, conducted under the superintendence of Mr. Dunlap, was spirited, animated and full of harmony. The compositions showed a considerable proficiency in the sciences of grammar and rhetoric, together with some considerable native skill in the art of composition. We hope after this, in similar exhibitions, the young ladies may all have sufficient courage to read their compositions themselves. The salutatory addresses by the little girls were well timed, and spicy. The declamation by Master McCully was animated and patriotic. May the solemn injunctions of the immortal story be heeded! There was a little too much sameness in the charades; but, saving the occasional low and indistinct utterances of some of the young ladies, were well performed. Without detracting anything from the excellences of the others, we give the palm to "Em." After the conclusion of the school exercises, the Rev. M. A. Williams, having been called out, made some well-timed remarks on the importance of a high order of female education. The audience was large, and seemed to be highly pleased with the evening's entertainment. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 31, 1862, page 3 By reference to her advertisement in this paper, it will be seen that Mrs. McCully begins a three months' term of school on the 17th of August next. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, July 29, 1863, page 2 The district school for Jacksonville, Mr. Wm. Babcock, teacher, will commence a three months' term on Monday next. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, August 19, 1863, page 2 SCHOOL EXHIBITION.--The present term of Mrs. McCully's Female School closes on Friday evening next. On the Saturday evening following she intends giving a school exhibition, at the court house. The parents and friends of the scholars and public generally are invited to attend. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, October 31, 1863, page 7 Mrs. McCully's popular Female School commences a term of five months on Monday, January 4th. See advertisement. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 19, 1863, page 5 JACKSONVILLE
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
December 26, 1863, page
4F E M A L E S C H O O L ! THIS school will
commence a Five Months' Term on the 1st Monday in January.
English Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14.00 Lessons on Piano, per month . . . . . . 10.00 MRS. J. M. McCULLY.
Rev. Father Blanchet informs us that he hopes to soon have organized at this place a good school for girls and young ladies, under the direction of the Sisters of Charity. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 26, 1864, page 7 Academy for Young Ladies,
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
April 16, 1864, page
8JACKSONVILLE, OREGON.
This institution will be conducted by the Sisters of Jesus and Mary,
and will be situated in the healthy and accessible town of
Jacksonville. The plan of education will embrace the various branches
of instruction usually taught in the most approved seminaries or
academies. Its aim will be to form young ladies to science and virtue,
to accustom them to early habits of order and economy, and to cultivate
in them those qualities which render virtue both amiable and
attractive. The most conscientious and unremitting attention will be
given to the advancement of the pupils in the principles and practice
of Christian virtue, as well as to their intellectual improvement.
Particular care shall be directed toward the promotion of refinement of
manners, and the constant maintenance of a polite and amiable
deportment. The discipline shall be kind and parental, and the Sisters
will use every endeavor to secure the health, comfort and happiness of
those entrusted to their charge. Scrupulous attention will be paid to
the personal neatness of the pupils. Pupils of any religious
denomination shall be received. It is not in the plan of the Sisters to
interfere with the religion of the pupils, except with the Catholics.
The Academy will be under the direction of an Order that has attained
at French Prairie, at Salem and especially at Portland a widespread
celebrity as teachers; then, it will not be wonderful that it shall be
well patronized, nor that the advantages there enjoyed by pupils shall
be appreciated by so many parents outside of the Catholic community.
All the different denominations bear testimony to the bright character
of the institution, and point to the influence it has already exercised
on the manners and morals of the community, and the greater influence
it is destined to exercise hereafter, an influence which will not end
with the present, but affect generations yet to come. If we want to
have fruits in our garden, we plant and cultivate fruitful trees; in
like manner, if we desire to see in this part of Oregon and in the
vicinity, the happy results of such an institution as the Sisters'
Academy, we must establish it and support it; for this purpose, we have
only to consult our charity and generosity. The education of a
multitude of children; the care of the sick; the distribution of
assistance to the poor; in a word, all the treasures of Christian
charity are distributed with open hands, but with intelligence, by the
Sisters of Charity. Nothing, consequently, deserves more encouragement;
nothing is more worthy of our patronage and protection than this
charitable institution. The example of our brethren of every religious
denomination, who, on similar occasions, at Salem, at French Prairie
and at Portland, seem to be actuated with uncommon zeal, should excite
in us a holy emulation, to exercise our humanity and testify our
charity to the establishment of the Academy.
Trusting to the past liberality shown to us, a collection shall be started for the purpose of purchasing a convenient ground, and building a comfortable house for the Sisters School. F. X. BLANCHET,
Pastor.
St. Joseph of Jacksonville. SISTERS SCHOOL.--The Rev. Father Blanchet has bought, Saturday last, the fine property of Dr. Thompson, close to the Methodist and Catholic churches. It is the intention of the Rev. Pastor to buy, soon, the other remaining lots belonging to M. M. McDonald and Clugage. This splendid block will be quite suitable for the future Academy. If the Sisters of Charity do well, within one or two years a two-story house will be erected, and the present buildings will be used as an orphan asylum, a hospital and a kitchen. All who subscribed to the Sisters school are respectfully invited to pay the amount set opposite their names. When the collection will have taken place, an accurate account of the receipts and expenses shall be given. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, October 8, 1864, page 3 JACKSONVILLE FEMALE SCHOOL.--This popular institution of learning will commence a three months' term Monday, Oct. 24th, under the superintendence of Mrs. Jane M. McCully. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, October 15, 1864, page 3 By request of Father Blanchet we publish the following letter, which will explain itself: Novitiate
of the Holy Sisters of Jesus & Mary,
Rev. Father:--I am in receipt of your favor dated October 4th, by which
you manifest a desire to have Sisters establish a school of their order
in Jacksonville. It is quite probable that you can have some of them,
but we are so circumstanced here at present that we can disburse
nothing towards paying their fare to Oregon. If you send money for the
fare of three Sisters of Charity, they will be ready to leave Montreal
in the coming spring.Montreal, Nov. 16th, 1864. I remain, Rev. Father, with consideration and respect, Your
most humble servant,
Rev. Father
Blanchet, Jacksonville, Oregon.Sister Teresa de Jesus, Prioress. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 14, 1865, page 3 MRS. MCCULLY'S SCHOOL.--We had the pleasure of witnessing the closing exercises of this popular school on yesterday--the last day of the term. The exercises were principally in writing, declamation and composition. A colloquy by Miss Ellen Little and Miss Kate Hoffman was well executed, and would have done credit to more experienced amateurs. The compositions displayed much merit. A song sun in German by two charming little girls of Mr. John Muller's was one of the most pleasing performances of the occasion. The following awards of merit were made: Best in mathematics, Miss FLORENCE HOFFMAN--a medal; best in spelling, first class, Miss ELLEN LITTLE--a medal; best in spelling, second class, Miss LIZZA DONEGAN--a medal; best in spelling, third class, Miss AMELIA MULLER--a medal; best writing, Miss KATE HOFFMAN--gold pen; most improvement in writing, Miss ROSY SHORT--gold pen. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 21, 1865, page 3 THE SISTERS' SCHOOL.--Father Blanchet requests us to say that he will visit those who have subscribed funds for the Sisters' School next week, for the purpose of collecting. The following statement, copied from the Reporter, will show the financial condition of the enterprise at the present time. The property purchased of Dr. Thompson cost $1200. Of this sum $600 has been paid; $200 has been paid for a piano for the institution, and $100 for furniture. he has to pay $600 more on the property by the first of May to Dr. Thompson, and this with the $600 needed for the fare of the Sisters is all that is required to get the institutions started. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 21, 1865, page 3 COMMON SCHOOLS.
To the people of Jackson County, Oregon:As the time is drawing near for your annual school meetings (first Monday of April), permit me to make some suggestions for your respectful consideration. To begin with a small item, some of you have no name in particular, but many names in common conversation, as suits the taste of individuals. For example, the district at the head of Bear Creek Valley is thus spoken of: Well's District, Judge Tolman's District, Grubb's District, Dann's District. No one ever thinks of speaking of you by your number. So, also, we have Van Dorn's, Crane's, Wright's District. Now please baptize these and other children of the county with appropriate names of which their children again will not be ashamed. Some of the districts have already attended to this. When the Superintendent's Book came into my hands, I soon saw there was no way of knowing where the several districts were, except by the names of the clerks, recorded in the annual apportionment of the school fund. The record of boundaries, it is true, showed somewhat of your whereabouts, provided you went to the trouble of consulting maps in the clerk's office in Jacksonville. But as the boundaries are described by the names of land holders, more or less, in all the districts, which lands have since changed hands several times, it requires a knowledge of the first settlers to understand what is meant. Now give yourselves a technical name which will at once show where you are. DEFINE ACCURATELY YOUR BOUNDARIES.
A number have already done this. There are others however in which
errors have been discovered, and should be corrected. They have
probably arisen thus: In the early history of the valley large school
districts were formed and recorded. As families multiplied, new
districts were made by dividing these first organized and recorded,
while the original district with its number and boundaries remains
unchanged. In addition to these inaccuracies, according to the old law
superintendents had the power, by request, to transfer families and
farms from one side to the other. In some instances the record shows
that these same families have been changed back and forth several
times; and it is known, for no other reason than dissatisfaction with
their company. This divorcing system was happily terminated, at least
no provision made for it, by one new law. These changes and
inaccuracies have subjected newly elected clerks to much annoyance in
making out their annual reports, whom to embrace and whom to leave out;
lest the children of the same families might be reported in two
districts and both draw money from the school fund. I request your
attention to this, that we may compare your present boundaries with
those recorded in the book, and correct them when necessary.DEAD DISTRICTS.
A number of those originally organized have been dead and buried for
several years, but not beyond the hope of rising again. The whole
number recorded in the book, both living and dead, is 29. Ten of these
at least may be considered totally dead so far as drawing school money
is considered. Removal, neglect, or the force of circumstances
generally, have combined to entomb them. In one case at least (and how
many more is not known) there was, is now, unexpended school money in
the hands of one of the former clerks--some $70. This clerk has
consulted with me as to what he should do with it. He said the money
had been loaned several years since in coin, and the person who
borrowed, returned it in greenbacks. This was, indeed, taking bread
from the children's mouths. If any more clerks of those dead districts
have unexpended school money in their possession, I hope they have the
same frankness and honesty to report themselves. I suggested to my
friend, in reply to his question, "what he should do with it," one or
two things, viz: either that they reorganize, or (if this was
impracticable being too few or too distant from each other) cast in
their lot with an adjoining district at the next annual meeting. Then
they could make a common fund with what the other would draw, and so
all alike be mutually benefited. This would do until such times as they
might be strong enough to reorganize.Some of the dead districts have had the benefit of a requisition by casting in their lots with their neighbors. This I commend to all. Experience proves that it is not wise, in sparsely settled sections of the country, to have the districts too small. A district may be large in territory, but small in the number of children; and small in territory with many children. It is better to err, if error it be, on the other side and have them rather large. The disadvantages of having them too small are obvious. The money which such draw as their portion is so small as to aid but little in reducing the expenses of education. Not being able to support good teachers, especially, small organizations die by the mere force of law, and of course fail to draw their just portion of the public funds. Yet all the people are taxed year after year two mills on the dollar for the support of schools in the living districts of the county, and when they send their children to school in an adjoining district, by boarding them out or otherwise, they cannot avail themselves of the aid of its public funds, unless it be at the option of its patrons and directors. This shows clearly that it would be their interest to unite with adjoining organizations which have a living, efficient existence. SECTIONS OF OUR COUNTY NOT YET
ORGANIZED INTO SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
It is desirable, indeed, the law requires, that every part of the
county be embraced in some school district. Yet there are many families
on the confines of civilization, as well as those in the dead
districts, which do not belong to any. Geographical features, such as
ranges of mountains, large streams and deserts, must control the
boundaries in almost every part of our county. Families living far up
in our mountains, and in places not much frequented, should be included
in districts to which they naturally belong. For example, all the
territory belonging to Little and Big Butte creeks, and Antelope,
should be embraced in the one known as Rader's or Westgate's district.
We recommend this change to the people of that section of our county.
It will add much to your pecuniary interests; and it is nothing more
than just that you receive the benefit of your own taxes. Leave no part
of the county out in that direction. (Since the above was written, I
have been informed that a change has been effected, and this dead
district is now alive again, by being embraced in another.) Then there
is a fraction of a dead district formerly known as Hamlin's
or Stevenson's, which should be included in one or the other
of those
adjoining; regard being had, of course, to the forms of law in making
these changes.FRACTIONAL DISTRICTS.
By such is meant those which should embrace portions of territory in
two counties. Williamsburg is so, and the people draw school money from
both Jackson and Josephine. This generally secures to them quite a
large fund. I before spoke of, and recommended, another of the same
kind for lower Applegate and Missouri Flats. I need now only add that a
large and profitable organization can be so made, and hope it will be,
if not done already; and report yourselves to the superintendents of
both counties as the law directs, defining the boundaries for each
county.I put the question to the people of "Dry Diggings," also, whether they could not improve their condition by some such arrangement. The laws of nature make you all one family, socially and commercially; and you should be one in educational interests. And to any other sections so situated, we would say go, and do as the people of Williamsburg have already done. SCHOOL LANDS.
Special care of these is of a great importance. I have said much on
this subject in my visits over the county, have requested the people
and directors of districts to preserve and prevent trespass upon those
within their own limits. It affords pleasure to state that there has
been a general cessation of these trespasses over the county. Still,
however, there are some who will not listen to kind entreaties; and it
is much to be regretted that there are persons who will steal both wood
and timber from these lands, thus stealing money from your pockets, and
knowledge from your children. I have spoken to some of these privately,
politely requesting them not to commit these trespasses. Some have
promised that they would cease these depredations; and yet, in one
instance at least, within a few days afterwards they returned, "like
the dog to his vomit," to a repetition of the same offenses. If reports
be true, in some instances, the directors themselves have been
trespassers. How far leniency should be exercised in such cases may be
a question, but there is certainly a point beyond which forbearance
ceases to be a virtue. A common excuse is--"Why, everybody has been doing
the same for years; everybody goes there to get wood," and
such
like. A wrong, perpetrated till it becomes a habit, does not surely
make it right. There is a piece of school land back of Phoenix, on
which Camp Baker
stands, once a grand forest, which is now almost
worthless. Uncle Sam has made sad havoc of the wood and timber. Who will prosecute him?
Will our Hon. Prosecuting Attorney, Mr. Dowell, take the case? I
believe it is generally considered good political doctrine that the
military power should be in subservience to the civil. Others
besides Uncle Sam have had a peculiar spite at that forest of wood and
timber. There is yet another between this and Jacksonville for which
there has been a peculiar love--or spite shall it be called? And yet
another, back of Hopwood's mill, and some others in various places.
Now, if directors and people do not take care of these lands within
their own districts, I see not how they can be effectually preserved.
Let them report those depredations to the superintendent; not by vague
flying report, but by giving names, dates, places, on paper, with the
names of witnesses; and then the case can be submitted to the forms of
law. A mere vague rumor is of but little worth. In order that
the people of the county can find what are school lands, I
have
collected them all together, and left a copy with full description at
the clerk's office in Jacksonville. There is frequently more or less
difficulty in finding the lines with even a full description on paper,
because the stakes have been rubbed down by cattle; corner and sight
trees have been cut down. Still, it is probable the people of the
several districts, by special attention, could find these lands with
sufficient accuracy to report and convict them who are committing
trespass. There may be a few instances where none but a practical
surveyor could determine the lines.M.
A. WILLIAMS,
Sup't. Common Schools. Oregon
Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 1, 1865, page
3
SCHOOL EXHIBITION.
MR. EDITOR:--As
I had the pleasure of attending the exhibition given by the students of
Mrs. McCully's school, on Friday evening the 21st, at the court house,
I propose, with your permission, to give a brief statement of the
nature of the exercises there witnessed, with an impartial criticism
upon the merits and demerits of said exhibition.
The school exhibition proper consisted of singing by the school, addresses and compositions by the young ladies and little girls, and declamations by the boys. I am not a connoisseur in music, but if this part of the programme be judged by the pleasing effect it had upon the large audience in attendance, it was decidedly excellent. The selections were tasty and appropriate and the sentiments in harmony with the occasion. The two Miss Millers, aged, we should judge, six and eight years, sang a song in German in a manner that delighted and captivated everybody. There was a musical ring, harmony and sweetness in their tiny voices that took the audience by storm. The salutatory address was delivered by Miss Florence Hoffman--the valedictory by Miss Roena Bunyard. Both of these addresses were excellent in style, vigorous in thought, abounded in chaste and appropriate allusions, and were delivered in a clear and distinct manner. The compositions of Miss Short, Kate Hoffman, Nannie Bigham, Hassie Anderson, Roena Bunyard, Florence Hoffman, Mollie Kilgore and Ellen Little all showed a vigor of thought and a power of mental analysis far beyond our expectations. There was a marked individuality in the manner in which these compositions were read, and so clear and distinct that it could be readily heard above the musical roar of babies, throughout the house. The reading of Miss Ellen Little was capital; that of Miss Kate Hoffman ditto; that of Miss Rose Short clear and distinct, but a little too fast. Miss Nannie Bigham won laurels. Miss Florence Hoffman and Miss Roena Bunyard excelled in the finish of their style and in the strength and originality of their thoughts--in fact, all did well. Not the least interesting part of the performance was the addresses of the little girls and boys. They seemed impressed by the magnitude of their performances and won the admiration of all by the confidence they exhibited in their embryo manhood and womanhood, and by their simplicity and grace of elocution. Part second of the performances consisted of charades and songs. The first charade was "The Only Young Man in Town." All the young ladies in the school had parts in this pleasant performance. "Mr. Brown" was entertained in style [and] fanned himself with dignity--was confounded by the brilliance of his surrounding stars, and we are sorry to say closed the scene in a paroxysm of melancholy determination. After the close of this piece, Miss Kate Hoffman sang in fine style the song entitled "Inglesides." The next charade was entitled the "Antidote." This piece required but few characters, and Miss Florence Hoffman and Miss Ellen Little were the only "school girls" engaged in it. They sustained their parts with credit to themselves and to the entire satisfaction of the audience. The inimitable "Tom" and "Spectacles" did their parts up "Brown." This was succeeded by the popular song, "Is It Anybody's Business," sung in good style by Miss Rose Short, and well appreciated by the audience. The next charade was entitled "The School Girl." Miss Molly Kilgore, Miss Roena Bunyard and Miss Kate Hoffman had parts in this. Miss Kate Hoffman performed the part of an independent, unrefined and strong-minded woman in capital style. Miss Bunyard acted the part of the fastidious and exquisite lady well. Theirs were the principal female parts. Mr. Payne sustained his part of the accomplished gentleman and lover, in fine style. The next performance was a charade entitled "The Boots at the Swan." All acquitted themselves well. At the close of this performance a bevy of "school girls," consisting of Florence Hoffman, Ellen Little, Hasse Anderson and Miss Kate Hoffman, led by the clear and musical voice of the latter, sang the popular and patriotic song entitled "The Prisoner's Hope." This was the star musical performance of the evening. It was applauded to the echo. It was in harmonious accord with the sentiments and feelings of the audience and was eloquent with patriotic pathos. Charade number five was entitled "There Is No Rose Without Thorns." Miss Rose Short and Miss Nannie Bigham were engaged in this, and their acting was very fine. Everything they said was distinctly heard, and well done was the meed of praise awarded by all. The exercises continued till a late hour in the evening, but the interest did not flag. Everybody was well pleased. We hope that we may have the pleasure of attending many performances of like character in the future. Mrs. McCully deserves much credit for the interest and impetus which she has given to the cause of education by these occasional exhibitions. REPORTER.
[P. J. Malone?]
Oregon
Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 29, 1865, page
2
THE Jacksonville (Oregon) Reporter says that
four sisters of Jesus and Mary are expected every day in that town,
where they are to establish a school.
The lady superioress of the Order at Portland is coming to see them
settle in their new home. Father Blanchet has been industriously at
work for the last month cultivating the ground and shrubbery around
their intended home. He has succeeded to such a degree as to make the
cozy little nook look like a miniature Paradise. The Sisters will be a
blessing to this community. They diffuse around them charity and
virtue, gentleness and intelligence. We hope, in time, to see a school
of Christian Brothers also in Jacksonville. The boys of the community
need the right kind of training as well as the girls.
Three Sisters of Charity intended for the Catholic school of Jacksonville have arrived in Oregon. Oregon Statesman, Salem, June 5, 1865, page 3 SISTERS' ACADEMY.--We learn from Rev. Father Blanchet that three Sisters of Charity will be ready to open a school in Jacksonville, on the 7th of September next. We will publish at the proper time the terms of admission. Father Blanchet also tells us that he would be very glad to receive the remaining subscription, in order to give a general account of his administration of the academy's fund. Oregon
Sentinel, Jacksonville, June 24, 1865, page
2
RETURNED.--Father Blanchet has returned from Portland, bringing the sisters with him. We understand that St. Mary's Academy will be opened about the first of September. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
August 26, 1865, page
2
SCHOOLS.--The Jacksonville District School commenced a three months' term last Monday--Mr. Kahler teacher--with a fair attendance. The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary will commence school on Monday next. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
September 9, 1865, page
2
CATHOLIC SCHOOL.--We notice that the building designed for the Catholic day school is approaching completion very slowly. It is a neat little structure, but too small for the children of that sect in this place. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, May 25, 1867, page 2 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
June 1, 1867, page
2
We paid a visit to the public school house during the present week, and
feel no hesitation in asserting that it is the finest building of the
kind in the state. The main school room, on the ground floor, is very
spacious; being thirty by forty and thirteen feet in height, and amply
lighted by seven large windows. On the north side of the room a
platform is built, five feet in width, giving ample room for recitation
and for the use of the blackboard--immediately over it and between the
two north windows. Ventilation is provided by having the windows let
down from the top, thus obviating the danger to the health of the
scholars from drafts of cold air. The main entrance to the school opens
on the hall, on the left side of which is an anteroom, designed for the
use of the teacher, or for the general purpose of a recitation room; on
the right side, to the stairway leading to the upper room, which,
itself, is larger than the old school house, being twenty by forty,
eleven feet in height and lighted by four spacious windows, two on the
east and two on the west side of the building. We understand that the
latter room is intended for a primary department, or for the girls
should the directors decide on separating the sexes. The rooms are all
ceiled and lined with lumber, and painted white. The building is
surmounted with a handsome cupola, on which is erected a flagstaff,
twenty-four feet in height, on which is perched the inevitable American
eagle, overlooking, perhaps, the destinies of the young freemen whose
love of liberty is to be fostered and increased by the precepts taught
within the walls below. The cupola, we understand, was suggested by
Director Beekman, and he is entitled to the credit of adding a great
ornament to the building, as it gives it quite an imposing appearance.
It is intended to swing a fine bell within the cupola, the tone of
which can easily be distinguished from the church bells, to call the
youthful toilers up the weary path of knowledge to their daily tasks;
and its cheering tones, heard daily among us, will remind this
community that at last they have discharged a sacred duty in
befriending and encouraging free education. The contractors are
deserving of much credit for the substantial manner in which their work
has been done, and which will be ready for public inspection on Monday
or Tuesday next. We do not doubt but every person will be perfectly
satisfied with a building which would certainly be a credit to any town
in the state.
FINISHED.--Mr. Linn's contract on the new school house is finished, and it will be ready for occupation right away. The directors have already procured a portion of the desks from below, and will depend upon the liberality of our citizens in voting a school tax for the means wherewith to pay for the same, also for the construction of more of the same pattern. We have been informed that a teacher is to be procured from Yreka. The directors have experienced considerable difficulty in obtaining just such aid as the necessities of the school will demand. A man to take charge of the school, and a woman to act as assistant teacher, is the kind of force thought requisite at the start; but we are persuaded that as many as three teachers will find employment in the school ere long. The directors are no doubt doing the best they can to start the school at as early a day as possible, but if the house has to remain idle now for any length of time, while the "young idea" is running at large and learning to shoot in the wrong direction, why we'll quit puffing them--that's all. Southern Oregon Press, Jacksonville, June 8, 1867, page 3 A GOOD FENCE.--We have heretofore neglected speaking of the substantial fence built by Sergeant Dunlap to enclose the school house grounds. This fence is put down with yew posts, which are supposed to last forever and a year longer. Southern Oregon Press, Jacksonville, June 8, 1867, page 3 SCHOOL FURNITURE.--We had supposed that there was but little room for improvement in school furniture, but must say that Warren's patent desk and seat, some of which have been purchased for the new school house, are decidedly the most convenient and neatest we have ever seen. They are made in sets of three benches, capable of seating six scholars to a set, and take up much less room than the clumsy benches formerly in use. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
June 22, 1867, page
2
DISTRICT SCHOOL.--We are informed by the school directors of this district that they have secured the services of Prof. Dewitt, formerly of Roseburg, and that the school will be opened Monday, the 22nd inst. Mr. Dewitt has the reputation of being one of the foremost teachers in the state, and for the sake of the students in our community we hope his reputation may be a just one, as the few months of idleness children here have enjoyed make the services of a competent teacher all the more necessary. They have also secured the services of Miss Lizzie Clayton as assistant teacher, and will determine during the coming week the rate of tuition and the character of the textbooks to be used. Parents are cautioned against purchasing books until the action of the directors is known. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, July 13, 1867, page 3 SCHOOL AT LAST.--After many months of annoying and unavoidable delay, the directors of this district have at last succeeded, with the assistance of a generous public, in getting under way such a district school as we believe no other portion of the state can boast. On Thursday last they made a contract with Prof. Dewitt, to whom is given the entire control of the school for a term of six months--dating from the 22nd inst. They also wisely incorporated a provision in the contract, that the teacher should have, and should exercise, control over the scholars from the moment they left their homes until the moment they returned to them. We hope this wholesome regulation will be heartily sustained by the parents, and that they will give their full and earnest cooperation in preventing turbulent, quarrelsome and disgraceful behavior, so commonly occurring among scholars when released of the restraint of the school room. The directors, with the approbation of Prof. Dewitt, have selected the following textbooks, which are cheap and accessible to all: Wilson's Readers; Quackenbos' Grammar; Davies' Common, Mental and Intellectual Arithmetics; Cornell's Geographies; Wilson's Speller; Lossing's History, and Davies' Algebra. The price of tuition has been reduced to five dollars per quarter, being two dollars less than last year. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, July 20, 1867, page 3
REOPENING OF SCHOOLS.--As
will be seen by advertisement this morning, the Sisters' schools in
this city will resume their studies on the 10th inst. In consequence of
the increasing demand for teachers to attend to the other schools in
charge of this community, at Jacksonville, Salem, St. Paul's and the
Dalles, the Sisters are unable to continue their boys' school, on Third
Street. In order that pupils may have the benefit of exercises in
music, the Sisters have purchased a parlor organ for the use of their
day scholars.
Morning Oregonian, Portland,
August 8, 1867, page 3ST. MARY'S ACADEMY.--The fall term of the Young Ladies' Catholic Seminary, in this place, will commence on Monday the 19th inst. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, August 10, 1867, page 2 DISTRICT SCHOOL.--We witnessed the closing exercises of the first quarter of the district school taught in the new school house. All of the scholars acquitted themselves well--better than could reasonably have been expected. Mr. C. C. Beekman, school director, offered prizes to the best spellers in the several classes. Mary Sprague obtained prize of first class, W. Ulrich of second class, and R. L. Farmer of third class. The whole number of pupils on the roll for the term just ended was 112--average attendance, 80. School will commence again two weeks from next Monday. The directors have decided to admit scholars from other districts, until the school is full, on the same terms as those belonging in this, except that they will be extended from the benefit of the public monies belonging to this district. The tuition of such scholars will be about six dollars. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, October 12, 1867, page 2 YOUNG LADIES' ACADEMY.--The second term of school, at St. Mary's Academy, in Jacksonville, will commence on Monday, the 4th of November next. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, November 2, 1867, page 2 DISTRICT SCHOOL.--The second term of this popular institution will expire on Thursday next. An exhibition will take place on Thursday and Friday evenings, and an interesting time may be expected. Considering the large attendance--an average of over eighty--the progress of the pupils has been excellent, and parents generally express great satisfaction with the conduct and efficiency of a school that is a public monument of the energy of our present Board of Directors, and the liberality of our citizens. The public are expected to attend the exhibition which, of course, is free. It is understood that Mr. Dewitt and Miss Clayton will continue for another term, having given general satisfaction. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
January 18, 1868, page
3
ASHLAND SCHOOL.--A six months school, taught in this place by R. H. Dunlap, closed on Friday last. The exhibition in the evening, under the management of O. C. Applegate, was a grand success, consisting of sensation dramas, dialogues, declamations, &c., and interspersed with vocal and instrumental music. The audience was large and appeared highly gratified with the entertainment.Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 18, 1868, page 3 BELL ARRIVED.--The fine bell for the public school of Jacksonville district, procured mainly by the energy of Director Beekman, has arrived. It is from the foundry of W. T. Garratt, San Francisco, weighs 450 pounds and when hung will doubtless be heard at a distance of three or four miles. There is still due on it about $150, which has been liberally advanced by Mr. Beekman, and which should be promptly made up by subscription. It is unfair that one citizen should be overtaxed to benefit all and we hope this community will come forward and contribute the necessary sum at once. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
June 13, 1868, page
3
IN POSITION.--The district school bell was hung in the cupola of the school house, last week. It is a fine-toned bell and can be heard at a great distance. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
July 11, 1868, page
3
DISTRICT SCHOOL.--The next term of the district school in this town will commence on Monday, 21st, under tuition of Mr. J. W. Stanley. The directors trust that all parents who intend sending children will send them on the first day, so that the school may be properly organized. Tuition will be the same as heretofore: $5 per quarter. If a pupil goes but a week the parent will be responsible for half a quarter's tuition, and if over half a quarter the parent must pay for full tuition. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, September 12, 1868, page 2 DISTRICT SCHOOL.--Commences next Monday. The directors have decided to separate the sexes, and have engaged Miss Wall, a graduate of the State Normal School of Michigan, to take charge of the female department. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, September 19, 1868, page 3 Free Schools.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
October 24, 1868, page
2
We take from the Herald
the
following remarks made by the different members of the legislature from
Jackson County on the subject of free schools. The committee on
education had reported a bill to increase the school tax to four mills,
whereupon Mr. John B. White, the Rock Point snob, rose in his place and
remarked: "It was not a correct principle for a few individuals,
because they happened to be poor and in the majority, to make one man
that may have accumulated a little wealth support their schools and
they themselves sit around in bar rooms."
In worthy contrast to the two-penny mind of this pompous self-elected aristocrat, Mr. Smith, who can count more dollars, and pays more tax than Mr. J. B. White, gets up like a man and says: "I am in favor of the bill; I am for four mills and am willing to be taxed for the support of schools." Mr. Louden of this county also voted in favor of the tax, and it is with pleasure that we do justice to him and to Thomas Smith in recording their creditable action. The petition praying for an increase of the school tax was signed by a large number of the heaviest taxpayers of this county, regardless of political bias. There were men's names on it who pay a heavier tax than John B. White, and his remarks are not only a sure index to a narrow contemptible mind, but a direct insult to every petitioner, and certainly not at all complimentary to those of his neighbors who "happen to be poor." Who is this John B. White who swells himself up like the frog in the fable, and talks so insultingly of poor men? What is he? and what gives him license to sneer at poverty? Strip him of the wealth accumulated by grinding and skinning his poor neighbors--strip the gilding from his sordid carcass and he would be estimated at his real value as a selfish, bigoted, narrow-minded clod--meaner even in poverty than in wealth. There is your Democratic assemblyman, people of Jackson County! Is he not a splendid specimen of the modern Democrat? Swelled with pomposity, sneering at poverty, oppressing the poor, chary of a few dollars to give the poor the benefit of education, and playing the aristocrat on the very smallest amount of aristocratic capital. A pretty Democrat! Shame on him! District School.
We attended an examination of the scholars in both departments of the
district school on Thursday and Friday, and must express gratification
at their manifest improvement in every respect. Both in the department
of Mr. Stanley and that of Miss Wall there seems to be an excellent
understanding between the teacher and the pupils; and the order and
discipline of the whole school is worthy of remark. The algebra class
is small, and not yet far advanced, but what they have learned they
have acquired thoroughly. The reading classes are becoming proficient,
and considerable advancement has been made in arithmetic. On Friday
afternoon the exercises were general, and nearly all the scholars
"spoke their piece" in a very creditable manner. The average attendance
for the last term has been fifty boys and twenty-nine girls, making a
total of seventy-nine; and the general deportment and good behavior of
the children must be very gratifying to the teachers, who have
evidently introduced common politeness as an elementary branch. There
will be a vacation until the first Monday in January, and on that day
we hope to see even more little feet toiling up the path of
knowledge,
and even a greater interest taken in a school that is a credit to this
place.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
December 12, 1868, page
2
DISTRICT SCHOOL.--The directors of this school district have decided to postpone the commencement of the next term a short time longer. It was intended to have the term commence on Monday next, but it is thought advisable that the pupils be kept at home until all possible danger from smallpox has passed.
ST. MARY'S ACADEMY.--The
studies of the pupils at this institution will be resumed on Monday
next.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
January 2, 1869, page
2
Report of Jacksonville School
District for the Year Ending February, 1869.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
March 6, 1869, page
2
No. of legal voters 224; persons over four and under twenty years of
age 241; male scholars 120; female scholars 121; quarters of school
taught three; kind of books used, Wilson's spellers and readers,
Davies' mathematics, Quackenbos' grammar, philosophy and rhetoric,
Spencer's copy books, and Cornell's geography. Whole number of scholars
in attendance at school 139; males 80; females 59; scholars in average
attendance 81. Whole amount paid teachers as salary $1,560; balance on
hand from 1868, $141.85; amount received from D. Linn, apportionment
for 1868, $553.32; amount received from patrons to Dec. 14th, $804;
total $1481.17; amount overpaid by clerk $78.83; incidental expenses
$177.83. Names of teachers employed, D. C. DeWitt, principal, and Miss
E. Clayton, assistant, two first quarters, and W. J. Stanley,
principal, and Miss Mary Wall, assistant for third quarter.
SILAS
J. DAY, Clerk.
Receipt
and Distribution of
School Fund.
MARCH
1ST, 1869.
Whole amount of school fund reported by
Max Muller, Treasurer, $2,859.97.Twenty-five districts have reported an aggregate of (1493) fourteen hundred and ninety-three pupils between the ages of four and twenty years. The following table exhibits the award to every district:
T.
H. B. SHIPLEY,
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
March 13, 1869, page
2Supt. Common Schools. Demand for a Higher Grade of
Education.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
April 3, 1869, page
2
In this part of Oregon there is an increasing demand for better
educational facilities, and a higher grade of education. Especially do
we need a seminary for the education of young ladies, where pupils will
be under proper restraint and yet be within easy reach of their
friends. A seminary conducted by teachers of character and ability, and
divested of all sectarian bias, would be a success here, and would be a
great public benefit. Parents are exceedingly averse to placing their
children in schools where there is any danger of sectarian influence;
they dislike to send them off to a long distance, and the consequence
is that a large population of young girls is growing up with little or
no education.
