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Page 13 text:
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Page 12 text:
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Eight PIONEERS IN THE SCHOOL We, the beneficiaries of a fine institution of leaming, owe a great debt to various men who pioneered education in the Oley Valley. The knowledge we have of earlier educational ideas being forwarded is given to us through letters explaining that schoolmasters then served a two-fold purpose. teaching and ministering the gospel to the people. The very first move to establish schools is credited to the Moravians. They built their first school in 1742. The ground upon which they built qv the school had been granted to them by Iohn , Diedrich Youngman. The building was available li' -li ftbljf for both public worship and school purposes. They built another building in 1776 to replace the first. which was then to serve as a boarding house. The l later building still stands. To this school ten boys came from Gennantown and seventeen boys from Faulkner's Swamp. Records say that as late as 1759 there were enrolled 47 children in the school. The charge for board for one-half year was six pounds. This was the original boarding-school in Oley. JUIEIISVK7 lglcilsl, llfgl mzlf' 'Q 'ill' We also find that Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. a Lutheran minister, and Reverend Michael Schlatter. a Reformed minister. were two of the first men who undertook the responsibility of starting schools and maintaining them. Reverend Michael Schlatter tried to forward education by having a good school connected with every church, in order that the rising generation might be properly instructed. Private schools sprang up because the people wanted their children to learn to read and write. A school such as this was located on the farm which was most easily reached by all scholars. ln 1812 Daniel Bertolet and Iacob Kerst built a pay-school on the Israel M. Bertolet farm which now belongs to Heyman Bertolet. Isaac Van Sickle. an Englishman, served as teacher. In 1834 a law was enacted that free schools should be established. This law was little favored, because the people thought that the success of free schools would be the death of the church. A fierce war of opposition against this law was waged, but the last of the districts finally succumbed to this law in 1867. Oley had accepted this law in 1854. In 1857 Peter G. Bertolet formed a stock company for the erection of an academy. which should meet the long-felt want for higher education. He succeeded in raising funds and the building was erected. Iacob H. Major served as the first principal. Among other outstanding pioneers we have had Israel M. Bertolet and Dr. D. E. Schoedler, who have been outstanding in education. The Oley Valley has been gifted with many people who have pioneered in the progress of education. Among those who are still striving to obtain high standards are: Dr. Henry S. Brunner. who served as a pioneer in vocational agriculture and is now serving at Pennsylvania State College: Mrs. Edna DeTurck Geiss Geiss, who has pioneered many Schools, and who has now been County Superintendency in Berks , who has served the community long and well: Mr. Newton W. an educational idea as teacher and principal of the Oley rewarded for his progressive and aggressive ideas with the County. The Community of Oley sincerely appreciates and pays tribute to Mr. Geiss. As class-room teachers. Mr. Charles S. Bower and Iohn G. Dengler were truly in the pioneering class. In the preceding paragraphs we have tried to give you an idea as to the many persons who have pioneered in the field of education. We have mentioned a few of the more important ones, and in so doing we apologize to all those whose names we have not mentioned. We wish to show due respect and sincere gratitude to these men and women who, in giving their all to further education in our community, have given us the opportunity by which we can and shall become better citizens. Holding all our pioneering ancestors in highest regard, we hope we have transmitted to you the idea of Step by step, but always forward in this phase of pioneering.
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