Arizona weekly miner., 1875-12-24
OBSERVATIONS IN AND OUT OF
 TOWN

EDITOR MIyER:-A few days since l hat
 the pleasure of visiting the Prescott public
 school and was so well pleased with what
 saw there, cannot refrain from expressing
 Dy pleasure through the medium of your ex
 cellent paper Having been for many year:
 of my life teacher, and having in my ram
 bes visited schools in nearly every State and
 Territory of the Union, was surprised and
 gratifed to find here, in this far of land oi almost entire isolation, a school which will 1 compare favOrably with those in the old
 States where for so long period of time the 1 Common School has been fostered and pro- tected by our best men and women. The ! teacher, M. H. Sherman, would honor his
 noble profession in any State of the Union,
 and his pupils are in their behavior, manners
 and requirements an honor to themselves, their teacher and their parents. The won- der with me was how Mir. Sherman could
 succeed at all with over 100 pupils in room
 hardly large enough to comfortably seat 70. It speaks well for the tact, industry and per
 severance of MT. Sherman, and should com mend him to the lasting good will of the people of Prescott. It is 10 be hoped tha measures will be immediately taken, if it has not been already done, to enlarge the school house and also to employ competent assist ant. 1 deem this the Star School of the Ter ritory, and the citizens should have pride in it sufficient to Keep q sO This can only be done by active, liberal, and prompt action. When we consider the fact that the Con- mon School system of our country is the great bulwork of freedom and free institu- tions, it would seem from the wealth of Pres colt, and the general intelligence of its peo- pie, that there should be no hesitatancy in the matter. Let there be an earnest and prompt awakening of your noble, wealthy and intelligent citizens to the importance of this subject, and at once unite in heart, hand, and pocket with the determination to build up a Union School embracing the whole country for miles around, and with list of teachers, and thus form nucleus and system of Schools that will at no distant day give to Prescott name and fame worthy of noble, white lpopulation of free Americans. So mote it be-
 have had a most pleasant visit with Mr. | and Mrs. L. A. Stevens at their ranch, some | i've miles north of Prescott, and have ob- tained some items of interest Both Mir. | md Mrs. Stevens are too well known, their many good qualities of head and heart, their perseverance, energy, and success needs no from me. Mir. Stevens has too often rep esented the people of Yavapai county to need eulogy from any one. and Mrs. Stevens has made both name and fame y more than Spartan herosm through the ong and dreary years of Indian war, rapine, md murder, name that could not be added o by any comments of mine The Stevens Ranch consists of four quarter sections, or 40 acres, all on or adjoining Granite and Willow Creeks. There are $50 acres of land nder cultivation, producing excellent crops f potatoes, corn, hay, and all kinds of vege- ables. The great business on the ranch is arying, and Mir. Stevens has, in all, l5O ows, portion of which are at Swilling's anch, near the Black Canon 65 cows are ow milked, and, as it is we'll known, Mir. tevens supplies the Prescott people with f bout 40 gallons of milk per day. The but er department is under tine personal super lslon of Mrs. Stevens. Over 5000 pounds choice roll butter has been made this sea- | 'n. all of which has found ready sale, it eing well known that the Stevens butter is ways good. The choice vegetables slowed ,, way by Mr. Stevens is a sight worthy a c de to their hospitable home, great smooth, hite, Irish potatoes of from two to four 2 opnds in weight, and onions the size of a ! rge dinner plate; Hubbard squashes of a zs to astonlsh Eastern people, especially a hen made up into those nice pies which { rs s. provides for her friends when on a | sit. It forcibly reminds me of Thanksgiv- ]. 2 in the old Bay State. V There are several other families in that n ction of country, all of whom are prosper d g, but l did not have time to make their quaIntance as thorough as desired. Mir. ' 'seph Curtis has good farm one mile from P r. Stevens, also Messrs. A. s. Clough, A. s Haskell, l.. J. Alter, J. w Simmons, and t essrs. Furguson and Smith, all of whom [ e good people and prosperous as I under | and. My trip to Chino and Williamson alleys an1 to J. H. Mar;on's sheep ranch III be described in my next fl
 H. c. HODGE. : Prescott, Dec. 20th, 1875. U