To teachers having the necessary qualifications, who would come here and establish a school where a liberal education could be acquired, and which would not be a nursery for the propagation of any religious doctrines, this is an excellent opening. We hope to see a first-class school here for the education of our daughters, and we have the very best authority for promising anyone who will establish it a generous and sustaining patronage. DISTRICT SCHOOL.--The Jacksonville school will be opened on Monday, the 12th inst. Mr. W. W. Fidler and Mrs. Beach, of Rock Point, have been engaged for a term of three months. We hear of no change having been made in the textbooks. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 3, 1869, page 3 SCHOOL ELECTION.--The election on Monday resulted in the unanimous choice of Mr. C. C. Beekman for director and the election of S. J. Day, the present incumbent, for clerk. Mr. B. desired to be relieved, but the people seem so well pleased with the interest he has taken in the school that they will not allow him to retire with the honor he has already won. A resolution was adopted requiring the directors to instruct the clerk to report the names of all delinquents at each meeting in order that the deficiency may be made up by a tax. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 10, 1869, page 3 SCHOOL AT HOME.--Few persons realize how much may be done in a thousand pleasant ways at home. Let a parent make a companion of his child, converse with him familiarly, put to him questions, answer inquiries, communicate facts, the result of his reading or observation, to awaken his curiosity, explain difficulties, the meaning of things, and all this in an easy, playful manner, without seeming to impose a task, and he himself will be astonished at the progress which will be made. The experiment is so simple that none need hesitate about its performance. The first important requisite is that there be mutual confidence between the parent and child; in every season and in every place there may be such lessons and recitations as will benefit both; imparting new facts and principles to one, and elucidating new views, and giving them new force to the other. If at the barn, the boy may be required to give the principle of raising water by the pump, or some other question in hydraulics; if teaming, or plowing, why the work is performed easier when the team is near the load than farther removed; if in the morning when grass is sparkling in pearly drops, how dew is deposited; or, if in the silent and impressive evening hour, why is he chilled in passing the valley, and finds again the genial warmth on ascending a hill. When around the fireside, daughters may state the principle on which smoke ascends the chimney, and why the air is warmest at the top of the room. At another time why the pitcher sweats in the hot noon, or the "dough rises" in the pan. By thus observing events as they pass, we are always at school; both old and young, teachers and pupils in turn. A new enthusiasm is kindled in the breast of each other, while new desires for improvement are awakened, and new sources for it are developed at each recitation.--Golden Era. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 10, 1869, page 4 ASHLAND SCHOOL.--Mr. Palmer, at present in charge of the Ashland school, was poisoned by vining oak lately, and since has not been able to conduct the school. He will soon be able to resume his position. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 17, 1869, page 2 That "Godly" School.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
April 24, 1869, page
2
If the teacher of the "godly" school in this place would have the
public believe in the efficacy of his system, he should pay some
attention to the deportment of his scholars while in their play ground.
The profanity and obscenity of that school during recess is becoming a
subject of general complaint, and even the presence of ladies passing
along the sidewalk is no check. At the risk of being considered a
heretic we would respectfully request less doctrine and more decency,
as it strikes us that faith and the catechism are not very efficacious
to correct juvenile depravity and blackguardism.
SCHOOL HOUSE BURNED.--We learn that on Monday night last the school house at Rock Point was destroyed by fire. It is supposed to have been accidental, a heavy wind blowing at the time, and some hot embers from the stove having been thrown out to prevent the result which unfortunately occurred. With very creditable energy, the people of that place immediately fitted up a new school room, and school will be commenced on Monday next. A subscription was started, and about $500 has been raised for the purpose of building a new school house. The people of Rock Point evidently do not regard free schools in the same unfavorable light as does his Reverence the Catholic Archbishop of Oregon. Success to them! Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 24, 1869, page 2 HILL OF SCIENCE.--Miss Ida Beach commenced last Monday morning to assist the pupils of School District No. 13 up the steep and rugged hill of Science. May she be successful; her vocation is a noble one. DISTRICT SCHOOL.--The first term of the district school in this place, for the present year, ended yesterday. The average attendance has been about seventy, and judging from a very interesting exhibition yesterday, the pupils have made excellent progress. The teachers, Mr. Wm. Fuller and Miss Della Beach, have been engaged for another term, and the school will be resumed after a vacation of three weeks. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, July 3, 1869, page 3 DISTRICT SCHOOL.--We understand from the directors that the district school in this place will not be opened on Monday as was intended. Vacation will be continued until the weather cools off, and ample notice will be given when the next term will commence. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, July 31, 1869, page 3 ASHLAND SCHOOL.--The school at this flourishing place will commence next Monday under the tutorship of Mr. R. H. Dunlap, who has already taught several terms there. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, September 4, 1869, page 3 CATHOLIC ACADEMY.--We learn that this institution is in a flourishing condition, having forty-six boarding and day scholars. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, September 11, 1869, page 2 REAL ESTATE SALE.--The Catholic Sisters of this place have purchased the handsome residence of Mr. John S. Drum for an academy. The purchase includes four acres of ground, the consideration being $2,500. We understand that they do not take possession till spring. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville,
October 2, 1869, page
3
PRIVATE SCHOOL.--J. L. DeBusshe, recently from California, intends opening a private school, at the district school house, in Jacksonville, on Monday, Dec. 13th. It is his intention to give satisfaction as a teacher, and he solicits a liberal patronage. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 11, 1869, page 3 SCHOOL CLOSED.--The district school at Ashland, taught by Mr. R. H. Dunlap, closed last week, with an attendance of over ninety scholars. Mr. Dunlap will open again on Monday next--assisted by Miss Fannie Burnett. Democratic News, Jacksonville, January 1, 1870, page 3 The Jacksonville public schools have 210 pupils enrolled. "Oregon Items," Sacramento Daily Union, December 24, 1875, page 4 The little town of Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon,where we taught school seven years ago, was then a dull and dreary little village. It now boasts a foundry, a woolen mill and a newspaper--not a patent-outside affair either; but a lively little local journal, brimful of new ads, and sparkling with originality. Puget Sound Dispatch, Seattle, Washington, January 20, 1877, page 4 The writer must be Beriah Brown Jackson County has 2,738 children of school age. Fifty-three teachers were employed in the county during the year. "Oregon Items," Sacramento Daily Union, April 14, 1877, page 3
Jackson County has 2,993 school children; Josephine, 745, and Lake, 601.
"Southern
Oregon,"
Sacramento
Daily Union, August 2, 1879, page
1The school census of Jacksonville district shows 401 children of school age--202 males and 199 females. "Astoria," Puget Sound Argus, Port Townsend, Washington, March 11, 1880, page 2 School Money.
The following
apportionment of school money belonging to this county has been made by
Wm. M. Colvig, Supt. of Public Schools. The amount of money
distributed--$6,155.50--is considerably greater than usual, equaling
$1.62½ to each child of school age. During the year there was an increase of 477 children in the county:
The mountains are higher--in fact I had a poor conception of what mountains really are--the valleys are narrower, the streams swifter, the towns smaller, the air is purer, the nights are cooler, the weather is dryer, the people less sociable, the churches scarcer and the school houses smaller, rougher and more ragged. Be it said that not one school house out of six is painted. There are but four or five schools in the county that have anything but old-fashioned wooden benches and a board with legs to it for a writing desk. The people are fully 60 years behind the balance of the world in educational matters. Teachers receive only, for male, about $50, and female $33 per month. As a general thing the old settlers are from the southern states, which accounts, in part, for their backwardness in educational matters. "Oregon Letter," North Manchester Journal, North Manchester, Indiana, June 11, 1885, page 2 Our public schools are now closed for the summer vacation. Prof. Sweet deserves great praise for advancing his pupils so very fast. First there was an exhibition of the intermediate and primary classes, which was very good. Then came the exposition. This was composed of drawings of maps and other subjects, and also of writing and transposing of words and letters. The specimens were from the lowest to the highest grades in the school, and they were quite a study for the parents of the scholars. The drawings were from the beginner up to the finished pupil. The whole was illustrated by some very fine specimens. The most of the flowers grown in our city were on exhibition, and their botanical history written up by the pupils. At night there was commencement at Granite Hall, and it was a complete jam, and many people were unable to get even standing room. The salutatory was delivered by Miss Jessie Plumerth, and the valedictory by Master Jesse McCall. Both were very finely done. The exercises were all highly appreciated by the audience. There were seven graduates. These are the first pupils who have ever graduated from the Ashland public schools. "Ashland Notes," Morning Oregonian, Portland, May 28, 1887, page 6 School Apportionment.
Made April, 1891, with No. of district, name of clerk and post office
address:
C.
S. PRICE, Co. Supt.
Valley
Record, April 30, 1891, page 2The School Districts.
Editor Southern Oregon Mail:TABLE
ROCK, Or., Sept. 12, 1892.
The last apportionment of school money shows that it was divided among
72 districts. Unless my memory is much at fault the number has been
increased [by] about 20 in this county during the past two years Mr.
Price has been superintendent. This increase in the number of
districts
has been out of all proportion as compared with the increase of
population of Jackson County. An examination of the list as published
shows that one district has but seven children of the school age,
another eight, two with but ten each, and the total in fifteen is but
191, or an average of but fifteen children to a district. Under the law
all persons between the ages of four and twenty are included in the
number enumerated for school purposes, but the returns of school
attendance show that not more than two-thirds of those enrolled attend
school. Hence it is fair to assume that the district with but
seven
children had but five of them in school.In the distribution of the school funds the law requires that each district shall receive $50, before the remainder if any is divided per capita for the number of children. This law is a good one if not abused, as it makes it possible for a school to be maintained at least three months in the year in a district with not less than 25 children. The large number of districts into which this county is divided has worked to the injury of the cause of education in my opinion, as I believe the amount of money frittered away among the fifteen small districts referred to, which sent less than 150 children to school, would have done more good if in districts with enough pupils to make respectable-sized schools. If this condition of things goes on what is to prevent each section of land in the county from being formed into a school district, and how long will it be until the towns "catch on" and divide up so as to make every street constitute one? The writer believes it is the duty of the county superintendent before authorizing the formation of a new district to satisfy himself that it would contain at least 25 persons of school age and also that it would not reduce the number in any already in existence below that number. The idea of organizing a district with but 7 persons of school age and giving it $50, when Ashland with 738 gets but a like sum, shows that something needs reforming. A friend suggests that about two years ago the law was changed so as to give the county superintendent $2.50 for each district in the county, and that, as it is to his interest to have as many as possible, that may explain why the number has increased so rapidly. S.
M. NEALON.
Southern Oregon Mail, Medford,
September 16, 1892, page 2Schools and Teachers.
There are
no schools vacant in the
county. The teachers selected as far as we learn from Supt. Gus Newbury
are:Jacksonville--J. M. Horton, Prin., Miles Cantrall, Mrs. Shepherd and Agnes Devlin. Enterprise--Mrs. Mary Peter. Drake School--Stella Stidham. Phoenix--Frank Shideler, Prin., Mrs. C. P. Good. Ashland--C. A. Hitchcock, Prin., B. R. Stevens, Ole Thornton, N. H. Clayton, Miss Victor, Miss Jessie Grant, Miss Geisendorfer, Miss Hattie Gleason, Miss Nellie Ewen, Miss Emma Ewen, Miss Adelaide Beebe. Central Point--T. T. Freeman, Prin., Miss Edna Gibson, Miss ------. Medford--N. T. Narregan, Prin., Miss Elva Galloway, Miss Della Pickel, Miss Robin T. Warner, Miss Minnie Coleman, Miss Ellen Bursell, Miss Viola Brandon. Lake Creek--Gus Samuels. South Butte--Miss Allie Farlow. Chimney Rock--Miss Marie Cottrell. Liberty--Miss Julie Rodschow. Dardanelles--Miss Ella Griffiths. Woodville--C. C. Presley, Miss Rena Pyburn. Sterling--W. H. McDowell. Wimer--E. E. Phipps. South Wagner--Percy Wells. Forest Creek--Jos. Wetterer. Independence--Miss Amy Cantrall. North Phoenix--Miss Mary Davidson. Lone Pine--Miss A. H. McDowell. Eagle Point--J. C. Barnard. Uniontown--Miss Grace Foster. Squaw Lake--Myra Bedford. Rock Point--Mrs. C. I. Hobbs. Talent--Mathew Stewart, Miss Zella Cheney. District No. 8--Wm. C. Chase. Anderson Creek--Mrs. N. G. Hurley. Willow Springs--Miss Ida York. Grove--Miss Carrie Sackett. Siskiyou--Laura Farrow. Steamboat--Miss Alice Christian. No. 65--Miss Lelia Andersen. Table Rock--T. A. Simons. Valley Record, Ashland, April 11, 1895, page 3 Teachers at Work.
The following are the schools of Jackson County now running and the
names of the teachers in charge:District No. 1, Jacksonville--J. M. Horton, Miles Cantrall, Mrs. C. F. Shepherd, Miss Agnes Devlin. District No. 2, Enterprise--Miss Arazella Titus. District No. 3, Drake--Miss Stella Stidham. District No. 4, Phoenix--W. E. Chase, Miss Zella Cheney. District No. 5, Ashland--C. A. Hitchcock, Ole Thornton, Miss Victor, Miss May Tiffany, Miss A. A. Beebe, Miss Nellie Ewen, Miss Lizzie Miller, Miss Jessie Grant, Miss Hattie Gleason, W. H. Ledgerwood, A. F. Cornutt. District No. 6, Central Point--L. L. Freeman, Misses Edna Gibson, Lettie Magruder. Mrs. Helen Little, J. C. Barnard. District No. 7, Neil Creek--Mrs. May Peter. District No. 8, Myer--Victor Holt. District No. 9, Eagle Point--P. H. Daily. District No. 10, Mountain--Miss Carrie Sackett. District No. 11, Lone Pine-- District No. 12, Antelope--Miss Lillie Temple. District No. 14, Willow Springs--Miss Ida York. District No. 15, Independence--Miss Amy Cantrall. District No. 16, Mound--Miss Lulu Roberts. District No. 18, Antioch--Miss Hattie Bliss. District No. 19, Lake Creek--Gus Samuels. District No. 21, Missouri Flat--Miss McCarthy. District No. 22, Talent--Mathew Taylor, Miss Clara Terrill. District No. 24, Phoenix--Miss May Davidson. District No. 28, Rock Point---Miss Hattie Eaton. District No. 26, Wimer--Miss Beulah Warner. District No. 29, Prairie--Miss A. H. McDowell. District No. 30, Unity--Miss Pool. District No. 32, Foots Creek--Miss Fannie Haskins. District No. 33, Sterling- Miss Edith Van Dyke. District No. 34, Thompson Creek--W. H. McDaniel. District No. 35, Woodville--E. E. Phipps. District No. 39, Brownsboro--James Stewart. District No. 40, Bridge Point--Miss Kate Herriott. District No. 44, Table Rock--Miss Anna Clements. District No. 48, Schieffelin--B. D. Smith. District No. 49, Medford--G. A. Gregory, Misses Elva Galloway, Della Pickel, Minnie Coleman, Rolin L. Warner, Ellen Bursell, Grace Foster, Viola Brandon, Bessie Wait. District No. 51, Liberty--Miss Julia Rodschow. District No. 56, South Wagner--Miss Mina Stoops. District No. 57, Gold Hill--W. E. Phipps, Mrs. Cardwell. District No. 67, Wyland--Miss Anna Rodschow. District No. 69, Grove--E. E. Van Antwerp. District No. 73, Boulevard--J. A. Jarvis. Valley Record, Ashland, October 31, 1895, page 3 Ashland's Public Schools.
The public schools open Monday, Sept, 7. According to the school law of
Oregon children cannot be admitted to school under the age of six
years. Pupils are allowed to enter the first grade only in September
and January, as beginning classes are organized only twice a year.All scholars in attendance last year must bring their scholarship certificates at opening of school. All scholars who did not attend last year in Ashland and wishing admittance to any other grade than the first will present themselves with such books as they may have at the high school building Thursday or Friday, Sept. 3 or 4, at 9 o'clock. They can then be assigned to the proper grades and can commence school without delay. Promotion certificates from good schools known to the principal will be accepted. Scholars wishing to make up work in the high school will assemble at the high school building, Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 8:30 o'clock, when time for examination will be announced. The principal will also be at the high school building Thursday and Friday afternoon. Scholars not residing with their parents but coming to Ashland to attend school are non-residents and are obliged to pay tuition. The board of directors require this to be paid in advance to the principal who will give a receipt therefor. The following assignments of teachers has been made:-- C. A. Hitchcock, Principal; Elvera Victor, Asst., high school; E. E. Washburn, 7th and 8th grades, north school: Miss Griffiths, 4th and 6th grades, north school, Miss Beebe, 3rd and 5th grades, north school; Miss Ewan, 1st and 2nd grades, north school; Miss Ganiere, assistant, north school; A. F. Cornutt, 6th and 8th grades, south school; W. H. Ledgerwood, 5th and 7th grades, south school: Miss Brown, 4th grade, south school; Miss Grant, 2nd and 3rd grades, south school; Miss Gleason, 1st grade, south school. Owing to crowded conditions of certain grades the following changes have been made: At the north school the 3rd and 5th grades will occupy the lower left hand room: the 4th and 6th grades, the upper right hand room; at the south school the 6th and 8th grades, the upper left hand room; 4th grade the upper right band room; 5th and 7th grades, the upper left room at the high school building. Below is a list of supplies needed by each scholar of each grade; scholars cannot be admitted without books and it is desired that all may commence the first day. Scholars who enter later are at a disadvantage since they do not receive the preparation for new studies given at the beginning of the term. Ink is furnished in all the grades. A special pencil with a hard lead should be provided for drawing and used for that alone; if so used it would last all year and more satisfactory work could be done. FIRST
GRADE.
Slate with covered frame, slate pencil and sponge, lead pencil and some
paper ruled like copybook paper, Eclectic Drawing Book No. 1.SECOND
GRADE.
Second reader, slate and pencil, pen
holder, ruled
practice paper, rubber eraser, eclectic drawing book no. 2.THIRD
GRADE.
Third reader, Maxwell's first book in English, Fish's no. 1 arith.,
slate and pencil, pen holder, ruled practice paper, tracing book no. 3,
pencil tablet, drawing pencil and rubber eraser, no. 3 eclectic drawing
book, no. 2 music lessons (new edition), Manson's spelling blank.FOURTH
GRADE.
Fourth reader, Maxwell's first book in English, Fish's no. 1 arith.,
Manson's spelling blank, no. 2 Spencerian copybook common school
course, no. 2 music lessons new edition, no.4 eclectic drawing book,
drawing pencil and rubber eraser, elementary geog., ruled practice
paper, slate and pencil, good pencil tablet, small dictionary.FIFTH
GRADE.
Fourth reader, Maxwell's first book in English, Fish's arith. no. 2,
Elementary geography, no. 4 Spencerian copybook common school course,
ruled practice paper, pen holder, Reed's word lessons, no. 5 eclectic
drawing book, drawing pencil and rubber eraser, no. 3 music lessons new
edition, good pencil tablet, a small dictionary, Manson's spelling
blank, slate.SIXTH
GRADE.
Fifth reader, Maxwell's introductory lessons in English grammar, Fish's
arith., no. 2 Brooks' mental arith., comprehensive geography, Reed's
word lessons, Manson's spelling blank, blank drawing book, drawing
pencil and rubber eraser, no. 6 Spencerian copybook common school
course, no. 3 music lessons new edition, a dictionary, slate, good
tablet.SEVENTH
GRADE.
Fifth reader, Fish's arith. no. 2, Brooks' mental arith,, Maxwell's
introductory lessons in English grammar, no. 8 Spencerian copybook
common school course and practice paper, pen holder, comprehensive
geography, Reed's word lessons, Manson's spelling blank, blank drawing
book, drawing pencil and eraser, no. 4 music lessons new edition,
pencil tablet, dictionary. EIGHTH
GRADE.
Barnes' brief U.S. history, Fish's arith., no. 2, Brooks' mental
arithmetic, practice paper, pen holder, comprehensive geography, blank
drawing book, drawing pencil, rubber eraser, Reed's word lessons,
Manson's spelling blank, tablet, dictionary, music lessons no. 4,
Ward's business forms no. 4, Maxwell's introductory lesson in English
grammar.HIGH
SCHOOL.
First year: Maxwell's advanced English grammar, Robinson's new
elementary algebra, Bryant & Stratton's common school
bookkeeping,
bookkeeping blanks, set of daybook, journal, ledger (about 100 pages in
each book, full-length page).Second year: Robinson's new elementary algebra, blank book for algebra problems, eclectic physical geography, Waddy's composition and rhetoric announcement regarding fourth study at opening of school. Third year: Robinson's geometry, blank book for geometry theorems, Barnes' general history, Smith's studies in English literature, Steele's popular physics, announcement of additional study at opening of school. C. A. HITCHCOCK,
Principal.
Valley
Record, Ashland, September 3, 1896, page 1Prof. G. A. Gregory, Mrs. Peter, Misses Fannie Haskins, May Phipps, Della Pickel, Elva Galloway, Minnie Colman, Grace Amann, Elsie Roof, Mina Stoop, Robin Warner, Mary Davidson, Emma Reed, from Medford, Prof. Benson, of Grants Pass, Profs. Barnard and Dailey, Misses Clemens and Hall, of Central Point, and C. F. Shepherd, of Jacksonville, were among those who went up on Wednesday morning's train to attend the teachers' institute at Ashland. "Personal," Medford Monitor-Miner, October 14, 1897, page 3 COUNTY SCHOOL NOTES.
Carrie Sackett completed a term of school in District No. 42, on Sept.
23rd.BY SUPT. G. A. GREGORY. A short term in Mountain district began on Sept. 19th, with Olena Holtan in charge. District No. 7, southeast of Ashland, began a seven months' term Sept. 19th, with Robin Warner in charge. We have just learned that the Chaparral school, No. 52, has been in progress for some time, with Letha Mausey as teacher. Every teacher in the county, whether teaching or not, should be planning to attend the entire session of the institute at Jacksonville, October 20, 21 and 22. Each one should be present at the beginning and hear every subject presented. Notebooks, clear heads and several hours of close application each day will be part of the equipment and requirements for each teacher. A visit to the schools in the Applegate region gave opportunity of meeting a large number of enterprising pupils, some excellent teachers and many wide awake, hospitable patrons of the public schools. In the Forest Creek district Nettie Lewis has a house full of girls and boys, and she knows how to keep them busy. It was easy to learn from the patrons that they have faith in their teacher. Lizzie Stidham was found in the Ruch school, managing affairs in a pleasing manner. Some map drawing, which the pupils were doing, was very good. We then attempted to drive to Watkins before nightfall, but dark came too soon. N. E. Graves "held us up" in a narrow defile in a gloomy pine grove and induced us to dismount, when he explained that the proper thing to do was to turn around and return to his home near the school house. This was done, and we will always be glad for that "holdup." The next forenoon was spent with Ella Parke and her group of interesting girls and boys. There seemed to be no lack of interest on the part of the pupils or teacher. The methods in use will surely lead to excellent results. The Pursell school was the next in order. This is district No. 82, the newest district in the county, with the newest school house and a nice new teacher--Isabel Culp. Some of the pupils were also new, having never attended school before, the distance being too great. All seemed desirous of making the most of their opportunities. The hospitable home of Robt. Cameron was our abiding place for the next night, where we were pleased to meet Miss Bernice Cameron, one of our first-class teachers. Next morning Bridge Point school was reached. Daisy Stites has the respect and affection of the pupils in her school, and so far as we could learn the patrons believe in her. She is using up-to-date methods, her pupils cooperate with her heartily and the whole atmosphere gave evidence of intellectual enthusiasm. In the Thompson Creek district Luella Kennedy is helping the young to grapple with the three R's and some advanced studies. There is good material in the pupils of that district and we predict excellent results in due time. After a drive of a few miles down the Applegate a stop was made to inquire about directions and we found ourselves a willing guest in the pleasant home of J. T. Layton, one of the directors in the joint district near Provolt. The next morning a visit to the school found Mrs. Z. D. Hyde in charge of a room full of lively pupils. This school enjoys the advantage of having all the blackboard needed, and the teacher knows how to make use of it. Part of the afternoon was spent in the school on Missouri Flats, another joint district. This is one of the oldest districts in Jackson and Josephine counties. Nora Sheean "holds the fort" at this point, and although the school had been in session but three days, good work was being done. This district enjoys the distinction of having, among other pupils, sixteen boys under 14 years of age. These eight schools are all that are in session in that part of the county at present. Gold Hill News, October 1, 1898, page 8 COUNTY SCHOOL NOTES.
Nellie Towne, of
Phoenix, has been engaged for a term of school in the Table Rock
district, to begin Feb. 27th.BY SUPT. G. A. GREGORY. Extra blanks for census reports did not reach us from Salem, so have sent in another order. Hope to have them in time for any who need them. Before the annual school meeting in March some changes affecting voters may be made by the legislature. If so attention will be called to the changes. Carrie Sackett has been engaged to teach the spring term in North Phoenix district to begin March 6th. She succeeds her sister, who taught there last fall. The next local institute will be at Jacksonville the latter part of February. There are a number of teachers within easy range of that point who are especially invited to be present. The question, "Can anyone not a free-holder be a legal school officer?" has been asked. Any person who is a legal voter at a school meeting is eligible to any office in the district. "Can a tax voted at a special meeting, the notice of which was posted and records kept by a clerk who had ceased to be legally qualified, be collected?" We think it can. The notice having been posted by order of a legal board, it is of minor importance who tacked it to the tree or on the school house door. We once heard of a teacher who in making application for a position wrote a businesslike letter, and enclosed a stamp for a reply. She received the reply she wanted. We know of another who in writing used poor English, misspelled three words and did not enclose a stamp. We understand that no reply has yet been sent. The W.C.T.U. of Ashland believes that one good turn deserves another. Hearing of the generous act of District No. 7, in giving the proceeds of their library entertainment to help a worthy young man who is blind to secure treatment that may restore his sight, they have donated several volumes to help start a library in that district. One of the best school officers in the county in a letter full of good ideas, among other things, asks if we have read the article in the Ladies Home Journal for February entitled "The Murder of the Modern Innocents," by Mrs. Lew. Wallace. We have and wish that every teacher and patron in the county would read it. A copy can be had for ten cents of your neighbor has none. A visit in the Talent school left the impression that the school is in charge of two teachers who are not only anxious to secure good results but know how to do it. Sickness is interfering with regular attendance so that some pupils find it difficult to keep up with classes. The teachers were doing what they could to help such keep in touch with the work. Some rumors, concerning: improvements to be made in the school building, were gladly heard. There is imperative need of better seating for the whole building, and we believe the people will provide for it in the near future. The following four rural districts have libraries in hand or under way: Willow Springs, Independence, Bellview and Neil. Several others are making plans and have consulted with the superintendent regarding assistance with the gramophone. In the towns, Medford has an excellent foundation for a general library and through the energy of Prof. Narregan the Warner Library of thirty volumes and the Student's Encyclopedia have been added. Ashland doubtless has the best school and literary reference library in the state south of the one at the state university, and now they are to put $60 more into it. Gold Hill has started with the Student's Encyclopedia and is preparing for more. Jacksonville and Phoenix are on the way, and we have heard a rumor about Central Point. Jackson County is coming to the front rapidly. Last Friday evening the pupils and patrons of District 73, under the skillful leadership of the teacher, Miss Homes, gave an entertainment for school library purposes. The little folks were prepared with a number of songs, recitations and drills, which they rendered to the edification and delight of the audience. Miss Warner, from the Neil district, assisted with two solos and a duet with Miss Homes. The gramophone manipulated by the superintendent was one of the attractions and received the hearty approval of the delighted listeners. Pupils in that district will soon have some good books for spare moments. Gold Hill News, February 11, 1899, page 8 New School House, $13,300.
Ashland School District's board of directors have opened the bids for
construction of the proposed new east schoolhouse in McCall's addition
on Boulevard, adjoining the Ashland cemetery. There were two bids, W.
O. Heckart of Corvallis bid $14,495 and H. Snook of Salem $13,300. Mr.
Snook was awarded the contract. It will be a 78x84 structure, two
stories high and a basement. The basement is to be of cut stone and the
balance of the building to be of brick 16- and 12-inch walls. The
building is to be heated by two furnaces, the apparatus to cost $1800
additional. The building is to be completed by September first.Valley Record, Ashland, March 22, 1900, page 3 Ashland pays its male teachers an average monthly salary of $86.11, while its female teachers are paid $46.16 on an average. The granite city's last census showed 1011 children of school age, 618 being enrolled. Last year $28,217 were expended, which included $13,510 paid for a new building. The school library contains 786 volumes. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 25, 1901, page 3 Hard copy at SOHS. TEACHERS' INSTITUTE FOR JACKSON
COUNTY.
The annual institute at Jacksonville was opened Wednesday morning by
Prof. Mulkey on the subject of "Civil Government." Prof. Mulkey's plan
is that the town government should be the unit. The pupil should know
it in all its details. He should know the justice court. To this all
three branches of government are given: The executive, the legislative
and the judicial. The plan of county government and the real, true way
of teaching it: Have all county officers elected out of the class. One
pupil may be elected sheriff and another assessor, etc., until all the
officers are represented. Each pupil's experience in searching for the
information and in carrying out the principles will impress the pupil
till he thoroughly understands exactly his duty. This plan is practice,
and the only true way in which it should be taught.A Large Attendance and Much Interest-- A Number of Prominent Educators Participate. WEDNESDAY. State Superintendent Ackerman then spoke on the subject "Problems of Rural Schools." Village schools are not keeping up with the city schools. The question to be solved by the teacher is, How to bring the village schools up with those of the city? It can be done in time. There are no more studies now than formerly, and there are a less number of books to be studied. The subject of agriculture is coming into the schools as one of the chief studies, because there is no better way of teaching the pupil to observe than by real experiments. Prof. E. E. Washburn then spoke a few minutes on "Arithmetic." Supt. Ackerman next took up the subject of "Programs in Rural Schools." He said he hoped the time would never come when the old recitation bench would be a thing of the past, because attention is better and work done quicker. No time need be lost, as one class can stand while another is being seated. Supt. Ackerman advised teachers not to dwell too much on written analysis in Arithmetic. After recess, Wednesday afternoon, Pres. B. F. Mulkey addressed the teachers on ''Human History, Natural Philosophy and Agriculture." Next on program was a lecture by Dr. Woods Hutchison, secretary of State Board of Health. He impressed some ways of caring for the health of the pupil by the teacher. He said it was impossible for teachers to get pupils in poor health to do any good work in the school at all. He spoke of the teacher knowing the temperature of the bodies of the pupils, and that any pupil ought to be excused whose temperature is greater than 100 deg. F. It is an easy matter for a teacher to test a child's temperature with a fever thermometer. In speaking of the eyesight of children Dr. Hutchison said that a greater demand of eyesight in education is the cause of a greater use of eye glasses today. Glasses never weaken the eye. It is no easy matter for anyone to test the eyesight. In speaking of hearing he said that when a child is hard of hearing the teacher ought to know it, and out of ten pupils seven were affected in this way. Any child defective in any of the senses is certainly defective in his class work, and will drift along in his or her class without the knowledge of the teacher. Prof. E. E. Washburn began exercises by an address of welcome to the visiting teachers. Prof. A. J. Hanby of Central Point responded to the address. This was followed by a very nicely arranged program, which was rendered by the Jacksonville High School. Dr. Woods Hutchison then gave an interesting lecture on "The Development of the Child." THURSDAY.
The first on the program Thursday morning was "Music in the Public
School," by N. L. Narregan. The greatest need is more practical music
or singing, and not so much technical music. More time should be spent
on scale practice and songs which pupils like best.Pres. B. F. Mulkey then lectured on the subject of "History." He impressed the fact that history should be taught by cause and effect, and that the pupils should learn the cause and effects, and not so much dates and details. He spoke of the three great stages of American history: First, 1763, ended when the British flag floated over the colonies of America unmolested. It made all the people English. Second stage was when the Declaration of Independence was signed. This made the people all American (1776). Third stage was the great Civil War, which made the people supreme. The first was the unification of the colonies; the second was the Declaration of Independence, which made the people supreme; the third made the people more supreme, and the last incident in history made the people of this country entirely supreme. The large history might easily be discarded from the school, because what general history any of us know we learn after leaving the public school. The next on the program was "Primary Education," by Pres. P. L. Campbell of the University of Oregon. The importance of child study was brought out. We must study and know the child in order to properly teach him. The child's desire is outdoor life, and the primary life should be a child's garden. THURSDAY
AFTERNOON.
P. L. Campbell lectured on the subject "Higher Meaning of Teachers'
Work." It is the noblest of all arts. A teacher should put all his
power and energy into his work, and be willing to do anything. The
teacher's aim should be to supply all the needs, if possible, that he
may see in the school. His aim is to remedy anything that is out of
sorts, whether it be to make a slamming door close noiselessly or to
teach a lesson on phonics in order to help the pupils pronounce certain
letters or sounds. His aim should be to study out how to do things
which he does not know. A teacher's wages is not the supreme motive.
His aim is to develop the child, care for the interests of the people,
society and do all the general good he can.Chas. H. Jones then instructed and drilled the teachers on music and singing for a few minutes. B. F. Mulkey discussed "Orthography." There are more words spoken incorrectly than are spoken correctly. P. L. Campbell next ably lectured on the subject of "Language." THURSDAY
EVENING.
The first part of the program was given by the Medford High School
band, followed by a lecture on "The Development of the Ancients."FRIDAY.
First on the program Friday morning was "Music" by N. L. Narregan. "The
Star Spangled Banner" has been adopted as the national hymns. The
reason why so many cannot sing it is because in tone it goes very low
and very high. It is impossible for all to learn it.Next came a discussion on "Arithmetic." Analysis should be taught in Mental Arithmetic. There is no better way to discipline the mind. Reasoning can only be taught by analysis. The best logical thinkers are those who have studied examples in mental arithmetic by analysis. In mental arithmetic never allow the pencil. FRIDAY
FORENOON.
P. L. Campbell lectured on the subject of "Reading and Literature." We
should speak plain, simple words. When we say retire, instead of going
to bed, arise, but never get up, do our ablutions, but never wash our
faces, we have a tendency to become rude. We should speak plainly.
Reading should be clear and plain enough to get the thought. Pupils
must be taught to do more silent reading, because of so much reading to
do today. We should know the meaning of the author before we try to
read. In reading we should understand the meaning of the first and last
parts of a selection, because the best part of the story is left until
the last. The main object of teaching reading is to gain a rapid way of
getting thought. The newspapers are helping us read by printing large
type headings. Great readers read by having a great knowledge.
They
grasp words no faster; but can grasp the meaning with little reading.
The public school library is the best way of helping the pupil to
reading. Reading should be connected with literature. The object of
reading should be to build up a reading habit. Reading must be good in
its way. It must have its effect. It must be the kind that the child
can understand. Literature should be good in form and there should be
melody in poetry.After recess Miss Chase of the Ashland Normal favored the teachers with two recitations. Miss Armeda Kaiser of the same institution gave a talk on "Nature Study." Nature study teaches kindness and protection to plants and animals. Many times pupils will be brought to overcome that dread of going to school when he begins to watch the development of insects and plants. The poet is the real naturalist. FRIDAY
AFTERNOON.
Discussion on "Arithmetic" by E. E. Washburn. It is a mistake
to get
pupils through school with as little work as possible. Begin percentage
by using common fractions. In reckoning interest one good method ought
to be used. The purpose of analysis in mental arithmetic is to get
clear, logical reasoning. It is a good practice to write down an
analysis for an example occasionally.Pres. W. H. Dempster of the Drain Normal School gave a short but interesting and instructive address. Pres. P. L. Campbell then took up the subject of "Information for the Teacher." The most important thing is the specific directions in which to do a thing. Don't depend on others. If you have a problem, solve it. Do your own work. The greater the difficulty, the greater is the opportunity. The injurious class of people are those who can do nothing, but simply talk about the ones who go ahead and accomplish something. We should be persistent, and keep working away, although we meet defeat. After adoption of resolutions, which were read by S. P. Robins, Pres. B. F. Mulkey closed the institute by remarks which contained much good advice for the teachers who go back to their respective schools. The institute was well attended, not a teacher being absent during the three days' session. All teachers were perfectly satisfied with the institute, and voted it one of the best ever held in Jackson County. The following is a list of the teachers who were in attendance. ASHLAND. A. Adelaide Beebe.
MEDFORD.G. W. Milan. W. F. Cameron. Mary Foshay. Gertrude Engle. H. Beach. Grace Garrett. Docia V. Willits. Mayme McWilliams. Elma W. Bultman. C. K. Bentley. Mae Mulit. Mac Sutton. Margaret Byers. Inez Kitchin. Etta Johnson. Harriet Ganiere. Ila M. Myers. Hattie Gleason. Agnes Moore. Sadie McCarthy. John R. Tyrrell.
JACKSONVILLE.Helen Wait. Gertrude Wilson. Mrs. M. G. Hoge. Minnie Gowland. Julia Fielder. Marie E. Gray. Clara Poley. Mary Childers. Ella Dodge. Armetta Burch. N. L. Narregan. Lelia Stinson. Anna Jeffrey. Lizzie Ferguson. Minnie Hockenyos. David Mathews. Fannie Hughes. Viola Pheister. Lillie Hughes. G. H. Samuels. Mrs. G. H. Samuels. Chas. H. King. Maud Prim.
