The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1909-06-10
For the Reporter.
An Old Time Schoolmaster

About forty ave years ago, young
Powers taught school in North
Canaan at a place now called Slab
City, and l was one OF his scholars
for a while. / will attempt to give
you some facts in relation to his
personal appearance in the school
room. He was a tall man. He wore
red wooden shirt without any coat
on in the school room. | think he
had none, nothing but an outside
coat which he wore to his boarding
place. His pants were several inches
TOO short, so was his vest SO much so
that they did not come together by
several inches. His hair was a rich
golden color but mad no appearance
of ever having been combed. His
boots, which he made himself he
said, were badly trodden back at the
heels and he always went about the
school room on his tip toes in order
to make no noise. His red shirt
sometimes had chalk ON it which
came from the black board. Such
were the facts in relation to his per-
sonal appearance as fairly as l can
state them. After looking the teacher
over the large scholars winked at
each other as much as to say "we
will have some fun with this fellow"
Now about his qualities as a teach
er. will state them as nearly as
can. Our school was famous for
having trouble with the teachers and
for turning them out of school. We
had about sixty scholars in the dis
trict and generally there was trouble
every day. Our manner of doing
business with the teacher was this:
We would find some hard question in
mathematics, bother the teacher for
awhile and then start for Mr.. Chase,
an old man in the district, who was
school agent, who believed the teach
er should be absolutely perfect, make
our complaint to him. He would go
for the school committee with the
complaint and before we got through
with him we would turn him out. |
think there had been three teachers
during the winter turned out when
young Powers made his appearance
to finish the term of two weeks.
Well, the agent hired him to finish
and of course we scholars thought we
had some more fun on hand. Well
young Powers made his appearance
| in the school as l have above de-
scribed and the business began. |
for one was foolish enough to think
l knew good deal about mathema-
tics and about the second day of the
school I requested the assistance Of
the teacher about a certain hard
question in the old Greenleaf Ma
tional Arithmetic. To my surprise,
instead OF putting everything aside
and giving his attention to me, he
called out one of his classes and be-
gan to hear his class at the same
time doing the question as fast as he
could make figures for me. When he
got the question finished he ex
planned it to perfection in every de-
tail. l don't think it bothered him
one minute. had him the next day
and some of the other scholars had
him also but we all failed every
time. We had no business as schol-
ars for moment with him and dur
ing the two weeks which he taught
and was not turned out we learned
compared with him.
After two days there were no at
tempts to bother him with questions
in arithmetic. They acknowledged
by their conduct that he was master
of the situation if not monarch of all
he surveyed. He married lady from
the Provinces and it was said at that
time that she was worth forty thou
sand dollars.
RU FrjaDI