The Republican journal., 1905-08-10
SONS OF THE PIONEERS.
How the Brooks Boys of Seventy Years
Ago Destroyed the Peace and Happiness
of a College Bred Teacher.

Brooks was a struggling village of IN
painted houses in the latter part OF the
thirties, but it was full of business and
hustle The township had a greater popu-
laton than at the present time, and liveler
class of young men just bl0SsoMlng into
manhood could not be found for their num-
bers. A large majority of them were OF I'M
usual abilities and strength OF character,
several of them developing into leadership
in the fields OF ecclesiastics, politics and
finance
The old schoolhouse, which was built
three-quarters of a century ago upon the
site of the present relic of antiquity. stood
parallel to the road, had two entrances to
the two apartments, for the pioneers even
then were progressive enough to grade the
classes, some of the time, the rooms being
separated by a large swinging. door, sus-
pended by large, homemade, blacksmith
hinges.
those primitive days for the slightest in
fringement upon the rules, and upon one
occasion, when Elder WiSwell's Maynard
son Luther,-the devil of the village-had
committed some offenSe that was especially
exasperating to the ,schoolmaster, Milton
Roberts, he charged on him with such
ferocious force that the impact landed the
culprit in the middle of the adjoining room,
and in the midst of an astonished group of
children.
1t was few years previous to the time of
the above incident, that Rev. Luther Wis
we'll, Dr.. Ezra Manter and Mr.. Wingate,
leader in the Quaker Church, were the Su
periutending School Committee of the town.
At that time there were large number OF
young men attending school Tor their last
term, -twenty-eigh of them became school
teachers-the common school course being
the educational limit for nearly all of them.
Among the scholars at that time were the
Ham boys. Davis, Thorndike, Roberts,
Fogg. CiIley, Chase, Narney, Lane, Small,
Hubs, Jones, Bean, Huxford, Nesmith
boys, and others. The committee concluoed
that such an important class required a
little extra training and that college man
was essential to put the finishing touches
upon the education of these big boys While
at the same time improving the discipline
which had become, as they thought, a lttle
lax.
Quaker Wingate had friend in the per-
son of Joseph Hobbie, a young Quaker
teacher from China. lie was college
graduate and brother Of William Hobbie,
who the latter part OF the fiftles was prin-
cipa OF the Belfast high school, an active
Republican politician, ana whose vile was d
Gilkey from Unity.
Teacher Hobbie was expected to straight
en- out matters in the school and commenced
at once by posting up code OF rules and
regulations for the radical government OF
the school, and insisted upon technical
enforcement Vi INC SdiDC.
The young men did not take unklnQly 10
1hem and all of the trouble that followed
resulted from an innocent VIOLATION ana I'M
reasonable penalty exacted for the same.
Charles LinneuS Roberts, locally known
as Lin, was the innocent offender who was
the cause of tempest that brought a month
of strenuous antagonism between tue Sch0l--
ars and Hobbie, and the final retirement of
the latter in absolute Generalization.
Lin. Roberts, when absalved in thought
one day, was absent nlndedly writing, the
word Constantinopie" upon his slate, which
was violation of the code,one of the rules of
which prohibited writing on the states. MIR.
Hobbie saw him, and deciding that he must
be severe with the first offender, went to
Roberts desk and said, "Linneus, did thee
willfuly violate one OF my rulesT No,
said Roberts, 81 was not thinking of the
rules" ''Well thee must think, Linneus, and
set better example for the smaller scholars
said IIobbie quite sharply, and then went
back to his desk. Roberts thought the in
cident over, and the more he thought the
and wrote with much flourish a sarcastic
quotation, and added, "Fool read this and
Sputtei, then put the slate away under
some books. Hobbie was watching and
was there in an instant, had the slate, read
the lines, kept the slate, and asked Roberts
if he meant to insult him? Roberts replied,
shat it was intended for the first person
who admitted the title" Hobbie was furi-
GUS and repaired at once to his friend Win
gate, p 20 took him to Elder WiSWell, and
while Lin. Roberts was at dinner, with the
other members of the committee. DR.. Man
ter, who married his sister, Elder Wiswell
called and notified DR.. Manter of the charge,
and it was decided to hold the trial that af
ternoon at the schoolhouse. DR.. Manter
urged Roberts to stay at home and thought
he could harmonic the affair, but Roberts
said no. that if he was to be tried for high
crime he proposed to be present and defend
himself, which he did with vigor that was
absolutely destitute of the peaceful spirit
and teachings of his father, DR.. Jacob
Roberts, the Quaker doctor. Consequently
school That evening all the young men
met, and with the single exception of
Thomas Ham declared war and decided to
fight it out to a finish with Mr.. Hobbie.
The following. day Israel Thorndike
fagrantly trampled upon the published
code OF rules, was called to court that after
noon and expelled. The next day Bill Ham
was the willing victim, and day after day
until the list was exhausted each afternoon
was taken in the vain attempt to vindicate
the majesty Of the law of Hobbie, in which
all the young men had been turned out of
school except Tom Ham, who stood heroic
unit with llobbie and the committee.
The following morning after the last
mutiueer had been made to walk the plank,
when Mr., Hobbie arrived he found the
$lOUE DdiIeu anu d cIOWu VI SulNeTluS
scholars waiting for him to open the school,
An Investigation showed that the lobby or
entry was packed full of fire wood, which
required quite a long time for the small
boys to clear away and for the school to be-
gin. That night Mr.. Hobbie and Tom Ham
watched the schOolhOuse until past mid
night, but when Hobbe came to build his
fire the smoke would not go up He took
down some pipe and removed some paper
and rags and started it again, but the dense
smoke drove everybody out of the room.
Down came more pipe and another start
with the same result, and finally every piece
of funnel was cleaned of its Wad and put
up and still it smoked. Finally Tom Ham
got a ladder and mounted to the chimney
top, to lind large rock, so heavy that one
man could not remove it, wedged with
paper IN the chimney.
So much time had been consumed, and all
eyes had suffered SO greatly from smoke,
that school was abandoned for the day.
That night EIobbie and Tom Ham alternat-
ed as watchmen until daylight, but when
Hobbie appeared to open the door he found
that water had been poured into the pad
lock and it had frozen up.
That was thawed out and then the door
was found to be propped on the inside, and
all the windows nailed down, which had
been done that morning after the watchers
left, and it required some time to start the
machinery again. The following night no
watch was kept, Mr.. Hobbie and his faith
full friend Ham needing sleep and rest.
A mile east of the village was the dead