CENTRAL POINT.Mrs. M. Peter. E. E. Washburn. P. H. Daily. S. P. Robbins. A. Murphy. Bernice Cameron. Kate Broad. Tillie Hooks. Nettie Thompson. Frances Donegan. Josephine Donegan. Mrs. S. P. Robbins. Anna Lyden. Dorothy Day.
GOLD HILL.A. J. Hanby. Mrs. A. J. Hanby. Bertha Corum. C. A. McTavish. Zuda Owens. Dora Hurley. Juha Nash. Corta Masterson.
TALENT.M. E. Griffiths. Edith Dungey. Mae Curry. Martina Thiele. T. A. Fleck.
PHOENIX.G. R. Carlock. Anna Beeson. J. A. Bish.
EAGLE POINT.Eva E. Storey. J. N. Miller.
WIMER.J. C. Barnard. Bertha Peachey. A. H. Peachey. Effie Weiss.
WOODVILLE.Dollie Badger.
RUCH.Mary B. Underwood.
BEAGLE.T. R. Wilhite.
Democratic
Times, Jacksonville, November 4, 1903, page 4JACKSONVILLE SCHOOL HOUSE
One of the Handsomest and Best Appointed Schoolhouses in the State Completed--Plumbing, Heating and Architecture by Medford Men. (From Jacksonville Post.)
From basement to roof, both inside and out, the completeness,
durability and appearance of the building is one of the finest, size
considered, that was ever erected in the state of Oregon. Surely the
taxpayers of Jacksonville and vicinity should be proud of their new
school building and the board of trustees who have worked so diligently
and faithfully to bring about such admirable results.
The building is two stories in height with a basement, built of bricks and concrete, absolutely fireproof, steam heated, has an excellent water system, electric lighted, roomy, light and well ventilated. An interesting feature of the new building is the steam heating plant, which was installed by W. A. Aitken of Medford and which cost $2275. In the first place, everything connected with the plant is fireproof. Where it was necessary to use wood, metal lath and plaster have been put on, and the large flue centers a solid wall of concrete and brick and is at least eight feet from any wood. The trustees are more than pleased with Mr. Aitken's excellent work, as not a particle of trouble has been experienced since the plant was first installed. The boiler comes from Chicago and is one of the best manufactured. It has an automatic heat register, so that when a certain amount of steam is raised the register shuts off the heat and no possible accidents can occur. A pipe line is being laid from G. E. Neuber's water tank to the school building, and water will gravitate from there and a hydrant will be placed in the basement, from which place the janitor will distribute water for drinking purposes to the various departments. And so we say hats off to Messrs. Beekman, Kenney and Applegate, for they are the real men behind this beautiful and commodious school building, the men who are responsible for bringing to Jacksonville the handsomest and safest school building this district ever had. This building was planned by Medford's brilliant young architect, John McIntosh. Medford Daily Tribune, January 27, 1908, page 3 MANY NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN
COUNTY
Jackson
County is experiencing a revival in the matter of the erection of new
school buildings. Nine new school buildings were completed during the
last year at a cost of over $70,000. Medford's new high school building
cost approximately $40,000. Phoenix built a four-room brick with an
assembly hall at a cost of $12,600. The Central Point building cost
over $18,000. District No. 69 built a one-room brick which cost
$19,000. Agate's new two-room building cost $2150. The Butte Falls
building cost approximately $7000. There are seven new buildings under
way at present. Woodville has bonded the district for $15,000 for a
six-room brick. Prospect is building a $2000 two-room frame building
and district No. 95, which has just been organized, has already let the
contract for a similar building. Aside from these, districts
Nos. 47, 50, 61 and 93 will have new buildings for
the fall term.
Talent will probably build next year. The log schoolhouse is doomed in
Jackson County.Medford Daily Tribune, September 18, 1909, page 1 SCHOOLS MAKE GREAT STRIDES
Following is a list of the schools in Jackson County that have made
substantial improvement during the last two years, either in the
erection of new school buildings, addition to or improvement of old
buildings, or in the extension of their course of study, including
several projected improvements:Nearly Every District in County Shows Improvement Over Two Years Ago-- Many New Buildings. School District No. 1, Jacksonville--New brick building, steam heated, cost $19,000; one year added to the high school course and one additional teacher employed. School District No. 4, Phoenix--New brick building, cost $12,600, one year added to course of study, and two additional teachers employed. School District No. 5, Ashland--Course in manual training and domestic science projected. School District No. 6, Central Point--New brick building, steam heated, cost $18,000; two additional teachers employed. School District No. 10, Lone Pine school--Improvement to school building, cost $250. School District No. 16, Agate school--New two-room building, cost $2150; two-year high school added and one additional teacher employed. School District No. 22, Talent--One year added to course of study and one additional teacher employed; high school and $20,000 building projected. School District No. 25, Rock Point--Improvement to building, $518. School District No. 35, Woodville--New building, cost $15,000; one additional teacher employed. School District No, 40, Applegate school--District bonded for $3000 for two-room brick building. District No. 42, Lost Creek--Plans submitted for new building. District No. 46, Asbestos--New building, cost $534. District No. 47--New building, cost $900. District No. 49, Medford--New high school building, cost $33,000; courses in domestic science and manual training introduced: six or seven additional teachers employed; new building on east side projected. District No. 50, Hannah School--New building. District No. 52, Chaparral--New building, cost $630. District No. 53, Round Top, near Butte Falls--New building. District No. 56, Wagner Creek--Addition to old building, cost $800; additional teacher employed. District No. 57, Gold Hill--District bonded for $14,000 for new brick building. District No. 59, Prospect--New two-room building, cost $2000. District No. 61, Galls Creek--New building. District No. 62, Wimer--Addition to old building, $400. District No. 69, Grove school, near Medford--New brick building, cost $1900. District No. 72, Anderson Creek--Addition to old building, cost about $300. District No. 73, Bellview--New heating plant installed, and one additional teacher installed. District No. 91, Butte Falls--New school building, cost $8000, one year added to course of study, and additional teacher employed. District No. 93, near Prospect--New building erected. District No. 95, Niedermeyer school--New building, cost $2150. Medford Mail Tribune, February 25, 1910, page 3 Gold Hill's handsome new high school building is completed, all except the roof of the porch, which will be of cement. The weather has been against cement work lately. The opening of the building, which will be in charge of the Progress Club, will probably take place in the next two weeks. "Local Notes," Gold Hill News, January 28, 1911, page 5 JACKSON
COUNTY
Supervision.--The last year's work has been by far the most
satisfactory during my incumbency, due to the increased facilities for
supervision. While the best results cannot be expected during the first
year
of the new supervisory plan, the work of the supervisors has been
highly satisfactory and promises much for the future. This new plan of
supervision, which became effective last fall, is designed
especially in the interest of the rural schools, and it is there that
the
supervisors have spent practically all their time. In the cities and
towns a city superintendent or principal has direct supervision, but in
the rural schools where most of our inexperienced teachers are employed
and where close supervision is especially needed, the only direct
supervision accorded prior to this year has been in the occasional
hurried visit of
the
county superintendent. During the year just closing two supervisors
have spent their time in the rural schools with gratifying results.
They have aided teachers in organizing and classifying their schools,
and
have instructed teachers in the various methods of presentation. They
have organized parent-teacher associations and held community meetings,
and have done much to stimulate interest and create enthusiasm both in
the school and in the community. The schools have followed the course
of study more closely and have done more thorough work in all branches.
J. PERCY WELLS. We believe that the boys and girls on the farms are entitled to just as good schools and just as much attention as the boys and girls in the cities and towns. Every fall many families move from the farms to the cities and towns for the winter in order to avail themselves of the better school advantages. We want to make this unnecessary by making the rural school as good as the city school. This can be done only by putting into the rural school as much thought, time, and money as is put into the city school. A city of the size of Medford or Ashland, employing from thirty to forty teachers, will ordinarily expend as much or more for supervision than is being expended by the county this year for supervision in nearly one hundred schools. When we reach the point where we are willing to use as much time and money in the education of the boy or girl on the farm, the rural school will be equal or superior to the city school. Sanitation.--One of the things undertaken by this office last fall, working through the supervisors, was the improvement of sanitary conditions in our schools. Much has been accomplished along this line, but much more remains to be done. The common drinking cup and open water vessel have been abandoned. If they are in use in a single school in the county I am not aware of it. In at least one-half of the schools of the county where there is no running water, sanitary water jars are in use, and in all schools either individual drinking cups or bubbling fountains are in use. In thirty-six schools, window-boards for ventilation have been installed, and in many schools the lighting, heating, seat arrangement, toilets, etc., have been improved. Still many of our schools are in a deplorable condition from the standpoint of sanitation, comfort, and appearance, but with the cooperation of school boards and patrons these defects can be remedied. Contests.--Since the Christmas holidays a series of spelling and arithmetic contests have been held, and much interest and enthusiasm have been manifested. Teachers and supervisors are unanimous in the opinion that much good has been accomplished by these contests. Central Point won first honors among the schools of more than one room, and Myers Creek among the one-room schools. Nearly all the schools in the county participated in this contest. The State Fair at Salem and the district fair at Ashland, both to be held this fall, are offering prizes for exhibits in an agricultural and industrial contest for children, and many boys and girls in Jackson County are planning to compete for the prizes. Supplementary Readers.--Last fall we recommended that supplementary readers be furnished by all school boards for the first, second, and third grades. Fifty-three schools complied with this recommendation in whole or in part. These readers are essential to teachers in their work, and it is hoped that all schools will have them next year, and that those having already secured them for the lower grades will keep on adding for the higher grades. The textbooks do not furnish sufficient reading material for the pupils, who are compelled to read the same lessons again and again or advance to a more difficult reader before they are ready. The result is that pupils fall into the habit of reading in a strained, unnatural manner, which is difficult to correct. A sufficient amount of good supplementary reading material in the hands of a skillful teacher is the remedy. Parent-Teacher Circles and Community Meetings.--At least seven parent-teacher circles have been organized in the county during the last year, and they have all been able to accomplish much in the way of improving sanitation, appearance of school building and grounds, and securing books, pictures, etc., for the schools. I should like to see a parent-teacher circle in every district. If you want things done in your district organize such a circle. We will be glad to assist you. In Supervisory District No. 2, a large number of community meetings has been held by the supervisor, who used a stereopticon to illustrate his talks. It is an excellent plan to get the school patrons together for discussion of school affairs, and we hope to do more of this work next year. School buildings should have a wider use than for school purposes only. Make your school building a center for educational gatherings. Teachers.--You cannot have a good school unless you employ good teachers, and you are urged to use the utmost precaution in the selection of your teachers. This office is always glad to advise with school boards on this matter. Our judgment is not always correct, but we have the advantage of an acquaintance with a large number of teachers and are always glad to assist school boards. You can secure and hold good teachers only by offering good salaries and showing an appreciation of good work. Plan for Next Year's Work.--The county educational board has employed the same supervisors for next year at present salaries, the term of office to commence August 1, 1912, instead of September 1. During the month of August the supervisors will visit each district in the county and meet with school boards and others interested in school work, for the purpose of planning the work for next year. At that time they will discuss with school boards any needed repairs, improvements, supplies, etc. Of course it is always understood that the recommendations of myself or the supervisors are in no way mandatory. While we earnestly desire to see every school well equipped as soon as possible, the matter is simply advisory on our part. Our recommendations are never made without due consideration of cost, but the school finances are in the hands of the board of directors, and their judgment must govern in the matter of school expenditures.
Yours very truly,
Biennial
Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1913,
pages
83-85J. PERCY WELLS, County School Supt. SCHOOL SURVEY SHOWS OUTHOUSES ARE
UNSANITARY
There has recently appeared in the local press a Portland dispatch
under the heading "County Schools in Bad Condition," which was based on
a report made by Mrs. Katherine Kelley, traveling nurse for the state
board of health, after a trip of inspection through the schools of
Douglas, Josephine and Jackson counties. The article stated that Mrs.
Kelley found the sanitary conditions in the schools very bad, and that
many cases of impetigo or skin disease, caused by filth, were found. In
order that the readers of that article may be fully informed of the
conditions found by Mrs Kelley in Jackson County, I am giving below her
detailed report on all schools visited in the county, which will show
that she did not find them in bad condition. Nearly all the schools
visited were reported clean, and only two cases of impetigo were
reported, and one of these was not in a country school. In many
instances the outhouses were reported in bad condition, and this
condition is bound to exist to a greater or less degree so long as the
old style toilet is in vogue, though we are making an effort for
improvement along this line. Below is the detailed report of Mrs. Kelley, as furnished me by the secretary of the state board of health: Anderson Creek School, teacher--Pupils 22, drinking tank and individual drinking cups, school very clean, outhouses in very bad shape. Wagner Creek School, teacher--Pupils 24, impetigo 1, school and ventilation very good, janitor service, pump and individual cups. North Phoenix School, teacher--Pupils 29, building fifty years old, fairly clean, outhouses fairly good, pump and individual cups. Griffin Creek School, teachers--Pupils 56, one room, very unsanitary, drinking tank and individual cups, outhouses very unsanitary. Oak Grove School, teachers--Pupils 46, sanitary conditions fairly good, boys' outhouse very unsanitary, pump and individual cups. Independence School, teacher--Pupils 25, drinking tank and individual cups, sanitary conditions good, outhouse not very clean. Antelope School, teacher--Pupils 7, school very clean, outhouses good condition, pump and individual cups. Brownsboro School, teacher--Pupils 9, drinking tank and individual cups, school clean, outhouses very bad shape, need new ones. School 65, teacher--Pupils 15, drinking fountains, outhouses fairly good. Lake Creek School, teacher--Pupils 23, pump and individual cups, school fairly clean, outhouses very unsanitary. Eagle Point School, teachers--Pupils 60, school clean, girls' outhouse good, boys' outhouse very unsanitary. Roosevelt School, teacher--Pupils 22, school clean, pump and individual cups, outhouses very unsanitary. Dewey School, teacher--Pupils 12, pump and individual cups, school clean. Lone Pine School, teacher--Pupils 23, pump and individual cups, school clean, outhouses good condition. Agate School, teachers--Pupils 50, pump and individual cups, school clean, outhouses fairly good. Table Rock School, teacher--Pupils 24, adenoids 1, school clean, pump and individual cups, outhouses fairly clean. Chaparral School, teacher--Pupils 26, drinking tank and individual cups, school clean, outhouses good condition. Antioch School, teacher--Pupils 27, pump and individual cups, old buildings, fairly clean, outhouses unsanitary. Gold Hill School, teacher (primary)--Pupils 34, adenoids 1, impetigo 1, old building, room very cold, needs inspection, no water supply. (On account of crowded conditions in the Gold Hill schools, this grade has been transferred to the old school building, once deserted.) Dardanelles, teacher--Pupils 22, pump and individual cups, ventilation very bad, Waterbury system, outhouses fairly good. West Side School, teachers--Pupils 26, adenoids 2, drinking tank and individual cups, outhouses good condition, school clean. (This report is not correct, there being no drinking tank nor individual cups in this school, but a drinking fountain instead.) J. PERCY WELLS.
Medford
Mail Tribune, December 8, 1913, page 6Jackson County City and Rural
Schools Show Progress
Jackson County, during her progressive strides in various lines within
the past few years, has not overlooked her schools. Those of the rural
districts are reported in another column, as are also the schools of
Medford. As space is limited, we can give only a very brief account of
each.Ashland, at the southern end of the county on the Southern Pacific line, has a school district of the first class. The schools are housed in three buildings, all of which are modern in every respect. The high school, located in the eastern part of the city on a six-acre tract, is of granite, with dash stucco finish. It has twenty-six recitation rooms, gymnasium, assembly, splendid laboratories for the sciences, manual training, domestic science and cooking rooms. The grade buildings are of brick construction, and each is located on a three-acre tract. At each of these, as well as at the high school building, there is a well-kept front lawn planted to shrubbery and flowers. While Ashland considers her school buildings modern in every respect, she is no less proud of her system of schools than she is of the buildings. The organization is modern throughout, the handwork and cultural studies being well balanced and progressive. Under Superintendent G. A. Briscoe the schools are second to none in the West. Coming north from Ashland we find the Talent schools, a district of the second class, located in a new and up-to-date building. Under the principalship of G. W. Ager, it has this year met the requirements of an A standard school of Jackson County. Besides the grammar grades, the course includes two years of high school work, with special teachers for manual training, domestic science and music. This school is making extensive improvements each year. Phoenix, another town on the Southern Pacific line, has a school district of the second class. Five years ago the district was bonded for $15,000 for building purposes. At that time the assessed valuation of the district was a little less than $300,000, there were about 150 pupils in the district, and three teachers were employed. Some of the residents considered the step of bonding a foolish move. But its wisdom is now seen, for the school today has an enrollment of 228 pupils, employs seven teachers, and the district has an assessed valuation of over one million dollars. G. W. Ager is the principal. Jacksonville, though the oldest school in the county, is by no account a "mossback." While the school district has had the misfortune of losing two buildings in the past, it now has a modern brick structure, in which the district has about $18,000 invested. Besides the recitation rooms, the building contains a large auditorium with stage, a gymnasium, a lunch room and a furnace room. Under the leadership of Superintendent F. C. Smith, besides the regular grade and high school work, courses are given this year in domestic science and vocal music. In size Central Point has the third school in Jackson County, and its superintendent, A. K. Mickey, says their aim is to make it first in organization and efficiency. Their motto is "The best is none too good for Central Point." This school was among the first in the state to employ a special teacher in music. Special teachers are also employed for domestic science and art and for [the] manual training course, one of the largest in Southern Oregon. Another feature of the school system is its departmental work, which is carried on in all grades above the third. The building, equipment and organization of the Central Point schools would do credit to a much larger city. The people of Gold Hill are determined that no school in this end of the state shall be better than theirs. Under the direction of Superintendent B. A. Adams, the school has come rapidly to the front in the past two years. The attendance has outgrown the large new brick structure, and it has become necessary again this year to fit up a room in the old building. A full four years' high school course is offered. Commercial work, music, domestic science and manual training are given special attention. At the present writing the high school has an enrollment [of] forty-two. Rogue River, at the north end of Jackson County on the Southern Pacific line, is well to the front with its schools. Under the direction of Miss Frances A. Neevel as principal, excellent work is being done in the grades and in the three-year high school course. Instruction in music is given by a special teacher. At the time of this writing, seventeen pupils are enrolled in the high school and 121 in the grades. Eagle Point, located on the P.&E. line some fifteen miles northeast of Medford, is the only town in Jackson County without a high school. However, the grades, under the principalship of W. E. Buchanan, are doing first-class work. The school has an enrollment of eighty pupils, nine of whom are in the eighth grade. The pupils, through their own efforts with entertainments and industrial work, have bought an organ, a baseball outfit and basketball and playground equipment. Butte Falls, the little town at the terminus of the P.&E. near Mount Pitt, is keeping its school abreast of others in the onward march. The school is housed in a fine new building, surrounded with a beautiful lawn and playgrounds. The enrollment this year totals fifty, four of whom are doing ninth and tenth grade work. Plans are being made to install a course in manual training next year. A. L. Wright is the principal. Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1914, page B3 Official Directory of County
Schools
The official directory of the schools of Jackson County, which reached
our desk recently--though containing but eight pages inside
the
cover--is a very comprehensive and interesting document. It contains a
financial statement for the school year 1913-1914, a brief chapter of
general statistics, a list of the schools and vital facts concerning
them, lists of school officers and teachers for the current year.It shows that funds available for school purposes for the 1913-1914 session amounted to $325,502 and that $249,511 was spent--leaving a balance of $75,991 to start the current session. The county has 101 schools and employs 233 teachers. There were 6806 children of school age in the county November twenty-fifth 1913. The estimated value of school houses and grounds was $600,000, and the estimated value of school furniture and apparatus $60,000. Of the 233 teachers employed last school year, forty-three were men and 190 women. Following is the table of average monthly salaries: Male teachers, including principals and city superintendents……$99.36 Female teachers……$67.63 Teachers in one-room schools……$57.19 Assistant teachers in schools of more than one room……$76.07 The average annual salary of principals was $971.70 and of city superintendents in first-class districts $1900. In addition to statistics the directory contains a frontispiece showing a group of five rural schools. They are vastly different from the type of school house most of us knew as children--being artistic in design and surrounded by pleasant grounds. They speak well for Jackson County. The schools shown are the Willow Springs, Agate, Pankey, Tolo and West Side. Ashland Tidings, September 17, 1914, page 4 NOTICE
Sealed
proposals will be received at the residence of the undersigned, at
Derby, Oregon, until six o'clock p.m.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 5,
1915,
for
the erection of a two-roomed school building for District No. 31,
Jackson County, Oregon, on the present site, at Derby, Oregon. Plans
may be examined at the residence of F. R. Neil, Derby. Cash or
certified check for 10 percent of amount of proposal, payable to L. B.
Caster, school clerk, must accompany each proposal. Should successful
bidder fail to enter into contract within five days after award,
deposit to be forfeited.Board of directors reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. L. B. CASTER,
Dated July 24, 1915.School Clerk Dist. No. 31, Jackson County, Oregon. Medford Mail Tribune, July
28, 1915, page 5
LIST OF TEACHERS IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS NOW COMPLETE
At no other time probably has the outlook for a good school year looked
brighter. The schools are opening with many new teachers, but all are
thoroughly trained for the work assigned. There are four new
departments added to the course, The board concluded to do this because
of the constant demand from the public. The departments are being
organized and will be set in motion immediately upon the opening of the
school Monday. The teaching staff is now on the ground and no effort is
being spared to start the year's work without a hitch.
On account of the delay in shipment of plumbing supplies the repairs at the Washington School will not be completed in time for the opening of school Monday morning. The repairs will be completed a week later. All other buildings will be in readiness. The janitors have been working for four weeks giving each building a thorough cleaning; a general renovating from cellar to garret has been made, thus making the buildings thoroughly sanitary for the opening of school. Enrollment Large
Every indication makes it appear that the enrollment will exceed the
total enrollment of last year. Parents and pupils who have recently
moved to the city from outside states have been making daily inquiry
relative to the work and classification.The Opportunity room authorized by the board of education and organized last year at the Lincoln School will be under the tutelage of Elizabeth Ferguson. This department proved so satisfactory and accomplished so much in the acceleration of over-aged and exceptional students that the work will not only continue but will be strengthened along prevocational lines. Teachers' Meeting
Superintendent Hillis has called all the teachers for a general meeting
at 10 a.m. Saturday when an outline of the year's work and the
necessary readjustments carefully explained.The following is a complete list of the instructors for the coming year: High School Teachers
Principal, P. H. Daily; Otto Klum, Manual Training and Athletics; L. H.
Blakley, Manual Training and Mechanical Drawing; Pearl E. Anderson,
English: Bess Kentner, English; Frieda Kurz, German and English; Ina
Akins, Latin; Ruth Turner, French and Spanish; J. M. Gressley,
Commercial; Vera Merriman, Stenography; Wayne A. Marchant, Physics and
Chemistry; Harriett Wilson, Mathematics; Vesta Holt, Biology and
Mathematics; Lora Smith, History; Grace Mitchell, Cooking; Viola Wood,
Sewing; Elmora Winfrey, Teachers' Training.Special Teachers
Eileene French, Music; Wessie Griffith,
Industrial
Arts; Jennie Hunter, Physical Culture; V. Meldo Hillis, superintendent.Washington School
Principal, C. S. Cramer; Intermediate High School, C. S. Cramer, Ora
Cox, Norma Barbe, 7, 8 and 9B grades; Violet E. Gould, 6th grade;
Esther Crosby, 5A and 6B; Mabel Hermanson, 5B and 5A; Sue M. Hoffman,
4A; Nelle Heizer, 4B; Miss Van Meter 3B and 2A; Mrs. P. H. Daily, 2B
and 2A; Julia Fielder, 1B and 1A.Lincoln School
Principal A. J. Hanby, Intermediate High School; A. J. Hanby, Amy
Harding, Josephine Riley, 7, 8 and 9B grades; Miss Pearce 6B and 6A;
Bessie Porter 5B and 5A; Mrs, West 3A and 4B; Kate Stine 2A and 3B;
Fannie Haskins, 1B and 2B; Elizabeth Ferguson, Opportunity Room.Jackson School
Principal, J. W. Kerns 7A and 8B; Miss Carkin 6A and 7B; Bernice Brooks
5B and 5A; Mary Trowbridge 4A and 5B; Kathryn Denham 3A and 4B; May
Mordoff 2A and 3B; Miss Philbrook, 1B and 2B.Roosevelt. School
Principal Emily Devore, 1B and 2A; Miss Canode 3B and 3A; Anna Jeffrey
4B and 4A; Helen Rose, 5B and 5A; Lilian Worrell 6A and 7B.Medford
Mail Tribune, September 15, 1916, page 3
Jackson County.
School men of Jackson County
make but few shifts during the present year. The larger schools of the
valley which will have the same principals or superintendents as they
had last year are: Rogue River, B. G. Harding; Gold Hill, G. W. Milam;
Central Point, E. B. Stanley; Medford, V. Meldo Hillis; Phoenix, H. H.
Matthews; Talent, P. L. Spencer; Ashland, Geo. A. Briscoe. At
Jacksonville G. W. Godward, who was an assistant in the high school
last year, has been promoted to the principalship of the high school.Otto Klum, for the past two years athletic director of the Medford high school, has accepted a position with the Mutual Life Insurance Co., of New York, with headquarters in Ashland. Otto has already acquired such a knowledge of the insurance business that he can talk faster than some of his boys used to sprint. C. S. Cramer, former principal of the Washington school of Medford, and Leonard Buoy, former principal of the Butte Falls high school, have gone to the front with the other boys from this county. Among the new teachers who have come into our county this fall are: Miss Margaret McQuiston of Josephine County, who will teach at Lake Creek; Mrs. Maud Creeks who is now at Siskiyou but formerly of Salem; Roy Brown of Josephine county will teach at Applegate where E. N. Deardorff is principal; W. W. Pettit of Sacramento, California, will be principal at Ruch; Miss Stella Haan of Forest Grove will go to Phoenix; and Miss Ethel McCoy of Eugene will teach at Rock Point. A number of other changes are being made in Medford and Ashland and in a few other places of the valley but we are unable to report them at this time. Forty-two teachers of the county took the teachers' examinations in June. The tests were considered by many to be very difficult, although results were quite satisfactory taking everything into consideration. A surplus of applications for rural schools, especially from young teachers from the varous training classes of our high schools, was responsible for the early employment of teachers by board members throughout the county. Nearly all boards had promised and in most cases had made contracts with their teachers before the annual school meeting in June. This is an encouraging step, as it will have a tendency to prolong the time of employment of teachers in the rural districts. Supervisor E. R. Peterson has a number of ideas regarding the solution of the rural school problem which he has worked out nicely on paper, but which he desires to put into practice in the school room under close observation. He has therefore accepted a position in a rural school at Marysville, California, and will work in conjunction with the authorities of the Chico Normal in carrying out his experiments. Mr. Peterson has made an excellent record during his four years of service in this county, and teachers as well as school children and patrons of our schools join in wishing him well in his new venture. R. E. Morris of Roseburg has been selected by our county educational board to succeed Mr. Peterson as supervisor of our rural schools. Mr. Morris comes to us highly recommended as a supervisor and school administrator and we trust he may have the cooperation of all friends of education in making his term a most successful one. When the time came for the 23 boys in the Jackson County Corn Acre Project to get ready to attend the Boys' Summer Session at the O.A.C. in June, only two, Charles Owens of Rogue River and William Straus of Sams Valley, were able to get away. Scarcity of labor and the need of someone to work in the corn during the dry season kept the boys at home. Six canning teams were organized in our schools this spring and all have been doing some excellent work. The leaders or captains of the various teams all report great progress and satisfaction with the undertaking. The leaders of the teams are: Miss Verta Grover, captain of one team at Eagle Point; Miss Leta Stevens, captain of three teams at Phoenix; Miss Maude Rice, captain of one team at Talent; and Miss Mabel Moore, captain of one team at Bellview. Besides these the Honor Guards in several of the towns have groups of girls doing a great deal along the same line. Some of these teams will be called upon to give demonstrations at both our county and state fairs, and they wiil also compete for honors and prizes to be offered at Portland in connection with the State Land and Products Show to be held later, and at which exhibits will be made. The Jackson County Fair booklets will be out only one month before the dates set for the fair. This is too late to insure a successful fair and it is encouraging to note that steps are being taken to secure permanent grounds and have everything outlined months before the time of holding the fairs in the future. An effort is being made to get permission from the Jackson County Fair Association to enable the county school superintendent to put out the school and children's premium lists early this fall for the fair to be held in 1918, so that school children and teachers will know in advance just what to work for and can prepare accordingly. Oregon Teachers Monthly, September 1917, pages 42-43 LONG MOUNTAIN SCHOOL WORKING ON
NEW LINES
No. 37, or Long
Mountain school, is a little school out in the chaparral brush about
three miles from Eagle Point. The building is not a modern one, and can
be reached only by crossing a mud flat. The school, however, is working
along very modern lines, having introduced some of the newest features
in education. The community there is awake to this fact and is becoming
proud of its school.The teacher, Miss Jessie Chauncey, has instituted what proves to be a very effective way of encouraging personal care and courtesy on the part of the children. She places a star on the board each day for a pupil who has kept his hands and face clean, brushed his teeth in the morning, comes to school with a clean handkerchief, helps Mother or Father with the work, gets up with a smile, and does a few other things of like character. The use of correct language at all times is given proper credit, and with very desirable results. Hot Lunches Served.
The school room is
decorated by the children, each pupil or group of pupils having charge
of a certain portion of the work. There may be a lack of harmony at
times, but with the counsel of the teacher the children keep the room
attractive and are benefited, of course, by the experience of doing the
work. Picture study and other forms of art are carried on in
connection with room decoration.They have recently begun to serve hot lunches at the Long Mountain school, and indications are that it will add one to the successes in that line. The pupils bring cold sandwiches and other articles as they may choose, then with that they have at noon a bowl of hot soup or some other hot dish prepared at school. Members of the agricultural class are raising various kinds of plants for study. Ornamental plants are raised with those for study, just to make the boxes and the room more attractive. The pupils and their teacher are now laying plans for industrial club work, to begin soon after the Christmas vacation. Gravel Playground.
One of the recent
moves in the Long Mountain school is to get the use of a team and haul
gravel to gravel a portion of the playground.The school is entering wholeheartedly into the county contests; pupils are working for the Palmer awards in writing; the school made 100 percent in the recent pledge card campaign. All this is to the credit of a wide-awake people. The teacher and pupils are not alone in their progressive tendencies. The school board has plans for making some needed improvements, and the community as a whole seems to be with the school in its good work. There will probably be formed a community organization of some kind during the school year. It is true, no doubt, that the traditional school subjects are first in importance, but a school is expected now to be of the greatest possible service to the community, and it can accomplish this only by doing such things as are mentioned above. Reports show that schools carrying on such work are not running behind in the more formal school subjects, but in nearly every case rank high in that regard. Medford Mail Tribune, December 24, 1917, page 8 Teachers Selected for City Schools
Superintendent G. A. Briscoe has made public the list of teachers
selected for the city schools for the coming year. Only one position
remains to be filled, which is that of the commercial department. Two
teachers are required for this department. Of the present list of
teachers 15 have served in the local school before, while 16 are
newcomers. The teachers filling positions in the three schools are: Senior High School
School will open Monday, September 16, for the first semester.J. G. Swan, principal and science Hulda Parr, Latin and English. Ruth Lane, mathematics. Callie Vogeli, commercial. Amy Stannard, science. Lillian Bohnson, language and history. Violet McLean, English. Martena Neal, household economics. Charles A. King, manual training and drawing. Junior High School Peter L. Spencer, manual training and principal. Maude Largent, grammar. L. Dale Coshow, English. Alma Ross, mathematics. Vera Murray, music and physical training. Eleanor Norton, history and civics. Ella Zeitler, geography and spelling. Elizabeth Barker, household economics. Nellie B. Ross, sixth grade. Marjel Lucas, fifth grade. Caribel Morehouse, fourth grade. Mabel Quire, third grade. Georgia Staley, second grade. Fern Bellinger, first grade. Hawthorne School Gretchen Kreamer, sixth grade and principal. Adabel McCord, sixth grade. Rose Thomas, fifth grade. Alta Norcross, fourth grade. Nola Kent, third grade. Marie Andrews, second grade. Alberta Harrison, first grade. Mary Freeman, first grade. Ashland Tidings, August 15, 1918, page 1 Extension Worker of Jackson County, Oregon, Gives Directions for Making Dish.
Squaw dish is
an interesting and simple hot supplement to the school lunch, used in
Jackson County, Oregon. The county extension worker, in her report to
the United States Department of Agriculture, gives the following
directions for making it:
HISTORY OF JACKSON
COUNTY SCHOOLSSquaw Dish.
Ballston Spa Daily Journal, Ballston Spa, New York, November 28, 1923, page 4 First School in Rogue River Valley
The first school in the Rogue River Valley of which I can find any
record was taught by Mary Hoffman of Jacksonville in the summer of
1854. O. A. Stearns,
now a resident of Ashland, attended this pioneer
school. Mr. Stearns was also the first white man to climb down the
steep slopes of the crater to the shores of Crater Lake. He was also
the pioneer homesteader in Klamath County. When I visited Mr. Stearns
recently at his home in Ashland he told me of his early-day schooling
and showed me an article he had written about it, published in the Ashland Tidings.
