Jay High School - Breezes Yearbook (Jay, ME)

Page 17 text:

IHI' able cducatlon and hc xx as engaged by the colored pcoplc to teach thelr flrst school As yet no free school had been started for colored people ln that sectlon he nce each famlly agreed to pay a certain amount per month xx 1th the understand mg that the teacher xxas to board round that IS spend a dax wlth each tamlly This xx as not bad for the teacher for each famlly tr1cd to prov1de the very best on the dav thc te icher xx as to be 1ts guest He recalls that he looked forward wlth an anxlous appetlte to the teacher s clay at then ll e cabln He xx is pe rmltted to 'lttend school dur mg the dly xt very xrrcffulal lntervals Aftcr a short time hls attendance dur mg the dry was stopped Ind he began t the evcmng school In the mght school he secured by far tht crcxtcr palt of h1s educatmn Not long lfterxxalds he chanced to learn of '1 school for colored people In Vlrglma Hampton Instltute To this he determlncd to go howex er hard mlght be the struggle He began xx ork ln the household of a certaln Mrs Rutfner a northe rn lady exactlng ln her demands but xvlthal helpful ind encouraglng After spendlng some tlme here h started for Hampton xxhlch he nnally reached after many trylng experlcnces upon the way Hls llfe here began at once Wlth Jamtor Work He clme under the Influence of a master mmd General Armstrong to vxhom he attrlbutes much of his success ln llfe After years of patlent toll and hard study he completed lns cour e at Hamp ton 1 LI c cllt to hlmselt and to the school Hc xxas now rcadx to go out lnto the xxorld to do for othcxs xx hat had been done for hlm In 1881 he xx ent to Alabama therc to take up h1s llfe xxo1l1 It luskeegee Ins CIAVIS tltutc Thls xx as ln xxhlt xx 1 l1noxx n 'is the Black Belt of the South Ile h id no bulldlngs for the school and no equxp ment He cheerfully set to xxo1l1 hoxv ever and xvas successful Ill splte ot many discouraging features 111 flllllllig, a place for the school Hxs materml xx 'ls composed of colored boxs and girls eager for ln educatlon and ready to obtaln It at any cost He began xxlth thlrty students His oplnlon xvas that thc colored people of the South needed a practlcxl cduc-mon and he set about to accom phsh somethmg along thls lmc After sw months of xvoxk alone a Mlss D wld son became h1s asslstant vxho htel became hls life asslstant and hclp meet lhc xxorl1 begun by hlm contmued to IUCTQ asc other buxldmgs and te 16110191 belng zddcrl to thc cqulpmcnt and stlll other cour es lncre xsul 111 the cunxcu um Mr Washmgton has served 'ls lecturer flllllllg' all thcsc yelrs attrlct mg xttentlon wherever he goes by hxs wonderful mmd and attamments H IS gltted as an orator h xx1n0' that wonderful povxer of dravxlng lnterest ind of retalnlng lt to the end He has brought the attentlon of benevolent people to the needs of the great black race untll to day Tuskeegee Institute numbers 1400 students xvlth a total property value of N1 100 O00 He t11es to 1fT1flI'6SS upon hls stu dents that In proportlon as thex shoxx thelr appxcclatlon for whlt 1s llLlI1f., donc fol thcm xx1ll thcx xeulxe trom others Ifa mln l1l1e thls born ln the midst of most cllscourxgxng fextu1es cm attaln to such 5,11 xtncss can one measure the posslbllltles of those vxho have xx1th1n tlllll' grasp cvelv oppoltumtx L x I 11 1 1 1 W 1 . 1 1 If ' 4 1 x. 1 1 1 . 51 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 ' ' 1 ' ' 1 . 1 11 t ' ' 1 , 1 ' H 1 , , 1 , 1 .1 - x . 4 . X I N . 1 . I . 1 , , 1 .c 1, 1 1 ' 1 . . ' 1 ' 1 1 ' ' ' ,. . 1, .v x . , - . 1 c ' . 1 11 vc , 1: ,.' L1, ,, . . . 1 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 ' 1 ' ' 2 . 1. 1 1 l 1 1 r ' 51 ' , . 1 1 ff - M 1 2 J 1 ' 1 , 1 1 ' , 1 . ' 1 I 1 1 . 1 ' 1 1 ' 1 1 1 1 - 1 H 1 VJ. f 2 g. 'td -- L. A ' . ' ' ,' - 11 - . . 1 - 1 - 1 . - 1 1 , ,, . 1 1 'Z 1 K 51. - If 1 C 1 .1 1,1 1 L1 . 7 1 1 1 - ' A 1 1 2 1 ' 15 . . ' In.. 1 1 ' 1 - K 1 - 1 I 1 ' ' 1 1 1 11 -' 1 . 1 1 . . . I1 , . ' ' E 4 11 1 1 ' d. 1 1 1 1- 1 1 ' - ' . 1 . ' ' 1 . . 1 . 1 . .1 11. r, 1 - 1 . 1 L1 11 I 1 1 1 1' 1: 1 . . K 2 i X , , ' K1 Q . 1 1 S 1,1 ' . ,251 , ' 1 1 . .' - 2 1, 1 B1 1 . 1 I I 1 1 1 1 ' ' 1 1 1 1 A 5 . 1 J 4. ml. 1 1 1 1 ' 'C x ' 2 S, I - 1 1 1 . ' ' . ' 1 1 1 ' , A 1 1 1 r . 1 1 ' . ' 1 0 -- 1 1 , e h 1 ' ' 1 1 L 1 1 1' ' 1 11 , 1 - 1 1 - Z X . 1 , 9 1 1 ' - 1 1 ' , 1 1 ' , ' ' 1 . . . v 1 ., ,. '1 1 1 ' . 'I . X , ' ' JS . 1 - 1 ,, 1 ' ' . -. , . 1 1 L1 v, 1 . 11 ,' . .1.'. ' 1 2 'L 1' ,- Q' ,ig I 1 1 . 1' 11 .1..'11 1 1 1 ' 1 ' . 1 , L. 1 1 1 ' 1 1 4 1 1 1 - . 1 '- 1 '- ' 1 1 1 1. 1 1, ,2 F 1 ' '11' . S 1 2 V 'Z ' -I1 3 1 1. 1 ,. 1 ' , . . ' 1 1 ,-112 1L1- 1 - ,.1 - . 1 ,, 1. . . ' ' '11 1 , , , 1. 1 1 1 ' ' 1 1 1' ' 1' 1 1 1 1- U 1 1 - 1 , 1 B , 1 1 . , , 11 V . 1' . . 3 1' 5 I ' 2 1 ' I ' '

