Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-04-16
The Cove School" in Sullivan.

81 We wandered 10 lie village. Tom, I've sat
beneath the tree.
pom the >ehool-house playground. that shell
tered You and me;
But none We're left To greet me, Tom, and few
We're lett 10 know.
" no played with Us upon the green, some
fifty Years ago"
80, Time and Change, how plainly visi-
BILE are the works of your hands during
the last half century, Little of all we
value here" has escaped your touch. Change
Is written upon nearly everything. In
marked degree the work of change is to
be seen as Improvements or otherwise, on
our farms, in our farming implements, in
our homes, our furniture, our churches,
our theology, our schools, and most of all,
perhaps, III ourselves.
The mind of the writer turns back to-
day to the old school house, Familiarity
known as the Cove schoo-house in Sulli-
van, in which he received a very large part
OF his school training. The old building
has been replaced by new one, but among
all the changes which have been wrought,
the environments of that old house have
altered but very little indeed. The gran
lie hill which arose abruptly in its rear. is
there to-day a. of yore. The private road
which stretches up the hill to Mr. Down
in-'s looks just about the same as it did
then. The town road which curves by the
front Of the old site has changed but very
Atie-only it j. more frequented high
WAY: far i lead, to the now somewhat
famous sorrento, and many there be who
ripe therein. The little spring in the
nei-hbonng field from which we dipped
water iu hastily mproviSed vessels of
blIcA-aaIk. i there, We presume, as it was
then, although we have not seen it for
many years. The sloping green on which
w played ball" humble the peg" and
msuy other games, retains with wonder
IL! freshness it, old-time look. The whole
landscape, In short has deiled the marked
alterations which Time has wrought all
around it, ".ill else how changed"
Ills old school house was small, low
building very like other editices of the
knd as they existed at that time all over
the state, Its seats and benches were
bullt on broad steps, each one higher than
the other As YOU went from front to
rear The >chool-room in the early days
OF which We write was warmed by huge
fire of hard wood burning cheerfully in
large open fireplace on the walls con-
Nenient TO the teachers desk was nre
LIST containing the names of eligible males
and close beside il q sweeping list con-
tanning the names Of eligible females. At
The close Of each day the teacher read
from these lists the name Of boy whose
duty it was to build and take care of the
tire On the morrow. and the name Of one
Ur more girls who were required to sweep
the house before they went home that
u -li. ND money was expended for the
purchase ~ fuel or for the payment of the
teachers board; for when the wood pile
glt low. some resident of the district took
A.> oxen and his sled and hauled out
iAr-c load of the best of hard
wood which he contributed for the good
OF the school, and the teacher boarded
around" Twin. on the fat of the land and
airing in turn all the spare beds in the dis
irict.
schools all over the country have great
il improved since then; but it is a serious
question whether or not they turn out any
better men and women than did those ear
y schools Of which we are writing We
are -iad to say that this school and the
her schools n how
equal advantages, sent out into the world
good crop Of men and women who have
taken excellent positions, not only
Iu Sullivan, but in many town and
city in various sections of this coun-
Try. We think that the secret of this is
tat the schools of those days-though
very imperfect and primitive as compared
with the schools of to-day-thrsw the pu-
pl- On their own resources and forced
them - think and act for themselves.
When you can get scholar to think and
acl for himself, lie has the KEY with which
he NAV unlock vast stores of knowledge
ami appropriate il as his own. On the
other hand no matter how excellent his
school opportunities, unless he think and
act for himself, he will never amount to
much in the world.
The teachers Of that school are certainly
deserving Of passing notice, for take
them as whole, their pupils owe them
great debt of gratitude and arectionate
mention. We wish we had space to give
such sketch of each a. they deserve
perhaps We may attempt that task some
tInle-buc the best We can do now is to give
them a very brief mention
Our first teacher was our mothers sis
ter, Miss Sally Tracy, who afterwards be.
came the wife of Capt. Edward Hutchings.
of Steuben. Beyond the fact that she led
u by The hand to school and cared for US
a. good aunt should, we remember but
little about her teacher, though much
about her a good woman in after years
our 1rst male teacher was kphraim Crab
tree, Of Hancock Point, who died few
years ago, He was kindly man and a
good teacher, but woe betide the boy who
presumed to monkey" with him. The
boy got tne worst of it every time. OF la
ter teachers We may mention Hiram S
Bartlett who died at LaInoine few months
ago. a strict disciplinarian after the
manner Of men in those days, he was
very excellent teacher who commanded
the love and respect Of his pupils from
that time down to the day of his death
Miss Miriam 2. Hall, now living in Rock
land, Maine, taught many terms in the dis
tlict To the satisfaction of all She was a
born teacher who taught her pupils much
that books teach not and we shall ne'er for
get. Albert Norton, who taught the school
one term, was live Yankee whose Yankee
l7ins cropped out everywhere, the school
room not Excepted, where he would indulge
in such expressions as SHOW, Susan :"
and Il would try to be either one thing or
another-a man or monkey or long
tailed rat" He was a lawyer by profess
sion and afterward became quite famous as
Snowman. He travelled for years ex-
hbiting Billiards. panorama of New York
city, and later with some noted twins. A
Mr.. PillsbuTy, whose christian name has
now escaped our memory, came down
from New Hampshire and taught one win
ter and proved to he q very unod taachar