The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-01-14
Teachers Who Have Taught Longest
the pupils in Public Schools OF
This City with Much
Success.
FIVE OVER FORTY YEARS
rijrty-two Have Taught in keokuk
over Twenty Years, Including
Ten with Over Thirty
Years Of Service.

The proposal to give school teach
srs retiring on account Oh age pay
ments of salary thereafter makes LII
teresting just how many teachers
have taught for a considerable mum
Der OF years in Keokuk-
These payments, by the provisions
of a bill which the present legisia-
ture is asked TO pass, are pasea oh
length of service. 1t is popuiafiy
called teachers pensions, but tne
teachers themselves carefully call IL
an annuity. The money is to come
from the teachers themselves, from
an increase of fees for teachers GER
tificates. and a small proportion from
the state school fund.
In Keokuk, thirty-one teachers IN
the public schools have taught for
more than twenty years.
five for over Forty Years.
OF these, sixteen have taught here
between twenty and thirty years
Ten have taught between thirty
and forty years in Keokuk.
Five have taught over forty years
in Keokuk.
Their salaries have ranged from
about $500 a year in the last century,
through S700 for some years, TO ABOUT
$500 a year now, as an average.
Most of them have somebody besides
themselves to support. more or less.
They say it has been impossible on
the salaries paid for them to more
than about break even, and utterly
impossible to save enough to live on
after their earning days are over.
ChnW
A teacher who has taught thirty
years at an average or Sloo a year
and saved an average of $500 year
out OF that, would accumulate totai
of $4,000 which would yield an IN
come of about $3.50 a year for ner
support after she quit teaching The
teachers say that $3.50 year Is hot
enough for a woman to live on In
these times, and since they were not
paid enough when they worked 10
allow them to lay by support Tor tnelr
declining years, some other plan OF
getting a living for them from lne
state must be put into effect.
All the Keokuk teachers who have
taught here more than twenty years
are women except one man.
The list includes several princi-
nered in the school room by hun
dreds of men and women who are
now prominent citizens of keokuk.
Dean Of keokuk Teachers
THE dean of them all is Miss Anna
T. Gage. who has taught forty-eight
wears of her life, all of them in the
Keokuk schools. In two more years
she will have completed half cen
fury of service TO Keokuk children
thousands OF them, and they all like
her.
Miss r. Emma Estes has taught
forty-three years in Keokuk and has
always been popular with both pupils
and parents.
Miss Florence Backus, of the higf
school. has taught here forty-twt
years. and few years ago was rateC
by a notable. after an inspection, a.
the best high school Latin teacher il
the middle west.
Miss Harriet Solomon has laugh
in Keokuk for forty-one years, ant
thousands of keokuk pupils haV
loved her.
Principal Eva j. Stevens has laugh
an even forty yeras in the school
OF fheORuk. MUCH vi INC LINE III
difficult position, and has made good
Began Over Thirty Years Ago.
Miss Jessie II. Wilson has laugh
here thirty-six years and her abilit
brought her promotions which fnall
attained the high school faculty
All these spent all their pedagogi
life in the Keokuk schools, but Mis-