The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1897-05-07

Historical Sketches of the Old Stone
School House and the School
rIasters of Other Days.
On this school building where
now waves the flag of our republic,
recently stood the old stone school
house, which for a century and a
quarter past was one of the Old
landmarks of this section of our
country, the date of its erection
is not exactly known but it is
known to have been occupied for
school purposes as far back as
the year 1880. The land upon
which the building was erected was
donated for school purposes by Job
Haines, a prominent member of the
society of Friends and an ancestor
of the present Haines families of
this section of our county, he at
that time being the owner ola large
tract of land which comprises the
farms of E. NJ. Hunt, Jefferson
Haines and James e. Haines, being
designated in an old deed as
pheasant Meadows" which after
the decease of Mr.. Haines the part
now owned by E. M. Hunt and
Jefferson Haines was sold to Samuel
Taylor, it being announced on the
day of the sale that in case the
school house should be unoccupied
for school purposes for three years,
then in accordance with the terms
on which the lot was donated it
would revert back to the owner of
the "Pleasant Meadows" tract of
land.
Up to the year 1927 according to
the recollection of the writer of
these sketches the school building
was nearly surrounded by grove
of oaks and other trees, three large
oak trees then standing on the
school house lot which have long
since been felled by the woodman's
axe and the leveling hand of time.
The grove on the southeast corner,
near the school house, was often
used for religious and other meet
ings during the summer months as
the school house was too small for
thegatherings that usually attended
on such occasions.
The school furniture of that day
was of the cheapest kind and to
economic space the writing desks
were run around the walls with the
backs of the pupils toward the
centre of the room, except in the
front, which was occupied by the
schoolmaster behind his desk, a
roughly made affair, while in the
front of the desk were usually
arranged the reading and spelling
classes in full view of two or three
birchen rods in the window behind
him to be handy when occasion
required their use.
But few now living can realize
the difficulties of obtaining even a
very limited amount of learning in
those days, as school houses were
few and far between-the distance
travelled by pupils often being near
three miles. The cost of books and
paper besides the tuition fee of two
dollars and a-half for each scholar
per quarter Of seventy-two days was
a tax many we've unable to pay.
Some persons sent their children to
school with a paddle having the
alphabet pasted on one side and
words of two and three letters on
the other. Although the old build
ing was crowded to its utmost
capacity during the fall and winter
season it was with difficulty that a
paying subscription school could be
had during the other months of the
year.
In those days there were no hol-
iday seasons except Christmas day
and Washington's birthday but
occasionally the schoolmaster would
announce on Friday evening that
there would be no school tomorrow.
to the great delight of the young
scholars, but those who had adj
vanced to the old Comfy spelling
book had been given a long list OF
definitions to commit to memory by
the next Monday morning. The
recuperative powers of the old
school masters seem to have been
Onnh Oroatap than tbat of tho