Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-01-31
ed that my respect and love for II:

ed that my respect and love for In
dependence could be greatly in
creased, and yet | find here, in
another State, and surrounded by
other conditions, that am more at
tached to the old home than ever
before. | hail with great delight
the reception of the BULLETIN. l
thoroughly read it., not even omit.
ting the advertisements. l have
watched carefully for a word con-
corning the schools. I find my in
tercst IN them not diminished,
although removed from them. do
not doubt that their success in the
future will be pride to your city,.
1t will be source of satisfaction to
nc always that | was so long con-
nccted with such loyal, industrious
schools and with such competent
teachers. lsf.-S
must tell you something Of this
place, though my purpose is to
more especially speak Of the schools
here. | am not able ut present to
give you a definite idea OF Syca-
more, for the weather has been so
unfavorable for the past three
weeks that my travels about town
have been limited. The city has a
population of something more than.
twenty-five hundred inhabitants and
has the reputation Of being good
business point. 1t is connected
with the Northwestern Il. II. by Il
branch road five miles in length
We are fifty miles from Chicago.
The Marsh Harvester, so renowned
throughout the western country, is
manufactured here. am pleasant
~ impressed with the people so far
as have become acquainted. They
seem anxious to make us feel quite
at home. The schools have suffer
ed from frequent change Of Princi-
pals, having had no less than four
within the past year. My work has
commenced pleasantly, there are
something over five hundred pupils
in all the rooms, with ten teachers.
We have the much wished for high
school, in which | find the same
studies as you have in the Grammar
rooms at Independence.
High school in this entire western
country, with the exception of the
higher grades i'll our larger cities,
means simply the department up
two flights of stairs. We are ambi-
tious to apply to ourselves and our
schools all the higher Applications
and titles that the schools and
teachers in the older States have
naturally become possessed of by
the merit Of years. So High School,
College and Professor become
kind of burlesque, if not with us,
with those who fully understand the
meaning of these terms. | insist
that we should call our several de-
partments by appropriate names
and rest content to grow into that
fuller and ripper scholarship which
the coming years have in store for
us, rather than make ourselves SUI
premel y ridiculous by our awkward
strides and unintclligent graspings
to secure that which can only be
rendered by patient and long con
tinUcd toll. Our teachers receive
salaries of sixty, fifty, forty-fve,
forty and thirty-fve dollars per
month, according to the grade in
which they teach.
A lady teaching at DeKalb, in
this county, is receiving $1,000 per
year for her services. | am happy
to record such Facts, for they indi-
cate the approach of that time in
the future when the public general
ly shall have an intelligent idea of
the value Of competent teachers
We have n live board of directors
who fully understand and appreciate
the wants Of the schools under their
care. l find my situation promis-
ing one, and | confidently expect
good results.
| see by your paper that the
teachers in Buchanan county are
deeply interested in the liquor ques
ton given out in their column
week since. 1t is perhaps fortunate
that | mislaid the paper, as it is
possible that ! should Lave become
more greatly mixed in its solution
than l did with the squirrel ques-
ton. trust that Il satisfactory set
Element may be had between the
town and its agent.
In some future letter | will write
more definitely of this city and its
surroundings. Yours,
NE,JcoN p,JMpr