St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-15


same be said of all the graduates of our
handsome public schools? This partic-
ular school house was situated two and
half miles from our home and about
five miles from Smithland, XIV. To
reach it in time had to rise early and
take my breakfast by candle light, and
as soon as it was light enough to see the
road ] started off, accompanied by my
older brothers.
The intermssion of one hour at noon
was occupied in taking lunch, and when
this was over the remainder of the hour
was occupied in winter by the large
boys procuring wood for the immense
fireplace. The school books in use IN
those days were rarely changed, so when
one member of the family completed
one it was handed down to the next
member and SO Oh until all had made
use of it. 1t is quite different now, as
text books are changed so often that
new outfit is required every year.
Now the hours devoted to study range
from three to five per day, according to
the season. Parents now would regard
these long hours of confinement in
school as injurious to the health of their
children, but cannot recall the name
of any one who filled an untimely grave
by too much study during these long
and tedious hours of confinement. /
am surprised that the young people of
to-day can get all English education,
and study German, French, Latin and
Greek in the few hours devoted to study
each day, and in addition to these stud
les become adopts in dancing, progress
i've euchre and the other fashionable
amusements of the present fast age.
Can the instruction in these various
mental studies be thorough? would
not advise a return to the old log cabin
schoolhouses, but l would advise the
adoption of their curriculum by our
and Greek are desirable studies, but
when introduced into our public schools
have we not gone beyond the orig
inal intention of the common school
system, which was to instruct our youth
in the ordinary branches of an English
education so as to quality them to eX-
ercise the rights and duties of intelligent
citizenship? These higher branches
should be taught in private schools, and
those wishing to perfect themselves
therein should pay for their own in
struction. It is unjust to tax any one to
teach the children of another foreign or
dead languages, and aside from this, the
cost is too great to be borne by any COM
munity. R. W. JOHNSON.
Lorenzo Hoyt's "reminiscences.
In reading Gen. Johnson's article on
schools and school houses in early days
it puts me in mind of my boyhood days
in the state of Illinois, some fifty years
ago, when the schoolhOnSes were uni
versally built of logs. with puncheon
floors by splitting basswo logs in the
middle and hewing the flat side off with
an axe, which made very white floor;
backs, to sit on. In the spring of 1S4S
white girl l met was Miss Harriet
Bishop, well known to all old settlers
as being the first schoolteacher
in st. Paul. She was teaching
school in a small log house
at that time, near the corner of Third
and st. Peter streets. She had in her
school several half-breed Indians. This
same house was sometimes used as
hospital. In the summer of 1850 there
was a woman brought here by steam
boat who had the cholera. She was
taken to this same house and laid on
cot, but no one could be found to take
care of her, as every one was afraid OF
that disease. | was called on to take
care of the poor woman. did so. l
spent one long, dreary night in the old
school house. The woman recovered.
The next school house erected in st.
Paul was in 1850, small frame house
| on Jackson street. In the winter of
1850 Judge D. A. j. Baker taught school
in this place. where was one Of his
scholars; he being the first male teacher
in st. Paul; and, by the way, he was
| the best teacher that | ever went to.
| What vast contrast between the school
houses of the present day and those OF