Marine City High School - Mariner Yearbook (Marine City, MI)

Page 18 text:

THE SCHOOLS OF YESTER-YEAR By Olive Lobes Because the school is such a large part of our life and that of our community, we sought, in carrying out our plan for the “Mariner” to give some idea of what schooling was in former years. We couldn’t find a teacher who had actually taught in our M. C. schools in the earliest days, but we were able to find one, Mrs. Wm. Gardner, who had taught in the rural schools near here, and so I asked the volley of questions which usually accompany an interview. First, she replied, in regard to the education of teachers, that they were usually students with perhaps an eighth grade education who were trying to earn their way through High School or college. As to her own education, she received the greater part of it in the school house located in the township of East China, in St. Clair Co., Michigan. From an early age she was taught by her parents at home, and by the time her real school days began in 1855, her age being 10 years, she was able to read in the second reader. Of course, at that time the pupils were not graded at all, but began in one book, and went straight through. This applied to reading, arithmetic, or any other subject they might take up. Seldom were there even two pupils in the same place in the text book, because the progress of the student depended only upon individual ability. When asked about the school house where she studied, she gave this de- scription: “It was an old building, 24x30, having windows with small lights of glass on the north and south side of the school room, also one outside door on the west end for the entrance of the scholars, and an entry to a small shed where fire-wood was kept. Each side of the room was furnished with a long desk facing the wall, one for the boys and one for the girls. A space of six inches at the top of the desk was allowed for books, slates, pencils, pens, and ink. The sloping part of the desk was nearly two feet wide. A long bench, the length of the desks, was used for a seat, and the pupils had to step over it, studying with their faces toward the walls, or windows. A smaller bench near the teacher’s desk was used for the recitations of the pupils. The east end of the room was taken up by a platform six inches above the floor, on which the teacher’s desk stood. The “seat of honor” stood near this, and the entire w all space behind the desk was taken up by a blackboard.” The text-books used by scholars in 1860, she explained, were the “U. S. History,’’ “Parker’s Rhetorical Reader,” “Sill’s Grammar,” “Davis’ Arithmetic,” “McNally’s Geography,” with writing, and spelling books. Particular attention was paid to plain writing and spelling. On the boys’ side of the room bookkeeping was taught. The average attendance in the different localities was approximately twenty- five. When asked to tell about the amusements and the attitude toward study at that time, she surprised me by telling that their attitude was entirely different then from what it is now. “The children daily told me of the work done for their parents on certain days, and of what they were going to do on the next day. I enjoyed the teaching of these children, who were a pleasure to their parents.” That this industrious attitude made a good foundation for future careers was shown by the fact that one student, who became a congressman from Wisconsin, had obtained the fundamentals of the learning which brought success from one of these little schools. Similarly two lawyers, and three physicians who left the school house in East China completed their education in high school and college, but never forgot the “little old school house.” 12

Page 17 text:

And about the Indians? Oh, they were harmless enough; indeed they were quite sociable! If they came calling (and they didn’t knock politely at the door; you might be reading or stirring a cake and look up to see one peeking in the window), and you didn’t gorge them with doughnuts, they would call you “nigy ’ — stingy. Sometimes they would stay all night and “bunk” on the floor. ’Twas a simple life then. Medicine was made of herbs gathered in the woods and dried in the attic. There were no water works; water was carried from the river, but then the water was not polluted by factory towns up the river. There was no mayor; a president held that honor. The Wards really made the town, and ran it. The auditorium was the First Methodist Episcopal Church and all the town stopped working to help raise the church. The people all lived and worked together — like one big family. There was a surprising lack of hard feelings and enmity. They did not have much of this world’s goods, but what they had more than sufficed. Would you like to hear about how loyally Marine City stood by the cause of the Union during the dark days of the Civil War? A Methodist minister, Carlton by name, recruited a company of soldiers from here, but later when marching under a bridge a loose plank fell and beheaded him. He accomplished the miraculous feat of raising a company in twenty-four hours. Excitement was rampant. Patriotic companies were organized who with lights on their caps, dubbed “wide-awakes,” paraded the streets with fife and drums. You would think from their talk that they were going to go South and whip the rebels over night. Young boys enlisted, so young that some of them later literally died of home-sickness. Everybody was down at the docks to see the leave-taking. Men were stationed on the border be- tween Canada and the U. S. to prevent rebels from coming across. You see, Canada was Southern in sympathy, and furnished money and supplies to the South. (On the other hand, many Canadians joined the Northern forces.) But, worst of all, many Union men enlisted, grabbed their bounty, and skipped over the border to Canada. At home the women did the hard work — plowing, hauling timber, and heavy barn work. One woman resting from hauling timber was knitting socks for the soldiers as she rested. In Red Cross work they lacked modern sanitary conveniences. The women scraped linen, and used the lint as a sort of cotton batting to be made into bandages. The men who served from here now living are Charles Basney, Charles Farmon, William Kiddle, August Horn, Alex Stern, John Kuhn, Jerry Hyatt, George Hornbustle, and John Hawthorne. — By Ruth May . 11

