Plymouth High School - Mayflower Yearbook (Plymouth, IN)

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HISTORY OF TMK PLYMOUTH Pt'RI.ICM lioous Eva Jefflrt 19» COMMON HTHOOU Our schools are characteristic of the liberal spint of the «'durational policy which was contained in the Compact of the Ordinance of 17 7. and which in a large measure has produced the present intellectual condition at thr Northwest Territory Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind schools arvi other means of education have always been encouraged What is now thr City of Plymouth was platted in 1134. and in the Reference. l»t 131 on Mumb street was donated for a school One and one half acres adjoining on the wed was given for a county seminary Not until 1854. however, was the record of the platting acknowledging and recording the Platt of Plymouth properly certified to Although the lots were never used for the purpose for which they were donated, ample provision lor education had hern made in at cnrd.m» r u ith the spirit of the ( rd nance at 17BT. The first school in Plymouth was conducted by O F Norton m the winter of 1837. hut there is no evidence that he taught more than one term The school was held in Die old court house, which thm stood on the west side of Michigan street, near Adams From 1841 to 1846 it is said that Mr Parsons and Rev Austin Smith taught in this Court House. In l»(0 Mr». Krkstne erected a building for school purposes, where she taught for several years From )W lo 1834. school was heldina building which stood on the lot in the rear of the l.uthrran church mi Adams street This building wm also owned by private parties. Until the Constitution at 1850. the schools of the State were dependent upon local and voluntary enterprise. When the Con- stitution was adopted in 1850. the Legislature immediately took step» to establish a uniform Statr system, but not until 1866 was the present system fairly started, due to adverse decisions of the Jkiprrme Court iTior to 1850. the people did little towards sup porting the schools through taxation School» in organized communities were under I hr jurisdiction at the township truster. IxjI hts duties were confined for the mod part to assisting any one desiring to start a school by donating what little money he might obtain through the School Fund. This amount was entirely inadequate to support a teacher and the balance was obtained by charging tuition ol each pupil attending At the time that Plymouth was incorporated as a town, in 1851. e il attention was given to free school , and not until 1853 did the real awukening to the value of free schools come to the people of Plymouth At this time the population of the town was sn hundred seventy May 26 an election wax held, the purpose being to .see if the people favored a school tax The vote stood eight against and five in favor June ZJ a township election was held for the same purpose at which the vote stood thirteen opposed to seven in favor In March. 1854. the lot given to the county for a seminary was wild to the city for one hundred dollar , and on the thirtieth of the same month Mr S Morgan wav given the contract for erecting a school house This building wos completed in December of the same year It contained three school rooms and one recitation room and was considered an excaiant buildup for it time Mr W .1 Moir was chosen principal of the school and has as assistants Mrs E Crum and Miss E Adams The enrollment numbered one hundred fifty. Mr Moir was urceedcd by Mr C. H Blair, who was principal part of ooe year, when It C Burlingame look charge of the » ooi Mr Mark Cummings succeeded him in 1861 He was followed by Mr I) D laike. who remained principal until August, 1870 In I»68. a school building was erected In the third ward Upon the retirement of Mr Luke in 1870. Mr R A Chase was chosen as (uperintendent. a position which he held until 1903 During the administration of Mr Chase, many important changes took place in our school». A systematic course of study was adopted; the schools were graded; a school library was started; a high school course of study introduced for the first time, and business methods used, which brought about a rapid development of proper school facilities PHS 1876 1976 In 1874 a new budding was erected on Plumb street. July 4th the ('omerstone was laid with Masonic ceremonies On November 26th of the same year, the building was dedicated and school opened four days later. WASHINGTON SCHOOL In I8S0 a similar building was constructed adjoining the first and the two buildings are now known as the Washington Building To satisfy the conditions of a rapidly increasing population, it was found necessary in 1807 to construct a more eommoebou building in place of the “Ward building on the South Side, and this is now known as the Webster Mr Chase was succeeded in 1905 by R A Randall Upon the advent of Mr Randall some changes were made in keeping with the general trend of the educational policy of the Slate. HIGH SC HOOL The history of the High School begins with the advent of Mr Chase as superintendent of school At this time 1872-1874. Miss Cleveland taught the tugher branches in the Plymouth Schools, and when the High School was organized. September S. 1873. Miss Cleveland and Mr Chase were the lhgh School instructors The High School proper may be said to have begun at the time the new building was entered m 1874. Wm D. E. Prescott of Manchester. Iowa, was the first principal and he with Mr Chase constituted the High School instructors. The High School occupied the eastern half of the second floor. This space was dividrd into an assembly hall and