The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-24

and wagons, and on horseback, and they were joined at the school by the teacher. Mrs. Hixon, and by large delegation of the patrons.
 Before them was a small one-room frame building, facing level grounds, and having a background of trees. It was rather shabby both inside and outside. It was open underneath. leaving room for trash to collect and for sheep and pigs to find shelter.
 The front steps were narrow and fraii. part of the weatherboarding was gone, and dilapidated wooden shutters opened outward from the windows. Within there were dingy walls, part or which had once been painted for black board: long benches for seats. high and uncomfortable, furnishing no back rest nor writing space and certainly not con ducive to concentration of mind. In the center of the room was an old box stove.
 | shortly after o'clock the party began the work of complete renovation. With coats off and sleeves rolled up, and sup piled with paint, whitewash, brooms. paint brushes. shovels. hoes. rakes, axes, ham mers and nails the teachers set to work Mr. Haworth had charge of the painting and Mr. Jarvis led the force of carpen- | ters. Then there was the chimney sweep ing and cleaning, and scrubbing to be done. The ladies worked on the interior. scrubbing the floor. making curtains, hanging pictures, putting up shades, ar l ranging book shelves and polishing the | stove.
 Then men painted the house inside and outside, painting a part of the walls for blackboards, built the stove flue higher and made it safer. repaired the broken weatherboarding built broader and stronger front steps, enclosed the school house underneath with a neat lattice work, made a teachers desk and a book ease whitewashed the trees in the front yard, and put in place the new patent desks which had already been bought. | Work continued until noon when there was picnic dinner, with the patrons of the school as hosts Everybody rested
 and admired results of the morning S
 work and planned for the afternoon S task.
 At o'clock the work was completed.
 Instead of the neglected little school
 house that had greeted the visitor in
 the morning, there was we'll repaired little building of which all felt proud
 It's clean grounds and fresh paint
 gave it an attractive exterior and the Interior was equally pleasing with its clean, painted walls, new blackboard clean foolr. polished stove. shades, cur
 tains, table cover pictures, books and
 
 One thing more was provided In tn,
 summer normal lectures on school san.
 tation, the use of individual drinking cups was urged, and the question O. securing them presented itself. Mir l Jarvis arranged with the Reed Hard : ware company of Athens to furnisl
 cups. bearing their advertisement t, 1 all the country schools of McMinl } county. When the teachers visited tn [ Neil schoolhouse 50 oi these cups wer , left.
 Excepting the desks, which were pal, for at another time. the amount spen } in the work done on that day was abou sS3 1t included payment for 12 gal | Ions of paint, five gallons of linsee, oil, four paint brushes, one-half bushe of whitewash. 12 brscks, weather boarding and laths, two pounds nails, four window shades, material fo \ sash curtains, library curtains a tabl
 cover, four pictures, books with whicl to start a library and a United State flag.
 , The workers departed late in the aft ernoon, leaving the little schoolhouse
 fresh and clean against its green back ground, as proof of what school improve
 ment can mean. The teachers were con
 vinced of what can be done with an un promising country school and many O them have made similar improvement
 in their schools in other parts of tn county.
 | Of course the routine of the Neil schoc } was more satisfactory since that day } work for the light is softer, the seat ) are comfortable, the blackboard gives bet
 ter results; but that is not all. This wor