Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1905-06-09
The Old Building.

The Old Building.
Old Building, thou art gonel
We will not deplore thee.
Thy sorrow and darkness
Add no more to the gloom.
The boys and the girls
Who passed thro thy portals
Are glad thou art gone
1or the New to make room.
Response by O. w. Reed.
The preachers tell US that every we'll
organised sermon must be inspired, SO
after inviting me to deliver sermon
Mr.. Mabon brought me the inspiration
in neatly rolled, daintily tied bit of
paper upon which were these words,
''Banquet Glass OF 'O5 Wednesday,
May Dist p. m. Armory".
Not many words, but between the
lines il to be read this message: Be
Brief!
The original building, which we know
~ the South Wing" was built in 1868,
BY J. W. Skinner, contractor. At that
iime the financial standing Of the dis
trict was such that its ten per cent.
bonds could not be sold at par, and in
advertising for bids, instead of asking
the contractors to state for how many
dollars they would erect the building,
they were asked, for how many 10per-
cent school bonds they would build it.
Mr.. J. w. Skinner was willing to take
the least number Of bonds, and secured
ths contract. As originally built the
ssheol house had four rooms, and one
Morton was duly installed as its first
principal. The life was too strenuous,
however, and after one years expert
sncs as principal he was obliged to go
west for his health; but his trip was un-
successful, and he died in Colorado.
BY 1871 the population of the district
had SO increased that additional school
room was necessary; and by this time
the credit Of the district was SO good
thatit bonds were sold for cash, ant
the proceeds used to build the ives
wing. This gave such large and mag
niicient building that no more room
was added until 1878, when the eas
wing was built. Both these wings were
built by Sidney Clark, contractor; ant
the total cost of the aforementioned
building was about $4,000.
The men who have been at the heat
OF the school since Mr.. Norton are, L
B. Pumort, two years; L. T. Weld, from
1871 to 1885; E. G. Cooley, from 1885 tx
1891; and l. E. A. Ling, from 1891 tt
the present time.
And now, after thirty seven years
service as the home of the educational
interests OF Cresco, the old building has
been declared insufficient, and is to give
way to such building as is needed b.
the best city in northeastern Iowa.
The New Building.
The Old, it has passed.
The New Is coming,
With clean floors and walls
All handsomely bright.
TO think Of the change,
From the Old to the New,
ls like passing from darkness
To freshness end light.
Response by w. L. Converse.
In company perhaps with many ott
ers here tonight there is feeling
Loss or bereavement as We think of til
little hillock in the northeastern pal
Of town where we have spent SO man.
many days, and as we think Of the Of
school building that has stood there s
Long that we might almost say tt
memory Of man runneth not to the col
trary. But with that feeling of lo'
there also comes the assurance OF SOM
thing better in the future. The old
giving way to the new. And so it
the world over. I care not into VIII
sphere you 60 the same thing Is true, ar
thatis the rule Of change everythir
We know is change, growth, develo
Rent. Wherever their is no chang
no growth, there is, their must be deaf
This is especially true Of our deed
The ideals Of the little boy are not tho
Of the big boy, and the ideals Of the b
boy are not those Of the man.
Well do I remember when ! was
little tad upon the farm not more the
Or 8 years old, remember the neig
Dor that did our threshing and as
used TO watch that man as he stood up,
the top Of that old threshing machi
separator and drive the team that DIRE
1t from place to place ] thought tn
was the acme Of all accomplishments
could see nothing greater beyond
It was at that time the height Of 7
ambition and the chief quality or CHI
acteristic OF my ideal. That ideal h
shanged many, many times since tn
and trust 1t will change many, ma
times in the future. For our ideals a
our guiding stars-they are the go'
toward which we struggle, in the bull
ing OF our character. II those go'
are found in vice and squalor the chi
acter that is building toward them CO
not but be going down, on the 9th
hand if those ideals are high and lo1
our progress will be In that directie
But it has been said that our ide'
ere formed from our environments q
associations, and can it be doubted Il
the boy who lives in or goes to schs
n high, lofty, and grand good bui
Ing will have better ideals than he W
lives in small cramped or inadequs