one recitation room The enrollment In the High School in 1873 w as 39. As to the course of study at that time, we quote the following The High School gives instruction in mathematics a far as to surveying, in natural science, including botany, physical geography, chemistry, physiology, astronomy, natural philosophy its course m the English language embraces English, rhetoric, and English literature, to which is added political economy, general history and a thorough knowledge of book-keeping Such classes in German and Latin as may be desired are also formed The study of the constitution of the United States is required of pupils entering the High School The exercise in literary work consists of debating, essays, declamation, and readings and are held daily thus affording an amount of drill which could not be had when the exercises were held monthly A weekly recitation in the current nr» of the day is had in the High School and first grade Written examinations are held when deemed advisable, generally monthly, and at the close of each year an annual examination is had. Until 1903. few changes were made in the High School system At that time the course of study was changed and enriched; the number of instructors increased to four; the assembly hall was enlarged, recitation rooms increased to two. and a physical and botanical Laboratory room with equipment provided The enrollment increased rapidly from this time on. and in 1907 it became necessary to make changes In order to accommodate the rapidly increasing attendance The Auditorium was fitted up for an Assembly Hall The old Assembly hall was made over into three recitation rooms This gave for high school purposes a study —25—

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struggle with poverty and the hardships of pioneer life When he first came to the county there were no while people here, and hi» associates were the Pottawattamie Indians, who were the only residents here then He necessarily learned their manners and customs, and learned to speak fluently their language, which he did not forget even to the day of his death There was a peculiar circumstance connected with his death which is not generally known, and will bear repeating here as a mystery that has not yet been solved In the neighborhood where he lived there was a considerable number of spiritualists, who held occasional meetings, and. through Ihr mediums that developed among the number, claimed to be in communication with those who had passed over.' Mr Cook was not inclined to be a ••believer and had not attended many, if any. of their meetings However, on a certain Saturday night. he had agreed that he would attend a meeting to be held at the house of his neigh bor, Edwin Dwinnell, about three miles distant He told them he was going to Plymouth to do some tracing, and when he returned and arranged things for the night he would go over He rode hb horse to town and when he returned, in leading him through the barn lot lo the stable, an infuriated bull gored Mr. Cook in the leg. inflicting a frightful wound, which was not only dangerous but painful Those assembled at Mr Dw inneU'» waited a long time for Mr. Cook to come, but as it wa» netting late the seance opened in the usual form One of the mediums went into a trance, and a sprit came who was asked if it could tell anything about Charlie Cook and why he had not come a» he had promised It replied that in trading his horse through the barny ard he was gored by a bull in the leg and was so badly hurt that he would die in three days Those present were much excited at the information, and Mr. Dwinnell said he would saddle his horse and go over and see if it w«v true He d»d so. and found Mr Cook gored and hurt as stated. Three «lays afterwards he died. Mr Dwinnell related this to the writer shortly after it occurred and declared that the information came to him as stated, and at the time and under the cir- cumstances he had no other possible way of finding out about it. Mr Dwinnell » long since dead, as are a bo moat of those who were present on the occasion named, and the matter remains as great a mystery today as it did when it occurred It was Charbe Cook, or one of whom he was a type, concerning whom our own 'Monster Poet wrote the following charming bit of poetry My fiddle ? Well. I kind o' keep her handy. don't you know! Though I ain't so much inclined to tromp the strings and switch the bow As I was before the limber of my elbow got so dry. And my fingers w as more limber like and capensh and spry: Yit I can plonk and plunk and plink. And tunc her up and play. And jest lean back and laugh and wink At rvYy rainy day! SmiKtNIlNNIAL SCRAPBOOK Schools mm! Teaching By Mn.JnrWMmrirr Anyone over seventy years of age could tell you about a pioneer vchoot in Indiana, but no one could tell you about THE pioneer schools. as there was no such thing A general description of all early schools in Indiana is impassible Each school was n i ac- cording to the wishes of three trustees elected by a particular township The citizens, who favored schools. not all people did) found a building and hired u teacher As ev ery man was required (by lawr) to contribute free labor towards budding a school house in the township, all men helped whether they believed m public schools or not The number of pupils varied from thirty to thirty-five or so. The ages varied from six to sixteen or older, and they studied out loud Heading or ciphering aloud by thirty pupils made the school room sometime «all the time?) seem like a miniature bedlam As one can imagine, things were very much confused and confusing The teaching