His account of this pioneer school in part is as follows:The first schoolhouse was built by the early settlers of the Wagner Creek section in the summer of 1854. A meeting of the citizens was called and a temporary school district was organized and named Eden school district. They elected three directors and a school clerk, and decided to build a schoolhouse and start a school at once. The logs for the schoolhouse were soon on the ground, and an old-fashioned logrolling found nearly the entire neighborhood on the ground and the building was put up and finished with such material as was to be had, in a day or two. The house was located on the banks of Bear Creek, about one-fourth of a mile northeast of where the town of Talent now stands. It was about 18 by 32 feet in size, with a slab floor. The cracks between the logs were chinked with pine blocks left from the splitting of the shakes with which it was covered. One or two windows on either side were made by cutting out a segment of the logs and covering the aperture with flour sacks. The school furniture consisted of two long tables placed lengthwise of the room, with benches on either side for seats. These benches were made of slabs with holes bored through them and round legs of oak inserted from the under or round side of the slabs. Several smaller benches were made for the smaller scholars. The teacher's desk and seat may have been of rough lumber, as a sawmill built by Granville Naylor during the previous winter was sawing some lumber up the creek. The door was built of lumber. It was hung on wooden hinges and was operated by a leathern latchstring. Water was brought from a spring just under the hill, near the creek. The schoolhouse faced the public road to the west, where now is the Pacific Highway. There was neither fireplace nor stove, as it was strictly a summer school; the ventilation was excellent and sanitary in a marked degree. A good-sized club or board, pounded on the door, summoned to books. A daughter of a pioneer family residing near Jacksonville, Mary Hoffman by name, was employed to teach the first term of three months. Her salary I do not remember, but there was a fee of $10 collected for every pupil, and there were some 29 of these, by far the larger number of whom were nearly or quite as old as the teacher. As there was no book store in the valley, the scholars had to depend upon such books as were brought across the plains with them, and they were of all the varieties in use in the several states, scarcely any two families having the same series, but by using tact and lending one to another, our teacher managed to get along surprisingly well. Here is a list of the scholars as I remember them: Elizabeth and Nancy Anderson, Colver, Martha, Abi, Donna, Hiram and Solon Lewellyn; Thomas D. and Martha Reames, Mary, Nancy and John Scott; Robert A., Mary and Daniel Grey and the Grey twins, John and William; Joseph, Samuel, John and Robert Robison; Calvin Wagner, Welborn Beeson and Theresa, Oscar, Orson and Newell Stearns. We were divided into classes according to the advancement in the various studies, but the Rs were about all that were particularly stressed, and the old style of toe the mark and giving "headmarks" to the most proficient was then in vogue. I recall no difficulty in maintaining school discipline, which would indicate a proficient teacher or a remarkably well-behaved lot of scholars. The young ladies were on good terms with the teacher, and when not in study hours were on terms of sociability. I remember at one time during the noon hour, when the teacher and the larger girls were having a hilarious time about something that they did not seem desirous of sharing with the boys and younger scholars. It afterward leaked out that their fun was over a love letter which some lovelorn suitor had sent the teacher. It was written entirely in the Chinook jargon, then quite common in conversing with Indians, but scarcely appropriate to convey the tender emotions, hence its oddity and grotesqueness were too much to keep secret from the other girls. So far as I know, I am the solo surviving scholar of that early school. The teacher is the only other survivor. That pioneer schoolhouse had five other terms of three months each, taught all by different teachers and in the following order: The Rev. John Grey, Henry Church, Mr. Eldridge, Mr. Reddick and Mr. McCalley.--Fred Lockley in Oregon Journal. Medford Mail Tribune, October 28, 1924, page 9 JACKSONVILLE, DISTRICT 1
Jacksonville,
Oregon, has an old and varied school history beginning back in the
summer of 1854 when Rev. T. F. Royal, then county school
superintendent, took his pen and carefully inscribed the following in
his now-ancient record book, which is still on file in the office of
the school superintendent:
"School District No. 1 embraces all the territory and inhabitants within the following lines: Commencing five rods north of the part where Captain J. F. Miller's north lines intersect the first range of mountains west of his claims, thence running east to the first section line east of Clinton's Buttes, thence south (including Mr. Heber) to the mountains, thence to the head of the left-hand fork of Jackson Creek, thence to the place of beginning. (Marginal note.) "Mr. Heber is left out of District No. 1 at his own request and attached to District No. 2. Dated July 19, 1854, T. F. Royal, superintendent, Com. School, Jackson County, O.T." Turning a few yellow pages, we arrive at a record also dated 1854 and note these interesting facts: "Number of pupils in district, 54; number of months taught, 3; number in attendance, 30; books used, Webster's speller, McGuffey's readers, and Adams' arithmetic, D. Walton Clark. "District No. 1 was the only one in which a legal school was taught and in that only a short time. There were no funds in the treasury and therefore there were no appointments." The first schoolhouse, a small wooden building, stood on the Capt. J. F. Miller claim where Mrs. Sargent's house is now located. Here and later in a small building which stood on the bank of Jackson Creek, near the present Lewis place, taught Messrs. Humphrey, Babcock, Howard and Thorpe from 1854 until 1867. One of the first private schools in Southern Oregon was taught by Mrs. Jane McCully in the house now occupied by her daughter, Miss Issie McCully, and numbered among her pupils was Mrs. Chris Ulrich, who still lives in Jacksonville. Some years later a Mrs. Beech conducted a private school near the present residence of Mr. Day. In 1867 the first schoolhouse was constructed on the present site and we find the records reveal these facts: D. C. Dewitt, principal; Miss Lizzie Clayton, assistant; James Dilgare, clerk. Tax levied, $5492. Total salary paid teachers, $290; length of term, 3 months; legal voters in district, 225; pupils in district, 221; average daily attendance, 27. Numbered among the early school clerks and the dates of their service are the following: D. Welton, 1854-55; A. S. Welton, 1855-57; J. R. Clippers, 1857-58; W. W. Fowler, 1858-60; James Kilgore, 1860-68; S. J. Day, 1868-72; G. W. Ratrie, 1872. The school board has contained some of Oregon's leading citizens in the past 70 years, and their service to the county is above estimation. Among them are found C. C. Beekman, Peter Applegate, Silas Day, T. G. Reames, Wm. M. Colvig, J. R. Neil. ----
This district is variously designated in
the old
records as Van Dorn's School District, as Heber Grove, and as
Enterprise District.GRIFFIN CREEK, DISTRICT 2. It is described in September, 1854, as follows: "Commencing at the N.E. corner of District No.1 about 1 mile E. of Clinton's Butte--running east to Stuart's Creek thence up said creek to the N.E. corner of Gates' claim--thence in a southerly direction to the mountains, including Herrin, Hamlin, Frick and Whitworth--thence W. to the E. line of Dist. No. 1 including Griffin--thence north to place of beginning." Wm. Hoffman was registered in 1854 as clerk of the district, and he reported no schoolhouse, one quarter of school, and 12 children attending school out of the 31 said to be in the district. No school was held in 1855-56, but the following summer there was a subscription school. The district received $117.84 out of the Jackson County school fund that year, and reported one schoolhouse. B. B. Griffin became clerk in 1858. By 1861 the school reported 180 days of school and 25 scholars in attendance, John S. Herrin serving as clerk. In 1866 the name "Van Dorn's District" first appears with David Redpath's report of 2 quarters and 25 children attending. Names of J. A. Crane, T. Brady, Daniel Doty, W. C. Lacy appear as clerks up to 1875, and the district was that year called Heber Grove. The first county record of directors seems to be in 1881 when J. P. True, John Dollarhide and C. Mingus are reported. In 1882, I. W. Thomas as clerk enumerated 62 boys and 63 girls of school age in Heber Grove District. Changes have come in boundaries and many changes in ownership and residents. Today there are two schools, the Rosedale for the lower four grades and the Griffin Creek for the upper four grades--the latter building having two rooms used formerly for the entire district. Sixty-eight children are enrolled. ----
The district at first known as No. 3 in
Jackson County was the Col.
Ross
School District, adjoining Central Point, District No. 6, and was in
1870 combined with that district. This left a number floating free and
unused, so the present District No. 3, known as Logtown District, was
formed by petition, by dividing Union District No. 27, "making Spencer
Gulch from its head to the waters of Applegate and a line thence to the
donation line on the west form the dividing line of this district."
This boundary line was recorded in May, 1872, "to the government
township line to admit Thos. Dews, who was detached from District No.
21." William M. Turner was then county school superintendent.RUCH, DISTRICT 3. One quarter of school was taught at Logtown in 1872, with 51 pupils and 42 voters reported in the district that year. The entire school fund apportioned to the district was $98.78. William Ray was clerk at this time and served until about 1876 when J. D. Buckley was elected, and continued clerk until about 1882. Logtown School held two quarters of school whenever possible and early paid as high as $33.33 per month to the teacher. The teacher "boarded 'round." About 1876 a new schoolhouse was built near the present site. School was discontinued in the Logtown school building and school was held in the new building, called the Drake School, District No. 2. About 1893 an addition was built. This building was used until 1913 when a new site was bought from Mrs. Margaret Buckley and a new building of gray concrete blocks was erected and occupied in January, 1914. In 1916 a second room was built for the grades, and the large room was used for the high school. The high school was discontinued in 1918. District No. 3 has seven pupils attending high school at Applegate High School, and twelve pupils in six grades are attending at Ruch, with Miss Florence Lawson as teacher. The present school board consists of J. B. Rice, chairman, who has served about six years; Charley Hamilton, who has been a member of the school board since 1889, with the exception of three years; Ed Smith, who has served about twelve or fifteen years; Miles Cantrall, clerk, who is called the "Father of the School Board" by those who know him best, because of his diplomatic ways. ----
"School District No. 4 shall embrace all
the
territory on Stuart's Creek and its tributaries between the following
lines: viz., lower line commencing at the N.E. corner of Randall's
claim, thence to the S.E. corner of H. Colver's claim, then to the S.W.
corner of said claim, thence S.W. to the mountains. Upper line, first
sec. lien west of Ashland.PHOENIX, DISTRICT 4. "Given under my hand this 3rd day of October, 1854. "T. F. Royal, Supt., Com. School, Jackson Co., O.T." District 12, Antelope, cut off in April, 1855. District 22, Wagner Creek, 1862. District 24, North Phoenix, April 1, 1867. Details of early schoolhouses on Coleman Creek and elsewhere and who the early teachers were would make interesting reading. An excerpt from the Portland Journal printed elsewhere in this issue gives [an] interesting account of the old days in Phoenix District. It is said that Orange Jacobs taught some of the first terms. The old county superintendent's record book shows that he was granted a certificate to teach in Jackson County, February 22, 1859. Only glimpses of later days are available, though a real historian could glean from clerks' record books much of interest. A two-room building was used in Phoenix, before the brick building was constructed, and Mrs. Rose Dodge Galey and Mrs. Louise Ganiere Perozzi had sway there at various times. Mr. G. A. Stannard and Mrs. Ada Stannard were favorite teachers later. The Phoenix High School was opened September, 1909, with nine pupils enrolled in the freshman class and G. A. Stannard as principal. The classes met in the eighth grade room of the brick schoolhouse. The course offered this year was algebra, general history, English composition and bookkeeping. Those taking the course were Eliza Ferns, Blanche Ager, Cleone Key, Lena Johnson, Robert Furry, Harry Houston, Theodore Fish, Ricardo Rollins [and] Andrew Johnson. In the years immediately following the school was moved to [the] auditorium and then to [the] basement by the principals, F. W. Roberts and H. W. Ager, and in 1915 into the attractive bungalow building now used by the high school. For several years overflow classes have been placed in the basement of the brick building. H. H. Mathews, G. W. Milam and John W. Kerns have each served as principals. Domestic science under Miss Delano, orchestra and commercial work under Mr. Dolde [and] manual training under Mr. Tyrrell have each been established, but only the commercial work is carried on now. ----
The first description of District No. 5
follows:
"School District No. 5 shall embrace all the territory on Stuart's
Creek and its tributaries above the first section line west of
Ashland." Stuart's Creek is named for the captain slain on the
stream by Indians; is now called Bear Creek.ASHLAND, DISTRICT 5. At the time Supt. T. F. Royal entered the above in 1854 there were but eight school districts; only 281 children were reported in the county, and 86 were in attendance that year. There were no school funds in the treasury, and there was no apportionment. In 1855 District No. 5 was credited with one schoolhouse and 19 children in attendance for a three-month term, or a quarter, as it was called. Changes of clerks through the years following are noted: 1857, W. Kilgore; 1858, B. B. Hargadine; 1861, J. M. McCall; 1863, G. W. Fordyce; 1865, O. C. Applegate; 1867, A. G. Rockfellow; 1870, R. H. Dunlap; 1874, T. E. Emery; 1877, W. W. Kentner; 1879, J. D. Fountain; 1880, Geo. Hill. The year 1863 marks the first mention of District 5 as Ashland District. In 1864 Ashland held 1⅔ quarters of school and in 1867 increased to 2 quarters, with "one male teacher and one female teacher." There were 2⅓ quarters in 1869 and three teachers were employed. Legal voters numbered over 70. By the year 1871, when 30 school districts were recorded in the county, Ashland first among them, rose to a 9 months' term (or three quarters). The first director mentioned in the old record book was under date of 1881, when J. R. Neil is named. There were 400 children of school age that year, and 200 legal voters. In 1887 J. S. Sweet was principal of schools. P. A. Getz was elected superintendent of schools in 1889, and under him was organized a three-year high school. It is now a question whether Astoria, Baker or Ashland first opened doors to high school students. The high school occupied first the North School, then the old Academy building--a structure where academic work had been given from early days to young men and women from Northern California and as far north as Roseburg. The junior high now occupies the site, and children today play on the same school ground where C. B. Watson strolled and studied in 1874. The first graduating class from Ashland had three members--O. A. Thornton, Moody Scott and Lora Colton. Since that day Ashland High has sent out larger and larger classes. Where in 1889 P. A. Getz handled all classes for the group of students, today 15 teachers instruct a student body of considerably over 300. The Hawthorne was erected in 1900, a few years later the junior high, and in 1911 the senior high. An annex is required now for east side grades, and a building program must soon be planned. The district enrolls 1600 children of school age, and 41 teachers are employed under Superintendent G. A. Briscoe. Ashland's superintendents since 1889 have been P. A. Getz, T. A. Hayes, C. A. Hitchcock, W. L. Cameron and Geo. A. Briscoe (now serving his 14th year). ----
The date on which this district, known
as Manzanita
District, was organized was October 3, 1854, and it has remained true
to number all through the years since. In that first year 1 quarter of
school was taught in its first schoolhouse, with 12 pupils in
attendance, though there were 33 reported as of school age. Martin Angel
was clerk; two quarters were held for 38 scholars. W. H. Merriman was
the next clerk, serving until 1871, when W. I. Stanley succeeded him,
to be followed in turn by J. B. Wrisley, who again turned matters over
to W. T. Leever. Next R. F. Maury served until 1882.CENTRAL POINT, DISTRICT 6. Just where the schoolhouse stood and who held sway in those first years we cannot report, nor when the district's name was changed. Central Point needs a historian to glean such facts before it is too late. At the present time the Central Point School is the third largest school in the county. The system consists of a grade school employing six teachers and a high school of five teachers. The enrollment is approximately 300 pupils. A new gymnasium with a standard size basketball floor has been completed and will be equipped and ready for use soon. The high school is standard in every respect. ----
March 11, 1857, the legal
voters of the
district met at the home of Giles Wells for the purpose of organizing a
school and electing a board of directors. At this election James C.
Tolman, Enoch Walker and Isaac Hill were elected directors and P. Dunn
clerk.NEIL CREEK, DISTRICT 7. On April 3, 1857 another meeting was held at Giles Wells' for the purpose of determining a location for the schoolhouse and the kind of building to be constructed. It was decided by vote to locate the schoolhouse somewhere between the Songer lane and the William Taylor house. It was built on the Taylor place, not far from the farm of G. W. Dunn. The following families were represented in the first school: Slack, Anderson, White, Broughton, Neil, Hiatt, Dickinson, Clayton, Rogers, Wells, Condrey, Walker, Jaquett and Dunn. In 1866, on account of the district being so large, and more families moving into it, it was decided to divide the district. The lower part was known as District No. 10 and the upper part as No. 7. On June 21, 1866, after the district had been reorganized, the legal voters met at the home of J. P. Roberts for the purpose of electing a school board for District No. 7. W. J. Shepherd, H. F. Barron and Z. Howard were elected directors and O. P. Evans clerk. At this meeting it was decided by unanimous vote to levy a tax of $600 for the purpose of building a new schoolhouse. The 15th day of September, 1866, was the day appointed by the board for all who had performed labor or furnished material for building purposes to meet at the schoolhouse and present their bills to the board of directors. This schoolhouse, built in 1866 by Caleb Davis, was located on the Songer place near the Kingsbury Springs. The first school in the district was taught by Henry D. Boon, for a period of one month. The second teacher was W. E. Curtis, whose term of school began April 15 and ended the 12th day of July, 1867. Among the several families whose children attended this school were the Shepherds, Barrons, Howards, Neils and Evans. This district, according to the records, has the distinction of having had longer terms of school and paid its teachers higher salaries than other districts. As early as 1868 they paid sixty dollars per month. This was paid to J. T. Gregg, who taught two months. As the school funds were not sufficient to carry on a school for any length of time, it was decided to raise money by subscription in order to have a school for a period of six months. April 5, 1869, a meeting was held at the schoolhouse to vote a tax to carry on the school, instead of by subscriptions. For this purpose a tax of seven mills was voted. April 6, 1875, a meeting was held to decide upon a new location for the schoolhouse nearer the center of the district. It was voted to move the building to the Walker property on Neil Creek, where it now stands. Messrs. Songer, Taylor and Dunn were appointed as a committee to let the contract for moving the schoolhouse. The desks and other furniture used for many years were made by Wilfred Dyer. The building which is in use today is the same building which was constructed in 1866. The only change in the building is the addition of cloak rooms, which have been built in recent years. Several of the pupils who attended school here in early days are still residents of the community. At the present time there are nineteen pupils enrolled in the school, some being grandchildren of those who attended the school in years past. The district now has nine months school each year. Nearly all the pupils who have completed the eighth grade in this district have attended high school, and many are now holding responsible positions in various places. ----
The first special meeting of District
No. 8 was held
February 20, 1912, for the purpose of organizing a new school
government. Grant Davis, James Lennox and W. A. Stratton were elected
directors. H. R. Reachert was elected clerk.VALLEY VIEW, DISTRICT 8. The first term of school of three months was held in a tent with seven pupils and Mrs. H. R. Reachert as teacher. On October 21, 1912, bonds were sold for the new schoolhouse. During the next few years the school was standardized and the bonds paid. For the past five years the pupils have been transferred to the Ashland schools. This year there are about thirty pupils. ----
School District No. 9 was organized in
1865 and at
that time embraced districts Nos. 37, 47 and 89 also. The present
boundaries have been changed but very little since 1882, when District
No. 47 was created. District No. 37 had been organized several years
earlier.EAGLE POINT, DISTRICT 9. An attempt was made to hold school in 1857, when three days of school were taught. Since 1863 school has been held every year. At that time the teacher received $106.00 for a six months' term. Early settlers claim school to have been held first two or three miles east of the present District No. 9. The original building built within the present boundaries was located on the west side of Little Butte within present city limits of Eagle Point. It still stands near where built and serves as a barn. In 1906 and 1907 a modern four-room school was built a little above and on the opposite side of Little Butte. This building is still in use and is occupied by the grades and a four-year standard high school, which was organized in 1923 with one teacher and 13 students. The district now employs two teachers in the grades and two in the high school. The grades have an enrollment of sixty scholars and the high school twenty. ----
LONE PINE, DISTRICT 10.
The Lone Pine
District was established in 1874 and was called South Prairie District.
This district is about three miles from Medford, with the schoolhouse
located on a hill near a tall pine tree, which now gives its name to
the school.
Medford
Mail Tribune, October 28, 1924, pages 10-12The children for many years have learned patience and strength from the pine tree. The enrollment for the present term is twenty-five, with all grades except the fifth. There are new maps, new desk copies of texts, a new victrola and good records, including all the music contest records of last year. The pipe line from Fish Lake runs through the school yard so there is good drinking water from a fountain. The school is equipped with oil stove and dishes to serve hot lunches, and has for several years been a standard school. There is an active Grange organization in the Lone Pine District. ----
The Antelope School District was formed
about the
year 1869. The first building was located on what is now the von der
Hellen place on Antelope Creek.ANTELOPE, DISTRICT 12. The size of the building was about 30 feet by 20 feet, and three rows of double desks accommodated the 55 or 60 pupils in attendance. J. B. Farley was the first teacher in this school at a salary of $50 per month, at that time a very high salary. He taught this school for a number of years. One of the members of the school board was James Simpson. In 1886 the Liberty School District was formed from the Antelope District, the larger portion of territory given to the Liberty District and also the old school buildings. The second school building in the Antelope District was located on the Rader ranch, and later was moved to the present site. Then in 1909 the building now in use was erected. The present teacher is Agnes E. Johnson, who is teaching at a salary of $115 per month. ----
High above the mountains, guarded by Old
Grizzly,
nestles the little community of Climax. Just when and by whom the first
schoolhouse was built no one seems to know. But the ruins of a little
log building can still be seen near the Thompson place, while the wreck
of another, built over 40 years ago, by Alfred Rummel, lies just below
the present road.CLIMAX, DISTRICT 13. Those who have been a long time in the district mention Mr. Gervais, Miss Anna Grissom, Ida Turpin [and] Julia Roscoe as some of the former teachers, as well as Mrs. Bertha Charley, our clerk, who is making Climax her home and is now sending children of her own. Among the teachers of more recent years are the names of Mrs. Norma Reeder, Miss Hendrick and Miss Freida Hanson. During the past two years, a new picture, modern seats and desks, a jacket for the stove, and several feet of blackboard have been added. Instead of glaring cross lights, the windows have all been placed at the left or rear. New maps, a bell and a new picture have been ordered, and we hope before many months to have this little school among the mountains adequately equipped. Club work was taken up for the first time this year, and the pupils won several prizes at the county fair. ----
The Willow Springs District was formed
in 1859. It
claimed 27 boys and girls of school age, and 18 of them attended in
that first schoolhouse where two quarters were taught that first year.
Wm. Kahler was the first clerk and served for 8 years. The school was
called Harmony Point in 1865, and for the next three years. But the
record gives it as Willow Springs from 1868 on.WILLOW SPRINGS, DISTRICT 14. No doubt there have been several buildings since the first school in old mining days. And the children in '59 could little have pictured the modern two-room building with telephone, electric lights and piano, which the Willow Springs children now enjoy with their two teachers. And as for high school, at Central Point where several go daily--neither high schools nor Central Point existed in those first days. ----
District number fifteen was made into a
school
district May 3, 1872 by William Turner, county school superintendent.
The district at that time was very much larger than at present. The
first school board consisted of Mr. Q. N. Anderson, chairman; J. A.
Grieve, secretary; R. Stevens, clerk; J. Coleman, director, and J.
Ritter, director. This board elected Maggie Sargent as the first
teacher. Her salary was to be $75.00 per quarter.INDEPENDENCE, DISTRICT 15. There have been two school buildings since the district was made. The first one was about a mile east of the present building. The present schoolhouse is about 30 or 35 years old, and, except for some improvements on the interior, remains the same. Last year the school was composed of the first six grades and was taught by Miss Erma Hamilton. This year there are seven grades, and an enrollment of 25 pupils. ----
District No. 16, which is now known as
Agate School
District, has a history which dates back beyond the memory of any of
the citizens, for it was established in 1869 and was called the Mound
District. The first schoolhouse remembered is said to have stood near
the property now owned by D. W. Beebe. This was a rather crude
construction and as early as 1872 was the scene of many old-fashioned
floggings. The first schoolmaster known to have taught in this building
was Mr. McFadden, a man of Irish descent, who is still remembered for
his wit as well as for his pedagogic ability. He boarded around the
neighborhood and was paid about fifty dollars a term for his teaching.AGATE, DISTRICT 16. Mr. H. C. Fleming, who is now a resident of Eastern Oregon, also taught in this first building. Stories differ concerning the whereabouts of this structure. Some claim it was destroyed by fire and others that it was remodeled to fit the needs of a modern chicken house. Regardless of what became of the first building it is known that the need for a second was realized in 1883. Reverend Martin Peterson then owned the property now belonging to the Rogue River Canal Company. He donated two acres of this land to be used for a building site. An eight-hundred-dollar building was constructed in what was then called the "Mound School District," and "Father Peterson," as his neighbors knew him, taught the first term of school. He later served as clerk of the school district for several years while William M. Colvig was county school superintendent. Reverend Peterson was a Christian minister and preached in the California mines in 1850. This second school building was later moved to where the present school building now stands. It was sold in 1909,and the new two-room building was erected. For several years the district supported three teachers and a standard high school. Mr. A. J. Hanby, principal of the Washington School in Medford, was [at] one time principal of the Agate school. Although there are now only twenty pupils attending the school, all eight elementary grades are represented. The school building and playgrounds are sufficiently equipped to qualify the Agate school as [a] standard school for the 1923 and 1924 terms. ----
Antioch School District, No. 18, was
organized 64 years ago. It was given the "technical name" of Risley [Wrisley?]
District, with Wm. Armpriest as clerk, when entered in the county
records of 1863. However, "a certificate of organization" had been
granted in 1860. The district was in 1864 listed as Table Rock, due no
doubt to the following bounds: "Commencing on the north side of Rogue
River at the center of Lower Table Rock, thence due north to Evans
Creek, thence due east to Rogue River, thence down said river to place
of beginning."ANTIOCH, DISTRICT 18. Chauncey Nye was clerk of this district for several years. In 1863, one quarter of a school was held with 10 children attending, and the teacher was paid $40.00. In records of 1870 the present name, Antioch District, first appears, with M. A. Houston as clerk. In 1884 District No. 11 was formed out of the territory and existed until 1919, when the first consolidation in the county occurred and No. 19 and No. 11 again became one. The oldest records now among the district clerk's books are of a meeting in April, 1873. At this time there was only a log schoolhouse, which was in use until several years later. It seems that in 1878 and for some years there were two schools in the district, one a log house and one a box house, the value of both these buildings being estimated $100, according to the records. In 1883 a 15-mill tax was levied to build a new schoolhouse. There were 31 legal voters in the district at this time, but only nine voted on the tax, eight for the tax and one against. The house built then was several times repaired and continued in use until November, 1922, when a modern new building was completed and furnished. Among the teachers who have taught in this district are Jasper N. Miller, N. L. Narregan, Alberta Stacy, Miss Swanson, Audrey Holmes, Miss Louella Wooten, Arline Farleigh and Bertha L. McKinney. Many more might be named, but are omitted because of space. The present enrollment is 27. ----
About fifty years ago the Lake Creek
School District
No. 19 was organized with an attendance of about 16 pupils. The first
teacher was Mr. Grigsby, the second Miss Sarah Swingle, and the third
Miss Polly Bybee. From that time the school steadily grew until 1916;
about 40 were enrolled when it became necessary to hire two teachers,
both teaching in the same room. At the present time, however, only ten
pupils are in attendance. About five buildings have been used, each
located in a different part of the district.LAKE CREEK, DISTRICT 19. Through the untiring efforts of school board and public-spirited patrons, the school has for the past several years been standard. Equipments deserving mention are a Waterbury heating and ventilating system, a splendid collection of library books, and [a] good display of standard pictures. The members of the present school board are J. G. McCallister, chairman; Mrs. E. E. Meyer, director; Mrs. Wm. Nickell, director, and H. G. Meyer, clerk. ----
Sams Creek School District it was called
in
February, 1861. Its bounds were briefly thus: "Commencing at the upper
edge of Lower Table Rock on the right bank of Rogue River, running
north until it intersects Evans Creek, thence [in a] southwesterly
direction down said creek to its mouth, then easterly up Rogue River to
the place of beginning." James Sutton was clerk in 1861 and reported
one schoolhouse, 60 days of school and 15 scholars in attendance out of
60. "No books reported," the old record says. Doubtless each family
used whatever reader, spelling book and arithmetic it possessed. E. C.
Pelton and A. S. Moon alternated as clerks for several years, to be
followed by W. A. Childers, S. M. Morgan and A. S. Moon again, and then
W. J. Stanley in 1877. John Cardwell and Phineas Ames and O. Ganiard
carried clerkship up to 1880.SAMS VALLEY, DISTRICT 20. As early as 1917 several Sams Valley people liked the idea of consolidation, and though several attempts failed, they carried the vote in 1920 and Chaparral District united with it under the name of Sams Valley School. The first ample consolidation building in the county resulted, and pupils and parents have since made excellent use of the plant. The high school is now four years old and is a standard one under two teachers, as are also the grades. ----
This district is now a joint district
with Josephine
County, about 19 pupils going to school from Jackson County in the
building situated in Josephine County.MISSOURI FLAT, DISTRICT 21. A new building erected this past summer is cause for rejoicing among the children and with the patrons. We regret that we have no cut of the new schoolhouse. ----
District No. 22 was organized in 1863 as
Wagner
Creek District, being set off from Phoenix District No. 4, and not till
1888 was S. Wagner Creek divided from it, leaving the territory now
called Talent School District to be known as District No. 22.TALENT, DISTRICT 22. The first schoolhouse of the Talent District stood near the present site of Mr. Glenn's residence and was erected when E. K. Anderson, Mr. Helms and John Abbott were directors. A second building stood on the corner where Charles Holdridge lives. Pupils advanced by the reader used in those days. Some who learned the 3 R's of school were: Mr. and Mrs. Brophy; John, George and Charlie Wolgamott; Ida Riton, John Robinson, Charlie Purvis and Charlie, Etta and Josie Talent. Some of the earliest teachers were Mr. Hubbell, Mr. Wellet, Arthur Soules, Mr. Yoader, Dellet Pennymaker and Mr. Dean, who now resides on Wagner Creek. In 1899 a third building was erected, and Miss Beeson and Mr. Carlock were the two to first teach in it. This building is now owned by Talent, and used as a council chamber, lodge hall, club room and public library, for in 1911 the present building become a necessity. This building, erected by Frank Snook, cost in total when completed some $38,000. It has steam heat, electricity, manual training and domestic art equipment, a lunch room, a gymnasium, laboratory and auditoriums. The grounds comprise five acres, and as improved and beautified by the Parent-Teachers Association, with shrubs, flowers and vines, have become a source of pride to every Talentite. The high school under three teachers enrolls 43, while the grades have 101 pupils. ----
This number was given to a school
district in 1863
and up to 1880 belonged to "Grants Pass District," so called.MT. PITT, DISTRICT 23. However, in 1885 the present Mt. Pitt territory was cut off from District No. 31, known as Green Mountain School District, the latter breezily bounded "commencing at Mt. McLoughlin, running west along [the] ridge to the Bald Mountain, west to the meridian line, north to Rogue River, up Rogue River to the Cascade Mountains, and south to the place of beginning," and the number ever since has belonged to Mt. Pitt school. Now this Mt. Pitt District since 1885 has possessed two or three schoolhouses. The last one, shown in [the] cut above, is the pride of the community and a joy to the visitor. Eighteen pupils attend there this year. ----
S. N. Woody, clerk of North Phoenix in
1868, listed
57 children in the district, with 16 in attendance at their schoolhouse
during the one quarter taught. Wm. M. Mather served next until 1878,
when S. C. Taylor and J. N. Woody took their turn in serving.NORTH PHOENIX, DISTRICT 24. Although the school has been closed during its history--the last time to transport to Phoenix schools, a distance of two miles--it is now maintaining its own school with 8 in attendance. ----
The records of 1874 first show the
Logtown District
No. 27 as in existence, with Wm. A. Jones serving as clerk. He reported
40 legal voters and 37 scholars.UNIONTOWN, DISTRICT 27. The records of that same year report Union District as No. 24, with Theodoric Cameron as clerk, and 10 children attending during two quarters of school. But in the year 1866 by petition Logtown and Union districts were permanently united as No. 27, and W. A. Jones reported as clerk. The name Uniontown developed later. Space would prevent giving the changes of the 55 years elapsed since then, but we wish for a history of the homes and people and schools of that space of years, marking the development of that Applegate region. A school of pupils is this year again taught in the building, some 40 or more years old. But improvement is in the air, and good roads make either transportation or consolidation possible. Or a new building may replace the old. ----
This district on upper Rogue River
gained its name
from the peculiar rock formation on two rugged hills within its bounds.
It then included parts of Elk Creek and Hatchery school districts.FLOUNCE ROCK, DISTRICT 28. Crater Lake Highway now passes by its attractive little schoolhouse, where four or five children attend. ----
In the year 1864, on the fourth day of
September, the Reverend M.
A. Williams
organized District No. 29 of the county of Jackson. Being known at that
time as the "Prairie District," it included a territory of an extent to
justify the name, namely, the south half of township 36 and the north
half of township 37, range 1, west. Later guardians of its destinies,
apparently dissatisfied with a lack of territory, so expanded the
district as to reach to the North Phoenix District on the south, while
the line was moved two and a half miles northwest at the same time.
Within two weeks and four days they had repented and on April 23, 1869
this district was divided. Numerous and various have been the changes
that have reduced District No. 29 to its present size, it being now
among the small rural districts of the county.DEWEY, DISTRICT 29. The school was called for some time the "Lone Oak School," but upon the occasion of the building of a new schoolhouse on a new site in the year 1898, it was rechristened "Dewey," in honor of the naval hero of that year. At this time the school rose, topographically at least, for it stands on a hill near the valley where it was first built. Mr. T. B. Ellison, now a resident of Medford, was chairman of the school board when the new schoolhouse was built. The other members were Mr. Frank Kefuer and Mr. Henry Hansen, the latter of whom is still a resident of the district. Among the first teachers to use the new building were: Alpha McDowell, Zuda Owens and Julia Roscoe. Many teachers and pupils have taught and learned in District No. 29, yet we feel all honor is due to the doughty ecclesiastic who first founded the Prairie District. ----
The district recorded in 1867 as Unity
District No.
30 has had an uneventful career so far as number is concerned, and the
name Unity continued until 1880 at least. Who changed it to Provolt,
and why, is not recorded, though the establishment of the post office
may have brought it about.UNITY, DISTRICT 30. The district is a joint district with Josephine, though only [a] small portion of Jackson County is included. The school enrolls 24 pupils this year, and only nine are Jackson County boys and girls, who go daily into Josephine territory for their school work. ----
The Derby School was founded in 1891
with eight
pupils and Mr. Johnes as teacher. The members of the school board were:
Clerk, Mr. Derby; directors, Mr. J. Allen, Mr. Wm. Wilkinson and Mr.
Chartraw. This school has had two buildings. The present one is a
modern two-roomed building with one room for school purposes and the
other for community gatherings.DERBY, DISTRICT 31. There have been many changes in the district this fall. Changes are: Mrs. Baker is moving away; Mr. Ellis is moving to Baker's place and Mr. Deen is moving to Ellis' place with his children. The school is pleased with Mr. Deen's coming, as it will add five to the school which now numbers thirteen. ----
All the boys and girls were playing
outside when my
friend and I drove up. But how could it be otherwise? Wasn't there a
basketball, a good swing, a teeter, a turning bar, and ever so many big
fine trees to hide behind when playing hiding games?FOOTS CREEK, DISTRICT 32. Going inside we found there were two good-sized nicely furnished rooms, not counting in the library room, nor the cloak rooms. But the best part of it was that one of the large rooms could be used for a play room in stormy weather. By inquiry we found the present schoolhouse to have been built in 1913. Time was when the boys and girls went to school in a frame house up above Mr. Stumbo's. And some say that the first schoolhouse was built of logs at the crossroads, for this district was organized in 1868. Then the waters of the Applegate formed its south boundary, and who knows how many times families of this territory used to "fort up" in the fort on the Birdseye lands, when Indians were on the war path? ----
Sterling District first reported in
1870, when R. S.
Armstrong, as clerk, listed 36 scholars as of school age. Sterlingville
it was called in 1873 and on for several years. Geo. Yaudes was clerk
for 10 years.STERLING, DISTRICT 33. The varying school populations during old mining days in Sterling would doubtless make an interesting study. Sterling District lapsed in 1919 but was reestablished as a district in 1923 and this year enrolls 12 pupils. ----
This district reported first in 1871,
clerk Thomas
H. Louden declaring that they had 24 children of school years, and that
they had held one quarter of school that year, for which they paid the
teacher $85. Thomas Moe, A. Darnielle, James W. Mee and Jasper Danielle
next served as clerks. The territory was taken from Missouri Flat
District and included "all the settlers on Thompson Creek and its
tributaries."THOMPSON CREEK, DISTRICT 34. The district has just completed a standard modern school building at cost of about $1200. The old schoolhouse had served for many years. Pupils, teacher and community are justly proud and happy over the good work accomplished by the present school board. J. R. Hoffman, S. L. Johnston and A. Learned, with Mrs. Cora Hoffman as clerk. ----
The first schoolhouse for the Rogue
River District
was a log house built in the late '60s. It was located about three
miles north of the present schoolhouse, according to James Whipple,
Rogue River resident. The district was organized in February, 1871,
with D. N. Birdseye as clerk and was called the Schieffelin
District. Savage Creek and Birdseye Creek territory was cut off from it.ROGUE RIVER, DISTRICT 35. The next schoolhouse, built about one-half mile north of the present school in the '70s, served until 1892, when crowded conditions necessitated the building of a two-room school, erected on the site of the present building. In 1909 crowded conditions again made a new building necessary, and a modern six-room brick school building was erected. This building is now too small; consequently two modern classrooms, an assembly room and a basement are being added to the main building. A one-story brick gymnasium 62x85 feet is also being built, at an expense of $16,000 in all. The Rogue River High School started in 1906, employed but one teacher. At the present time three teachers and a manual training instructor are employed in the high school, and there are five teachers in the grades. The high school is steadily increasing its usefulness to the community. A domestic art department, started in 1922 under the able supervision of Miss Irene Anderson, is turning out excellent work. The commercial department gives one of the best courses offered by the school. Manual training, the latest department added, has Mr. E. W. Jacobson in charge. Several well-known citizens of Southern Oregon have taught in the Rogue River schools. Among them are Lincoln Savage, former county school superintendent of Josephine County; W. J. Freeman, of Freeman-Wiley Hardware Co., Central Point; [and] James Martin of Grants Pass. B. R. Stevens and Henry Reachert, both deceased, were two of the earlier teachers. ----
The first school in Meadows District No.
