Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-02-21
Old Times.

Old Times.
Ed. Register-How many of the
present generation do you suppose
could tell when steel pens were first
used? | remember when l first went
to school quills were first used tor
writing with. Every boy and girl
would come to school with goose
quill, and it was part of the duties OF
the teacher to make the pens for the
scholars and set the copies. Anyone
who could make and mend a pen and
set a good copy. and read and write
and cypher, was qualified to teach.
l remember one of the rules of our dis
trict was: every farmer in the district
was required to furnish such amount
of wood for the school, according to
the number of children he sent.
we'll remember one afternoon my
cousin Ansil-we always called him
'.Ans''-came to school with a steel
pen. When he came to the school
house he said. s.boys, l amt going to
have old Hen. mend pens for me any
more. You just look at that" and he
held out steel pen, and we did not
know what the thing was, until he told
us. He said, Il went to the store to
get me some Dutch quilts, and John,
the clerk, said, say, Ans. I've got pens
chat came from Hartford yesterday.
They cost cent piece. Now, you
just buy one and take it TO school, and
if it don't write good fetch it back"
We all went into the schoolhouse,
and Ans. went to his seat and took out
his writing book, and all of US that
could get in reach just gazed to see
how his steel pen worked,a he dipped
it in the ink and drew line to see if
it would make a mark: and then, as he
wrote word after word, with lines just
as fine as hair, we all declared We
were going to have steel pen.
/ remember the next morning was
clear and cold, and it was splendid
sleighing. asked my ma for cent
to go to the store and get me steel
pen. As she did not happen to have
the cent, she said, You can take a
hens egg and that will buy the pen
just as we'll" So got me an egg and
went to the store, and when asked for
steel pen. and produced my hens
egg, he said, You are just in time, for
we have sold every pen but one, since
Ans. was here yesterday: and we will
have to send to Hartford to-day for
more" Well, sir, felt as big with
that pen as if it had been a fortune,
and l didn't let the snow melt much
under my feet as went to school. As
came in sight of our schoOlhouse /
saw a dense smoke where the school
house ought to be. l said, Il believe
the old house has burned down." bnt
when l got near saw all of the
scholars out in the school yard. and
the teacher throwing all OF the wood
that had been in the fire out of the
door. The day before the teacher had
sent word to man that lived up on
the side of the mountain to fetch a
load of good wood. just at night here
he came, with a load of wood on a big
OK sled. But, as it was past school
hours, and erybody had gone. he
piled the wood right by the door. In
the morning when the teacher came to
make the fire, he found that man had
brought load of green black birch;
and, of all the woods, black birch is
the least likely to take fire or make
fire. Snow splinters would burn good
by the side of birch. And, to make
matters worse, the teacher had brought
over the bridge from the saw mill lot
of green pine slabs. and they were all
covered with snow and frost. And to
haye to go to the neighbors to get
shovel full of fire was little too much
for the patience of the teacher. So he
dismissed school and sent word to the
school committee to meet at the school
house. Well. they met, and came to
the conclusion to buy the wood the
rest of the time and get stove in the
place of the fireplace.
just about that time man by the
name of Eddy came to our school and
delivered one or two lectures on COM
mon schools. l remember he deliver
ed one lecture in our old church, aud
the old church was packed full of folks
of all creeds and politics, to hear Mr..
Eddy. And such a talk as he gave
was just splendid. He acted out the
way the common run of teachers taught
and acted towards the children under
their charge. o, the way he did cuff