profession began to disappear, and the teacher, who was brave enough to stick it out, was often the —2 laughing stock of the neighborhood Most often he was a bachelor There were «believe It or not some lady teachers The unmarried teacher lived with on family, and then another, during the teaching term, which wa iwally two. three, or four months The term, in most cas«. wa from December to March. The teacher's life was no bed of rosea; only the thorns wer present in the bed which was shared with two or three of th «mailer children In some homes, he was begrudged each bite h ate at the tahlc The shortness of tbs school term was duo to the needed on the farms for spring and fall work Even in the lat IWO's and 40 s many rural schools were of eight month duration«. The girls of Indiana, during the struggle for public school) were not sent to «ch«»l for various reason The parents felt it wa foolish for a girl to know how to read and write Her mother coul teach her at home the necessary essentials to be a wife an mother The salary of the teacher varied considerably It seemed t depend on the whims of the trustees of each township The sui could be as low as twenty dollars for the term or it night be i high as fifty dollars, but not likely to he hifgier A contract in my possession, which my great grandfathi signed the 50th day of November. 1KB. stated that the salar would be ten dollars a month He was to teach reading, writ» and arithmetic for a three month term The trustees promised supply firewood and keep the house in good order .School was commence on the 4th day of December The moat common textbooks used throughout Indiana wei Webster's Spelling Rook. English Header Pike's Arithmetic, ar Kirkham's and Murray's Grammars The New Testament was favorite hook for reading classes and The Colombian Oral furnished themes for declamation The state of Indiana w anted the individual to run his own schoc The people involved bent over backwards to do so. and eai school depended on the teacher and local conditions They ww all different Indiana law permitted twenty householders m congressional township to organize and open a school The citizens elected three trustees The township was also given lai by the state and if the trustees so desired, they could sell the lands instead of using them far school purpose». These three trustees were the legal ancestors of the ache directors, and this was the beginning of the district school syste (aider the general supervision of the township trustee Little w done about opening schools hecauie of lack of rev enues These three mm were authorised to locate houses or bu houses, determine the length of the term, and the method payment of the tuition tax, provided any were levied Hod discipline course of study, and even methods of instruction wt left to the trustees As one can imagine, much maladministrati and neglect were the chief features The schools being used were maintained by tuition paid for some persons la the township, mow provision was made existing law to provide funds from the sale of sections of t congressional townships.. People resisted being taxed schools By I MO the leading mm of Indiana recognized the comp) failure of the school system Tbr House Committee on Educati made known as follows: • We present almost the only example of a State professing have in force a system of common school education, which d not know the amount or conditmn of its school, thr number schods. and the scholars to be taught and to receive i distribution of these funds. It is a body A law passed in tktt laid the foundation for our prewent syst of free schools supported by ptiilic taxation In 1B5S this law w declared unconwtitutional by the Supreme Court In IR8S a not I test was made and another court reinstated thr law as c sbtutional The struggle for free public schools has been a long hi struggle in all sections of the country Some states still seem to in the throes of tnal and error PMS 1876-19

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hill with a seat mu capacity of over two hundred pupils, five recitation rooms, and two laboratories In 1943 a fourth year was added to the High School course, and the credit system of promotion introduced A credit is given for a grade of 75 per cent or above for one semester Thirty-three credits are required for graduation The advancement of educational affairs has necessitated a change in the course of study from time to time. In the fall of 1907 a Commercial Department was introduced, and has proved to be one of the moat valuable features of the High School Chirac “Two courses of stuefc are offered, one preparatory to college, the other arranged far those who do not intend to continue in scholastic study The two courses ore identical for the first and second years Election of studies la open to pupils of the Fourth Year, and so far as passible the pupil is advised to elect those studies which will beat fit him for his vocation after leaving High School Special students desiring to take ig commercial work only, should file w ith the superintendent a written request to that effect. counter signed by the parent or guardian For the completion of this work a certificate of attainment will be granted Because of the growing tendency of bwiness men to employ High School graduates and one of the minimum state law requirement that all new teachers shall be high school graduates, the regular High School course is recommended If the commercial work is desired, it may be taken in the Third and Fourth years after a good foundation in the fundamental branches has been established Special work should be taken only by those pupils