Newark post., 1915-07-28
SCHOOL DAYS IN NEWARK
AS RECALLED BY E. N VALLANDICHAM

Schools, public and private, IN
Newark have vastly changed since
the days of the Civil War. Private
schools, indeed, have disappeared.
Miss Chamberlain's, l believe,
fingered longest. When the Col
lege re-opened in 1870, Professor
Porter apparently hoped that as a
special preparatory school for col
lege it might resist the influences
that were breaking down the
partly endowed academies all over
the state. That also, however,
yielded to the spirit that tended to
make the free public schools eff
fective and destructive competi-
tors of the academies.
Newark Academy was almost
century old when first knew it as
an admiring small boy not yet
ready for admission to it's privil-
eyes and immunities. 1t must have
had in the sixties a considerable
body of students above seventeen
years of age, and it evidently pre-
served a sort of collegiate tradi-
ton. The oldest fellows marched
magniticently about town smoking
huge German pipes. Those fellows
could not have been as big as they
figure in my childish memory,
else they were supermen in the
making. When l finally reached
the Academy the school had dwin-
died in numbers and the students
in size. Perhaps my recollection at
fifteen or thereabouts was more
nearly normal than at eight or ten.
Professor Porter's chief assistant
was an Englishman with the Ger
man sounding name of Spackman.
He had Latin, Greek, French and
German at his tongues end, but
he was most outrageously treated
by some of the students, and he &C.
cepted their insults with a sort OF
pathetic dignity that would have
disarmed any but a cad. | think
there was usually second assist
ant; one | remember named
Krischbaum, who came from Mill
ersville Normal School. The gym
nasium, once we'll equipped, hat
been suffered to fall into neglect
Totally without instruction, we die
all sorts of wild stunts on ladders
bars, and swinging ropes and MIR
aculously escaped whole. Th'
tone Of the school was hardl!
pleasant, though Professor Porte,
knew how to maintain discipline
without severity. He, however
had too many irons in the fire t.
give the Academy the attention i
needed. When the College opened
some youths who would natural,
have come to the Academy prefer
red to enter the more advanced IN
stitution, and after a few years til
Academy closed it's doors.
For some years Newark alway
had at least one small prlvat
school, usually kept by a woman
The first that recall, that of Mis-
Mary Koontz, was kept at the cor
nor of Main street and Elkto
avenue, where there was a densel
shaded grape arbor, a doubl
porch, bit of lawn, and kitche
garden. The boys were all little
but some of the girls were big, an
the biggest studied The Scholar
Companion, from which fact
drew the hasty generalization tina
that particular volume was tn
acme and crown of human scho
arship. | recall a form Of blacE
mail practiced by Tom Caulk an
me upon Will Phillips, who cam
from the country, somewhere u
the Paper Mill Road. Tom and
at irregular intervals served M
tice on Phillips that we would NJ
play with him unless he brougf
us apples or whatever fruit was
season. Poor Phillips, being tf
only other boy in the school, ma
urally submitted to our impositlo
since otherwise he would hay
been subjected to the humillatlc
of playing with the girls. We mac
his life very miserable with OF
exactions. 1t is hard to reall;
that those learned big girls WI
studied the Scholars Companlt
are now far along in their siXtle
Another small private scho
was that of the Misses Platt, ke
in a charming old cottage that on
occupied the site of the doub
house built good many years a!
by Mr.. Caskey next door to Il
Russell house. My boyish rec(
lection has conferred upon Il
Platts, Miss Kate and Miss Mar
afterward Mrs. Gait and MI,
II,,.l n cort of Golden mis-