East Liverpool High School - Keramos Yearbook (East Liverpool, OH)

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EFFIIUUS VOL. II EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO, MAY 1911 NO. 6 Looking Backward through my bollege work that gym feeling unable to take up my pro- fession, I decided to teach school. The last days of school had been hard ones owing to poor health, so when I was offered the position of teacher in the small village of B- in the mountainous region of northern Tennessee, I decided to ac- cept. A week before the opening of school I had traveled by train to a city some 15 miles from B-, hence the rest of the distance had to be traveled by foot or on an occasional wagon which passed along, for there was no other connection with the village. The evening before the opening of school I stood on the outskirts of the village for the first time. It was a very pretty little village, nestling among the mountains, which were covered with great forests, with here and there an open place where cattle were grazing. In the foreground was a small mountain stream, flowing be- tween green pasture lands while here and there were the small homes of the inhab- itants. Only a few houses were in the midst of the village, while many more were within a distance of a few miles. Not being expected and a stranger in town I attracted a great amount of atten- tion asl walked for the first time down the only street of B-. Coming finally to an old building on which was the sign Post Office, I went in. WAS the year after I was - ' Behind a counter I saw a jovial-faced, kindly man and to him Imade my errand known. Mr. Smithton was very kind, and as it was almost supper time, took me to his home. There I met a gentle, motherly woman, who had prepared a good meal. As we sat down at the table several chil- dren came in and also took their places. There was a young man of about 18 yearsg a smaller boy and two girls. This was a very happy family and seemed to enjoy each others company. I was asked to re- main all night, for I was told that this home was the nearest to the school house. In the morning I was told that the family would be pleased to have me make their home my own during the school term and I was very glad to accept their kind offer. A short while before the school hour I went to the school house. What feelings swept over me as for the first time I saw that old school house. It stood on the edge of a small woods, and on the right was a high hill. In front of the school house was a small field in which were a great many varieties of wild flowers. Turning the key in the lock and opening the door I entered the school house. It was not unlike any old country school house, there stood the teacher's desk, the books ar- ranged in a row on a shelf nearby, here were the desks, marked by the boys and girls of other years. Examining them I found many initials cut upon them, while here and there an occassional piece of

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14 lieramnn gum was sticking to a seat. The walls had a few pictures upon them, but more marks, scratches and figures of men and women Cperhaps teachers who had pre- ceded mel in grotesque forms. The hour for school had arrived and with beating heart I rang the large bell which hung in the red belfry. Soon the children began to enter and by the time school opened about sixty had come. There were tall boys and girls of perhaps 19 years, down to little chaps of 4 or 5 years. After the opening exercises I be- gan to take their names. I wondered if I would ever have any difficulty with those older ones, who were much taller than I, but Idid not begin to cross my bridges until I came to them. I found that most of the older ones had come for the pur- pose of learning what they could, for they never were able to remain in the school all the spring season because of the farm work. These people were very industrious and before many days I discovered that many of the older boys and girls knew thoroughly the last year's work, which was lessons from ninth grade work, but were willing to still go, if perhaps they might learn something new. The weeks passed by happily for teacher and scholars without many storm clouds. Now and then a smaller boy or girl would become mischievous and would have to be reproved, but on the whole they were very good children. What a contrast, teaching the a b c's to the little children and teach- ing the A B Cis of life to the older ones, for we taught and learned more than that which was in the text books. We learned valuable lessons from Nature, from human nature and from the Book of God. When the lessons of the day were over we would Stay a short time talking about some flower, or bird, or method of construction of a bird's nest and many other things. Sometimes I found myself listening to an interesting discussion of some object of Nature, while he who was speaking could not give a fair recitation in Arithmetic. Thus the lessons of life were learned. Then there were the amusing incidents which happened. One evening the boys climbed to the roof of the school house and poured a large amount of black pepper down the chimney. When the fire was made in the morning a very offensive odor arose, but as the janitor and I were the only persons there, nothing serious happened. Not unfrequently a dog or cat would come to school with the boys and girls, and if they knew how to be good were generally allowed to remain. One day a small lamb followed Mary to school, but had to play on the campus until schoal was out. Sometimes the boys would bring an owl to the school and hide it in their desk. Suddenly a cry would be heard and a shout would go through the school room and a hunt would be started. Finally the owl would be found and the offender punished. Sometimes I would catch some of the boys nibbling at an apple or some other kind of fruit. One day during the recita- tion period for a small class of children, a little girl hurried from class and going to her lunch basket, took a piece of bread and ate it before the entire school. Who could be severe? I was not, but asked that it might not be repeated. One day we were all very much surprised to see the skeleton of the head of an ox rising slowly in front of a prominent window of the school. Some of the younger children were frightened and began to cry. Con- soling them and discovering the source of the trouble was but the work of a moment, for I noticed a string being drawn along on the floor by one of the larger boys. This string was attached to the head and