w ho find it impossible to take a High School course ' From thr beginning of its career the Plymouth High School has occupied a prominent place among the secondary schools of the Hate In I«73 the Board of Truestees of Indiana University adopted the following resolutions: “In order to bring the University into closer connection with the High Schools of the State, re recommend the following plan A certificate from certain High Schools tto be named hereafter by the Slate Board of Education» of a satisfactory examination sio tamed In the preparatory course will entitle the bearer to admission to the Freshman class At a meeting of the State Board, in the following August, a circular letter was sent out to High Schools to ascertain what schools were qualified to do preparatory work High School commissions were prated and in the spring of I«74. 21 schools were commissioned, among them Plymouth In April 187S. the Board of Education placed Purdue University in affiliation with commissioned High School Since that time all State Institutions have been placed on the some basis as Indiana and Purdue University and from time to time denominational and private schools have been added to the list, until now all schaob of Higher Education in the State receive graduates from commissioned High Schools without examination Recently the Plymouth High School has received additional privileges from Higher Institutions, and now has the same ad- vantages ad the besl High Schools of the State. In May, 1908. Plymouth High School was admitted for the first time to the ac- credited list of Universities of the west The High School was again admitted in April, 1909 The graduates may enter such institutions os the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin without examination Further recognition was given in .April 1909. when Plymouth was placed on the affiliated list of the University of Chicago This gave (in addition to the privileges of being a member of the aerredrted list) graduates of the High School, scholarship advantages and an opportunity for High School teachers to pursue post graduate cotrses at little expense School inter»! has been much stimulated throughout the County, due to competition in athletics and oratory Plymouth High School has belonged to the Indiana High School Association since the time of its organization It is also a member of the Northern Indiana High School Association In the fall of 19« the County Oratorical Association wo organized and in the three contests which have been held since that time, Plymouth High School has won first place The following are statistics showing in a brief way the development of the High School Ml School Yoer Enrollment Iff . K.S. E nrtSnoil 1 1 isn T4 3 no dot 0 3 1 10079 14 74 k 1 1 7 IMS 44 M 1 s 7 7 IMtt« 41 19 s 13 3 3 irvj S3 1 M ♦ 3 3 it i 4 H s IS 3 1 HQ OS S3 s 14 3 7 HQ 04 m M 4 S 1104 OS no 11 4 S 11Q5 01 i» 11 S 4 110 01 179 IS 7 IW 0« l«3 n SI • IMS CO a i« » Includes enrollmont M who 1 Music teedter included S s THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF CENTER AND WEST TOWNSHIPS IN THE EARLY 1900 s Ry MAE USHER By the beginning of the 20th century the log cabin school hs hern replaced by more substantial and comfortable building! UHialy of frame construction and painted white though a fei were made of bock Since I be children were transported to «hoi there were not so many school bouses needed as when the rhildrr were expected to walk to school As a rule the teacher w» expected to arrive early and stoke th fire and stay latr to clean the room and bank ’ the fire As late as the 193) s the rural schools had an eight month sea» so the children could help with the harvesting in the fall and th planting in the spring Before 192D most of them were sever month terms Among the memorabilia in the Marshall County Hntorici Society Museum is a copy of the August id» issue of the Marshs County f armer which contains a feature article. “Manila County s Schools. Past. Present and Future” by Floyd M. Anal then County Superintendent of Schools He reports that cat solidat ion of the Center Township Schools began in 19» and i West Township in 1910 In 1907 Center Township bad 13 one rooi schools awl West Township 10 By 1920 Croter Township had onl 4 one room schools and one consobdated school. Inwood F« vehicles were i ed to transport 83 pupils, the rest lived net enough to walk West towiishiphad 7 one room schools, one tw' room school at Donaldson and one four room school. West Fti vehicles transported 70 children AU the one-room schools were heated by ordinary stoves c “jacketed stoves which looked like a coal burning furnace was reported that in one school during January 19» when t! temperature out of doors w as zero, the seat nearest the dove wi 7) drgrrrs the seat farthest from the stove was XS degrees Thoe were the good okl days”! Janitor work was done or paid for by the teacher whose averof salary was »3 77 per day The school term was seven or etgl months Teachers in the consolidated schools were mere fo tunate They averaged $4 14 per day and were not responsible fi the janitor service. Some of thr parly schools were named for their location such, Twin Lake, or Maple Grove but many bore the nam» of the ear settlers It was customary fora land owner to deed an acre cr tw of his land to the township for school purposes, with the provisit that if or when it was no longer put to such use it would revert the farmstead Except for thr Plymouth City Schools all the schools of Cent and West Townships were under the supervision of the Coun Superintendent of Schools The men holding this position m 0 PHS 1876 197 —26—