HomeMy WebLinkAboutschool district 9 Glance backward article 1974. 3tifv v.r, �uGu 11 G4G 1I1111G1
(bouffant hairdo in back row) was teaching. The students are, from left, Merrill Curry with a bicycle, Willard
Georgia, Mary and Ralph Lovelace, Grace Rollison, Henry Ink, Harry Lovelace and Ed Georgia with a bike.
T he girl standing right of the teacher is Elizabeth Hatfield.
some of the one -room schools closed for lack of pupils and
the districts contracted to have children transported (in bad
weather) to the nearest school, paying tuition for attendance
there.
At a short distance south of Applegate Corners stood a
stone structure which housed scholars of that district. Its
remains were ultimately used in road construction, accor-
ding to the memory of some long-time residents. There
previously has been mention of the school in publications
saying it was north of the corners. Mrs. Brown is certain it
was south.
She has record books kept by trustees of District 5 (Ap-
plegate) and District 6 (Enfield Center) from early 1880's to
1915. At District 5, in 1888, school operations cost about $200
and the tax levy provided $88.03 of that. Some purchases
were a 50-cent water pail, wash dish and dipper for 25 cents,
one eraser at 20 cents, a fire shovel for a quarter, and a
broom which cost 30 cents.
The Center School had only one room in 1888 and the
budget- for the year came to $321 with a total tax warrant of
$34.30. As always, costs of operating schools went upward
only. By 1912, the two -room Enfield Center School required a
budget of $517.94.
In those 1880 years, teachers' wages ranged from about $5
per week to as much as $7.50.
The Center school underwent some major improvements
in 1885. There was a new ceiling, new lathe, plaster and
paper. The 900 feet of basswood ceiling cost $22.50 and a roll
of plaster board $1.90. The delivery charge for them was
$1.75 and whoever went to Ithaca to buy it was paid 62 cents
for what amounted to a half day's labor. The same amount
was paid for the same period of time needed to put oil on the
new ceiling. In addition, it cost the district $1.40 to board the
men while they placed the new ceiling and another $5.93 for
their wages.
The district was charged $1 for tearing off old lathe and the
same for painting the wall and plastering. Eight double rolls
of wall paper cost '$1.93, one gallon and three pints of paint
came to $1.16, 20 pounds of nails, 81 cents with paste for
papering and labor for same, $2. Four door sills cost 80 cents.
Wooden blackboards, in 1901, cost $1.50 for lumber and
$2.16 for making and installing.
Some of the district costs at Applegate's stone school tell a
story, too. 1896: paid for bringing a stove from Ithaca and
setting it up, 50 cents; 1897, a pump "and fixings" from
Treman King and Co. $3.09 and for putting it in, 50 cents.
Also, in 1899, flag rope, 30 cents; "for fixing pump twice, 25
cents"; 1900, for well chain, bucket, tin pail and dipper, $1.27,
and for one globe, 25 cents; for coal skuttel (sic), and wash
dish, 50 cents; 1901, slating for blackboard, 50 cents, latch for
door,15 cents and padlock for schoolhouse, 35 cents.
Sometimes the district trustees "made" a little money
towards expenses by selling the hay in the school yard. The
farmer, customarily did his own cutting. District 6 received
50 cents for its hay in 1889.
Insurance on the structure then cost $11.62. When the Ap-
plegate pupils were taken to Enfield for schooling in 1906,
transportation cost the district about $100, paid to two dif-
ferent men "according to contract", for two terms.
We thank Mrs. Brown (Lee Miller) for her help in
gathering this information. Incidentally, she was both pupil
and teacher at Enfield Center, over a period of time. It was
her grandfather who utilized the Presbyterian Church for a
store, moving it to his lot. His home was just south of the
Presbyterian Cemetery.
In the store was also Wortman's undertaker establish-
ment, living quarters and, upstairs, a public hall. Another, of
Wortman's endeavors was cabinet-making. A palm -sized
wooden box, shaped like a heart, formed from two or three
woods of different colors, is one of Mrs. Brown's most prized
possessions, demonstrating his ability along these lines.