The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-01-30

Mountain School in the State
of Montana Wins First Prize
at Show with Flowers


UNSATISFACTORY. Jan. How
BOYS and girls In q little mountain
schooIhouss La Montana found Wnel
| 1t was they could do best, and did. 4s
so well that they won nrst prize In
stafe-wfde competition and attract
ed the attention of the whole state.
is told by G. W. Tennys state. schoos
inspector of Montana, In rural
school circular just issued by the
/ United States Bureau OF Educauon.
Here Is Mr.. Tenny's story of how
Crazy Mountain School did It's part
! In rural betterment.
The Crazy Mountain echoolhouse
lis a 10 by 2 shack with q Toof
which slants but one way and IS coy
cred with black tar paper Cracks
In the floor were so big that pencils
easily fell through them. The only
Hight that came in was from three
\ tiny windows. two in the rear and one
Il on the left. The hole cut through the
lroof to accommodate the stoVepipe
was so large that when 1T rained the
i water ran into the stove and put the
4 fire out. Rain also beat in at the
door, which was held shut by a chalI-
1 hooked over a nail. The desks were
4 borrowed from neighboring school
which had thrown them away as use
less. The seats were held up by
tsticks OF wood, unless pupil was
IIQELuuhGS enough 10 nuQ q DO-A Va LAG
right size to use as an individual
chair, and the teachers desk was a
plank nailed to two sticks and set
against the wall.
1nto tnls scnol last spring came
. Miss Angelina Barker, as teacher, and
. pupils, representing four different
families. Although the weather was
damp, for the first three weeks they
had no fire. Most of the pupils had
no books. But teacher and pupils
went to work to do the best they
could with what they had and to get
better equipment as fast as they
could.
One day a premium list of the
Montana state fair, which is held at
Helena each year, came to this little
school. Both teacher and pupils be-
gan to read to see what there was
they could do Best kindergarten
work." they knew they could not do
that. Best shop work" that sound
ed even more hopeless. Best col
Election of wild flowers, pressed and
mounted, with description of five; "
everybody shouted: "Of course we
cant" and the race was on.
The Mexican children who lived
far up in the mountain plucked the
flowers belonging to the higher alti-
tudes, while the rest brought in those
peculiar toS the lowlands and mead
ows. At school the flowers were
placed in textbooks and magazines,
and in the absence of a flower press
the boys and girls would sit on them
At home the flowers were put in
books under the heaviest weights
that could be found. One boy placed
two sacks Of -four on the books, an
other a tool chest, while a third salo
the heaviest thing he could find was
the large bucket in which his faith
err carried the feed to tine pigs. The
girls resorted to just as ingenious
lexpedients, utilizing trunks. bureaus,
and even one leg OF bed in which
adults were sleeping. in order that
the necessary amount of pressure
might be obtained.
When the days of collecting and
pressing the flowers were over, all
of the specimens vera brought' to-
getheF, and after the very best ones
had been selected, each was carefully
mounted on white card board, and the
entire collection OF IS wild flowers
was sent to the state department of
education to be entered at the fair.
When the judges gave their decision
it was found that the Crazy Mountain
school had won the first prize, the
blue ribbon and the SIS for the best
collection of wild flowers from any
school in the state.
On the day of the prize award the
rural inspector stood inthe little booth
and called the attention of the bank
ers and business men to the splendid
lexhibit and to the pictures OF the lit
/ tie school. When one of the lead
ing merchants saw 1T, he said: "Go
and tell the people of Park county
that boys and girls who will do work
like that are entitled to a better
school house and better equipment,
and tell them that as soon as they
get the house they can come to my
store and ket anything in it without
money or without price; for the best
business men as wei as the best
school men realize that boys and
girls who do faithful work with what
they have will make the men and
women who will do good work when
to them -