The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-02-16
SchOOlS ON Hood Canal.

streams. The bottom land on tbeS.
streams was wide enough for one farm
but not for two, consequently eacI
farmer had neighbor above and be-
low him, but none Oh either side. The
settiements were dubbed "shoe-strinps'
having length without breadth. and il
was consequently found verv dificnlt
tQ Keep schools going in the neighbor-
| hoods.
The same difficulty in regard to the
schools has been noted on Hood Canal
only more so, as the shoestrings are
often cut into pieces. The good land
is generally at the mouth of some
stream where there may be two. three
or tour settlers with families and a few
without who generally do not help
much In regard to school. A few more
families are in some bay, one on spit.
one or two elsewhere; there is small
village here and there, and so the shoe
string is badly in pieces.
Union City has the largest atten-
dance OF any district in the region. 1t
enrolls twenty-nine scholars and last
year had thirty-nine in school, with an
average attendance of thirty. The
fact that it has more in school than in
the district is accounted for in that a
number have attended who lived out
of the district. 1t has been fortunate
IN that it has had the same teacher. a
good one, for three years, and enough
scholars to make it interesting. But
last year there was nine months
term, more than the funds would war
rant, so there was debt, and this sea-
son all those scholars have to get along
with three months school. Three
years ago the district was bonded to
build the school house, and it is a good
one, but there are extra taxes now to
pay on this account, the hard times
have affected the place more than
most places-so they cannot vote ex-
ira taxes to support the school and the
children are told they must crowd nine
months school into three. Unless the
times on the Canal improve, another
wear will probably see less families and
fewer children to draw money.
Across the canal from Union City
is the Tahooya district For many
years this belonged to the Union City
district. and then when the children
| obtained any schooling they did it by
| rowing two miles. Some never tried
to go. A few did. Sometimes they
went. Sometimes the wind stopped
them, and sometimes they started in
| fog. and landed on the same side from
which they started For about three
years they have had a school of their
| own. The seventeen scholars there
| cannot draw money enough to keep a
| school going many months in the
year. The settlers too. are scattered
so that only six of these seventeen
scholars pretended to &C to school, and
the average attendance for the past
year has been five and half. Five or
six scholars at school three or four
months in a year, do not really obtain
much education, for three times as
| many.
The next school house above
Tahooya is about ten miles away,-the
lower one at Clifton. Some of the
| children consequently are too far
away to attend school; some are on
| the wrong side of the Canal with its
| winds and fogs, and so the little money
that is drawn by the fifteen scholars
is used by eight, and the average at
tendance for the past year has been
only three-quarters of the latter num-
Der. The Upper Clifton district has
even less scholars, only fourteen, and
therefore less money. Ten of these
managed to attend school, the few
months there was one-and they im-
proved their time, averaging ten,
| which was the best record for average
attendance for any district on the
| Canal.
Above Union City OH the Skoko-
! mish river is the Webb and Hauptley
district. Here there has been no lack
because of money, as the district in
cludes the Indian reservation, and
J these children according to the deci-
sion of the Attorney General of the
State, must be enrolled. There are
fortv-eight children in the district.
OF these only fifteen are white, and
only seven pretend to go to the dis
trict school, with an average attend
ance of six and a quarter. One year
this average was less than three. This
makes it very dull for the scholars, so
that they sometimes feel that they do
| not want to 60 to school. Govern
ment has provided we'll for the reser-
walton children, while some OF the
whites have attended school outside OF
the district.
About eight miles above the latter
school house is the one at the Upper
Skokomish, where again are only
fifteen scholars to draw money, so that
three or four months is all the school
ing these children obtain in year.
The few families here are scattered for
three miles, and the rich bottom land
makes very muddy roads when 1t rains
and when it rains hard the branches
of the. .Skokomish are so high that 1t
is impossible to get to the school
house, while the floods sometimes go
into the school house. Hence while
fourteen out Of the fifteen scholars
were enrolled in school during the
past wear, for about three months the
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