36 was held
in the year of 1873, with John Potters as teacher. The following were
members of the first school board: Daniel Reynolds, Elijah Morrison,
William Mitchell.MEADOWS, DISTRICT 36. The schoolhouse was located on Evans Creek Flat just below where Mrs. Alice Ray's house now stands. It was finished with rude benches running around the side of the room. The present schoolhouse is a modern one with plastered walls, good blackboards, library, etc. A well was drilled last year, and we are looking forward to still more improvements this year to bring the school up to the standard. ----
This district number originally belonged
to
Linkville (Klamath Falls) in the days when Klamath, Lake and Josephine
counties were all named Jackson County.LONG MOUNTAIN, DISTRICT 37. In December, 1875, the number was given to the district now having it, but with the name "Rogue River District" applied. The district was "created from the territory of Little Butte School, District No. 9" when James Hamilton was the first clerk; Theo Bressler and G. W. Heckathorne succeeded him. H. C. Fleming was county superintendent. For the last few years the number of pupils has been small; the building was old and for the last two years the pupils have been sent to other schools. But the district has awakened to larger populations, and the strong school spirit always present has brought about the new building pictured above. So much labor has been donated that the cost has been only about $1200, and the modern, well-lighted building is a pleasure to all concerned. ----
District No. 38 [was] first recorded in
the annals
of Jackson County as the number given to the Goose Lake
District
in 1873. S. A. Hammersley, as clerk, reported 50 pupils of school age
and one quarter of school taught. In the year 1876 it was recorded as
Josephine District. D. H. Sexton, Joseph Pollock and Alonzo Bryant
served as the first three clerks, and until 1886 the number belonged to
Josephine. But in that year it was bestowed on the territory now called
Siskiyou District, a portion of Neil District No. 7.SISKIYOU, DISTRICT 38. The district has for some years past had two schools, the Pilot Rock and the Siskiyou, lying about four miles apart with a high mountain between them. The schools are small, but well equipped. ----
BROWNSBORO, DISTRICT 39.
The Bethlehem
District was organized in 1873, and Joseph Clift seems to have been the
first clerk. He reported that year one quarter of school and an average
attendance of 14 pupils out of 46 in the district. In 1876 the name
Brownsboro was recorded, with James Clift still serving until at least
1880.
Of the 45 years since then there seems to be little history, although the older residents might supply much of it. The school now enrolls 15. ----
The Bridge Point School District, as it
was then
named, was created on February 17, 1876, when H. C. Fleming was county
superintendent.APPLEGATE, DISTRICT 40. It was formed of territory from Provolt, Missouri Flat and Steamboat districts. John Bolt was the first clerk and served for six or seven years. History is not reported until the event of 1911, the erection of a two-room brick school building about one mile east of Applegate post office on an elevation overlooking the county road and country to the south. The next year a two-year high school was established, and its growing needs led to addition of two high school rooms. The high school has been standardized, being equipped with library and with science equipment. College and commercial courses are given at present, and 36 students are enrolled under two teachers. There are two grade teachers with enrollment of 32 pupils. ----
April of 1877 saw this district formed
under name of
North Sams Valley, and its western boundary was Sardine Creek. H.
Mitchell was the first clerk, and he reported 47 pupils of school age,
with 20 as average attendance for the three-month terms.PANKEY, DISTRICT 41. Pankey School is beautifully situated amid a grove of large oak trees. There are few children in the district now, and only 8 are enrolled this year. ----
School District No. 42 was established
in 1880, and
a log schoolhouse was built the same year. The boards for the building
were packed on a burro for several miles.LOST CREEK, DISTRICT 42. The material for the schoolhouse as well as the labor was donated. W. T. Leek was the clerk and also the first teacher; Perry Farlow, Geo. Ratrie and Gideon Hutchins were directors. The school was organized with 16 pupils and the teacher boarded around with the patrons. School was held three months in a year, but later the term was lengthened to four months, then six and at present we have an eight-month school. A lumber schoolhouse was built in 1893, and in 1900 G. S. Hosmer deeded to the district one acre of land, on which the schoolhouse stands. The present schoolhouse was built in 1911. Miss Mildred Jarl is the present teacher with a school of seven pupils. ----
The first settlers of Forest Creek were
miners, but
the first people to settle with families and for agricultural reasons
were [the] Isaac Coffmans, and a family by the name of Pence. Mrs.
Armpriest was also an early settler on the creek.FOREST CREEK, DISTRICT 43. The school district was founded in the year of 1878. The first schoolhouse on Forest Creek was a little cabin with a fireplace in one end and a few homemade desks. The first teacher's name was Mae Crane. This cabin was used for a schoolhouse for five years, then there was a new schoolhouse built, which was used until the present building was erected. At present there are 14 pupils attending the school. The directors are Mrs. Lee Black, Mrs. James Davis, Mr. Lew Stone and Mr. James Davis, clerk. ----
Table Rock School District No. 44 was
organized in 1871 or 1872 and was formed from a part of
Antioch
District. It has been told us that at one time Fred Hansen kept a
private school which was taught by Mary Peters. But the first
schoolhouse was built on land now belonging to the Nealon estate, by a
school board composed of J. W. Collins, Tom Curry and O. S. Gregory.TABLE ROCK, DISTRICT 44. The first teacher was Annie Anderson and following her in later years were Liza Gore, Milton Gregory, Maude Tuff, Mary McCabe and Mr. McFadden. The teachers received $50 a term, which was three months long, and they boarded around at different places. The old schoolhouse is standing and is used as a shop. The second school was built in 1892, about one quarter of a mile west of the first, on land belonging to Fred Hansen. That building has been torn down, rebuilt and is being used as a store house. The third building, comprising two rooms, was built in 1910. The first teacher was Professor V. A. Davis. The same building is being used now and is taught by Miss Franks. There have been several improvements in the last few years, such as a heating system, a well and forty new library books. Last June five of the Sewing Club girls went to O.A.C. summer school. The last two years we took prizes in club work at the county fair. We also received second prize on our school exhibit. A community club meets each month of the school year. ELORA COLLINS, 8th
grade.
----
The Trail School District was
established in 1879
with John Pitman as clerk, and the first schoolhouse was built of logs
on land given to the district by a settler. This land is to be the
property of the district as long as a school is maintained there. The
territory then included large parts of Hatchery, Elk Creek, Persist and
N. Trail districts.TRAIL, DISTRICT 45. In 1894 a frame building was erected near the log school. The new school was used for only a short time, as both buildings were destroyed by fire. During the next two years school was held in dwelling houses. The present schoolhouse was erected in 1896 by donation labor. There has always been a large attendance in the small schoolhouse, and at present the enrollment is 20. ----
The first school built in the Reese
Creek District was in 1891, to which the children walked for miles.REESE CREEK, DISTRICT 47. The district from year to year increased and today has a two-roomed school with an attendance of 31 pupils. The two-roomed school just remodeled is due to taking in part of another district, and the farsightedness of the people in both districts. Who knows but that the attendance will increase from year to year and that in a few years Reese Creek School will be the central school for the neighboring districts. The district voted for transportation this year so the pupils from the annexed district are transported. ----
SAVAGE CREEK, DISTRICT 48.
In August,
1882, the Schieffelin School District was established, taking the
original name of District No. 35, and leaving the parent territory to
be called Woodville (now Rogue River) "commencing at the line between
the farms of Wm. L. Colvig and G. W. Lance on the south bank of Rogue
River, and extending down said stream to the mouth of Savage Creek,
including the farms of G. W. Lance, D. N. Birdseye, S. Mathis, White
Bros., Milo Matthews and Jas. Savage and all of that territory south of
Rogue River watered by Miller's Creek, Birdseye Creek and Savage
Creek," the description reads.
The school in the district has been larger in previous years. This year the enrollment is 11. ----
Medford
District,
created from Griffin Creek territory in 1884, has so far outstripped
the parent school district in population and fame that we scarcely need
give space to the famous child.MEDFORD, DISTRICT 49. Forty years has seen it all change from one school building to four comparatively modern grade buildings and a high school building. N. L. Narregan, one of the early principals, could doubtless write a Medford school history. Suffice it to say that instead of the $28.00 a month which Julia Fielder and Maysie Foster received in 1899, salaries of $1200 in twelve payments are now Medford's lowest. Instead of the 10 teachers of 1899, Medford now has 63. Such changes the last 25 years have brought. M. B. Signs, U. G. Smith, U. S. Collins, V. Meldo Hillis, Wm. Davenport and A. G. Smith have been city [school] superintendents. ----
"Devinger Gap," as it is written in the
old records,
was formed in 1885 from territory of District No. 11, the Mountain
School District. The building then erected still stands and is used for
the little group of children this year, under instruction of Miss Murl
Coffeen.DEBENGER GAP, DISTRICT 50. ----
This district, labeled Round Top, was
formed in 1886
from parts of Brownsboro, Eagle Point and Derby districts. It is now
called Crater Lake School or sometimes the Geppert [Gephart?]
School. For three years past the children have been transported to
Butte Falls to school, where they have advantage of three or four grade
teachers.CRATER LAKE, DISTRICT 53. ----
This district was called Cove District
in 1887 when cut off from District No. 7, Neil Creek.DEAD INDIAN, DISTRICT 54. The district has had three or four school sites in different parts of its territory as need developed, for it has an area of three sections. At present it is using no one of its three buildings, but is renting one, and using another supplied by the Hartman Syndicate in Shale Oil City, because the population has drifted from the former centers. The Shale Camp School enrolls 18 pupils, the Dead Indian but 6. ----
The North Trail School was established
in 1887, with
only four families in the district, and about ten children to send to
school. A schoolhouse was built just north of the place where the
schoolhouse is now situated. Ella Griffith was the first teacher.NORTH TRAIL, DISTRICT 55. The present schoolhouse was built about twelve or fifteen years go. School was discontinued in the spring of 1918, as there were only two families in the district who had children to send to school, and no more school was held until 1921. We have five pupils as our present enrollment. The children take a great deal of interest in their work, and we expect to accomplish a lot this year. ----
This district was called S. Wagner Creek
when
separated from what is now Talent School District in 1888, when N. O.
Jacobs was county superintendent.WAGNER CREEK, DISTRICT 56. The two-room school now in use under two teachers has this year been freshly painted inside, and this with other improvements makes daily scenes happy ones. ----
Gold Hill School District No. 57 is now
a district
of the second class and has the third largest assessed valuation among
the districts of the county. It maintains a standard high school which
has, in addition to the regular college preparatory course, departments
in domestic science and commerce. There is in the school building an
auditorium, large enough to meet the needs of the community and
equipped with modern stage scenery, moving picture machine, etc. Three
buses are operated by the district which carry over fifty pupils to and
from school daily. The total enrollment for the year 1923-24 was 168.GOLD HILL, DISTRICT 57. District No. 57 was organized for the children of Gold Hill in 1884 with a very limited territory, including only the townsite and a strip along the north side of the river above town. For the first five years the pupils gathered at a church which was located on the present site of Johnson's Hardware Store, but in 1888 a schoolhouse was built up on the hillside above what is now the city hall. After some years this building became inadequate and it was moved down to the present city hall site and a large addition built. This served until 1910, when the structure now in use was erected. In 1918 a new wing was added which provided for a good auditorium and several other rooms. The Gold Hill District now consists of the original district with the Rock Point, Dardanelles and Galls Creek districts consolidated, so being one of the six consolidated districts in the county. ----
The first school in the present district
of Prospect
was a private school held near the present dam at the head of the
California Oregon Power Co.'s ditch. The first settlement was at the
crossing of the old county road. The school was held at the Jacquette
home and was taught by Miss Annie Jacquette. Mr. A. H. Boothby taught a
class in arithmetic in the evening. The scholars were Rebecca Boothby,
Mary Jacquette, Bert Jacquette, Lydia Jacquette and Ettie Nye. This was
in 1880. The district was established in January, 1889, and was called
the Deskins School District.PROSPECT, DISTRICT 50. The first public school building was donated and built by the people. Mr. Boothby donated and sawed the logs for it. Miss Fleming was the first teacher. The school board was Mr. Clements, Mr. Nye and Mr. Aiken with Mr. Boothby as clerk. The pupils were Nelson Nye, Rebecca Boothby, Edwin M. Boothby, Charlie Boothby, Maude Boothby, George Porter, Lulu Porter, Norman Harrington, John Harrington, William Harrington, Anna Clements, Albert Clements, Arthur Clements, Verna Clements, James Dean, Albert Dean, Selma Salstrom and Lester Chiles. The record book for the next eight years has been lost. The teachers up to 1900 were Chas. Pattee, Cora Fleming, Edna Gibson, Jennie Linville, Ella Benson, Effie Benson, Effie Armitage, Mary Earhart, Jessie Gregory, Roberta Rippey, Estelle Wrisley, Nellie Dickey, Oma Crocker and Rydall Bradbury. In 1909 Mr. Boothby granted the land for a new schoolhouse, and $3000 was voted to build this schoolhouse of two rooms. On April 1, 1922 the board met to consider a high school. Finally District No. 93 and District No. 59 voted to consolidate and undertake a high school. So Prospect High School came into being and is now happy in its 3rd year of work with an enrollment of 13. ----
The first schoolhouse in the Soda
Springs District
was a little one-room cabin with one door and two small windows and
still sits one mile above the present one, serving as a home for sheep
herders.SODA SPRINGS, DISTRICT 60. The present Soda Springs Schoolhouse, woodshed and fence have stood in the same and only location since the summer of 1889, the year the district was organized. There were only two months of school the first year and Miss Henrietta Moore was the first teacher. The first children to attend this school were the Grows, Dosiers and Dyers. Some of them still reside in the district. ----
The Evans Valley Union School is a
consolidation of
five districts. The Mays Creek, Bybee Springs, Pine Grove and Wimer
schools realized that better work could be done by uniting and having
one good schoolhouse and a good set of teachers. This is the sixth
consolidated district to be formed in Jackson County, and with its
assessed valuation of over $900,000 it ranks fifth among all districts
of the county in wealth.WIMER, DISTRICT 62. The work of consolidation was finally accomplished in 1922, and work was begun the next year on the new schoolhouse. It was finished this summer, and school opened on September 2, 1924, in one of the best rural school buildings in Oregon. The building is well placed on a slight elevation, is of poured concrete, has its own water and electric light plant, is heated by steam, and contains three well-furnished recitation rooms, a large assembly room capable of being used for community gatherings, a well-appointed library, and also a teachers' room. The basement is equipped as a rainy day playground. This fine plant has been the work of the present board, composed of E. E. Dimick, chairman; E. D. Thompson, clerk; R. P. Reed, and Charles Williams. The pupils of the district are transported by three buses, the grade pupils to the Evans Valley building, while about twenty high school students are carried on to the Rogue River High School, a distance of seven miles. The grades enrolled last year over 70 pupils. The primary department is under Miss Martha Wilkinson; intermediate, Miss Ruth York and 7th and 8th grades, John Angell, who is also principal. ----
Big Butte School District was organized
by H. H.
Mitchell, county superintendent, in March, 1890, from District No. 39,
being cut off Brownsboro.BUTTE CREEK, DISTRICT 65. The district has never been heavily populated and has built only one schoolhouse, which is now not entirely satisfactory to the district. The little school this year enrolls six boys and girls. ----
School District No. 66 was organized in
1890. The
first schoolhouse, a small log structure 9x9, was built in one day
(Sunday) by the men of the neighborhood. School was held the next day.
Miss Myra Bedford, the first teacher, received $18 per month, and the
length of term was three months, held during the summer. The pupils in
the first school were Frank Ditsworth, Ida Ditsworth, Ada Ditsworth,
May Ditsworth, Joseph Phipps, Alice Phipps and Ed Kerby.[LAURELHURST,] DISTRICT 66. The first school board was: J. F. Ditsworth, clerk; F. M. Manning, John Phipps, Hiram Sullivan, directors. Five schoolhouses have been built in the district. The present one, a two-roomed structure, was built in 1913. In 1917 a four-year standard high school was organized, but this was discontinued after two years. At the present time there are five pupils in the school. The following teachers have taught in this school: Myra Bedford, 1890; Josey Benson, 1891; Clara Skeel, 1892; Clara Terrill, 1893; Ella Benson, 1894; Hypatia Klum, 1895; Ed Olwell, 1896; Patrick Daily, 1897; Elsie Nye, 1898; Etta Wilson, 1899; Chester Easter, 1900; Robert Jonas, 1901; Anna Beeson, 1902-3; Sarah Law, 1904; Francis Aiken, 1905; Lelia Stinson, 1907; Gladys Miller, 1907-8; Maude Horr, 1908; Ada Ditsworth, 1908-9; Hester Cady, 1909; Edd Kerby, 1909-10; March Kincaid, 1910-11; May Richardson, 1911-12; Alice Willits, 1912; Hattie Rose, 1912-13; Hattie Rose, Ora Ditsworth, 1913-14; Leta Peelor, Clara Skyrman, 1914-15; Ruth Porter, 1915-16; T. A. Broomfield, Alice Willits, Belva Walker, 1917-18; Hazel Ditsworth, 1918-19; Hazel Ditsworth, 1919-20; no school 1920-21; Hazel Ditsworth, 1921-22; May Richardson, 1922-23. ----
About the year eighteen hundred
eighty-four, under
the leadership of Sanford Carter the people in the vicinity of Watkins
undertook the organization of a school district.WATKINS, DISTRICT 68. After all necessary legal proceedings had been completed a small spot of land, now a part of the P. F. Swayne ranch, was cleared and a log schoolhouse built. Mr. Watkins, Mr. Collings and Mr. Langley comprised the first board of directors and employed John. A. Jeffries, now a prominent attorney of Portland, Oregon, as the first teacher. The old log construction, after about 40 years use, was discarded in October, 1923, when the modern building shown above was completed. ----
"A special meeting of the school
district, No. 69,
was held at the house of L. M. Lyons on the 11th day of July, 1891. The
object of the meeting was to move a schoolhouse in the S.E. corner of
the Mingus grove. Carried. It was also voted to build a new
schoolhouse, 20x24. A tax of eight mills was levied on property at said
district for building material."OAK GROVE, DISTRICT 69. The first teacher was Mary Davison. The term was 3 months at $33.33 per month. The first school directors were I. M. Harvey, chairman; L. M. Lyons, Arthur Wilson, C. N. Tinker, clerk. About 16 years ago a new schoolhouse was built of brick. The school board at that time was L. F. Lozier, D. D. Duff, W. H. Gore and W. G. Knips, clerk. D. O. Frederick was the first teacher in the new building, with almost 60 pupils. The last few years two teachers have been employed. At the present time there are two teachers and 55 pupils enrolled. ----
In 1893 the Anderson Creek School
District was formed.ANDERSON CREEK, DISTRICT 72. Mr. W. H. Hurley donated a small shack, made of rough lumber, in which the first school was held. It was built near the creek, close to an old saw mill. This schoolhouse was about one mile up Anderson Creek from where the present schoolhouse stands. The second teacher to teach in this rough lumber shack was Miss Angie Hurley. The first school board consisted of Mr. W. H. Hurley, Mr. Luis Snider and Mr. Brophy. In the year of 1898 the schoolhouse which we now have school in was built. It is located on the top of a small hill known as Laurel Hill, from which there is a wonderful view. The first teacher to teach in this new school was Miss Ethelyn Hurley. There are ten pupils enrolled this year, and the freshly painted room makes a cheerful school home. ETTA THOMPSON, 8th
grade.
----
Organized in 1891 or 1892 from parts of
Neil Creek
and Ashland territory, this school had as its first teacher Holly
Clayton. Susanne Holmes taught her first school here and enrolled 46
pupils that year.BELLEVIEW, DISTRICT 73. The building was afterwards remodeled into two rooms, and during the later years of the Southern Oregon State Normal, served as a practice school. After three years of transportation into Ashland schools, sending as many as 35 pupils, the district again opened its own school under two teachers in 1921, and so continues. This year the enrollment is over 40. ----
The school district was organized by Tom
Whelpley in
1891, and the first schoolhouse was built near the site of the present
U.S. fish hatchery, at the mouth of Elk Creek. Four schoolhouses have
been built; two are now standing--one is used as a teacherage. The
first board of directors were: Tom Whelpley, William Pence, Joe Johnson
and Pete Johnson, clerk. The first teacher was Miss Rose Griffith.
School was maintained only three months of the year at first, and some
children walked four miles to attend. The district was divided in 1904,
and a new schoolhouse built in 1912. School is now maintained nine
months of the year and has an enrollment of 18. The present board of
directors, Geo. F. Hall, Claude Moore, Mrs. P. E. Sandoz, and P. E.
Sandoz, clerk. The last teacher was Mrs. Ethel Willetts.ELK CREEK, DISTRICT 74. ----
The Liberty District was divided from
the Antelope
District in the year 1886 and given the district number 51, as verified
by the following article found in an old record book:LIBERTY, DISTRICT 76. "Liberty School District 51 established June 1, 1886, and organized June 14, 1886, by authority of William M. Colvig, county school superintendent." The clerk's report shows that 72 children of school age were living in the district at that time; however, only about twenty-five attended school. Their first teacher was Clara Bell, who taught a term of three months in the spring of 1887 for the sum of $100 or $33.33 per month. She paid $10 per month for board. William Owens, Aaron Wyland and Martin Hurst were members of the first school board, and James Kent was clerk. The following list gives a few names of pupils who attended that first term of school: Flora Hurst, Meda Hurst, Clara Hurst, Oscar Williams, Myrtle Hurst, Frank Hurst, James Wyland, Ella Williams, R. D. Foster, Clemen Swensen, Annie Swensen, Zuda Owens, Agnes Owens, Charley Scott, James Scott, John Williams, Lydia Owens, George Owens. In 1890 the district was divided and the eastern part, or Yankee Creek division, was called Black Oak District No. 76. The Wyland District was divided from it in 1891, and in the year 1905 a large portion off the west side of the district was given to the Roosevelt District. The Wyland District consolidated with the Liberty District in the year of 1911. The Black Oak District also consolidated with the mother district in the year of 1920. At this time the schoolhouse was moved to a fair location on the Yankee Creek road for the children from both districts to attend. The old name of Liberty was kept, but the Black Oak District number was taken. It is now known as Liberty District No. 76. The district has had two buildings. The first was bought from the Antelope District in 1886. The second was built at a recent date and is a very good building. For the present term only nine children are enrolled, which includes two boys who are doing high school work. The present teacher is Vida Bradshaw at a salary of $110 per month. ----
District 80 was organized in 1905. Prior
to that
date was a part of District No. 59, Provolt. The school was too far
away, and a mountain ridge divided one part of the district from the
other part. For three summers, 1901, 1902, 1903, school was held on the
Persist side
of the district. Miss Adele Pickel
was the teacher during those three summer terms. In 1904 school was
held in the Willits home with Walter Ferguson, a high school graduate,
as teacher.PERSIST, DISTRICT 80. In 1905 the district was formally organized, with the following men serving on the school board: W. W. Willits, chairman; R. H. Lewis, W. H. Morgan, Charles Morgan, clerk. The largest enrollment the school has ever had at any one time was 11 pupils. The school has graduated 11 pupils from the eighth grade, two of them have finished the Medford High School and one of them is a graduate of the Monmouth State Normal. For teachers the school has had two graduates from the University of Oregon, one a graduate of the University of Minnesota, one a graduate of the Indiana State Normal, one a graduate of Oregon Agricultural College, three have been graduates of the Monmouth State Normal, and the others were high school graduates. ----
District No. 82, Beaver Creek School,
located about
sixteen miles west of Jacksonville on the Big Applegate, was organized
in 1898.BEAVER CREEK, DISTRICT 82. The first school board were Chas. Purcel, N. Lewis and Jas. Dews, and the first teacher was Miss Daisy Walker. Two schoolhouses have been built. The first, a plain box building, was used about fifteen years. For two years, a number of children living on the opposite side of the river were trolleyed across during high water. Later a swing bridge was built. The present modern schoolhouse was built about ten years ago. There is now a thriving school of eight grades. ----
The Hatchery School District was
organized from part
of the old Trail District territory. The schoolhouse stands about five
miles north of Trail on the Crater Lake Highway.HATCHERY, DISTRICT 84. Alice Cromar, Geo. O. Henry and Viola Hogan were the first three teachers. This school has had nine successful years of school. The enrollment at one time numbered 20, but it has decreased until now there are only seven in attendance. ----
This district has always been lightly
populated, and
its remoteness through lack of good roads has until recently made it
isolated.BROPHY, DISTRICT 86. It has a little building large enough for its enrollment, but it is not yet a standard school. Beautifully situated in the forest, many happy school days are spent there. ----
This district was first organized in
1904, the first
school being held in a small building on a little knoll of the Crump
ranch. Ramona C. Bissell was the first teacher to teach in this
district.[LITTLE APPLEGATE,] DISTRICT 87. In 1906 school was held in the new white schoolhouse of District 87. Since that time a big hall has been annexed. The schoolhouse has always been kept in excellent condition, and is well equipped. Last year new swings were added to the playground. The first school board of this district were as follows: Clerk, Mrs. Cora B. Crump; directors, A. B. Saltmarsh, A. S. Kleinhammer, J. F. Crump. Mrs. Cora B. Crump and Mr. A. S. Kleinhammer are still residents of the district and are serving on the school board this year. ----
The Sardine Creek School District was
formed in the
fall of 1905, and while waiting for the new schoolhouse, school was
held in [an] old dwelling house.SARDINE CREEK, DISTRICT 88. The first teacher, Miss Nellie Dement, had had several years' experience, and for that reason she was paid the high salary of $40 a month, out of which she paid $10 per month for board. In the spring of 1906 the new schoolhouse was finished. It was built entirely out of rough lumber, dimensions 16x24 feet, with crude homemade desks and furniture. No library except a Webster's dictionary was supplied for the school. Through the influence of their teacher, Mr. Luthey, now a professor at Salem, a new modern schoolhouse was soon to be erected. In 1915 they bonded the district for $1200, and in the fall of 1916 the new up-to-date schoolhouse was ready. The name "Alderbrook" was suggested by Mr. Luthey and was adopted for the school. The Alderbrook schoolhouse is very well equipped and has been a standard school for some years back. This year we have 18 pupils, the largest attendance known for this district. The pupils participated in club work under leadership of Mrs. Perry Wait and won several prizes this year and last year at the county fair. The people of this district also enjoy a community hall and splendid roads. ----
District No. 89 was organized in 1906.
They opened
school in an unfinished box house with homemade desks and an enrollment
of ten pupils.[CENTRAL,] DISTRICT 89. The school just existed until 1922 when the district secured new equipment and finished the schoolhouse inside. Last spring this district annexed District 64, and by next spring we intend to have a standard school with an enrollment of about 30 pupils. The Crater Lake Highway has brought something of gain to this district, and, along with other communities, its children now share in school sports and in the two or three countywide days. They also undertake essay contests and sometimes win. ----
Organized September 5, 1906. So far as
teachers'
reports give information of this district, the year 1907 when Miss
Nancy Caddel sent her statements in to County Superintendent Pat Daily
is the first account we have. She stated that the school had an average
daily attendance of 13 pupils, though 21 had enrolled, and that she had
had 35 tardy marks during the 73 days taught by her. She "had not
suitable accommodations for pupils entitled to attend the school, nor
suitable furniture; the grounds were ample, but unimproved," so the
record goes.BUTTE FALLS, DISTRICT 91. To one driving out the graveled road through the splendid timber area around Butte Falls, and coming suddenly in view of the two-story white building amid its lawn and trees, in the edge of the town, the above report of 17 years ago sounds rather queer! The playgrounds and the gymnasium, the electric-lighted and steam-heated building, the cement walks, all go to make up an admirably equipped system. And happy indeed are the Butte Falls grades and high school to be so well provided for good work and hearty sports. The high school has been flourishing for several years past and is a standard four-year school. The grades have increased to require this year four teachers. So the faculty of seven members sounds quite remote from the one teacher of 17 years ago. ----
On April 1, 1908, this district was
established by
the District Boundary Board of the county, and was then called the
Shake School, from the post office near there.PINEHURST, DISTRICT 94. The school the following year under Miss Jessie Ashby enrolled only eight pupils, and the average daily attendance was less than 6. Later two schools were maintained in the district, since it is over 13 miles between [the] north and south lines of the district. In the spring of 1923 vote to build two new schoolhouses was taken, and though the building was put off for a year, it is now accomplished. The picture above is of the schoolhouse near Copco, where a happy group of children delight in the well-lighted, modern schoolhouse. The other building is on the Klamath highway near Pinehurst Inn, and it will house a larger school. ----
West Side School District Number 95 was
organized in
1909, the boundary being formed by taking a part of Jacksonville and
Central Point districts. During the first year the present building was
erected and the first two years of school work were conducted by Miss
Ann Hanson at a salary of $60 per month.WEST SIDE, DISTRICT 95. In the year 1911 the board of directors decided to use the two rooms and engaged Mr. Davis as principal for a period of three years. In the last few years the attendance has decreased to such an extent that only one teacher is employed. In the year 1918, under the direction of the teacher, Miss Hazel Taylor, our parent-teachers association was organized which was later changed to a community club on account of the increase in attendance. This club meets at regular intervals during the year and frequently have as many as 150 people in attendance. The board of directors and patrons of the school believe that harmony is the keynote to success in any district, and the interest manifested in the school proves such. The present members of the board are Mr. Sander, Mr. Niedermeyer, Mr. Maury, who has been a member since the organization of the district, and Mr. Conger, who has served continuously as clerk. A visit to any of the monthly meetings of the community club will convince one of the spirit of loyalty in the district. West Side has been a standard school from its organization and is being conducted upon a cash basis, having cleared all indebtedness the present year. ----
Colestin School of District 97 was
formerly a part
of the Siskiyou District. In the year 1911 this district was divided
and the Colestin School was established. The first term opened with
Mrs. Maud Frazer as the instructor. The enrollment for the beginning of
the term was six, three boys and three girls. The first Colestin school
board consisted of Mrs. Mollie Cole, clerk; H. B. Cole, chairman; James
Turner and Albert Rummerfield, directors.COLESTIN, DISTRICT 97. The attendance in the Colestin School has varied from time to time, the average enrollment being eight. The present school term has an enrollment of 18 pupils, with all grades represented, except the eighth grade. The school building is a modern, well-equipped rural school and a pleasant place in which to teach. A second school was opened at Moon Camp last year, in a building erected according to standard by Mr. Moon, and the school continues this year. ----
In 1911 the Tolo District was set off,
being formed
from districts 14, 16 and 20, when J. P. Wells was county
superintendent.TOLO, DISTRICT 98. Mrs. Jessie N. Stannard was the first teacher in 1911-12, and enrolled 18 pupils. The sightly brick building on the flat near Tolo has always been a busy scene on school days. The building is electric lighted and has indoor toilets. The enrollment and number of grades has been so large that for the last three years an assistant teacher has been employed to ensure excellent work. The community gives helpful support to all school activities. ----
School District No. 99 was organized in
February, 1912.FERN VALLEY, DISTRICT 99. Members of the first board of directors were: Geo. Alford, L. H. Hughes, J. W. Peart, Lovell Ferns, clerk. New schoolhouse was built during summer of 1912. First term began in September, 1912. Miss Maude Miller, teacher, with an attendance of 20 pupils. During the succeeding 12 years the attendance has not been so large. At present there are 13 pupils. Present school board: Lovell Ferns, R. C. Ward, H. H. Boyer, Geo. Alford, clerk. ----
This school was organized in 1912 with
the following
directors: I. A. Merriman, chairman; Frank Loder, F. L. Benson and
Louis Bennett, clerk.HOWARD, DISTRICT 100. A new brick building of two rooms and large basement was built on an acre of land halfway between Medford and Central Point on the highway. The district extended about one mile north and a mile south of the schoolhouse, east to the Pacific and Eastern R.R. track and west to the Southern Pacific R.R. track. Since then the following teachers have been employed: Miss Florence Lansing and Ester Harrison, 2 years; Mrs. Berdine Myers and Miss Irene Plotner, 1 years; Mrs. Berdine Myers and Miss Fern Daily, 1 year; Mrs. Berdine Myers and Miss Edith Creed, 1 year; Mrs. Berdine Myers, 2 years more alone; Miss Marie Myers, 1 year; Miss Viola Hogan, 1 year; Miss Gladys Mandeville, 1 year, and Miss Eleanor Maule, 2 years. At first about thirty pupils were in attendance most of the time, but in the spring of 1916 the people west of Bear Creek decided to form a district of their own, so withdrew from District 100 and became District 102, sending the pupils into Medford. This change left so few pupils that only one room has been used during the past six years and one teacher employed. As there were quite a few renters of small acreages, the population would increase awhile and decrease, according to the amount of pupils who lived there temporarily. But lately nearly all the people in the district are owning their homes so the number of pupils are to stay in the school. This increase is greater lately because of the large Owen-Oregon mills, so this year the two rooms are again in use with an enrollment of 34 pupils and there are prospects of more. Miss Eleanor Maule and Mrs. Anna Anders are the teachers. SCHOOL HOUSE IS TOTALLY BURNED IN
NIGHT BLAZE
The Independence schoolhouse, several miles south of the city, district
No. 15, was completely destroyed by fire of unknown origin last night
at 9 o'clock. The loss is estimated as being over $1500, partly covered
by insurance.
The flames had gained such headway in the one-room building when discovered that efforts to put them under control were in vain. The fire, according to Mrs. C. H. Christner, a school board member, appeared to have started in the center of the building on the floor and then spread rapidly to all parts of the frame structure. The school was not equipped with lights and had no fire in the stove when Miss Ruth Powell, the teacher, closed for the day. The schoolroom had been recently furnished with new equipment, such as desks and blackboards. In addition to an organ, a complete school library was also destroyed. Arrangements are being made to have the 23 students enrolled either sent to the local schools or at Phoenix until a new building is built, it is understood. The building was located on the summit of a knoll overlooking the valley and was built a number of years ago. The glow of the flames was plainly seen in the city, but no alarm was turned in to the fire department for its chemical truck. Medford Mail Tribune, December
16, 1925, page 5
PIONEER STRUCTURE AT COUNTY SEAT
SWEPT BY FLAMES
One of Jacksonville's oldest landmarks was destroyed by fire when
flames of an undetermined origin completely gutted the untenanted
Albert Schmidt residence, formerly the main building of the St. Mary's
Academy, shortly before 2 o'clock this morning. The loss has not been
estimated but was covered by approximately $2000 insurance.
