Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1925-03-19

Olic church in McColnelSv1lle, and
FOR some years of my earliest recol-
lection I knew of but tiree or four
Catholic families. These families
were visited occasionally by priest
from some point, probably Chapel
Hill, in Perry county.
My memory goes back to the
time when there was but one school
building in the town, and that was
the "two-story high school building
about where the present high school
building is located" Only it was
not a high school building then. Nc
Connelsville at that time had no
high school. The building faced the
south and contained four rooms, two
upstairs and two downstairs. with
an entrance and double stairway in
the middle The rooms were rented
to teachers of private schools, as
public schools were not yet organ
lied. Most teachers, however, rent
ed rooms elsewhere. The first school
that | attended was taught in a log
cabin which stood on the south side
of the alley extending west from
Kennebec avenue, between Union
and Bell streets. The second was in
little frame building that had pre-
viously been carpenter shop. 1t
was located on the north side of
Main street, on the first lot west of
Fifth street. The next was in the
public school building, in the west
room upstairs. Mr.. John Anderson
had a school in the east room down
stairs. He was a man of quick tenn
per and had the reputation of a stern
disciplinarian. One day as our
school was passing his door, on our
way in from recess, Gholson Russell
kicked the door and ran upstairs.
Instantly Mr.. Anderson rushed out
with a big switch caught Russell on
the landing and gave him a severe
whipping.
My teacher during all three of
these terms was Miss Adeline Worth,
young woman hardly more than
20 years old, bright, attractive, full
Of cheerful life, and exercising a sort
! of charm over her pupils. ] can not
remember that she punished or
scolded a pupil in a single instance
during the whole time ] attended
her school.
| have already mentioned the
basement of the Methodist church as
a place where schools were taught
This was where I went after Miss
Worth quit teaching. The next term
l went to the basement of the Con
gregational, now the Methodist Prot
estant church, next to a building on
South Seventh street; then to the lit
tie frame building still standing
believe, just east of the brick house
on the northeast corner of Main and
Seventh streets. Later ! attended
one term in a room upstairs in the
house on the southeast corner OF
Union and Eighth streets.
About 1847 or 1848 two private
high schools were opened, one By
Mr.. and Mrs John Giles, in the base
ment of the Congregational church
and the other by Mr. and Mrs. Lud
don in the building at the north
west corner of Main street and the
alley between Eighth and Ninth
streets. There was considerable
rivalry between these schools. il
which, it seemed, the whole town be
came interested. 1t came to an enc
WI hon tba p,,hIin cobooI cVc+a,, ,rr,,t
organized, about 1850, as this in
cluded a public high school, Mr.
Giles was elected as the first superin
tendent and became the teacher O
the boys high school. Mrs. Gile:
was made the teacher of the girls
high school.
Mr.. Giles was superior teacher
and l and all the other boys who
came under his quickening influence
owed him great debt. Mr. DAME
T. Johnson, who taught the gram
mar school about that time, was an
other teacher whom | hold in spe
cial remembrance. a man of noble
character and noble ideals, he com
manded universal respect and diC
even more good by what he was thar
by what he taught.
Mrs. Corner Appealed To Him AS
The Perfect Teacher
But of all my achers,-indeed
of all the teachers that | hav,
known,-no one so completely full
filled my conception of the perfec
teacher, as Mrs. Corner. She cam,
to McCOnnelsville from the east a.
Miss Bassett, and taught privat,
school After time she married
Mr.. Merrill Corner, son of Edwin
Corner, already mentioned, and dis
continued her school. But a few
years later she resumed teaching
and it was then that | became one o
her pupils. | was about eight year
old and as thoughtless and as indif
ferent to everything but play ant
the demands of my stomach, as mos
boys of that age. I had five or 81.
teachers, but after Miss Worth nom
Of them had touched the centers o
my life. But here was somethin.
new, something strangely different
Mrs. Corner was rather under me
dium height, of slight form, ant
quiet manner, radiated subtl
influence that pervaded every part o
the room. To look at her as sh'
stood there speaking to us in quie
tones, was to feel the magnetism o
her person streaming into you
breast and setting your whole fran,
in subdued glow. Her presenc
seemed to saturate the whole atmos