The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-10-29
Twenty-Five Thousand Dollar Structure
To Take Place Of Six Small
institutions
from Saturdays Daily.

from saturdays 'Ds'r'
Five rural school buildings and one
in town are for sale at and near
Jameson, Daviess county, Mo. That
region isn't going out OF the business
OF educating the children; II is just
starting the business OF educating
children in an effective and practical
way. says The Kansas City Star.
For more than forty years the school
J children In that region, just as I'm other
districts i'm Missouri and other states.
gathered at the little neighborhood
, schoolhouses, studied "readin', writin'
and 'rithmetic" and called that get
ting an education" Now there Is To-
Gated at Jameson, which has a popula-
ton OF about four hundred, $4,000
school building, modernly equipped
with Fairgrounds. school gardens and
trial acres. Five rural schools within
,, radius OF five miles of Jameson have
Abandoned their little old buildings
and with Jameson as a center. main
tain a school that not only receives
liberal state aid, but from which grad
yates are admitted without examina-
tion to the state University.
II Means Higher Taxes, Too.
The people OF jameson and the
farmers of that region decided the
greatest asset of any community is
It's boys and girls. They concluded to
give every boy and girl i'm the commu-
nifty, rich or poor. an equal chance to
obtain an education. Big taxpayers I'm
Communities that had formerly paid
only forty to fifty cents on the 800
valuation for school purposes. and on
a low valuation. went to- the polls
and voted for consolidation and bet =
ter schools, which meant an increased
assessed valuation of their property
and a tax levy increase TO 81, the
limit for school maintenance.
That isn't all they did. After voting
consolidation and $4,000 I'm bonds for
a new school building. they voted to
provide free transportation for tho
children to and from school, as author
lied by the state law. Nine wag-
ons were brought The greatest dis
lance any OF the children has to walk
Is half a mile to get to one Of the
best schools in the state, with high
school privileges. The driver I'm charge
OF discipline given teacher. The
I children enjoy It, and the department
and grades are far above what they
ever were before.
The Opposition Was Strong.
There was opposition on the part
OF few of the big taxpayers who
had no children and who believed IN
the old shiftless methods. They went
so far as to raise $500 TO fight con
solidation and the bonds.
, j. c. Mcdonald, large land owner
! and bachelor, was one of the leaders
In the campaign for better schools
He subscribed money literally for the
, campaign and for lawyers fees and
other expenses in test made In
: the supreme court to determine the
legality Of the bonds and the proceed
ure. There was SO much bitterness or
the part of the opposition two cleo
tons were called in the last YEA
to dissolve the district. Each tim,
the forces fighting for better schools
gained recruits. Now there are onl,
| two or three pullbacks in the Who'll,
district. .. %
The people of Jameson decided tw,
years ago 10 build new school q
take the place OF the large fran,
building that had done service thirty
five years. t....
Step At a Time.
why not let the country district.
come in?" Some of the farmers sug
gested. That pleased the people II
the town and many OF the countr,
people. About that time. Allen +
Wade, formerly a resident of Kan
sas City, and an official I'm city an,
county, returned to Jameson, his oil
home town. and established TIL,
jameson Gem. a weekly newspaper
He had been i'm the city long enough
to appreciate the value of goo,
schools. He began publishing in hi
paper letters and reports about tn,
advantage OF consolidated districts
An election was called in February
! 1914. and the progressive people o
the district won. Then another cleo
tion was called to vote bonds an,
that won. Then another was called I,
vote free transportation to and iron
school. and that won. Jameson wa
bound to get the best of everythln,
that was going In the school line.
The new building is three stories
with basement. II has an auditorium
and library on the third floor. beside
!, two classrooms. four classrooms OF
the second floor and two on the frs
floor. On the first floor is located
; domestic science room, equipped wit
modern kitchen utensils for cookin
and canning and an agricultural room
where experiments are conducted Il
soil tests, seed selection and othe
practical branches OF agriculture
study. On the first floor also are 10
Gated sanitary closets for the boy
and girls. In the basement is locates
the ensine.> dynamo, pump and al
. pressure water tank, as the buildin
, Is equipped with electric lights am
, water. A large fan draws into tn
|. building fresh air. heats II to a TEN
; perature OF 10 degrees and sends
J. through all the rooms, completed
} changing the air in the rooms ever
few minutes. The building is heate
with steam. Not a single detail ha
] been neglected to make Il modern an
practical scr
/. Learn Something Useful.
; Five acres we're bought for play
ground. n school garden. with one acr
I as trial acre" on which will h
! grown seed corn and other things.
Every girl who attends this sciiot
, and remains 10 graduate must kuo,