When fire was discovered the old nine-room academy building across from the Presbyterian church was a mass of flames, and after two streams of high-pressure water from the Jacksonville fire department had done their work nothing more than a gaunt framework--a ghost of the old stately building--remained. Mahogany furniture with velvet upholstering was among the furnishings still in the house, all of which was destroyed. The building was purchased in 1870 from John Drum by the academy, established in Jacksonville in 1865, and there for several decades many youth of Jacksonville and the valley received their education before it was moved to this city. Additional buildings were built, but when Albert Schmidt purchased the property several years ago they were moved away. The building was put into first-class shape and there Mr. Schmidt and his family lived until they took up their residence in San Francisco. Since then, two years ago, the building has been empty. Jacksonville residents seem confident that defective wiring did not cause the fire, as the electricity had been disconnected long ago, and some say that it was probably the proverbial mouse chewing the traditional match. The fire department of that city has been receiving numerous commendations for the efficient manner in which the situation was handled, with "Slats" Wilson as the fire chief. Medford Mail Tribune, February
26, 1926, page 8
Progress in School Building
A decided increase in school population of Jackson County has led into
quite a building program for three years past, especially in rural
communities. Two consolidated districts, the Sams Valley and Evans
Valley schools, have erected four- and five-room buildings
respectively, with basements, hot water furnaces, drinking fountains
and other modern equipment. The former has two grade and two high
school teachers, the latter three grade teachers. Both have basement
rooms available for domestic art and manual training when this is
desired. A two-room concrete building has this year replaced the old
one-room school in Lone Pine district, near Medford, and two other
schools have been remodeled into two-room structures, namely at Reese
Creek and Tolo. The fact that eight districts have found it necessary
to employ two teachers instead of one speaks for growing demands. Eagle
Point has found it necessary to increase to three teachers this year;
and Oak Grove, as well as Howard School, have a crowded condition which
will probably be remedied in the same way next school year. Ten new
one-room schools have been built, the one in Watkins district replacing
the last quaint log building in the county. These schools have ranged
in cost from $1,200 to $3,500, are correctly lighted and seated, having
at least cloak rooms, usually library or lunch room, and in some cases
fuel room under the same roof. In general, the new building in a rural
community means a more united support of the school in every way, No
happier event can occur than the opening or dedication of the new
building, for often the children's patents have some of them been
schooled in the old structure under
regimen of earlier years in Oregon, and the children catch the
realization of advancement, of progress followed for their
sakes. The
well lighted room in its first freshness, together with new
desks, and
new arrangement of pictures and furnishings, all give impulse
to
better, more zestful school work. Often a community organization
follows the achievement of the new building, and the whole
atmosphere
of that immediate neighborhood is changed.Educational Structures of Medford, Ashland, Central Point and Rural Districts Keep Pace with Increasing Population By Susanne Homes-Carter Jackson County Superintendent Aside from rural progress, the three largest towns of the county are engaged in building programs this year. Medford has its fine new high school, costing $185,000, in process of construction. The entire Medford system has for two years been seriously overcrowded, and both a portable building and rented properties have been resorted to for relief of both grades and high school. Seventy teachers are employed, of whom twenty-five are high school teachers. Next year the present high school building will serve for junior high work and the four grade buildings and the portable will thereby be greatly relieved. The new high school building has two study halls to seat 275 students and is well equipped with laboratories, domestic art and commercial rooms. The agricultural course under Smith-Hughes bill and manual arts will be separately housed in a four-room structure at rear of main building. The main building is only a unit of the structure eventually to be developed on the high school grounds, and Medford may well feel proud of her provision for her 500 and more high school students. Ashland has two structures under contract. At present construction is in progress on the new Beach Street grade school, which is adapted to meet the need of the Ashland State Normal for a training school. This building has numerous small class rooms for practice teaching, and each main grade room will have space allowed for observation classes. The work of remodeling and adding to the Hawthorne School building will be in progress as soon as school closes in May. The Hawthorne will become the junior high building, and besides several added class rooms a large auditorium will be a feature of the structure. Ashland voted $105,000 for these two buildings, and the State Normal is assuming $20,000 of the cost toward arranging the Beach Street school for normal school use. Ashland will have two grade buildings, beside a junior high and a senior high when her buildings are completed, and can doubtless dispense with rented properties in use for three or four years. Central Point system, with a high school of a hundred pupils, is sorely crowded, and has voted $40,000 to erect the first unit of a high school building. Under new conditions next fall, Central Point can abandon her old grade building of four rooms, use the large brick structure for grades only, and house her high school in its new home. The two buildings will be heated by a plant on the grounds placed between the two structures. Since Central Point already has a gymnasium on her grounds, the little city will have an acreage put to excellent use for her schools. The grounds are ample for play and sports and are beautifully shaded in part by large oak trees. Erection of a play shed or a gymnasium has been a favorite investment with our second and third class districts. Central Point led the procession of two schools in this recent building, and Phoenix, Jacksonville, Rogue River, Eagle Point, Prospect, and Gold Hill quickly fell in line. In fact, Prospect built and possesses two. Butte Falls had already built an excellent one, and Sams Valley and Talent are working toward that accomplishment now. Perhaps basketball as well as physical training requirements, and need for an auditorium, has given impetus to this movement. Last and perhaps the most important in the county is the building of the Ashland State Normal. Southward from the town, on the Pacific Highway, walls of the first large building are rising on the gently sloping campus. It is a sightly location, apart from the closely built town, and will become a center, housed as it is, fitting for an educational institution of the state of Oregon. Oregon Business, March
1926, pages 9-19
EAGLE POINT TO
VOTE MAY 1 ON BUILDING BONDS
EAGLE POINT, April 27.--Frank C. Clark,
the Medford architect, was in town last week conferring with the board
members relative to the plans for the new school building. The drawings
of the proposed plan of the building has been left at the bank for
inspection by those interested in this new project. Eagle Point has
been in need of a new building for a number of years, but the sentiment
has asked for lower taxes, and the school board each year felt they
were
hardly justified in calling a bond election. Last year the growth of
the district was so great that a part of the play shed was forced into
service as a schoolroom and an additional teacher employed. At the
present time the rooms are crowded and the anticipated normal growth
will call for some sort of additional room for next year. The high
school next year will be a full four-year course and must have
additional rooms to do satisfactory work. The board, anticipating this
normal growth, came to the conclusion that they could put this matter
off no longer and have called for a bond election for Saturday, May 1,
to vote on building the first unit of a fine school building which when
completed some time in the future will provide for an auditorium and
library, teachers' room, superintendent's room and other features
necessary in maintaining a modern educational plant suitable for this
community.Medford Mail Tribune, April 27, 1926, page 5 In 1905 a school house was built on the divide between Persist and Prospect where the Willits children and those of the workers at Gray's mill attended. The teacher, Miss Pickel, called it Fairy Nook. Finally District No. 80 was formed and the school house built on its present site. The same school house is now used. It is rough on the outside but is painted on the inside. There is a good Waterbury heater, map case, fine library, Webster's New International Dictionary, an organ, two lamps, a large clock, a big desk for the teacher, desks for pupils, blackboards, and pictures on the walls. The water is gotten from a spring in a bucket. There are six children attending who are from four families. On the school grounds are teeter or seesaw boards, swings, chinning bar, slides, and a volleyball outfit. Kathryn Bailey, "Persist," Medford Mail Tribune, June 27, 1926, page B4
Third
place. 7th and 8th grade, group of Medford and Ashland [schools].
Robert Christner, District No. 49, Roosevelt School.
"Oregon History Essays for
Jackson County Schools," Medford Mail Tribune, June
27, 1926, page B4History of Schools in
Independence District, No. 15
The first school in this district was built in the year of 1862, and
was owned by a wealthy man. The district let him have a lease on it,
and they were to pay a certain amount of tuition per year, but as money
was scarce in those days they did not pay as quickly as he expected
them to, so he took the school and used it for his home.
The school house was made of rough logs cut in the woods nearby. The openings between the logs were filled up with mud. The only light in the building came from one window and a door. Rough benches took the place of desks. There were about twelve children attending the school, two of whom were Mrs. J. W. Mills and Jeff Hamlin, who gave me the information about this school house. When the district was left without a school house they had a hard time to decide what to do about it, but they finally joined the Phoenix district. This did not prove very successful, so in 1872 the Independence district, No. 15, was formed. According to old records the first board of directors consisted of J. A. Greaves, secretary; Q. N. Anderson, chairman. I. Ritter and J. Coleman were elected directors; B. Stevens was the first clerk. The first schoolhouse after the district was formed was built in 1872. The first teacher in this school house was Alice Wrisley; she was supposed to be the first white girl born in Jackson County. The school house was located about 75 feet from the present site of the W. H. Watts home. According to Elmer Coleman this school house was moved to what is now known as the Canfield place in 1874. The moving was done by putting long poles under the school house at each end, the poles were then raised up and four wagons, one at each end, were put under the poles; several teams of horses were hitched to the front of the building. As there were no roads then they had to cut a path forty feet wide to draw the school house through. After this was accomplished, school was continued. Elmer Coleman said about the only drinking water they had came from a creek that ran past the school house, known as Crauley Creek. They all drank out of the same tin cup. The school house was made of rough lumber and was 28x32 ft. Common benches twelve feet long served as desks. There were two windows on the east and west and a door in the north. There was a large porch at the north end of the building. About thirty children attended this school. A more modern school house was built in 1884 near the Hamlin place. There were about thirty children attending this school. The school house was about 28 feet wide and 40 feet long. There was a large stove in one corner and there were windows on the east and west sides. In later years the windows in the east side of the building were taken out and large windows put in the south end of the building. This building was totally destroyed by fire December 15, 1925. It will probably be replaced by a more modern building. ADVENTISTS OPEN ACADEMY, STEADY
ATTENDANCE GAIN
On September 20 the Rogue River Academy, the new Seventh Day Adventist
school, opened its doors for the reception of students. Thirty young
people were enrolled the first day. Since then the attendance has
steadily increased until the prospect is fair that the number present
at the opening will soon be doubled.
At the beginning a form of government was adopted which united both teachers and students in a representative democracy. All rules governing the school were approved by the students. Students are here from California and from as far north as Portland. Others are coming from Wallowa County, Oregon, and from Boise, Idaho. All over the Northwest there is a growing interest in this new school which has for its slogan, "Where the Spiritual Predominates." Character building is the one great aim of the school. To train young men and young women to be as true to principle as the needle is true to the pole is the work undertaken by this institution. As a means to accomplish this the Bible is made the foundation of all instruction. This brings each student under the influence of the Master Teacher. All young people are welcome to the advantages offered by the Rogue River Academy who will pledge obedience to its regulations and conformity to its policies. Medford Mail Tribune, September
30, 1926, page 8
To the
Editor:
"A meeting was held in Gold Hill recently, it seems, for the purpose of
discussing the subject of Gold Hill taking our high school into their
district from ours. Few of our citizens seemed to have been aware of
the scheduled meeting, and consequently there were not enough members
from our district in attendance to properly express the sentiments of
the majority of our residents. The matter will be further looked into
with actual figures of costs presented by citizens who have been badly
informed on this matter by a few skeptics."
The above excerpt from the Sams Valley correspondent to the Medford Mail Tribune appeared in this paper last week following a meeting held in Gold Hill, at which time matters of interest concerning the educational facilities of both communities were discussed. The Sams Valley correspondent evidently was either misinformed or did not take the trouble to find out the true purpose of the Gold Hill meeting. The facts of the case are these: There are some of the residents of Sams Valley who have students of high school age, who are forced to send their children to outside schools so that they might get the advantage of the training they believe they should receive in a high school. Some of these parents asked the Gold Hill school authorities to make them some kind of a proposition whereby they might better their school facilities at that place. This was done and it was a result of this request, by certain Sams Valley residents, which caused the meeting at Gold Hill. Sams Valley has a small high school, supporting two teachers and a limited curriculum. In fact, the courses offered are not of sufficient variety to make a proper high school education possible. This is not a result of any inefficiency on the part of the teaching staff at that place, for it is not physically possible for any two instructors to handle a full-fledged high school course. Professor Bluett, superintendent of the Gold Hill high school, sent letters to all the members of the Sams Valley board of education, as well as the clerk, inviting them to be present at the meeting in this city, but they declined to appear, stating that they were not interested in any proposition, thereby not availing themselves of an opportunity to listen to what Professor Bluett had to offer in the way of assisting the Sams Valley people. There were, however, four Sams Valley residents present and after they heard the explanation of Prof. Bluett's proposition became interested in the project, as it was explained in the issue of the Gold Hill News of last week. At present when the residents of Sams Valley send their students out of the valley for schooling they are required either to support a home in the town where the children attend or pay tuition and furnish their own transportation. In case they do not send their students to an outside school, they are deprived of the thoroughness and variety of subjects which can be procured in an accredited school. As pointed out by the Gold Hill professor, Sams Valley could discontinue their inadequate high school, send their students to Gold Hill and thereby save themselves the cost of maintenance, which amounts to around $3000 to $3500 a year. This amount could be applied upon the school debt of the valley district and would soon retire the school bonds. The Gold Hill school would then transport free the students to and from the Sams Valley community and give the Sams Valley students training in a school with five and possibly six teachers. They could thereby receive training of such nature as to properly equip them for entry into an institution of higher education. The Sams Valley resident could keep his children in their own home, be saved the cost of tuition, the added expense of maintaining another residence in another community, the transportation to and from school or the payment of taxes to support an inadequate high school. The saving in money alone would be a big incentive to make such a change, to say nothing of the good the child would receive from larger school facilities. If an education is worth anything to your children, the best obtainable is none too good. By the plan worked out by the Gold Hill professor, Sams Valley is by far recipient of the most favors. As I view the situation, parents of the district who have at heart better educational facilities for their children have an inalienable right to make necessary inquiries and investigation with a view to obtaining those conditions without asking the consent of others of the district, and that was the only object of the meeting with Gold Hill school authorities. Personally, I feel indebted to the Gold Hill residents who exhibited so liberal a spirit towards those of us who reside here in Sams Valley. In conclusion, will say that there are various phases of the question due for discussion and they will all be brought out prior to or at the school meeting to be called in the Sams Valley district in the near future. R. H. BURTON.
NEW ACADEMY IS ESTABLISHED BY
ADVENTISTS
Rogue
River Academy, Opened in September, Is Now a Flourishing
Institution--$100,000 to Be Spent in Improvements--Practical Subjects
Taught
Situated on the southern edge of the
Jacksonville-Phoenix [South
Stage]
road at the foot of high foothills, the Rogue River Academy, the only
institution of its kind, with one exception, to be conducted in Oregon
by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, was officially opened last
September to a larger enrollment than had ever been anticipated and
this year is expected to witness the enrollment increase materially.The fact that the faculty of seven members, headed by Principal F. S. Bunch, all hold life teaching certificates, has attracted students from all parts of the Northwest, the states of Washington, Idaho, California and Oregon being represented among the 60 students now attending. While last year only advanced grades were taught, this year is planned to include the primary grades, placing at the disposal of out-of-town and local residents a complete educational institution, including a wide range of college subjects. An advertising campaign is to be commenced in a short time which will cover the entire nation as far as possible with literature describing the academy, which has already drawn letters of inquiry from the state of Maine, in addition to a number of middle western and eastern states. By the means of the academy settlers are brought to the valley in surprisingly large numbers in order that children may enjoy proper educational advantages and a spiritual upbuilding, which is featured by the institution. While classical courses including music are taught, the school is primarily regarded as an industrial institution where diversified farming and mechanical and industrial trades may be learned. The campus now includes a farm acreage of 20 acres, and this area is expected to include more as the needs warrant. At present the first unit of a number of academy buildings has been constructed, with dormitories and other structures to follow later. When all details have been completed in connection with the school, the investment, it is estimated, will represent an outlay of $100,000, the sum to be spent over a period of years. Medford Mail Tribune, January 2, 1927, page D6 RURAL SCHOOL CENSUS SHOWS LARGE
GROWTH IN PAST TWO YEARS; MOTOR BUSES AN AID
Medford Mail Tribune, January
2, 1927, page E5By SUSANNE HOMES CARTER Superintendent
The schools of Jackson County are steadily moving toward higher
standards in school plant equipment and in teacher qualifications.
The people of this county are justly proud of their new school buildings, and some twenty districts have built within the last three years. The Southern Oregon Normal School at Ashland had its first main building ready for use in June, 1926, and the establishing of this state school in our midst is meaning much in educational leadership. Medford with her new high school, first occupied in September last, leads in expenditure, for this fine structure was built and equipped at a cost of $182,000. When this unit is made complete according to the plans for a whole plant, Medford will indeed have a high school second to none. A small separate building houses the Smith-Hughes farm husbandry department and the manual training work. Ashland has expended $112,000 in the erection of the Lincoln School (serving as the normal training school) and in remodeling and adding to the junior high so that it now has twenty rooms. New Modern School Buildings
The new type of school building, as seen in small towns and rural
communities, is evidence of enlightenment and progress. In Central
Point, six miles north of Medford, is found a finely fitted high school
first used in September by its student body of over a hundred. This
first unit of nine rooms cost over $40,000 and is an excellent example
of the modern high school with room arrangement and all equipment
adapted to needs.The Oak Grove School District, two miles west of Medford, has a fine type of new rural building. It consists of four rooms, admirably lighted, heated and equipped, and besides there is a stage, a library and a teachers' rest room; while the large basement has a kitchen fully equipped and a lunch room or community banquet room. This progressive suburb of Medford has just this year assumed a sufficient indebtedness to achieve this building, and has done it as a single-handed district. Three years ago in the western part of the county a consolidation of three districts brought about much the same achievement, when the Evans Valley Consolidated School was evolved. This excellent concrete structure, planned for five rooms, now has three classrooms in use, and the other two rooms together make an assembly room or community hall, while the basement affords an ideal hot lunch room. The school enrolls about eighty children, transported daily by three buses. The high school pupils are carried to Rogue River, where a well-equipped high school takes care of their needs. The Rogue River high school has a well-built gymnasium immediately adjoining the main building, and indeed nearly every town high school is so equipped. Central Point, Gold Hill, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Butte Falls, Prospect and Eagle Point all have buildings where physical training, basketball practice and games can be carried on. 1300 Pupils in High Schools
About thirteen hundred students are enrolled in the twelve standard
schools of the county, Medford enrolling 580 and Ashland 330 of them.Transportation has greatly improved school facilities for a number of rural districts. Sixteen school districts now carry on transportation, either within themselves or out to another school. Routes vary from fifteen miles one way to two and a half miles, and about 350 children are transported daily in the county. Two years ago there were 66 one-teacher schools in Jackson County. This year there are but 49. The change has come through need for two or three teachers instead of one, and 10 districts have met this need. Consolidation and also transportation have helped bring the gain. More schools are working toward standardization, and every new well-equipped building is an incentive to other districts to improve their physical equipment. New Building Country Districts
Within the last two years Lone Pine and Independence districts have
erected two-room buildings; Uniontown and Neil Creek have new one-room
buildings; Tolo has remodeled her two-room school; Prospect has added
two rooms and built an ample gymnasium with hardwood floor; Eagle Point
and Butte Falls are completing new high school buildings to be occupied
in January.As to teacher standards, Jackson County is affected along with all other counties by the lift toward normal training and the abolishing of the teacher training classes in high schools. But more than this is the fine spirit shown toward improvement through attendance at summer schools, for over 50 percent of our teachers were in school somewhere last summer. Almost without exception our teachers are eager to improve in methods: to gain professionally; to enrich school work through music, picture study or art; to try in every way to help our children grow into a fine young citizenry; and to this end to work in the community and with organizations such as industrial clubs, Boy Scout leaders, etc. Fewer of our teachers are earning certificates through examinations, and more receive them through study at higher institutions of learning. Increase School Population
There are 35 more teachers in the county than two years ago, and the
increase is doubtless related to the fact that our census roll shows
850 more children than two years ago. Our classroom rolls show an
average of 630 more children belonging last year than two years
previously.There are about 8500 children of school age, between 4 and 20, in Jackson County, with over 6000 attending school. There are 77 school districts in the county. That the people of Jackson County believe in regular school attendance is shown by the average for last year of 95.7 percent for the entire year. The county is blessed with excellent helpers in various lines. Besides the regular school supervision given by the county superintendent, and by the rural school supervisor, each school is visited once a year at least by the children's librarian from the county library, and in this way encouragement is given toward the use and care of the library books and the traveling libraries. As a correlated effort the county superintendent's office has seen to the mending of dilapidated books from all school libraries, thus saving the children from careless use of shabby books and saving the districts from expense of replacing worn-out books with new. Each district has borne the expense of mending material and labor for the repair work. Then the club leader is a friendly visitor wherever wanted, and we greatly value the influence of good club work. The county health physician, two nurses working at large, and a nurse each in Medford and Ashland take excellent care of the health work in our schools. And as ones to aid in all good work, we cannot omit the P.T.A. organizations which are growing in number and in effectiveness throughout the county. County School Head Interview
Gives Sidelights on Work and Problems
A county twice as big as the state of Rhode Island and with
climates ranging from subtropical to arctic is the workshop of Susanne
Homes Carter, superintendent of schools for Jackson County, Oregon, who
was elected president of the Oregon State Teachers Association in its
annual business meeting last week.
Mrs. Carter also has the honor of being this year the Oregon state director for the National Education Association, which is to hold its annual convention next July in Seattle. Within the five years since Mrs. Carter became its school executive Jackson County has come to rank among the highest in the state in educational matters. Her greatest achievement has been her lifting of popular opinion about schools to a higher standard through a quiet campaign of education among parents and other voters. All Trails Lead to Ashland.
One of the outstanding features of this campaign has been her plan for
a mass graduation of the eighth grade pupils from all the schools in
the county. She describes the process:"Early in the day which has been set for the county grade schools' commencement ceremonies in the Ashland city park, near the end of May, families and friends of the graduating classes begin to arrive, in automobiles, in old-fashioned buggies and farm wagons or on horseback from sections whose mountain trails do not permit travel on wheels. "The world and his wife, so far as Jackson County is concerned, come armed with a picnic lunch and a spirit of comradeship, for meeting old friends and for making acquaintances with newcomers. The fact that my parents settled here when I was a little girl gives me an entrance to the inner circle. "The all-day program includes a commencement address, delivery of diplomas, a pageant, chorus singing, folk games, a music memory contest and an award of prizes in history and other subjects for essays. The resident of the most remote hamlet or isolated mountain ranch sees his children dressed in their best and meeting on equal terms the children of the valley cities and is stirred to ambition for them to have as good educational opportunity as those who live in the larger settlements. When the time comes for voting bonds for schools in their neighborhood, there is no question about the value of investment." Guns Give Only Moment Pause.
Mrs. Carter's talk in persuading the voters of their need for
progressive measures is not always so easy as assembling the community
leaders for the springtime commencement in the Ashland park. On one
occasion she found opposing factions of a certain mountain community
armed to reinforce their votes with active gunplay over the subject of
uniting two school districts and providing transportation for the
children, who would thus have a better building and more highly
qualified teachers than either district alone could provide."I'll admit I had a few uncomfortable minutes when I discovered the situation," says Mrs. Carter. "But I soon conquered my fear, and that was half the battle. It was not long before I was able to make the leaders of both factions see that they should think of the good of their children instead of their own personal comities. Fortunately children do not harbor grudges. The coming generation will forget that there was strife among their parents." The school bonds, which are often voted at cost of great sacrifice from devoted parents, are to be supplemented this year by $207,000 as the school share in Jackson County's $1,000,000 award from the Oregon California land grant refund. This will help provide buildings sorely needed in this county, whose school population has increased by more than 900 within the past two years. County Books Circulated.
Mrs. Carter supervises the work of 280 teachers in the 76 districts of
the county. Each school has a branch of the county library, with the
privilege of exchanging 25 books each month. The county superintendent
is constantly on the alert to determine recommendations of new lists of
books.Other outstanding features of Mrs. Carter's administration have been her development of Americanization classes; her cooperation with the 4-H (head, heart, hand and health) club leaders in connection with the Oregon Agricultural College, to such good effect that Jackson County school girls have for three successive years ranked highest in the state 4-H clubs and have won the free trip to the midwinter Chicago international livestock show; and her effective enforcement of the compulsory education law as revised in 1925. Mrs. Carter has appointed her rural supervisor, Miss Elizabeth Burr, as "attendance supervisor" in place of the former "truant officer." No longer does the sheriff grasp the child by the coat collar and shake him into the school room, giving him also a hatred toward education. Now this highly efficient educator calls at the homes of absentee children to persuade the delinquent parents that there is value in giving their children more education. Migratory Children Lag.
And Mrs. Carter works with her rural supervisor and all the teachers of
the county in an effort, also, to salvage for American citizenship the
children of the migratory workers who have no chance for education
except a few weeks at a time where their parents stop for work in the
fruit or timber or on highway or irrigation projects or in the mills.
The Parent-Teacher Associations of her county are cooperating in this
effort by reporting to the school authorities any children of either
transient or resident families whom they know to be out of school."We find most of these migratory children three to five years behind the resident children of their age," says Mrs. Carter. "One little lad sighed as he said, 'Ma'd like to settle, but Dad wants to wander.' He was one of the thousands who spend the summer and fall in Oregon, Washington or British Columbia, and the winter in California, following the fruit all through the year." Jackson County is expected to vote at the next election on the adoption of the county unit plan, which would place the schools in the hands of a county board of education, equalize the distribution on the adoption of the county unit plan, which would place the schools in the hands of a county board of education, equalize the distribution of school funds regardless of the district's assessed property valuation, and arrange for appointment of the superintendent, rather than her election. Mrs. Carter is most heartily in favor of this plan. This county is still in the throes of the struggle which has resulted in the vote to move the county seat from historic Jacksonville to the newer metropolitan center of the valley, Medford. On this subject Mrs. Carter maintains a neutral attitude. Long Tramp Taken in Wind.
Within the past year there have been emergency calls for visits to
schools far removed from the highways of the Rogue River Valley. Mrs.
Carter hiked 11 miles in mud too deep for a car to reach one remote
school, and on another day took a 16-mile trip on horseback. For a
recent visit she started with a horse tied behind her automobile which
she drove at a speed suited to the horse's gait. Upon reaching the end
of the hard-surfaced road she donned her brother's chaps and put on all
the wraps she could fasten, to endure the cold mountain wind. And so
she rode 10 miles farther on to the teacher who had sent her the SOS."Would I like an easier job?" Mrs. Carter laughed her reply. "Is this job a hard one? It keeps me out of doors in this country, which I love best, with the wide valley and the mountains dotted with homes of my friends. Here I see the masses of pear blossoms in the spring and inhale their delicious fragrance. I have the wildflowers in the canyons, the stately evergreens on the hills, and the ever-changing coloring on Mt. McLoughlin and other peaks. There is far more joy than grief in this job! "I came here from a childhood spent in Illinois. I have studied in the University of California and know the great cities of the Pacific Coast, as well as those of the Atlantic Seaboard. I taught in Alaska for several years and met a cosmopolitan group there. But for place and people in all my acquaintance, give me Jackson County! Mountain Heights Conquered.
"I have enjoyed tennis, swimming and bowling, the last particularly in
Alaska. But my greatest delight is to have my own two feet upon the
trail. There is no butte or bluff within a long radius of the ranch
where I spent my girlhood which I have not topped. I have climbed many
other mountains, both in the states and in Alaska."For years I carried my flower press at my saddle bow on my black Morgan, who seemed to find as much zest as I found in an early morning canter in the valley, or a climb on mountain trails. "My husband, who is a busy building contractor, often humors my longing for a night in the open, and we slip off for a camp supper in the forest or beside a stream, and we sleep with no roof lower than the stars. It is the gypsying that I love. Even now as I talk with you I can smell the sweet dampness of the woods in the rain and I want to be there. "Does not man's love for the shy, evasive beauties of the wild places betoken his inalienable desire for the hidden things of the spirit?"--(Louise F. Shields in the Portland Oregonian) Medford Mail Tribune, January 4, 1927, page 10 Reprinted from the Oregonian of January 2, 1927, page C12. CLOSE SCHOOLS AT ROGUE RIVER
RESULT OF DEATH
According to County Health officer L. D. Inskeep, the school of Rogue
River was closed today on account of infantile paralysis. There are
reported to be two cases in Central Point.
At Rogue River a death occurred this morning, that of Beverly Rusho, 11 years old. At Central Point, George Thompson, 35, is stricken, both legs and arms being paralyzed. His son, George, is also ill, but is reported to be covering. The Prospect school, which has been closed for two weeks, will open next Monday, according to County Superintendent Susanne Homes Carter Holmes. The school never opened at the regular time, owing to an infantile paralysis case arising, and a two weeks' quarantine was declared. The county superintendent said no new cases had been reported from the Prospect district. Mrs. Holmes said the situation was well in hand and that the county health officer was receiving a daily report on the situation. The county superintendent said that in some of the rural districts there was a falling off in attendance, owing to parents keeping their children at home. Medford Mail Tribune, September 22, 1927, page 4 CLOSE SCHOOLS OVER WEEKEND AS
PRECAUTION
While there are no known cases of infantile paralysis in Medford,
although there are 14 quarantined cases in various parts of the county,
with a number of rural schools closed on that account, according to
statements of County Health Officer L. D. Inskeep and City Health
Officer E. B. Pickel, because of the death of a seven-month-old child
of the disease, who resided outside the city limits near Ross Lane,
these officials and Superintendent E. H. Hedrick of the schools deemed
it wise, in order to allay any undue apprehension, to close the Jackson
grade school building and the junior high school today, so that those
structures could be thoroughly fumigated before reopening next Monday
morning.
The closing of these schools came about through the fact that several pupils living immediately next to the home where the child died attend Jackson School, and one attends the junior high school. It is not known that these pupils next door were exposed to the disease, but the two health officials and Superintendent Hedrick closed the Jackson and junior high buildings as a precautionary measure against the possible spread of the disease in Medford. Unless there arise other developments these schools will be opened next Monday morning, as usual. In all of Jackson County, since the first signs of the disease were noted early this month, there have been 17 cases, three of which died, leaving 14 cases which are under quarantine at the present time. The first death took place at the Sacred Heart Hospital September 10, and the other two took place yesterday--one here and one at Rogue River. The cases are widely scattered, from Ashland to Rogue River, with one at the former place and one or more at the latter. At present, four rural schools are closed as a matter of precaution against a possible spread of the disease. The Rogue River schools were closed yesterday and the schools at Laurelhurst, Beaver Creek and Prospect are not in session today. From indications, the majority of the cases are confined to rural families. Medford Mail Tribune, September 23, 1927, page 8 ASK
INJUNCTION AGAINST BUILDING OF SCHOOL HOUSE
Claiming that a school house is being built under the guise of being a
play shed without the authority of the district, an injunction against
further construction was asked of the circuit court today by Al
Hopkins, a member of the school board of the Upper Soda Springs school
district in the Greenspring section of the country.
The injunction is directed against H. Howard and W. L. Davis, the other members of the school board who Hopkins claims ordered the construction of the building without the consent of the district and without his knowledge though he is a member of the board. Sherman Powell, a contractor, who is in charge of construction, is also the object of the injunction, which is on file at the county clerk's office. Hopkins set out in the injunction that the proposition of building a district high school was voted upon by the district, which opposed it by a decisive majority. Despite the adverse vote, Hopkins states that the defendants contracted with Powell to furnish labor and materials for a play shed, which he is confident is being built for a school house due to the fact that the shed is being constructed of high-grade material, including a good floor, windows and doors of such a nature that the building could be easily converted into a regular school building. The cost of construction, Hopkins states, is in the neighborhood of $1000. The plaintiff further states that W. L. Davis, a member of the present board, was never elected or appointed and that the whole transaction of diverting school funds to contractor Powell is illegal in the eyes of the Oregon laws. Construction of the building is under way near the present school structure. Medford Mail Tribune, October 11, 1927, page 2 SODA SPRINGS SCHOOL FUSS IS GIVEN
HEARING
County Court Scene of Highly Charged Controversy--Gus Newbury May Be Hired--District Division Is Not Allowed
A score of residents of the Soda Springs School District appeared
before the boundary board this morning and presented arguments, pro and
con, for the division of the district. The boundary board composed of
the county court and the school superintendent voted to leave the
district as it now is.
According to the testimony of one of the school patrons, "We have been fussing like this for 20 years." An injunction was recently issued against the district to prevent completion of the school building. Among the causes of the long, drawn-out rumpus was the charge that "the teacher said she didn't care anything about the opinion of the parents." It was also alleged that "Mr. Howard and the Davises are trying to run the school." It was also claimed that "tenth graders are getting more attention than the lower grades." County Judge Hartzell admonished the audience not to indulge in personalities, and "every time we try to get a statement, we get an argument." The controversy was carried from the county judge's office to the steps of the armory, and one petitioner said: "If I knew it was going to come out this way, I would have brought Gus Newbury along, and paid for him myself." He further predicted that the matter would be appealed to a higher court. Out in the bright October sunshine the arguments were continued, and a flare of bitterness arose, when one partisan said to another: "This is none of your put." [sic] His rival declared it was some of his put, and said determinedly, "Don't lay hand on me again." The argument continued, with some heat, but everybody nearly smiling. Medford Mail Tribune, October 19, 1927, page 1 JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOLS SHOW GOOD
GROWTH
Medford
Mail Tribune, January 1, 1928, page F5
The Jackson County schools are recognized among the best in Oregon and
the Northwest. They are keeping pace with the progress of the country
in buildings, equipment, teacher qualifications and all modern methods.
There are 9150 children of school age, between four and 20 years, in the 76 districts of the county, with an enrollment of 6000 and attendance of 5750. This is a substantial increase over last year. There are over 1400 students enrolled in the 13 standard high schools of the county, Medford having 617 and Ashland 356, both showing an increase over 1926. There are 294 teachers in the county, an increase of 25 over last year, owing to new and enlarged buildings and increase in attendance. Modern School Buildings
During the past two or three years, a number of new modern buildings
have been erected and equipped in the cities and rural districts of the
county. Chief among these is the new $182,000 high school building in
Medford. Ashland is next with an expenditure of $112,000 in
construction. Phoenix spent $40,000 adding to its grade and high school
and other buildings. Howard School spent $14,000 rebuilding, enlarging
and modernizing its building. This is one of the latest school
structures erected in the county, has two more rooms than their former
school, also a basement.Several new buildings have been erected, others enlarged and made modern in the rural districts, and new equipment added, while more teachers have been added in several districts. The Ashland Normal
One of the most important additions to the educational facilities of
the county was the erection of the first building of the Southern
Oregon State Normal School at Ashland in 1925 at a cost of $175,000.The people of Ashland donated the site of 23 acres, just east of the city. There is an enrollment of over 350, and the attendance increases with each session. J. A. Churchill, ex-state superintendent, is president, ably assisted by a splendid faculty. Pupils Conveyed by Buses
Several rural schools have discontinued school service, temporarily,
and are conveying their pupils, as an experiment, to adjoining schools
by buses, and thereby reducing the annual school expenditure in their
respective districts. Siskiyou and Valley View schools in the south
part of the county have joined their financial forces with and convey
their pupils to the Ashland schools. The Kenwood and Dewey schools
convey pupils to Central Point, Crater Lake School to Butte Falls,
Flounce Rock to Prospect.Liberty School in the Rogue River district conveys high school pupils to Central Point High School, the Wimer schools in the Evans Creek district are conveying high school pupils to the Rogue River district. Other districts are doing the same. The schools in the county which have heretofore consolidated outlying districts with their schools and are operating buses are Gold Hill three buses, Evans Valley three buses, Prospect two buses, Griffin Creek, Mount Pitt, and Reese Creek schools one bus each. Teachers Standards
As to teacher standards, Jackson County is affected by the lift toward
normal school training and the abolishing of the teacher training
classes in high schools. But more than this is the fine spirit shown
toward improvement through attendance at summer schools, and their
assistance in every way to help organization with their work to better
conditions.Parent Teachers and Other Helps
One of the greatest influences and helps in school work the past few
years, in cities and rural districts, is the Parent Teachers
Association, which is growing in effectiveness and popularity with
parents, pupils and teachers.Each school is visited once a year at least by the children's librarian from the county library, and in this way encouragement is given toward the use and care of the library books and the traveling libraries. The club leader is a frequent visitor, and the work of that department is aiding greatly to the interest in different lines. The county health physician, two nurses working at large, and a nurse each in Medford and Ashland take excellent care of the health work in the schools. O.&C. Funds Help Districts
The Oregon-California land grant tax refund of many thousands of
dollars was of great assistance to many rural districts within the land
grant last year and will be for years to come, as these funds will be
received each year. In 1928 they will amount to $26,850.Supt. Susanne Homes Carter
Susanne Homes Carter has been county superintendent for several years,
and under her administration many things for the betterment of the
schools have been accomplished. Among those the past year was the
changing of textbooks treating on arithmetic, spelling, and fifth grade
history.Mrs. Carter is prominent in the State Teachers Association and was president of the association in 1927. Mrs. Carter is ably assisted by Elizabeth Burr, superintendent of rural schools, and Gladys Mandeville, office assistant. SCHOOL CHILDREN OF COUNTY READY
FOR HEALTH EXAM
Medford
Mail Tribune, March 28, 1928, page 3
To be or not to be on the health honor roll is the vital issue among
the school children of the valley these days. It is the style to be on
it, so human nature is turning the minds of children and their parents
in the direction all stylish folks are taking. It will lead them
eventually to the spring style show of good health and good
scholarship, which takes place May 1.
Children are eager for their physical examinations being made by members of the county medical society as arranged by the school management. Letters are being sent to parents telling of any defects which, if corrected or properly treated, do not hinder the child from being on the coveted honor roll. A few of these children are indifferent at first, objecting to removing shoes when weighed or slipping their clothes halfway down for a thorough examination by the doctors, so they are promptly excused to make room for the enthusiastic candidates. But when these victims of bashfulness or misunderstanding suddenly find they are out of style, back they come next day or next week pleading for a second chance. Those youngsters, who revel in good health and such frisky spirits that their class conduct and lessons are poor, must reform at once if they wish to make the health honor roll. A child will be considered eligible for the honor roll if, after a physical examination by a physician, in the opinion of his teacher he is rated as (1) Mentally normal; (2) Physically free from defects; (3) Reasonably cooperative in health and habits; (4) Satisfactory by his behavior and attitude in the school environment. COUNTY SCHOOLS ASKED TO ATTEND
BIG HEALTH RALLY
Medford
Mail Tribune, April 9, 1928, page 3
In cooperation with the county health association, E. H. Hedrick,
superintendent of the Medford schools, is mailing out invitations to
all other schools in the county to participate in the big health honor
roll celebration to be held in Medford in May.
