Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-01-12
NICELY DEDICATED.
Appropriate Exercises at the Dedi
cation Of the Handsome
PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING.
A Largo Audience Listens to 1nterestins
speeches.,-Formal Acceptance
Of the Building.

Of the Building.
Monday afternoon at two o'clock
was ded Gated one Of the finest public
school buildings in the state Of South
Dakota.
This has long been much needed
accessory to the educational facilities
of Hot Springs and at the exercises it
would have been hard to tell who were
the most delighted with the new build.
ing, the teachers and pupils who are
to spend the coming months and years
there, in teaching and studying, or the
parents and citizens, who wandered
aboat the beautiful and commodious
structure, feeling that there is nothing
too good for the growing children of
our ambitious young city. Time was
when anything was good enough for
an American school house, but now we
have come to that point where, for the
hest development mentally, morally
and physically of our children it is
necessary that we have the most mod
ern Improvements in both bnilding
and appliances. Hot Springs is now
the happy posse>sor of such a building,
and If the teachers and pupils, mem-
bers of the board of education and the
people, act as a unit, an unreslstable
sentiment will be created in favor Of
her schools that will result in spread
ing her fame abroad as the education
al center of the Black Hills.
Th" exercises were opened by prayer
by Rev. Leslie, followed by a selection
by the Campus quartette, from Black
Hills college, after which Architect
Wright transfer. ed the building to the
Board of Education. DR.. Hargens,
president of the board, in accepting
the building, made an extended s.ate-
ment as to its cost and equipment, and
closed with an appeal to the citizens of
Hot Springs to sustain the public
school system and raise it to the high
est notch of perfection.
County Superintendent Brooke on
sour Public Schools" treated his
subject in manner that was gratify-
ing to the audience; while Prof. Killing
spoke Of the necessity Of concerted
action by the board of education and
the citizens, and advocated the entire
separation Of school questions from
church and political issues, and daclar-
ed that teachers must be selected for
merit. Their remarks were greeted
with much applause.
After another lively selection by the
Campus Qnartette, Col. Clough wasin-
troduced to speak on "The Evolution
of the Public School" Always elo.
quent, the colonel fairly captivated the
audience for over an honr, with his
humorous and pathetic incidents and
words of wisdom and patriotism held
them under the magnetic influence of
his eloquence. lie graphically traced
the evolution of the school ho,se from
the time when our Pilgrim forefathers
taught their children in little log hut
to the splend,dly equipped building in
which he spoke; and the evolution of
the teacher, from the '.master" through
the successive steps to the present city,
county and state superintendents, with
their numerous assistants. Col Clough
closed by pointing out some Of the evils
that menace the public schools of today
and asked that we. as true Am sricans,
stand by the public school system, and
forever resist any attempt to tear it
down or to secure any division of the
school fund for sectarian purposes;
that the 'publ,c school ls in the alche-
mists crucible into which we place
the children of all nations who come
here, and mould them into patriotic
Americans.''
The exercises closed by the singing
of the soul.inspiring America, led by
the Campus Quartette, followed by
the benediction by Rey. Swickard.
The remainder of the afternoon was
d,voted to an inspection Of the build
ing by th'se present and many were
the EXPLANATIONS OF surprise and sat-
isfaction as the many excellent fea-
lures Of the building were pointed out
to them.
Truly, Monday s'ssksaE A. an epoch