Norwich bulletin., 1909-07-07


new town built the first school house.
and thenceforth reading and writing
were regularly taught from two to
eight or nine months each year.
BY the close Of the century, how
ever, the good work died out, and we
read that with the opening OF the new
century orwich was presented" to the
grand jury "for the want Of school
| to instruct children" Perhaps the
| ew England primer. with which was
printed the Westminster catechism,
was regarded as too limited curric-
ulum for a community that had been
distinguished by the residence of a
deputy governor, or it may be that no
suitable successor had been found to
| John Birchard. However that may
be, Norwich managed to evade the ed
| ucational requirements Of the colony
for some nine years, until 1903, when
the town repented Of it's waywardness,
| and resolved that, 1t would comply
| with the law and have a schoolmaster,
this time in the person Of Richard
Bushnell, who had taught for short
| time in 1897, and who was re-engaged.
Apparently, from 1712, school was
kept throughout the year. for We hear
of no more grand jury presentments
for neglect in this respect. 1t must
not be supposed from this account OF
a somewhat broken school record that
Norwich fell behind her sister towns
in appreciation of the things of the
| mind or in zeal for achievement in
that direction. Indeed, the evidence
| goes quite to the contrary, for, before
/ the beginning Of the Revolution, the
| town could boast of forty college grad
yates, two from Harvard, five from
Princeton, thirty three from Yale, and
almost, If not quite all, of them were
| OF the families of the first settlers
| Several Of them became scholars of
| note in the colonies. What were the
influences that reused the ambitions of
so many young men to seek college
! education? They were many and so
| inwrought that they are not to be
separated fro mthe common life Of the
| community.
Begin with what later achievement
| you will. the inquiring mind is led
| back to the sources from which flowed
| pure and strong the life Of the place.
1t Is impossible to recount all of them,
! for they were as many as there were
people and customs and institutions.
| The community sense of all made each
a material factor in the life and growth
of the settlement.
Impression on Young People.
But certain people and experiences
must have made deeper impressions on
the young people Of the town than
J others. 1t is not difficult to imagine
what must have been the impression
made upon the children born in the
colony of parents who came out from
the old home. Their earliest remem-
brances are of the great fireplace in
the room which served both as kitchen
and sitting room. Here they gathered
after the evening meal. From the
small open recess beside the fireplace
| the mother takes down volume, one
of a choice number and few brought
| from home-the old home across the
sea-and reads the words made ramil-
lar through much rereading. No fairy
| stoFies those nor pleasing tales of adj
venture, but rather something very
sombre and solemn. never quite COM
prehensole to the young mind. but &C
| cepted as are all things when the
mothers voice carries conviction IN its
i tone.
People were very serious in those
| days. They ha dembarked on life or
| death journey into the new world and
God was imminent in their lives. On
the table near by was the great fam
lily Bible. an awssome book from which
father read aloud morning and evening.
His voice was never quite the same
\ then as on other occasions.
/ Above the fireplace hangs an old
| musket which occasionally comes down
for active service. but usually serves
as theme for a story Of thrilling ex-
periences with the Indians And then
the hustle and hum as the mother pre-
pares the meals, the sight of the
hitches of bacon and venison, the
strings of dried apples and chains of
sausages hung from the rafters over
head and the smell of the baking beans
and Of the boiling pot of turnips and
of the pudding, hanging in its bag, set
appetite on edge. The whole remained
~ f4or aft.<I s,att l.. La.
grown white and the years many.
Then there was the climb up the hill
to the meeting house of a Sabbath
day Not the old first meeting house
i on the green, but the second one, built
! in 1873 by John Elderkin at a cost to
the town of 42s pounds plus certain
lands granted after the work was done
to make good the loss Of good man FL
derkin, the carpenter, and to compen-
safe Rev. James Fitch. who had fur
4 nished the nails. To the children OF
the day going to meeting must have
been an impressive event. for the men
carried their muskets and the militia
men were present as a special guard
In the square pew nearest the pulpit
sat the great mem OF the town, a dis
tinction determined by vote and rear
ranged. as was the entire seating, every
three or four years.
| tHsPiTco rear ana ncSpccts
It was day of dignity and defereDce
and children grew UP to respect those
in authority. There was Major John
:. Mason. the military leader, deputy gov
ernor and one OF the judges of the coll
ony' whose rigid and imperious speech
es doubtless inspired the youthful
mind with something approaching fear
especially when the story of the
slaughter of the Pequots was recalled
Near by were Deacon Thomas Adgate
and Deacon Simon Huntington and
John Birchard, who was town clerk and
justice of the peace before he served
the town as a schoolmaster. There
also were regularly to be seen all ex-
cept those whom sickness or extreme
old age kept at home; for the grand
jury kept sharp watch on shirkers and
did not hesitatel to make presentments
Of members of the community for liv-
ing alone and neglecting the Sabbath
1t is unnecessary to go over the list
for it contains the names of all the
inhabitants. II any came into that
young community he was viewed with
suspicion and unless he straightway
gave indication of living according to
the rules and prescribed customs OF
the place he was ordered to move on
In other words obedience was empha-
sized at all points in the child's life, by
what 1t saw and heard of the way In
which the rebellious members of. the
community were treated as well as by