The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1889-02-21

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plumbing was done by Mr. Henry A.
raber Of Augusta. plumber Of much
experience, and gives good satisfaction
/ The house accommodates four echpDls and
each school room has a seating capacity
for lifty-six scholars.
This house In point of comfort and
convenience and for She purposes for
which 1t is intended, can hardly BE ex-
cclled The whole amount exp, MED on
/ II, reckoning everything is s5e92 l.
! But II we deduct expense Of steam heat
ing apparatus, $1,000, plumbing $50,
( bricks and masonry work, setting tbolier
and putting in water closets, slp9, and
we have as the cost Of the building prop
er IS ,067 II, a sum not unreasonable in
! view of what has been done and improve
ments made.
The Park School House is the new
house on the south side of the river. 1t
is 77x40 feet, two stories high, built Of
brick and roof slated, and designed.
eventually, for -four schools, but for the
present only two, and only the first story
has been finished inside. 1t Is well
built and substantial building. The cellar
wall and underpinning was put in by Mr..
Tenney, under contract The super
structure was put up and completed under
a contract with Mr.. IL w. CLANCY and }.
A. IIoxie. The two rooms completed are
splendid school rooms. Those in the
second story wh.n finished, will he, If
ANYTHING. better. The st, am heating APP
paratus is the same system and put in by
the same parties as the Leayitt st. house,
and the plumbing was done by Mr.. Tebar.
both houses have the samesystem of water
closets, that known as the Parsons In
proved Trough system. 1t is the cheap
est system that We Investigated, and for
a school house we thought 1t the best.
1t is the one instance, where the commit
tee thought the cheapest the best. The
site for the Park House was an expensive
one. 1t contains about one acre and a
quarter dust one acre 40 So. rods, 1913
81. feet), and cost $500. 1t was sand
lot indeed, and had to be graded oil and
covered with clay and soil. That JOB
has been let to Mr.. Ansel Holway, lie is
to cover it four inches with clay and six
inches with soil for $3.50, and the job is
partly done, and will be finished in the
early spring and seeded down. When
the lot is finished and well grassed over
it will make very fine site for the build
ing on it.
The Park House as it now stands cost,
including site and everything, Sl2, 1886.
But after deducting cost of site Sl5OO,
grading $3.50 co. plumbing S5j0.OO steam
heating SLIGO 90, bricks and masonry
work for water closets and boiler Sloo w,
we have as the cost of the building prop
er S., 553 20, a sum, which. considering
the size of the house, and that the work
in every part is thoroughly and substan
TALLY done and good material used, can
not be considered excessive.
i L., M
Leavitt Street house and in No. | in the
Park House. new furniture has been put
in. 1t was manufactured in Grand Rap
ids, Michigan, and is considered the most
substantial and the best in the market
But undoubtedly a mistake was made in
ordering so small seats. Tie order was
made out from the manufacturers cata-
logue, price, size. The catalogue sizelfor
primary schools was ordered for our pri-
mary schools, and the catalogue sizes Tor
| Intermediate schools was ordered Tor our
| intermediate schools, and SO on.
But it must be Maine grows larger chill
dren than Michigan, for when the seats
were set up, they proved to be too small
| In the Park house, that fault has been, in
great measure remedied by setting the
seats on blocks one and one half inches
thick. And the same thing can, and will
be done, in the Leavitt street house, as
the be t way out of the dilemma.
Comparatively a small outlay, which
certainly ought to be made. on the school
houses in the farming portion of the
town, will put them in first class condl-
ton and then Skowhegan as town, Will
have as good if not the best, school
house Accommodations of any town or
city In the Stat" And now it only re-
Quires energetic, wise anu Judi.io"s su-
pervision of our schools to give us the
best system of schools In the State.
Without that this large expenditure
will be in a great measure lost, with
it, it will prove to be one of the wlsest
investments Skowhegan ever made. To
our schools and churches are We indebted,
as nation, for all that distinguishes Us
above the heather. Wipe out our school
houses and meeting houses, and our
governmental superstructure would at
once wither and die, Us it were, OF the
paralysis
The following is a summary statement
of expenditures upon each house built
and repaired. The amount includes heat
ing, plumbing and every thing expended,
The Park house, new Sl2, l03 Dc
Leayitt St. house enlarged, h,e52.il
Old Academy repaired, l,u'o.'o.
Jewett St. house moved and
rqI