Page 16 text:

PHI' CLA VIS fourteen by sixteen feet In thls cabin he llved with h1S mother and brother and sister till after the ClV1l War when they were all declared free The early years of h1Sl1fC which were spent ln the little cabin, were not vely different from those of thousands of other slaves His mother of course had little tlme 1n which to glve attentlon to the training of her children during the day She snatched a few moments for their care in the early morning before her work began and at nlght after the day s work was done One of his earliest recollections is that of his mother cook mg a chicken late at night and awaken mg her children for the purpose of feed mg them How or where she got lt he does not know He thmks however It was procured from her owner s farm Some people may call this theft But takmg place at the time lt did and for the reason that It did no one could ever make him belleve that his mother was gullty of thlevxng She was slmply a victim of the system of slavery He can not remember having slept in a bed until after his family was declared free by the Emanclpatlon Proclamation Three children John his older brother Aman da, his sister and hlmself had a pallet on the d1rt floor or to be more correct they slept in and on a bundle of filthy rags laid upon the dirt Hoor He cannot remember a single instance durlng hls childhood or early boyhood when the entlre famlly sat down to the table together and God s blessing' was asked, and the family ate a meal in e1v1l1zed manner On the plant mon Ill V1rg1n1a and even later meals were gotten by the children very much as dumb an1mals get theirs It was a piece of bread here and a scrap of meat there It was a cup of mllk at one time and some potatoes at another After the comlng of freedom there were two points upon which praetlcally all the people of his place were agreed and he finds that this was generally true throughout the South that they must change their names and that they must leave the old plantation for at least a few days or weeks 1n order that they might really feel sure that they were free The first thing he ever learned ln the way of book knowledge was while working in the salt furnace Each salt packer had hlS barrels marked w1th a certaln number The number allotted to his step father was 18 At the close of the day s work the boss of the packers would come around and put 18 on each of the barrels and he soon learned to recognize that figure wherever he saw it and after a while got to the point where he could make that figure though he knew nothing about any other figures or letters From the tlme that he can remember havlng any thought about anythlng he recalls that he had an intense longing to learn to read He determmed when quite a small chlld that lf he accom pllshed nothing else IU l fe he would in some Way get enough education to enable him to read common books and newspapers About thls tlme the question of having some klnd of a school opened for the colored children in the village began to be dlscussed by members of the race As lt would be the first school for Negro children that h 1d ever been opened IH that part of Vlfglhla it was of course to be a great event and dlscusslon excited the wlldest lnterest The most perplexing question was where to find '1 teacher A young man from Ohio who had learned to read the papers was considered but h1s age was against him In the midst of the discussion about a teacher another y oung colored man from Ohlo who had been a SOltl1e!' in some way found his way 1nto town It was soon learned that he possessed consider , r 1 v 1 Ill 1 1 A . . . 1 I . . , . . . . ' ' .Y . . J . . I I , . A . ' 7 ' 1 7 Y ! I . , ' as 11 , . . . 1 . 4 - ll fl , ' 1 ' . ' s ' 1 ' 1 n 7 ' ' ' ' 1 1 x ' Y 7 . 1 ' a Y Y , , 1 . . . I . x - 1 ' Y . ' 1 1 ' l J . . I - 1 1 1 ' ' ' 7 ! 7 I 1 I 1 Z 1 1 1 1 ' . - l ' -' 1 L , , ' x. ' 1' ' 1 . K . . L .' ' . 2 ' A 5 ' 1 1 ' ' . 1 1 S, Ks' . - i , . . .e . J v ' Y 1 ' 1 K X . , 1 . I 1 I 1 L ' -

Page 18 text:

ED TOR AL BOARD