His letter, addressed to the superintendents and principals of the schools of the county, reads as follows: "On Friday afternoon, May 4, the Medford city schools are planning to hold suitable exercises for those pupils in the system who have met the requirements of the health honor roll as sponsored by the Jackson County Health Association and adopted by a number of cities and towns in the county. "Any or all other schools in the county, whose pupils are competing for places on the honor roll, are cordially invited to join us and make this a county affair. "The afternoon begins at 1:30 o'clock with a parade for all children in the county eligible for the honor roll. The parade forms in front of the junior high school on Bartlett Street, marches south to Main, west to Holly and north to the high school. At the high school a program will be offered and awards made to the children. Following the awards to pupils a May festival program by the Medford pupils under the direction of Miss Maude Barrigar will be held on the high school lawn. No admission charges of any kind will be made. "A more definite program will be made and mailed to interested schools later. In shaping this program we shall be very glad to receive the cooperation of other schools, for we feel that it can be made a bigger and better day, and mean more to the children if it embraces the county rather than the city alone." VALLEY TOWNS TO COMPETE MAY 1ST
HEALTH PARADE
The health honor roll parade, which is to take place in Medford May 4,
is furnishing an exciting objective of health teaching both in the
class rooms and in the homes. At least the children have a very
definite and tangible goal to reach instead of health for health's
sake, as preached by their elders. They are to be the guests of honor
that day and will no doubt start enough envy among the children not in
the parade to interest them in getting on the honor roll next year.
The idea of the honor roll is not only to place the child on the path toward good health all his life, but also to accelerate public opinion by such a mass maneuver as a parade of children having a high standard of health, behavior and scholarship. The grade school children of the following towns are competing for places in the honor roll: Jacksonville, Central Point, Gold Hill, Eagle Point, Phoenix and Medford. The combination of the [polio] quarantine and the beginning of the school year and of this honor roll being new in Jackson County prevents the majority of schools competing this year, but it is hoped all may have the opportunity next year. Some of the figures are now available from the hands of the busy doctors and nurses, who are making the physical examination. In Phoenix 183 children were examined, in Eagle Point 50. In the Jackson School the details are as follows:
ALL IS READY FOR HONOR ROLL
HEALTH PARADE
Medford
Mail Tribune, May 3, 1928, page 5
Owing to the fact that the response to the honor roll in Jackson County
schools has been so great, it was announced by Superintendent E. H.
Hedrick that it will not be possible to hold the exercises indoors, as
originally planned. Instead they will be held tomorrow on the high
school lawn.
Following is the program of the afternoon: 1:30-- Parade of Pupils on Health Honor
Roll
Representing schools of Central Point, Eagle Point, Gold Hill,
Jacksonville, Phoenix and Medford as follows: Junior high, Jackson,
Lincoln, Roosevelt and Washington. Parade forms at junior high school
and moves south on Bartlett to Main, thence west to Holly and north to
the high school. B. R. Finch, director.2:30-- Exercises on the High School Lawn
1. Song, "America," by pupils of all
schools, led by Miss Esther Church.E. H. Hedrick, presiding 2. Presentation of health cup to a Medford elementary school.--Mrs. Josephine W. Jones. 3. Award of badges to children on honor roll.--Mrs. Susanne H. Carter, county school superintendent. 2:45-- May Festival by Medford Physical
Education Department
1. Crowning of May Queen.Directed by Miss Maude Barrigar 2. Folk Dancing---Dance of Greeting, first grade; Shoemaker's Dance, second grade. 3. Wand Drill--junior high girls. 4. Tumbling and Pyramid Building--junior and senior high girls. 5. Folk Dancing--Klappdans (Germans), Firetur (Danish). 6. Raggedy Ann Dance--junior high girls. 7. Solo Dance--Lucille Lowry. 8. "The Nation's Pride"--forming the national shield. A. Boy and Girl Scouts. B. Maypole Dance--the third grade. C. Flag Drill--fifth and sixth grades (do drill once). D. Athletic Drill--fourth grade (do drill once). E. Ribbon Dance--senior high girls. 9. Finale--All children in shield sit, legs crossed, eyes front, while picture is taken. Rise and stand at attention (at signal) and sing first stanza of "Star Spangled Banner," then salute and give pledge of allegiance to the flag. Following the festival, ice cream will be passed out to the children by the Jackson County Health Association. 1700 CHILDREN MARCH HERE IN
HEALTH PARADE
Medford
Mail Tribune, May 4, 1928, page 1First Honor Health Parade Is Impressive Spectacle--Children Take Pride in Showing--Prizes Are Awarded.
Grade school children of Medford and Jackson County participated this
afternoon in the first Jackson County Health Day exercises sponsored by
the Jackson County Health Association. Seventeen hundred mentally alert
and physically fit youngsters, wearing the colors of their schools,
took part in the inspiring spectacle and exercises, under the guidance
of their teachers and members of the health association.
The little folks of the primary and kindergarten parades rode in autos. A parade from the junior high school, by way of Main Street, thence north on Holly Street to the senior high school lawn, in which 1322 boys and girls took part, started at 1:50 o'clock and was viewed by scores along the line of march. The schools participating and the number in line were as follows:
When the parade arrived at the high school the lining up of the children was in charge of members of the high school football team, under the direction of Superintendent Hedrick. The order to be seated was greeted with a whoop of joy from the tired little paraders. Superintendent Hedrick presided at the lawn exercise which consisted of the presentation of health cups and badges to honor schools and pupils by Mrs. Josephine Jones and County School Superintendent Susanne Homes Carter. Mayor Alenderfer, County Judge Hartzell, Dr. Inskeep, county physician; and W. C. Leever of Central Point occupied the reviewing section. Following the brief exercises a May festival was held, with Maypole exercises and dances and drills by junior and senior high school girls and Boy and Girl Scouts. At the conclusion of the festival all the children were served ice cream by the Jackson County Health Association.
The Jacksonville school
opened Monday with a large attendance, and all seemed happy to be in
school again after the long vacation. The teachers for this year are as
follows: Principal, Mr. Milton E. Coe of the Grant High School in
Portland; Miss Evelyn Root of Newburg, Ore., commercial and language
teacher in the high school grades; Miss Hall of Oakland, Ore., who
teaches English and history in the high school grades; Mr. Alva Laws of
Rogue River, seventh and eighth grade teacher; Miss Sheley from Central
Point, fifty and sixth grade teacher; Mrs. Daisy Lewis, local resident,
third and fourth grade teacher and Mrs. Irene Crump, teacher of first
and second grades.
"Schools Opened at Jacksonville," Medford Mail Tribune, September 4, 1928, page 4 DECISION REACHED BY COUNTY COURT
FOR SCHOOL DIST.
The county court yesterday came to a decision in the annexation of that
portion of the Phoenix school district known as "The Peninsula" to the
Medford school district, which was petitioned by a number of residents
of the affected district.
Under the terms, the Phoenix district loses from its assessed valuation about $7000 and two or three children, who will attend the Medford schools. The original petition asked that the "Peninsula," which extends from Phoenix to Stewart Avenue, be annexed to the Medford district. The annexed portion takes in strips of land back of the Bear Creek orchard, a portion of the Earl orchard, and a block of land extending to the boundaries of the J. P. Hansen place. The children in the area will now be able to go straight to school. Formerly, they traveled to Stewart Avenue, then to the Pacific Highway, and then to the Phoenix school. Medford Mail Tribune, February 14, 1929, page 3 SAMS VALLEY SCHOOL HAS NEW
PAVILION
A new pavilion, designed for school sports and social functions, has
been completed in Sams Valley. The structure is 50 feet wide, 80 feet
long and of ample ceiling to meet the regulations in basketball playing.The new pavilion is entirely a community affair. Sponsoring it were the residents, the grange and the school, with the students assisting in the work. As a result the district now has a gathering place for holding a variety of functions. Gold Hill News, February 28, 1929, page 8 CELEBRATION FOR CHILD HEALTH OF
COUNTY PLANNED
The health honor roll children of Jackson County will celebrate their
achievement in their own communities instead of coming to Medford for
one big parade, as they did on May 1st last year. Many inquiries are
coming in to the public health nurses from children who have worked
hard this winter to bring their health up to the standard of the honor
roll and who now feel like celebrating on May 1st--National Child
Health Day.
Nurses and teachers are arranging health plays, pageants, etc. in each school district whose children are interested in health. But the big celebration, when the people of Jackson County have the opportunity of acknowledging the children on the health honor roll, will be on Children's Day during the county fair in September. At this time the prize-winning schools will be given cash awards by the fair board, and healthy children will be honored as enthusiastically as the healthy pigs, calves, lambs, rabbits, etc. Detailed directions have been mailed to the schools through the cooperation of the school heads, fair board, and public health association. According to Miss Carlton, president of the health association, the buttons will be given to the children in May and should be saved carefully for the parade of schools at the fair. Medford Mail Tribune, April 25, 1929, page 9 The Center [Central] school and the Laurel Hill school held a meeting Saturday afternoon, and the consolidation of the two districts was carried by a unanimous vote and a site for the new schoolhouse was chosen, also the name was changed from Center to Shady Cove. "Select Site for Union School," Medford Mail Tribune, May 16, 1929, page B2 SHADY COVE
SCHOOL DEDICATION TONIGHT
The new
Shady Cove school,
constructed through the summer months and now ready for its first term,
will be the scene of impressive dedication services at eight
o'clock tonight. Former Circuit Judge C. M. Thomas will give the
main address of the evening, while Miss Alice Seabrooke, principal of
the school, and Miss Elizabeth Burr, representing the county school
superintendent's office, will also speak.The Shady Cove school district, which was incorporated last spring, combines the former old Central, Laurel Hill and Long Branch districts. Thirty-six students, ranging from the first to the eighth grades, will occupy the two rooms of the well-equipped little school. Mrs. Frances Greb Miller will assist Miss Seabrooke as instructor. A number of local residents will attend the dedication services tonight, some of whom are property owners in the Edgewood Park and the surrounding districts. Medford Mail Tribune, October 18, 1929, page B5 School
Library for Shady Cove
Mrs. Gus
Klocker is endeavoring to secure a good
library for the new school building erected by three districts located
just north of the first bridge across Rogue River on the Crater Lake
Highway and known as Shady Cove school.Anyone having school books or any books suitable for children or grownups who will donate them please take them to Klocker's Printery or notify Mrs. Klocker. The new school building has two school rooms, a stage for presenting entertainments and a kitchen. Domestic art and manual training will also be taught. Mrs. Glen Fabrick has charge of organizing a Parent-Teachers Association for the school, and a meeting will be held soon. Medford Mail Tribune, October 26, 1929, page 2 SCHOOL
FUNDS RECEIVED EAGLE POINT DISTRICT
EAGLE
POINT, Ore., Dec. 3.--(Special.)--Checks totaling $4,543.25 have been
received by the school clerk, Edith Weidman, as part of Eagle
Point's share in the distribution of school funds made following
the payment of taxes, including $412.20 received from the elementary
school fund, state irreducible fund $178.98, county school fund
$484.12, county high school fund $741.39, and special school
taxes $2,726.56.Medford Mail Tribune, December 3, 1929, page B2 B. FALLS FACES NEW OUTBURST
SCHOOL BATTLE
Medford Mail Tribune,
May 6, 1930,
page 6Temporary Calm Seen As
Simmerville Ouster Made Effective--
Temporary calm, instead of the reported peace, has settled over the
turbulent affairs of the Butte Falls school district. There are
prospects of legal actions, and a torrid election in June in the
offing, not the cooing of a dove in the rafters of the new high school
building.Teachers Dismissed by Board. At a meeting of the school board last night an audit of the books of the district for four years back was ordered, and six teachers, with contracts under the old high salaries, were ousted. Three new high school teachers with contracts under the revised rate of pay were hired, and two of the old teachers were re-hired under the boundary board revision figures. It is expected that some of the teachers with contracts calling for the old rate will take legal action to compel the school board to abide by them. Mrs. Julia Doubleday, named by County School Superintendent Susanne Homes Carter as school director when the official declared the directorship held by Mrs. Elizabeth A. Simmerville vacant, was sworn in last night, without protest. She will hold office until the regular annual school election, June 16th next. At that time two new directors will be elected. It is understood Mrs. Doubleday, a heavy taxpayer in the district, will be a candidate for a full term. Mrs. Simmerville was not present at the meeting last night. The term of William Roberts, one of the so-called absentee directors, also expires in June. Held Non-Resident.
The ouster against Mrs. Simmerville was issued upon the grounds that
she is a resident of Eugene, Ore. A suit is now pending in the circuit
court attacking the validity of the county school superintendent's
action, and asking for an injunction restraining Mrs. Doubleday from
taking office. It is alleged in the suit that the county school head
was not within her legal rights when the ouster order was made.The school board terminated its contract with attorney Gus Newbury, who continues as counsel for Mrs. Simmerville. He said this morning that the ouster would be contested in court. The action of the school board automatically diverts the cost of ouster suit from the wallet of the school board to private pocketbooks. The next legal move in the affair rests with the school superintendent, who is represented by District Attorney George A. Codding, as legal representative of the county. He said yesterday a demurrer on a motion to dismiss would be filed shortly. There have been many exciting phases to the Butte Falls school situation, starting four years ago with the coming to the Butte Falls area of the Owen-Oregon Lumber Company. Last winter the school boundary board held a hearing and clipped the school budget approximately $15,000 and ordered that the teachers’ salaries be on a par with other third-class districts of the county. At one time, it was claimed, Butte Falls had the highest third-class salary rate in the land. The past year, a sturdy effort has been underway for the application of an economy policy, and its proponents now say it is being consummated. ASHLAND FIRM TO ERECT PINEHURST
SCHOOL BUILDING
Medford Mail Tribune,
July 23, 1930,
page 8
Bids on the new $20,000 school building for the Pinehurst district were
opened Monday night, and the lowest bid on the general contract was
that of Bailey and Spitzmiller of Ashland, $10,030, but the board will
consider relative bids for several days before awarding the contract.
Other bids on the general contract were: Sig Ash of Medford, $10,900;
Fick & Carter of Jacksonville, $10,621; Frank Jordan of
Ashland,
$11,385.
The Provost Hardware Company of Ashland was awarded the contract for heating and plumbing on their lowest bid of $2855. Other bids on heating and plumbing were: Coffeen and Smedley of Medford, $3250; Modern Heating and Plumbing Company of Medford, $3686; Hawks Company of Medford, $2956; Simpson's Hardware of Ashland, $3169. GOLD HILL WILL IMPROVE SCHOOL
Medford Mail Tribune,
August 5, 1930,
page 10
GOLD HILL, Ore., Aug. 5.--(Special.)--The school board of
this
district has called for an election Saturday, August 16, at 2 o'clock
to issue $6000 in warrants to be taken up at the rate of $1000 per year
until paid for to supply a new heating system for the school building
and gymnasium.
The present system has been inadequate to properly heat the building for some time, and the gymnasium has individual heat. The new plant will heat both buildings, and the change, it is believed, will make a saving in fuel. The state inspector in his annual report last year recommended a change. PROTEST HAULING SCHOOL CHILDREN
IN SISKIYOU AREA
Medford Mail Tribune,
September 3, 1930,
page 5
A delegation of residents of the Soda Springs school district, on the
slopes of the Siskiyous, called upon the county court this morning and
asked that the Siskiyou school district be prevented from assigning
three or four children to the district, on account of the high cost of
transporting the pupils the two and a fraction miles from their homes
to the school, and vice versa. The matter was taken under advisement.
"Kids won't walk these days," observed the spokesman. "You have to go get them, and take them back. I hoofed six miles across the prairie to get my schooling." John Hockersmith, of the Evans Creek district, appeared before the court and asked that the county uphold its end of a graveling agreement on a hill on the Evans Creek road. He said the county agreed to put on $375 worth of gravel, etc., on the road, if the Evans Creek folks would do the same. Two years ago they collected $375, and when the collection was expended the work ceased. Now Mr. Hockersmith and other residents would like to have the county comply, before the winter rains commence. Action was promised. Today was pay day for county workers, and the signing of the necessary vouchers and the regular first-of-the-month batch of bills was the principal business. Commissioners Victor Bursell and Geo. Alford were tardy. COURT ALLOWS HAPPY HOLLOW SCHOOL
CHANGE
Mothers of the Happy Hollow section of the Tolo school district were
this morning allowed their petition for annexation to the Gold Hill
district by the county court at the regular weekly session. The Tolo
school board and residents were also present and harmony reigned--so
much so that the session was called "one of the most harmonious school
business meetings in the history of the county."Portion of Tolo District Will Be Annexed to Gold Hill--Hearing in Court Harmonious. The Happy Hollow section comprises about 80 acres and furnishes 16 little tots of school age. The valuation of the property annexed is $2200. The original ruling of the county boundary board was to include 80 acres of the Ray Realty company, so the county assessor would have no jagged lines in his maps. Tolo objected to this. Without a speech or the slightest sign of harshness, an affable compromise was quickly reached. The amiability of the session was a surprise to the county court, subject to stormy times when schools are concerned. Children Paramount
Both sides agreed that nothing mattered but the safety and welfare of
the children. If they went to the Tolo school, they would have to walk
the Pacific Highway, pass through a pasture where graze surly cows, and
be menaced by what one mother called "the vagabonds of the highways."
The Gold Hill bus passes that way, providing transportation.The petitioners said "it is unsafe for a grown man to walk the highway, let alone a little girl, on account of the wild drivers with regard for nothing--not even themselves." Members of the Tolo school board said they wanted "Happy Hollow to have what it wanted." The county court then agreed to leave the Ray Realty land in the Tolo district and the meeting dispersed, with everybody shaking hands and promising to attend the next Grange sociable. Medford Mail Tribune, April 1, 1931, page 8 JACKSONVILLE WILL CONTINUE OWN HI
SCHOOL
The move for suspension of the Jacksonville high school was defeated by
a vote of 161 to 20 in the election held in the historic town yesterday.The election, supposedly called with the understanding that if the Jacksonville high school were discontinued the students would be transported to Medford, contained no provision for the latter. The ballot read, "Shall the high school of District No. 1 be discontinued." There were 161 votes against discontinuing the school and 20 favoring the move. Medford Mail Tribune, April 11, 1931, page 3 ALL TEACHERS AT JACKSONVILLE ARE
NAMED BY BOARD
JACKSONVILLE, Ore., May 8--(Spl.)--The school board met Wednesday
evening and completed the election of teachers for the Jacksonville
school. It was also decided at the meeting to include biology and
sewing on the course of study for the coming year.High school teachers for next year will be Milton E. Coe, principal and mathematics instructor, Wm. Joe Nee, athletic coach and science instructor; Miss Helen Kafbury, commercial subjects and foreign languages; and Miss Beth Crocker, English and sewing instructor and supervisor of art in the grade schools. Ray Hunsaker, seventh and eighth grades and junior athletics; Mrs. Wm. Joe Nee, fifth and sixth grades and supervisor of music for the entire school; Miss Loraine Sparr, third and fourth grades; and Mrs. Mary Norvell, first and second grades. Medford Mail Tribune, May 8, 1931, page 4 JACKSONVILLE SCHOOL REPAIRED,
DECORATED; WILL OPEN SEPT. 8TH
JACKSONVILLE, Ore., Aug. 29.--(Special.)--Jacksonville school will open
September 8. Work of repairing the building and redecorating has been
done during the summer.The school bus is undergoing a thorough overhauling. H. H. Farley will again drive the bus, bringing in children from Sterling and nearby districts. Clyde Smith will bring in the students from the Applegate district who wish to attend high school. Teachers for this term are Milton E. Coe of Medford, principal of school, also instructor in the high school; Joe Nee of Butte Falls, science teacher, also high school coach; Mrs. Kafbury of Salem, commercial; Miss Marion Crocker of Eugene, English and sewing, in the high school; Ray Hunsaker of Ashland, seventh and eighth grades, also coach for the grades; Maxine Brookins of Portland, fifth and sixth grades, also music instructor; Miss Loraine Sparr, third and fourth grades, and Mrs. Mary Norvald, instructor of the primary room. Mrs. Mary Norvald and daughter of Portland moved Wednesday into the E. R. White residence where they will make their home while Mrs. Norvald teaches in the Jacksonville schools this year. Medford Mail Tribune, August 30, 1931, page 8 SCHOOL BUSES AND DRIVERS TO BE
SCRUTINIZED
Following a conference between Captain L. M. Bown of the state police
and District Attorney George A. Codding, all school buses in use in
Jackson County will be examined this week for mechanical perfection and
the drivers thereof examined for mental and physical fitness. It is
estimated that 300 children ride daily during the school year in school
buses. County School Superintendent Mrs. Susanne Homes Carter is
cooperating with the two state agencies.Under the new rules, all school buses must be !n perfect mechanical condition, equipped with mirrors, lights and the door controlled by the driver. If a bus fails to meet these requirements, it will be placed out of commission. In connection with official action a campaign of education on safety rules will be conducted among the children and their parents. Captain Bown said that the action was taken "to prevent any horror, by reason of any unconscious driving, and to eliminate as far as humanly possible any hazard, however small, that might endanger the lives of children. I understand there has never been a school bus accident in this county. We are going to erect every safeguard against one, and the rules and regulations governing school buses will be enforced to the letter." Similar campaigns will be conducted by the state police and county officials in all counties of the state. Medford Mail Tribune, September 1, 1931, page 14 SCHOOL STUDENTS OF COUNTY 9,908
INCREASE OF 212
According to figures submitted by the county school superintendent to
the county clerk, for the purpose of fixing school taxes for the coming
year, there are 5052 boys and 4856 girls, an increase of 212 over last
year, registered in the public schools of Jackson County. The total is
9908.Budget Estimate for Coming Year Placed at $58,000 with No Allowance for Bus Transportation. Each pupil, under the state law, requires a 10¢ levy for library fund, and a $10 assessment per pupil, and a $100 bonus of each of the 72 school districts with a 160-day school term. The budget estimate as submitted calls for $58,000 for the coming year and increase of $7,000, with no allowance made for bus transportation, which last year amounted to close to $7,000. The school levy is hedged closely by state law, and guaranteed funds, which make difficult, and cannot be changed except by legislative action. The county clerk is now busy preparing data on all departments of county government for presentation to the budget committee, composed of the county clerk and Ben Harder, Medford, E. T. Newbry Sr., Phoenix, and W. H. McNair, Ashland. Medford Mail Tribune, October 4, 1931, page 10 TEACHERS SALARY MEETING TO LURE
MANY TAXPAYERS
A record crowd is expected to fill the circuit court room here tomorrow
afternoon when the open meeting of county school officers and rural
teachers will be held to consider resolutions recently adopted by the
committee from the Jackson County School Officers Association,
recommending a 15 to 25 percent cut in teachers' salaries and dismissal
of married teachers in secondary schools of the county.Saturday Hearing at Court House Will Probe Sentiment for Cut and Dismissal Married Women. If the courtroom, as upon a previous occasion, proves too small for the crowd, members will progress to the Armory to hear the "onslaught" upon married teachers and salaries, scheduled to be led by C. C. Hoover of Jacksonville and E. T. Newbry of Phoenix. Opposition Looms.
Although the teachers of rural districts have so far failed to make an
organized attempt to retaliate, much opposition to the move is reported
among residents of county districts, and it is believed that both sides
of the question will be represented when the crowd gathers in this city
Saturday afternoon.Two members of the committee, according to the report, have been contacting board members in various districts, preparatory to the meeting, and will have an organized delegation present when the questions are presented for discussion at the open forum. Rural teachers, it is pointed out by the opposition, are already securing much less than teachers in first-class schools of Southern Oregon, even considering cuts recently made in the budgets of Medford, Ashland and Klamath Falls. See Discrimination.
An additional cut in the salaries now paid the county school teachers
would result in increased discrimination, the parents claim, against
county children. The city schools are already attracting the best
qualified teachers, because of salary differences and more desirable
conditions under which to work. The need to save money, emphasized by
the committee and considered the inspiration for the entire move,
fails, many feel, to equal the need for well-qualified teachers in the
rural districts, where the bulk of responsibility is placed upon the
teacher, who has no principal or superintendent to consult each day
regarding conduct of the school.It is also reported that a 10 percent cut in salaries would amount to a saving of only .0001 or 10 cents on a $1000. Not Dole System.
"The school system is not a dole system," another answers the
committee's desire to dismiss the married teachers and give the jobs to
single girls more in need of them. Teachers are hired because of
ability and character on an individual basis, regardless of married
status, and should continue to be hired on that basis in the future, is
the opinion advanced.Numerous other theories are expected to flow from the mouths of participants in the discussion tomorrow afternoon if weather conditions do not force the farmers to stay by their own firesides. Medford Mail Tribune, January 15, 1932, page 5 BT. FALLS SCHOOL CASE IS ENDED BY HIGH COURT RULE
The Butte Falls school case came to the end of its legal tether last
Tuesday, when the state supreme court made an oral ruling denying a
motion of the Butte Falls school district for a rehearing in the suit
of the school teachers for salaries on contracts for teaching. Attorney
George M. Roberts said today that a further appeal was impossible, as
no federal question was involved.In the circuit court five teachers of the Butte Falls district were awarded verdicts by juries for salaries, the average being $1500 per annum. The teachers claimed nonfulfillment of contracts, when others were hired for their places. The action followed a long controversy over school matters in the district, and a recommendation of the county boundary board that the pay be cut, commensurate with those in other county school districts of the same class. The Butte Falls school district appealed the verdict to the state supreme court. That body recently handed down a decision affirming the lower court. The school district was represented by attorneys E. E. Kelly and Porter J. Neff. The action was hard fought throughout and watched with interest throughout the state because of the issues involved. Medford Mail Tribune, July 28, 1932, page 5 COUNTY SCHOOLS REPORT INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT
Complete tabulations of the
enrollment in the Jackson County schools of the first class districts
of Ashland and Medford are not complete, but from reports now in, the
indications are that there will be a substantial increase in enrollment
in the county schools. Applegate reports an increase of 100 percent,
Derby 44 percent, Reese Creek 48 percent, and other schools are
reporting similar increases. Books for these students are needed.
Districts or individuals having used books may help the crowded
districts by bringing to the county school superintendent's office such
books to be loaned or sold, as desired.----
At the pre-school meeting held in
the new courthouse before the opening of the county schools, 20 new
teachers were
present, six of whom have taught in the county in previous years. Of
the new teachers, all are graduates of normal schools or colleges. Each
year the professional standing of the teacher personnel is rising to a
higher level; each year more of the older experienced teachers are
attending summer schools so that they may offer better service to the
community in which they work.----
New teachers coming from colleges or normal schools
to teach in elementary grades are: Florence Hunsaker, Mildred Bolz,
Alice Rudd, June Rudd, Bertha Buford, Ethel Boussum, Marguerite Watson,
Marian Barker, June Sherard, Vera Wright, Louise Hanson, Patsy
Thompson, Forrest White, Daisy Lewis, Jean Putnam.----
A Jackson County teacher's music study and singing
organization has been formed this year. Miss Harriet Baldwin, music
supervisor of the Medford schools, will direct the chorus and advise on
matters pertaining to public school music. The date and place of the
first meeting will be announced through these columns soon.----
The superintendent's office personnel has settled
into regular routine in their fine new suite in the new courthouse.
Administrating and supervisory work and the dispensing of supplies can
be handled with greater ease in the larger quarters.----
Miss Helen Kinsey, children's librarian, will again
direct the recreational reading for the county schools. Fern Valley
School, Miss Gladys Murphy, teacher, led county last year in one-room
schools in number of library books read. Shady Cove, Miss Annie Wells
and Miss Lavida Culbertson, teachers; Independence, Mrs. Vida Steele
and Miss Laura York, teachers, and West Side, Mrs. Agnes Deaver and
Miss Lucille Arant, teachers, scored the highest in number of books
read among the two-room schools. Efforts will be directed this year
toward improving the standard of reading, leading the students to
develop a love for informational reading, as well as reading for
pleasure and appreciation.----
Children in many districts are being kept from
school because of lack of shoes or clothing. It will be necessary for
the people of the county to work together on this problem if a
satisfactory solution can be worked out. The teachers of the county are
aware of the dangers of indiscriminate giving--but are also aware of
the need of getting these children into school very soon if they are to
do the work required of them in a nine months' school term.----
Two schools closed last year are reopening for the
coming year, one at Oak Ridge in the Dead Indian district and the other
the Hatchery district. Miss June Sherard will teach the Oak Ridge
school and Mrs. Eula Salter the school at Hatchery.----
Applegate School has been reduced from two teachers to one.----
High school pupils are being transported from McLeod
district to Prospect, from Trail and Lake Creek to Eagle Point, from Griffin Creek to Jacksonville, and from
two bordering districts to Gold Hill.----
Jacksonville is not able to furnish transportation
this year to the Applegate district, which in fact is causing much
dismay among the young people of that district who last year attended
high school and formed associates which they are loath to discontinue.
The young people are in need of assistance from generous-minded
citizens of the county, who would like to make it possible for them to
help themselves to obtain further high school training.Medford Mail Tribune, September 11, 1932, page 7 ASHLAND AND TALENT SCHOOLS WILL OPEN
With the opening of the Ashland
and Talent schools tomorrow, all the schools of the county--city and
country--will be in operation. Most of the schools started last Monday
and Tuesday.An increase in the attendance at the Talent schools is expected, as there has been an influx of people to occupy a number of small homes in the vicinity of Talent, and adjacent to the Wagner Creek district. Many of the structures have not been occupied for several months, but are now filling up. Wood and water are handy, and the rent is low. Medford Mail Tribune, September 11, 1932, page 7 History of Table Rock
School
District No. 44
By V. A. DAVIS
(Published by request. Part of a paper read before the Table Rock
Community Club at its regular meeting, April 28, 1933.)