Page 19 text:

In regard to a teachers wages, and the age at which they usually received certificates she related the following incidents: “1 received my first certificate for teaching early in 1863, at the age of 18 years, and was hired to teach the summer term in the small school in District No. 1 in East China. This school provided for all children of farmers living west of the north limits of the same township. My wages here were one dollar per day with board among the parents of the scholars. Then in the winter of 1863 I taught school two and a half miles below Algonac. The scholars were nearly all grown up, and while I received credit for teaching a satisfactory term of school, I objected to and disliked more than any- thing else the boarding around. My wages here were two dollars per day. How- ever, even though I received double the wages down there, I still longed to be back home, teaching among people whom I knew.” Although school days of the past were pleasant when she brought them back to mind, she is not one of those who see good only in the past, for she said as she closed, “Reminiscences of past school days prove that our progress must be on- ward and upward in the future, as improvements are introduced; with the Golden Rule in view, parents or children will not wish to turn backward to the school days of the past.” MARINE CITY’S “WHO’S WHO” By R. P. Though Marine is only a small place, it can claim at least several famous people as its residents. One of the most interesting of these people is Aunt Emily Ward. At an early age she came to Michigan and settled on the St. Clair river in what was then New- port. “Helping school and church in the forest hamlet, nursing the sick, dutiful, helpful, and fearless amid the toils and perils of pioneer life, inspiring all, especi- ally young men, to true and useful efforts, few lives have been so helpful.” As Stebbins in his “Upward Steps of Seventy Years” says: “She was ‘Aunt Emily’ to many from Michigan and others far over the wide land; Grandmother to twenty children and their children (fifty-seven in all), at her home and far distant, all children of her adoption, some of them no kinship in blood. She never married, but her mother’s death left her, at ten years old, her good father’s friend and com- forter, the child-mother of a brother and two younger sisters with a mother-heart that in after years took home their children, and others left orphans, and a loving wisdom that trained them for useful lives and larger responsibilities.” Aunt Emily Ward used to live in the house where Mr. Hanks and Mr. Roach now reside. It was there that she did the greater part of her work. She was also a pioneer of academy education. Her school was what is now the Hose house on Main street. When she taught there it was on the site of the present high school. Many of her scholars have become famous through her untiring efforts. One of the proteges is Theobald Osjen, Mrs. John Baird’s uncle. He was United States Senator from Wisconsin for 12 years. It may be interesting to know that Mrs. Ben Armsbury was named after “Aunt Emily.” Eber Ward, Aunt Emily’s brother, is another person who helped make Marine. He was a pioneer of industry in this section, building and owning many steam ships which provided transportation for the lake ports. Another interesting person from Marine is A. Calzerin. Graduating from the Holy Cross School of Music in 1901 at the age of 16 years, he attended the Michi- gan Conservatory in Harmony, studying the organ and piano. After graduating from that institution he went abroad with his teacher, Mr. Jones, to Berlin, where he made his debut four years later. From that place he toured the continent as 13