The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1908-12-18

though twas only yesterday.
And the spelling matches we used TO
have! There was old Squire IIepner.
who always took great interest in our
school. He was Il peculiar kind of
man. Folks would call him cranky In
these days. | suppose. lie was so
gruf and suleu that you'd think he'd
snap Your head of
"Education was the old mans hobby.
lie had no learning himself and used
to tel us how he felt the need Of IL.
lie thought that people could not be
educated unless they could spell clean
from b-a. ba. to incommunicabllity In
the Speller.
well. Squire Hepner had heard that
the Red Haw district folks were max
ing their boasts that they could out
spel! ours. aud II angered him. His
daughter Harriet was the best speller
In our school, and they said her father
offered her any cow on his place IL
she'd spell the Red Haw school down.
Zone Friday afternoon the old squire
came stamping into the sChoolhouse
when our school was having spelling
match. He was the director Of our dis.
trict, ami the bnl'rsi scholar would b.
mute and meek when he appeared He
had two little jet black eyes that seem.
cd TO see right through You. lie could
make almost any scholar wiggle In his
seat by fastening his eyes upon him.
The squire was the richest man IN
-Four Mile, but he never gave any
money away. and that made Il all the
more surprising when. just before
school let out that night. be- got up and
in his short. jerky. grun way said:
You've spelt pretty well this after
noon. scholars. and I'm glad Of II. for.
TO my thinkin'. spelIn's the most i'm
portant thing a body can Farm. In
fact. IL stands 20 reason you've got 90
be good spoilers fore you can be good
readers or real good In anything, It's
all well enough TO know how 10 fgger
correctly, m I reckon grammar's we'll
enough. though never took much
stock In II. Geography an algebray
an history an all that Is good enough
In It's place. but 'Cordin' to my notion
spellln' beats 'em all
"'An' now. 10 encourage you In being
good spoilers an TO stop the braggn'
Of sorne districts not far from hers"
I'm goin' to make II an object for you
10 study your spoilers like sixty for the
next few weeks
"In six weeks from tonight. an
that will be Christmas eve. we'll have
a spolIin' match In this house. an
want Il cirkiIated round that airy
school In this township Is free 10 com"
an spell for the prize III offer. which
II So In gold 10 the one that spells
down everybody.
"'%ow. take your spoilers home with
you tonight an do semethIn' else with
'em besides a-chawin' ~" corners "a, =
And with that the SPUR" mad" on" ~
his stf bows 10 the Teacher and walk
ed out.
IL tell you. $2J was a large sum 81
mcncy In those days, and when II was
known that the prise had bc"n offered
there was more studying 10 our Old
blue backed spoilers tnau there ha'l
ever btpn lseforn "" used 10 take
them home every night. and our IN
theirs and noth"r= would give us al thc
hard words. like 'dagu"rrrotyi~' anil
'phthIsIr' nnd receipt anil those wItiI
silent letters In them. anil we would
spell them over snd over again,
1.-THE Offering ~ that priz" set the
whole township Ia n cOmmOtion. aml
little else was thought of 0r talked
about. The Red Iiaw and Jark OAK
districts let ID lie known that they
would try for the prize. and they had
some good spoilers In those schools.
especially IN the Red IIaw.
"But none of them had n better rec
srd than Harriet IIepner. and they said
that In those six weeks she studied her
speller night and day. Folks who pass.
cd the Hepner house OF midnight de-
clared that through the windows from
the road they had seen Harriet sitting
On o stool up near the fireplace, lean.
ing her head against the wall. and the
squire sitting In his old hickory chair,
spelling book In one hand and taiIow
dip 10 the other, giving out words ID
her, and everybody else In bed ~
wonder The girl became thin and
peaked.
You see, the squire fairly hated tbs
Red IIaw district and about everybody
In t. The Hed TIaw and ours had for
merry been one district. and be- oppused
their being divided. because b" owned
land In both, and he knew that II thry
were divided there would lie nm extra
tax for n new schoolhUuse and n nov
school fund.
g'Thr rutftrn hud n sister living In 80