Ever since the early pioneer days, education has been fostered and has held a prominent place in the rise and progress of the county. From this circumstance has come the county's present progressive, public-spirited and cultured citizenship. When the county's foundation were laid, the founders, with prophetic vision, made provision for the laying out of school districts and the maintenance of schools. The Jacksonville school district, number one, was the parent of all the others. On July 19th, 1854, seventy-nine years ago, this district was organized, with T. F. Royal as the first county school superintendent. Owing to the scattered population, the early school districts were very large in area, their boundaries irregular, and ofttimes imaginary. As the population increased, business developed and transportation improved, [and] the districts were reduced in size, rearranged and reorganized, in order to meet the demands of the rapidly developing commonwealth. The story of the school districts would make an interesting chapter in Jackson County history, for many of the historical events recorded in Southern Oregon history took place within the boundaries of some of the present school districts. One of these is the Table Rock district, located in the most charming, picturesque and fertile spot in the county. It was here that the treaty that ended the Rogue River Indian War in 1853 was signed on the west slope of Upper Table Rock. The Daughters of the American Revolution, and associate organizations, have placed a marker, commemorating the event, in the plain between the two Table Rocks. Among the early children of the mother district was Antioch, number eighteen. This district, originally known as the Mountain District, was set off on Oct. 31st, 1860. The specified boundary began in the center of Lower Table Rock, then north to Evans Creek, thence east to the center of Rogue River, thence down the center of Rogue River, thence down the center of said river to the place of beginning. This was a region thinly populated, of a varied surface configuration, consisting of hill and valley, forest and plain, lake and stream, with an area greater than the present state of Rhode Island. For several years after the formation of this district but little interest was shown in education, no district officials being elected and no school being maintained by taxation. But interest in the necessity of educating the growing up boys and girls being revived in 1867, J. A. Burns taught a subscription school in an old log cabin that stood near the site of the present Antioch school house. Three years later, Mr. Burns taught a similar school in an old log cabin that stood on the knoll near the site of Mrs. Schafer's residence in the present Table Rock district. During the two succeeding years, Mr. John Potter and Miss Mary McCabe, respectively, taught subscription schools in the same old cabin. It had not been built for school purposes, but had probably been built by some settler and afterward abandoned by him. The old cabin becoming dilapidated and unsanitary, the school directors prohibited its use for school purposes in the future. About this time, either an epidemic of sleeping sickness fell upon the people, or a moratorium was declared in the school business, for no school was held in the district for a period of nearly two years. At last, interest having been revived in school matters, it was decided to establish two schools in the district, both to be supported by taxation. One of the schools was to be located in the southern part of the district to accommodate the settlers in the vicinity of Table Rock. From this circumstance dates the record of an organized school, supported by taxation, in the Table Rock district. In the spring of 1874 Miss Lou Houston taught the first three months' term in the district under the new dispensation. The school was held in a small, unpainted house, built on the Jim Collins farm. Mr. S. M. Nealon afterward bought this farm, and the first public school house in the present Table Rock district stood near the twin oaks or near the site now occupied by the residence of Mr. C. W. Sage. Miss Houston enrolled thirteen pupils, "boarded round," and received a salary of $33⅓ a month. Thereafter, a spring term of school was regularly held in the little rough lumber building, which served its purpose well until replaced, in later years, with a more imposing structure. Population having increased, and the citizens having expressed a desire to manage their own school affairs, in March 1879 the present Table Rock school district No. 44 was detached, by petition, from the Antioch district No. 18. At that time, J. D. Fountain was county superintendent of schools, and E. P. Pickens, B. Vincent and J. W. O. Gregory became the directors and J. S. March clerk of the new district. At the first school election, seventeen votes were cast; the census showed thirty-two children of school age, and the treasury swelled with $96 cash on hand. In 1879 Miss Maude Tuffs taught the first spring term of school in the newly organized district, and in 1886 Jenny Oaks taught the first fall term in the history of the district. On March 25th, ten years after the formation of the district, a portion of its northern part was detached by petition and added to the Chaparral district, No. 52. At that time H. H. Mitchell, who formerly taught in the Table Rock district, was county school superintendent. In the spring of 1892, Mr. Fred Hansen, a patron of the school, dedicated one acre of land to the district for school purposes. He was a public-spirited citizen and much interested in education. A new school house was built upon the tract by Mr. March. It was completed in the fall just in time to hold the community Christmas tree program in it. In 1893, Miss Emma Ruth taught the first spring term in the new school house. In 1885, Mary Newbury, 1893, Armenta Burch, 1895, Miss Cotta, each taught a private school in the district during the fall and winter, but owing to the small attendance and lack of interest in such schools, they were discontinued in the future. From the subscription school that John Burns taught in the old log cabins, and for twenty years thereafter, the teachers with but few exceptions "boarded round." Beginning about the year 1890, the practice was established of having them board in some certain home or place in the district. When the teachers "boarded round," the patrons, pupils and teacher all experienced the delights and diversions incident to that friendly old custom, for those were the pioneer days, the halcyon days of old, whose memory will ever remain green in song and story. To keep pace with the march of progress, it was decreed that the old building should be replaced with a new one. Accordingly during the summer vacation of 1910 the present building was built upon the site of the old one, erected in 1892. Mr. V. A. Davis taught the first school held in the present building. From the little old log cabin on the knoll, to the present commodious building, under the eye of Table Rock, is a span of sixty-three years of time. During the course of those stirring, formative years, Table Rock school district has kept pace with the march of progress, and has ever been prominent in promoting the educational, social and religious culture of the district and county. When the district was officially organized, fifty-four years ago, it maintained but three months school during the year, employed one teacher, enrolled thirty-two census children, and had but $96 in the treasury; today nine months [of] school are maintained, two teachers are employed, seventy-four census children are enrolled, and the assessed valuation of its property is rated at $280,767.80. The geographical location of Table Rock district lies in two Ranges, 1 and 2 W., W.M., and Townships 35 and 36 S. It embraces about eleven sections, and its area is approximately 7040 acres. The school house is located in the southern part of Section 10, Range 2 W., W.M., and Township 36 S. The district's present official organization consists of Frank Hensley, Sam Newman and Floyd Hamlin, directors, and Mary B. Meyers, clerk. The teaching staff consists of Roy Parr, principal and teacher of the upper grades, and Winifred May, assistant principal and teacher of the lower grades. The school ranks high in efficiency and scholarship and bids fair to rise to greater heights in the future. A roster of the teachers in the order of their term of service shows a list of seventy-one names: John Burns, John Potter, Mary McCabe, Lou Houston, Jane Nichols, W. J. Stanley, Mary Berry, O. W. Gregory, Maude Tuffs, H. H. Mitchell, Maggie Howell, W. H. Gore, M. Vina Gore, May Griffith, Sarah Knowles, Henry Cryder, Mary Newbury, Amanda Goodyear, Jenny Oaks, Lottie Reed, Fanny Knowles, Rose Griffith, Charley Griffith, Annie Harvey, Laura Colton, Ella Griffith, Arthur Walker, Lutie Burch, Emma Ruth, Armenta Burch, L.A. Simons, Anna Clemons, Libby Pendleton, Miss Cotter, Maude Downing, Olive Gregory, Nellie Towne, Lizzie Ferguson, Mae Sutton, Wick Easter, Stella Stidham, Dolly Badger, Mae McIntyre, Flora Smith, Flossie Briscoe, H. B. Leach, Ida Stewart, Lorena Shuck, V. A. Davis, Myrtle Corum, Alice French, Cy. Watkins, Louise Ward, Gladys Miller, C. E. Johnson, Hattie B. Lester, Josephine Kincaid, Eva Beebe, Helen Parker, Verda Lynch, June Dunlap, Mae Johnson, Mrs. Voorhies, Mrs. Burdeen Meyers, Irene Franks, Mrs. Ina Purcell, Mary Martha Sweeney, Betty Brown, Nellie Egan, Winifred May and Roy Parr. Nearly all the teachers have departed, leaving behind their footprints in the field of their endeavor. A few have passed over the divide into the mystic realm of the Great Beyond; others remain among the living, all busily chasing their favorite phantoms along their pathways of life. The boys and girls who assembled here in the past all have passed out of this school into life's greater school of stern experience. Flushed with life's bright dreams, they assumed their responsibilities of citizenship, and began to play their respective parts on stage of life's grand realities. All have been weavers, both teachers and pupils, weaving their fabrics at the loom of life. And as their shuttles have flitted swiftly to and fro, they have laid their warps in the schemes of the dreams they have dreamed. Medford Mail Tribune, May 14, 1933, page 5 JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOLS RESUME FALL ACTIVITIES
Most schools of Jackson County opened last week, with a few delaying
until this week in order to permit students to engage in the fruit
harvest. Attendance this year gives promise of being greater than in
past years. All school houses of the county have been placed in good
condition for the resumption of activities.The list of teachers contracting with the various schools of the county is shown by the files of County Superintendent C. R. Bowman's office as follows: Jacksonville--Milton E. Coe, principal, William Joe Nee, Edith Fenwick, Raymond Hunsaker, Florence Hunsaker, Daisy Lewis, and Mary Norvell. Griffin Creek--Cecil A. Poole, principal; Mrs. Edna Beeson, and Georgianna Hussong. Ruch--Nettie Armpriest. Phoenix--A. E. Whitman, principal; Mildred Patterson, Nadine Mayfield, D. R. Sloan, Edith Fish, Clara Goldin, Edith Thompson, Marie Prescott, and Mona Ferns. Central Point--H. P. Jewett, principal; Ethel Fleischer, Mildred Ross, Evelyn Hamilton, D. F. Amick, Lottie Franklin, Mabel Hansen, Edith Deuel, Bessie Murphy, Arlene Hay, and May B. Richardson. Neil Creek--Gladys Sloan. Eagle Point--C. F. Davies, principal; Yetta Olson, Fern Simpson, Floyd Barrett, Donna Earl, and Wilda Darneille. Lone Pine--Gareth Godard and Ila Evans. Antelope--Georgia Currier. Willow Springs--Iva Stark and Frances Fitzgerald. Independence--Vida Steele and Laura York. Agate--Haven Atkins and Irma May. Antioch--Louise Anderson. Lake Creek--Beth Zundell. Sams Valley--W. G. Ayers, principal; Ada East, Vesta Hoie, and Frances Wilson. Missouri Flat--Gladys Cook. Talent--N. B. Ashcraft, principal; Helen Shipley, Mary McLarnin, Otis Wilson, Edna Wiseley, Louise Holdridge, Opal McLarnin, and Dorothy Baughman. Mt. Pitt--William Ludwig. North Phoenix--Dela Bonham. Uniontown--Eleanor Maule. Provolt--Claire Wood. Derby--Ruth Bigham and Grace Bigham. Thompson Creek--June Rudd. Rogue River--W. A. Johnston, principal; Arlene Earhart, Genevieve Platt, Cecil Roberts, Bertha Buford, Myrtle Willis, and Juanita Rose. Meadows--Naomi Magruder. Long Mountain--Alta Norcross. Brownsboro--Ethel Ludwig. Pankey--Wm. Vimont. Lost Creek--J. H. Tyrrell. Forest Creek--Mary Davies. Table Rock--Arthur Straus and Jessie Seabrooke. Trail--Robert Chamberlain. Reese Creek--Wilbur Erickson and Helen Porter. Crater Lake--Harriet Eitmiller. Dead Indian--Margueritte Moore. North Trail--Clarice Nye. Wagner Creek----Roy Parr and Vera Wright. Gold Hill--J. A. Thompson, principal; Albertina Pankey, Maude Coy Robinson, Marjorie Pena, Mabel Moore, Minnie Sargent, Madeline Pendleton, Madge Mitchell, and Minnie Guy. Prospect--Ray L. Zobel, principal; Frances Pearson, Gertrude Moffatt, Dorothy Nichols, and Marjorie Smith. Evans Valley--Byron O. Ballou, Frances Beatty, and Hazel Davies. Laurelhurst--Mrs. Nedry. Watkins--Ina Pursell. Oak Grove--J. F. Banish, principal; Louise Hanson, and Jean Putman. Anderson Creek--Margaret Benson. Bellview--William Ford, principal; Doris Hitchcock, and Eunice Haga. Elk Creek--Lottie Montgomery. Liberty--Mrs. Pellett. Hatchery--Mrs. Eula Salter. Little Applegate--Catherine Denzer. Alderbrook--Irene T. Johnson. Shady Cove--John Walker and Dorothy Christiani. Butte Falls--Roscoe Larson, principal; Winifred Stewart, Clem Clark, Ruth Mitchell, and Hazel Taylor. Pinehurst--Mildred Patterson, Bertha McKinney. Went Side--Agnes Deaver and Jeanette Gore. Tolo--Lulu Thurston. Fern Valley--Alice Rudd. Howard--Frank Newton, principal; Patsy Thompson Brock, Cora T. Guston, and Catherine Reese. Medford Mail Tribune, September 12, 1933, page 12 County's Early Teachers Recalled at Grange Meet
BIG APPLEGATE, Oct. 5.--(Spl.)--An interesting glance at the past of a
number of well known Jackson County residents was brought about here
when Upper Applegate grangers and their guests at the booster night
program last week responded to roll call with an account of their first
school days. The roll was called by the lecturer, Mrs. Wallace Haskins.A few, both old and young, had forgotten the name of their first teacher, but the majority had vivid memories of that first step in their education. Bert Harr's first school days were at Willow Springs, where Ida York taught at that time. It was not the teacher who impressed him, however, but the county school superintendent, who he said was Gus Newbury. "I thought he was the tallest man I ever saw," Mr. Harr said. Fred Dorn first attended school at Watkins in a log building. His teacher was John Jeffrey, now an attorney and well-known politician of Portland. Mr. Dorn remarked that some of the logs used in the old building now compose Carey Culy's garage. Albert Collings and his sister, Mrs. Sadie DeWolfe, also went to school there to Mr. Jeffrey, who taught three months out of the year. Val Haskins' education began at Uniontown in this section, where the former Mrs. George Dunn taught. At that time she was Alta Miller. Raymie Phillips also attended at Uniontown, and his first teacher was Quin Willits. "I got three lickings," Mr. Phillips confessed. Mrs. Floyd McKee stated that her first school was in a one-room building at Agate, and was taught by Bertha Corum, who since became Mrs. Victor Bursell. Grace Lewis' first teacher at Willow Springs was A. J. Hanby. Justice W. R. Coleman of Medford named Independence, two miles west of Phoenix, as his first school, which was taught by Miss Maggie Sargent. "That was 60 years ago," he said, "and the old building was a plain box house with long benches in it for seats. We always carried water from a farm house half a mile away," he added. Mr. Coleman said that experience has given him most of the knowledge he possesses. Newton Lewis first went to school at Salt Creek in the Little Butte Creek area in 1868. His cousin, Miss Jane Benson, taught. Mrs. Charles Buck attended at Sterling, where Judge Webster was the teacher. W. A. Gates of Medford took his initial steps in education in Indiana. "I thought the teacher was pretty nice until she found I had a pet white rat in my pocket, then she wasn't so nice," he said. Floyd Rippey thinks of the Blue Mountains in Umatilla County in connection with his early schooling. "That teacher had a false wig and long nose, and was the meanest woman I ever saw, and the kids always had a black eye from falling down on the hewn boards in the floor." Thirty-one of the group assembled whose first schooling was in Jackson County still reside in the county. A few of the others responding to roll call are as follows: Mrs. C. W. Culy, Big Butte; George Peck, Missouri; Wallace Haskins, Uniontown, Fannie Donegan, teacher; Mrs. Fred Straube, Yreka; Mrs. Raymond Phillips, Forest Creek, Ida Herriott, teacher; Edward Walker, England; George Prowl, Kentucky; Mrs. Lance Offenbacher, Applegate, Emma Wendt (Chase) and Lora Couch (Pernoll) teachers; Mrs. Lee Port, Oklahoma frontier school, and Shorty Farnsworth, Wisconsin. Medford Mail Tribune, October 5, 1937, page 2 TALENT-PHOENIX MERGER PASSES
Medford Mail Tribune, March
18, 1948, page 1
Both Talent and Phoenix school patrons voted to consolidate the
districts at a special election yesterday. The vote in Talent was 96
for and 78 against, and the Phoenix vote was 95 for and 15 against.
County School Superintendent C. R. Bowman and the county school boundary board will make an official count of the ballots next week and then consolidation plans will be outlined, it was said. Since the Phoenix district is the larger of the two, it takes the lead in consolidation plans, officials report. In a previous election on consolidation, Talent voted the proposition down. Education
Shown One of County's Biggest
Medford Mail Tribune, May
16, 1954, page 12'Industries' with Total Budget $4,866,000 for Year; Population Growth Presents Problems for Schools
Education of Jackson County grade and
high school students is big business and it's becoming bigger every
year.
On a dollars and cents basis it rates fourth in the county, behind lumber, agriculture and tourists. Some $4,866,500 has been tentatively budgeted for the operation of the county's 40 or so schools during the coming fiscal year. With this, about 568 teachers will place nine months of education before an estimated 12,500 youngsters at a cost of about $400 per pupil. Much New Building New construction of school buildings has amounted to more than $4,678,000 since the end of World War II. Another $1,985,250 in new construction has been approved by voters, some of it to be completed in time for the start of school next fall. These figures are for public schools alone. In addition there are two privately operated schools, St. Mary's of Medford and Rogue River Academy, which are providing an education for several hundred students. Costs of providing an elementary and high school education for the youngsters in Jackson County, as elsewhere, have grown tremendously since the end of World War II. There are four principal reasons for this. Big Increase First is the great increase in the number of school-age children. This reflects an overall increase in this area's population, plus a rapid increase in the nation's birth rate following the end of the war. Second is a combination of two factors which put Jackson County and the rest of the nation far behind in badly needed new school construction. These were the depression of the 1930s, when money was not available, and World War II, when materials and workmen were almost impossible to obtain. Third is the general increase in the "cost of living." Local schools officially estimate that costs of teachers' salaries, of new school construction, and of school operation and maintenance have more than doubled in the past 20 years. More Finish School Fourth is the fact that a larger percentage of youngsters than ever before are entering and completing high school. These problems, or at least part of them, look like they're going to be with us for quite a while. For example, the first--increase in population--started in Jackson County about 1920 when the census showed there were 20,405 people here. By 1930 the figure was 32,918, in 1940 it was 36,213, the 1950 census totaled 58,510, and the county's population last fall was estimated at 63,000. It's still growing. Coupled with the increased birthrate, this population increase means a building program which must continue for most of the foreseeable future. The second of these factors--delays in new school construction because of depression and war--is obvious throughout Jackson County. Figures compiled by the county schools office show that only about four new school buildings were authorized in the county between the start of the depression and the end of World War II. Medford Is Example A good example is in Medford, where the new junior high and Garfield St. grade school will be the first new starts since 1931, when the senior high school and Washington grade school were constructed. In Medford, and other parts of the county, additions to existing buildings have been constructed as stopgap measures, but many buildings now being used were originally constructed more than 40 years ago. Here are some of the original construction dates for school buildings still being used in the county. Eagle Point grade school, 1897. Medford's Lincoln grade school, 1906. Griffin Creek school, 1902. Rogue [River] school, 1909. Applegate school, 1911. Gold Hill school, 1910. 20 Before 1920 Approximately 20 school buildings which are still being used were built prior to 1920. Another 12 were constructed between 1920 and the time the full force of the depression hit in about 1931. From 1931 until the end of World War II in 1945, only about four new buildings were constructed, all of them comparatively small. When the end of the war came, almost every district in the county was having trouble. There were too many kids and not enough school rooms. The districts started new construction as soon as possible, but by the time most of it was completed, the families started by returned servicemen were reaching school age, and the merry-go-round started all over again. Here is a district-by-district survey of what has been done to meet this problem since 1946, figured as the first "normal" postwar year, and what is planned for the immediate future. Districts' Plans District 1, Jacksonville--A four-room elementary plant was built in 1946 at a cost of $31,000. A total of $150,000 has been authorized for construction of a new six-room elementary unit. District 2, Griffin Creek--A two-room elementary plant was constructed in 1948 at a cost of $25,000. In 1950 a gymnasium was built at a cost of $30,000. The district spent $3,500 in 1953 for a two-room addition to the existing building. District 3, Ruch--In 1950 $35,000 was expended for a three-room building, offices and teachers' room and remodeling of space for a cafeteria. District 4, Phoenix--A new high school and gymnasium were built in 1949 at a cost of $252,000. A $136,000 eight-room elementary unit, with teachers' rooms, health room and heating system, started in 1953, is now nearing completion. In Ashland District 5, Ashland--Briscoe school was built in 1949 to replace the old Washington school, Walker school was constructed, classrooms were added to Bellview, and Lincoln was remodeled, all at a cost of $550,000. In 1952 a new physical education building, library, home economics and science rooms, and remodeling of the junior high school cost $685,000. District 6C, Central Point, Gold Hill, Sams Valley--A group of buildings costing $30,000 were erected in 1947, $500,000 was used in 1950 for construction of the new Crater high school, and in 1952 $195,000 was authorized for construction of a second arts and vocational agriculture shop, a four-room addition to the junior high school, and some additional work on Crater high school. Use Camp Buildings District 9, Eagle Point--$55,800 was expended in 1946 for a new high school plant constructed from remodeled Camp White buildings. A four-room elementary building was constructed in 1949 at a cost of $50,000 and a six-room elementary building was erected in 1952 at a cost of $80,000. District 10, Lone Pine--A gymnasium and a cafeteria were added in 1947 at a cost of $30,000 and $30,000 was expended in 1951 for a three-room elementary addition. District 22, Talent--A new six-room elementary unit and band rooms and a health room were built in 1949 at a cost of $92,000, and a new high school, to cost $159,500, has been authorized for construction. District 35, Rogue River--$115,000 was expended in 1950 for a six-room elementary building, high school shop, teachers' room and heating unit. Gym for Applegate District 40, Applegate--A new gymnasium was built in 1952 at a cost of $18,500. District 45, Elk-Trail--In 1946, $5,000 was spent for remodeling and maintenance, and $37,500 was used for a two-room elementary addition. District 49, Medford--A total of $1,085,000 was expended from 1946 through 1949 for additions to all existing school buildings. Plans are nearing completion for a new east side junior high school, a new grade school south of Stewart Ave., and remodeling of the present high school at a cost of approximately $1,600,000. District 59, Prospect--A four-room elementary unit was constructed in 1948 at a cost of $30,000, and in 1952-1953 $170,000 was expended for a new gymnasium. Use Levy District 62, Evans Valley--New gymnasium construction has been under a continuing levy, rather than through bond issues. Figures on building costs are not available in the county schools office. District 69, Oak Grove--In 1948 a four-room elementary addition was constructed at a cost of $50,000. A $31,750 bond issue for construction of a two-room addition has been approved. District 89, Shady Cove--A two-room addition was built in 1946 at a cost of $11,500. In 1950 another two-room addition cost $20,000, and a one-room addition was built in 1952 at a cost of $9,500. A $23,000 bond issue for construction of a two-room addition, heating unit, furniture, and work on the school gymnasium has been approved. District 91, Butte Falls--$21,000 approved for a new shop. District 94, Pinehurst--No new construction has been reported for this one-room school atop the Greensprings Mountains east of Ashland. 4-Room Unit District 95, West Side--A new four-room elementary unit was constructed last year at a cost of $65,000. District 100, Howard--A new four-room addition and remodeling of two additional rooms was completed in 1948 at a cost of $63,000. St. Mary's school constructed a new building at a cost of $375,000 two years ago, and plans are now under way for an addition to the building. Over a period of years, school administrators have come to realize that they must look to the future with an eye to trends in population, new housing developments, and what parents believe their children should have in the way of school facilities. Right now, Medford city schools officials are studying needs of 10 years from now, when, if present trends continue, another grade school and another high school may be necessary. To do this, they must be able to predict which areas are going to build up in the future, so that sites can be purchased before desirable spots are filled by houses. This kind of planning pays big dividends because land can usually be purchased at a comparatively low cost, and if they should be wrong, can be sold again without losing money. At Central Point the problems are more immediate, and school officials are studying additions which may be required in five years or less. At Rogue River, a consolidation with Evans Valley is being discussed. If such a plan were approved, a new building would probably be required. Some Send Children Most districts operate their own schools. But there are districts which do not operate schools, sending their children to other districts which do. These are District 29, Dewey, and District 102, Kenwood. Students in the old Colestin district, now part of District 5, Ashland, are transported to California schools. Each of the county's districts has its own problems. Some are plagued by low valuation, which rigidly limits the amount of debt which can be contacted. Others must operate school buses hundreds of miles each day to take children to and from school. They range in size from Medford, which will soon be operating eight schools with more than 100 teachers for approximately 4,600 students, to Pinehurst, where Teacher Robert Wallis conducts class in one room for 15 first through eighth graders. Under Rural Board The breakdown on school budgets, some of which are already approved, for the coming year shows that some $2,079,175.37 has been appropriated for the group designated as coming under jurisdiction of the rural school board. This includes all schools except those in the county's three first-class districts. There are three first-class districts. Medford's budget of $1,480,800 is largest, followed by Ashland, with $706,065 and District 6C, which includes Central Point, Sams Valley and Gold Hill grade schools and Crater high school, with $600,439. There are several governing bodies which have jurisdiction over the schools. Best known are the local school boards which have the primary authority for operating the schools. Other Groups Other groups are the district boundary board, which changes district boundaries when need arises, the non-high board, for districts which have no high schools, and the rural school board, which among other jobs acts as an overseeing body on budgets for all except first-class districts. County school superintendent Alf Mekvold, whose offices are in the county courthouse, acts as coordinating agent for these governing bodies, and is aided by Mrs. Una B. Inch, school supervisor, in working with the individual school districts to improve the county school system. Hand-Written Record Tells of
Early Schools
It is a little difficult to visualize the Applegate Valley without
schools, but an old book at the county superintendent's office, where
the record is written by hand, tells some of the story of more than a
century ago.Boundaries Were Flexible, Numbers Changed Often By MAUDE ZIEGLER "Shall we organize a system of free schools," was the first proclamation of Joseph Lane, governor of the Oregon Territory. The Rev. George H. Atkins prepared a message to the first territorial legislature July 17, 1849. He brought with him $200 worth of school books of latest and best authors, the record states. It appears that district boundaries and names were flexible in those early days, as well as district numbers, and the first record shows Upper Applegate or Uniontown district No. 24 with G. W. Starr as clerk. M. A. Williams was county superintendent of schools at that time, April, 1863. District Changes In December the district was changed into Logtown-Uniontown No. 27. A year later, William A. Jones was clerk, with 27 children attending and 40 legal voters in the district. It is not recorded where a building was located. Two quarters of school were held with three months in the spring, and three in the fall. The teacher's salary averaged about $100 for a three-month period. This included room and board, and the teachers would board with three or four families. The entire school fund appropriated to the district was $98.78. Theodric Cameron, Uniontown storekeeper, was clerk in 1865. There were no school buses for those days, and Miles, Jim and Omar Cantrall, living on the Preston place, crossed the river by rowboat to get to Uniontown school in 1872, when Miles was four years old, members of the family say. A few teachers of the 1880s were John Gore, Verlinda Buck Cantrall, and Bernice Cameron. Serve Ruch Area These districts also served the present Ruch area, and sometimes only a quarter term was taught. B. F. Irvine, once blind editor of Portland Journal, attend school at Logtown. in 1876 a building was erected at the site of the present Ruch school, and any connection with Logtown was dropped at this time. The school was called "the Drake school," the Drake family living at the site of the Hibbs or Osenbrugge place. Since Drake was instrumental in establishing a school, it was given the family name. The "No. 3" may not indicate its position of organization, for the old record shows there was a general shifting of numbers over the Southern Oregon area; when the Col. Ross district No. 3 was absorbed into Central Point district, the "No. 3" was left free, and was adopted by the Drake school. 51 Pupils In 1872 this district had 51 pupils and 42 voters. William Ray was clerk until 1876, and J. D. Buckley served until 1872. According to Jim Buckley, he and other pupils of Drake district went to Uniontown part of the time, and vice versa, for there was not always money to maintain the schools even for six months out of the year. Buckley said the school water supply came by carrying it from neighboring houses, and that it was considered a privilege to carry water to evade lessons. Early teachers as remembered by Jim Buckley were J. B. Farley, who also taught the youthful miners at Sterling; Kate Herriott Hyde, mother of Mrs. Boyd Hamilton; Emma Ulrich, aunt of the late Mrs. Jim Buckley; Jennie Moore, who married Professor J. T. Merritt of Jacksonville; Stella Stidham; Frances Donegan; Miles Cantrall, father of Harlan Cantrall, who also taught at Ruch in [the] late 1920s, Dorothy Day and John Jeffrey. Recalls Recreation Buckley recalls that for recreation the children played "Black Man" and "Town Ball." Desks were homemade, and the benches were boards nailed full length of the wall. The building was studded on the outside, with bare walls on the inside, and children could observe the outdoors through the knotholes. The stove in the building was a long iron stove which stood in the center of the room and took wood in four-foot lengths. The name was changed from Drake to Ruch in 1897, when the Ruch post office was established by C. M. Ruch. Jacksonville was District No. 1, and Ashland, established in 1860, was No. 2. Ages of pupils in those days ranged from five to 20 years, and most children attended school, although there was no compulsory school law. Addition Built In 1893 an addition was built to the Drake building, and it was used until 1914, when the present block building was constructed by Fred Fick, Jacksonville hardware store owner. A second block room was added in 1916, and high school was held for two years. The next earliest school in the community was Sterling No. 33. R. S. Armstrong was clerk when the school was first recorded in 1870. There were 36 children of school age, and George Yaudes was clerk for 10 years. The district lapsed in 1919 and was reestablished in 1923. It was consolidated with Ruch in 1937. Early-day board members at Sterling were Claus Kleinhammer, Josiah Crump and Joe Saltmarsh. Thompson Creek Another early school was Thompson Creek, No. 34, with Thomas H. Lowden as clerk, and 24 children were in the district, which was formed from part of Missouri Flat. Early-day clerks from 1872 were Thomas Mee, A. Darneille, James Mee and Jasper Darneille. The first building was of logs, and about 20 years later a school house was built of lumber with Effie Green the first teacher. This was where Dick Hoffman went to school, and he recalls that the late Gus Newbury was county school superintendent. Books were scarce, Hoffman said, and when school opened in the fall the children brought the books they had, and classes were held. Foot races and tearing up wood rats' nests Hoffman [listed] as the main sports. There was no fountain in the room in those days, and Mr. Hoffman said many times they drank from the irrigation ditch. In a few years the teachers didn't board around with the families anymore, but had a definite place to stay. Mrs. Fritz Ruch, now Mrs. Jennie Young of Medford, boarded the teachers for 21 years. A more modern school was built in 1924 at a cost of $1,200, and was used until 1947, when Thompson Creek consolidated with Applegate. The school now known as Applegate No. 40 was called Bridge Point in 1876, when a district was formed from a part of Missouri Flat, Provolt and Steamboat. H. C. Fleming was county school superintendent, and John Bolt was the first clerk, serving for six or seven years. The present brick building was erected in 1911, and high school was held for 14 years with standardized library and science equipment. Commercial and college preparatory courses were given. Mrs. Lora Couch Pernoll was one of the first high school teachers. Forest Creek School Forest Creek school No. 34 was first recorded in 1878 with Daniel Hopkins as the first clerk. Two years later, John Atterbury became clerk. The first building was of logs and was heated by a fireplace. The desks were homemade, and the first teacher was May Crane. Among families of that period were the Isaac Coffman and Pence families. In five years a new house was built to serve until consolidation with Ruch in 1951, at which time three new classrooms were added at Ruch, and a more modern building from Uniontown, also consolidated in 1951, was added as a cafeteria. The present Ruch gymnasium and a fourth classroom were built in 1955. The first recording of Watkins No. 68 was in 1884, and in 1891 a log building was put up on the river bank near the mouth of Squaw Creek. The first board members were Mark Watkins, F. O. Collings, and a Mr. Langley. The playground was merely a narrow strip between the river and the "wagon road," for farmland was too precious to use for school grounds. Chief Sports The chief sports were baseball and rock throwing contests across the river. The baseball was made with string from a raveled sock wound on a piece of rubber, according to stories told to Christine Beaver Harr, early-day teacher there. The ball was finished up with hand stitching to hold the string in place. The bat was handmade, too. The children forming this early school besides the Watkins and Collings children were those of William Dorn and Arrasmith's. The teacher boarded with the families until 1911, when she had to take part of her $30 per month to pay board. In 1923, the shake roof began to leak, and a new building was erected on property bought from Bert Harr, but the old logs were in good condition and were utilized by Cary Culy in building a garage. John Jeffrey, member of a Ruch family, was the first teacher. He was a surveyor, and later a Portland attorney. Watkins school was discontinued in 1942, owing to a shortage of teachers. A school which many today have never known about was Steamboat No. 58, recorded in 1889, locating on Carberry Creek, where a mining village once flourished after a quartz "pocket" of $250,000 was discovered in 1869. A building of squared logs was built on part of the old Al Shearer place below [the] mouth of Steve and Sturgis creeks, according to A. B. Culy, of Medford, who attended school there. Named After Mine Culy says there never was a creek by the name of "Steamboat," but the name applied to the mine. A publication on Oregon geographic names says that when mines do not come up to expectations either naturally or by fraud they are said to be "steamboated," so Culy says that when some men in Jacksonville heard of the "strike" on Carberry, they went in search of it, and failing to find it named the place "Steamboat." The school was discontinued about 1912. A later school organized, but one with a picturesque story was Beaver Creek No. 82, in 1898. The first building was located on the west side of the river, and pupils and teacher crossed the river in a trolley, pupils pulling each other across. Teachers who still talk about riding in the trolley are Miss Kate Buckley and Ina Stoker Pursel. Children who attended school at that time were those of Amos and Adelbert McKee, Newton Lewis and Charles Buck. Recalls Fall Leonard McKee, now of Jacksonville, recalls that Bessie Lewis Dorn fell from a 10-foot pier supporting the trolley cables, and fractured several ribs. Early board members were Charles Pursel, Newton Lewis and James Dews. The first teacher was Daisy Walker. The first building was used for 16 years, and one other was built to serve until the school was discontinued in 1942. The last school to be organized was Little Applegate in 1904, according to Nelson Pursel, whose father's sawmill, operated by Charles Pursel on Little Applegate, supplied the lumber for the school house in 1906. For two years before the building was attained, private school was held in a vacant cabin at the Frank Crump ranch. The first teacher was Ramona Bissel. Miss Ella Parks taught in 1905, and Mrs. Nelson Pursel in 1906. Some early pupils there were Osie Saltmarsh, Lee Saltmarsh, Tiny, Hugh and Melissa Combest, and children of the Harley Hall and Eldon Jennings families. Serve Miners' Children Early schools served miners' children for the most part, for agriculture as a chief livelihood was not developed [in the Applegate Valley] until the late '80s. Ruch school has a present enrollment of over 100 pupils, and Applegate has an enrollment of 90. Teachers listed from 1899 to 1916-1917: Uniontown: Bernice Cameron, Josephine Donegan, Ella Parks, Maud Prim, Maud Harr (Ditsworth), Lillie Payne, Gay Webb, Eva Couch, Mae Lawrence, Irene Plotner, Mrs. E. E. Sams, Maybell Daniels (Offenbacher), Mabel Hanson (Wertz). Ruch: Anna Jeffrey (1897), Frances Donegan, Dorothy Day, Maud Prim, Mabel Mickey, Mary B. Underwood, Benjamin Collins, George Henry, T. D. Goodpasture, Helen Wait, Gertrude Deierlein, Grace Hullinger, Mina Magnes, Robert Main, John Nealon, Anna Boylan, Nellie Collins, Bes Colvin, Robert Peachey, Lucy Kruger, Margarette Morrisey and N. A. Frost. Sterling Teachers Sterling: George McCune, Martha Lee, Ollie Huffer, Olah Mickey, May Rose, Myrtle Corum, Beulah Freeman, Minnie Thompson, Abbie Henry, M. P. Scott, Faye Burchell, Ella Parks, Mary A. Gore, Hazel Dalzell, Reva E. Arnold. Thompson Creek: Naomi E. Crocker, Katherine Buckley, Eunice Corum, Kate Broad, Maud O'Brien, Luria Chapman, Kate Herriott Hyde, Maud Prim, Grace Raypholtz, Gay Webb, Cora March (Hoffman), Verna Prater, Mildred Hicks, Inez M. Drive, Eunice Davis, Mamie F. Clark, Kay Kincaid, Helen Mee (Brown), Bessie Haselton. Applegate: Abbie Stites, Cora B. Lemon, Ollie Huffer, W. C. Whitlock, Dorothy Day, Josephine Donegan, Maud O'Brien, Kate Hyde, Beulah Huebner, Nell E. Callahan, Lora Couch (Pernoll), Emma Wendt (Chase), Bessie Colvin, Charles A. Collins, Mrs. Charles A. Collins, Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Wheeler, Irene Manning, Lillian Page, H. S. O'Hara, B. F. Nibert, Ella Rawlings, Charles Brown. Forest Creek Teachers Forest Creek: Elsie Wiley, Nellie Towne, Thora Smith, Lelia Anderson, R. H. Jones, Flora Thompson, Ada C. Ditsworth, George Henry, Bertha Prim, Maud Peachey (Port), Mina J. Hall, Ella Parks, John C. Hart, Nettie M. Abbott (Armpriest), Pearl L. Gould, Mrs. Ella D. Tyrrell, Maud Miller, A. F. Allden, Mamie F. Clark, Ada D. East. Watkins: Nora Shearer, Leslie Anderson, Alma Wilson, Armeda Burch, Daisy Walker, Margaret Byrne, Flora Thompson, N. T. Baughman, Ina Stoker (Pursel), Edith M. McCune, Emma Wendt (Chase), Evelyn Merrill, Christine Beaver (Harr), Florence Crippen, Eunice L. Smith, Grace Raypholtz, Eleanor M. Hay, Olive A. Hogan, Helen James. Steamboat Teachers Steamboat: Dotty Day, Nettie Lewis (Thompson), Mary Childers, Armetta Birch, Mabel Mickey, Mrs. I. M. Hoge, Nina Karne, Maude Harr, Clara Elmer, Bertha Daily (Culy), Minnie Ring, Gertrude Hedrick, Esther M. Perry, Ruth York (Hood), J. J. Allen, Kate Hyde. Beaver Creek: Kate Buckley, Daisy Walker, Ella Parks, Ethel Florey, Dora Hurley, Lucia Chapman, Susie Boyd, Maud Herr, Abby Henry, Ina Stoker (Pursel), Cyneth Lee, Gay Webb, Mary Bigham, Bertha Daily (Culy), Gladys Shaw, Bertha Peachey (McKinney), Bertha Smith, Minnie Larson, Mildred Hicks, Mabel Thomas, Ruth York (Hood), Lucille Barber, Ella Rawlings, March Brown, Mary A. Gore, Olive Hogan. Little Applegate (record incomplete): Ramona Bissel, Ella Parks, Ina Stoker, Alice Palmer, Harold Ager, Maud Miller. Medford Mail Tribune, April 12, 1959, page 12 Speaker Reviews Highlights of
School's 99-Year History
By MARY KELL Mail Tribune Correspondent
Sams Valley--Highlights of
history relating to the Sams Valley School of District 6C were told by
C. Wesley McDonough at a recent meeting of the Sams Valley PTA when
"dads" presented the program.
Past presidents who received recognition in observance of founder’s day were Mrs. Earl Peffley, Mrs. Frank Straus, Mrs. Jean Smith, and Mrs. Edgar Pleasant. Mrs. Alfred Gowan, publicity chairman, reported that a silver offering taken that evening was contributed to the Oregon Scholarship Fund. The business session was conducted by Stanley Hall, president of the unit. Plans were made to sponsor a potluck supper and full-length movie on April 2. Suggestions that a dance and card party be held in the near future to raise funds for PTA budget expenses were discussed. Mrs. Harold DeVoss is ways and means chairman. Organized in 1861 Wesley McDonough said the district was organized as Sams Creek on Feb. 11, 1861. The boundary started at the upper edge of the lower Table Rock on the right bank of Rogue River and ran north until it intersected Evans Creek, then southwest to Sardine Creek and back to the Rogue River and point of beginning. An early settler, James Sutton, was clerk in March 1861 and recorded that of 52 school-age children, there were 15 in attendance at the one school house, with 60 days of school. The amount paid the teacher was not reported, but the district received the sum of $117.68 from county funds. This early-day school was a log building and stood a short distance west of where the Paul Schulz garage building is at present. The school operated about one quarter of each year, and the main subjects taught were Davis and Thompson arithmetic, Mitchell geography, Clark's grammar, Webster's speller and Sanders' reader. McDonough made comparison concerning consolidation. He said we are now consolidating for mere economical operation, but on March 3, 1877, a petition was presented to the county to divide the Sams Creek district. Those signing for the northwest or Pankey district were James Pankey, A. S. Moon, Jacob Gabriel, William Payne and Jed Smith. He said those signing for the southwest or Sams Creek district were other well-known early settlers, John Chastain, John Sisemore, C. C. McClendon, J. Dowden and O. Ganiard. James Pankey and Jacob Gabriel gave land for the Pankey school in March, 1881. C. C. McClendon deeded land for the Sams Creek School in March of the same year, and the school stood where the Albert Straus house is now. The Pankey school was just north of the Earl Peffley residence. Both schools were famous old landmarks. McDonough recalled stories about a method of operation used about 1890 at the Sams Creek subscription school. Each family donated a sum for operating the school and Rachael Nickels was the teacher. The Antioch district was organized about 1870, and the Meadows district in April, 1871. A man named John Potter taught at both of these schools. There also was a school at Asbestos in the Meadows area, and for a period of about two years a subscription school was held in the Meadows. The building used was an old cook house at a sawmill. In the Beagle area, the Mountain School operated for a while and was located near the Rush place. About 1900 the Chaparral School, located just off of what is now known as Perry Road and Weber Road, was started. It was fairly close to the small community known as Rabbitville, where a store and blacksmith shop were operated by the Woodsons about that time, McDonough said. Districts Merged The Sams Valley and Chaparral districts consolidated in 1920 and the present school was started in 1921. McDonough said the gymnasium was constructed in 1930 with all donated labor. The main building is of pole construction, the poles being cut on the Fitzgerald property. They were cut and peeled with the help of the high school boys and were skidded out with horses and hauled to the site on wagons. He said what lumber was used was purchased in Medford and from the Trail mill on Elk Creek for around $7 a thousand. The Sams Valley Grange donated the flooring, and it came from an open-air dance pavilion that was in the black oak grove south of the school. Sams Valley High School won the county basketball championship about that time with seven boys on the basketball team, he said. The Pankey district eventually consolidated with Sams Valley, also the Meadows, and when the Army turned back the Beagle area [after it was no longer needed for Camp White training maneuvers] it became a part of the Sams Valley district. He concluded his story with the statement that through more consolidation we are all a part of District 6C. During the evening Alfred Gowan spoke of topics of interest to the group concerning schools in Dearing, Kan., in comparison to the local school and PTA. In Dearing, he said, there was no PTA. Instead, once a month, people of the area held what they termed a community club at the school. Everyone attended whether or not they had a youngster in the school. The Gowans resided in Dearing prior to coming here several years ago. The next PTA meeting is slated for Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m. Medford Mail Tribune, May
16, 1960, page 6
Last revised September 18, 2024 |
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