Etowah High School - Chief Yearbook (Etowah, NC)

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THE CHIEF -’39 HISTORY OF ETOWAH SCHOOL “Still sits the schoolhouse by the road A ragged beggar sunning.”’ The schoolhouse which Whittier immortalizes in ‘School Days” must have been similar to the old Hopewell School, that stands in. crumbling ruins on the Gash home- stead near the Etowah depot. In construction Hopewell was similar to the majority of rural schools of that day. It was built of logs and was hardly as large as the average classroom of a modern school building. Besides the door there was no other source of light and air except a small opening in one end. On cold, disagreeable days it was necessary to close both the door and window, thus practi- cally excluding air and light. The building was heated by a large fireplace. Desks such as are used today were unknown then. Instead, rough hewn logs split in half and set on stilts were used as seats. The blackboard was a small pine board blacked with lamp black. There was no other teaching device. How- ever, each child had his own slate which was put to good use. The earliest facts about this old school date back to the late sixties. During this period a school term was three and one-half to four months. The school fund, raised by a tax on property, was often supplemented by subscriptions. At Hopewell, free board was regarded as a supplement to the teacher’s salary. There was no limit to a school district. Anybody who desired and who was able to walk to school was enrolled. Many walked as far as four or five miles. In the fall of 1871, Mr. James Wilson Morgan, a young man from Buncombe County, was engaged as teacher at Hopewell. His two predecessors had been run off by obstreperous students, therefore, the school fund had accumulated and Mr. Morgan was given a four months term. The enrollment was well over a hundred, but many, lacking depth of purpose and a real thirst for knowledge, soon dropped out. However, the daily attendance was frequently high as ninety. The course of study consisted of the three “R’s”; the blue-back speller being taught in connection with reading. Webster’s Diction- ary was regarded as an undisputed authority in vocabulary building. Usually, a child learned his ABC’s at home and was ready for reading the first day. Certain prevailing customs of the old schools were an integral part of the Hopewell school. Every Friday afternoon each child was expected to recite a “speech.” Often these programs, to which parents were invited, included spelling bees and debates. The exhibition given by the pupils on the closing night was, perhaps, the most enjoyable occasion of the school year. These programs con- Page Four

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THE CHIEF -’39 DEDICATION To R. G. Anders, who has been outstanding as a leader of the great progressive educational movement that has been carried on in Henderson County during his regime; who at all times has cheerfully and intelligently responded to every eal l that the school has made on him, and who has ealled around between assignments to ask for other tasks, whether trivial or of great import, this, the 1939 ‘‘Chief’’, is dedicated, with the hope that it will in some degree bear witness to the prideful affection of a mother for a stalwart and devoted son. Page Three

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THE CHIEF -’39 sisted of speeches, dialogues, plays, songs, and violin and banjo music. Unlike his predecessors, Mr. Morgan evid- ently gave the patrons of Hopewell good rea- son to “hope,” and before another school year rolled around plans were under way for the removal of the school from Hopewell to a site approximately a mile nearer the river and which was to be known as Oak Forest School. When time came to start the new year, Oak Forest was still under construction and a nearby cabin on the place of Watt Hadden was used as the school house for a few weeks. This was Known as Watt’s Cabin. Oak Forest was soon completed and the remaining school term was taught there. Mr. Morgan taught at Hopewell and Oak Forest for seven terms. The upward trend of the school here began with his coming as a teacher in 1871. The old schools, although greatly handicapped, were the foundations upon which our present schools have been built. The schools have been enlarged as need demanded. Among the pupils taught by Mr. Morgan at Oak Forest was one who went there for his first school, and who has since then followed largely in Mr. Morgan’s footsteps. That pupil was the present Supt. of Public Instruction, R. G. Anders. Oak Forest was used as a school site for about thirty years. For many years the equipment was similar to that used at Hopewell. With the beginning of Governor Aycock’s administration, a new day dawned for the public schools. His creed was that every child is entitled to a good school; every young man or young woman, who wishes it, to a good college. Soon a library was placed in the Etowah School and modern equipment began gradually to replace the old. The school term was increased to six months. in 1917; it was increased to eight months in 1926. Early in the century, Rev. M. A. Matheson, who had prerioualy taught at Oak Forest, taught for two or three terms in the Methodist Church. At this time one of the teachers was supported by the county and the other by subscription. One winter the County Superintendent of Public Instruction permitted Mr. Matheson to have a Teachers’ Institute in connection with his school. About this time an unsuccessful attempt was made to establish a church school here. Probably before 1910 a public school building was erected near the Methodist Church. This building was used until it was destroyed by fire in the spring of 1929. This was a grammar school and boys and girls went away to boarding schools for the high school course. In 1928, a great forward step was taken in the educational sys- tem of Etowah, when the Horse Shoe, Rhymer, Pleasant Grove, Big Willow, and Boylston schools were consolidated with Etowah, and the present modern building was erected. Mr. Ralph W. Jones has served efficiently as principal since opening of the high school. In 1928-1929, while the new building was under construction, the high school classes were taught in the Baptist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were the teachers (Continued on Page 29) Page Five