The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-12-09
Celebration Of William Moore
Schools Golden Anniversary
To Be Notable fete
PROGRAM SET FOR DEC. IS
Alumni Of First Tented Class.
room Will Be Present at
Public Ceremony

history in Bismarck, beginning with
classes taught In . canvas tent In
1917 by Mrs. Linda w. Slaughter, will
be unfolded Friday, Dec. Is, when the
teachers and pupils Of william Moore
school celebrate the 50th anniversary
Of the building Of the school, con-
structed In 1883 and 1854 and long
known as the North Ward" school.
Prominent in the program which
will be held at 7:30 o'clock In the
evening Ut the school building will
be alumni Of the old high school,
which graduated It's first class on
June 10, 1857, and was discontinued
In 1912 when it was supplanted by
the present high school.
Alumni Of the first high school will
describe the recitations In Mrs.
Slaughter's tent, which was part Of
Camp Hancock. They will tell about
the two-room brick schoolhouse erect
ed with a 5000 bond issued In 1873,
about Bismarck,s first high school
graduating class, and about Bis
marck,s first drawing teacher.
In the audience there will be some
who attended classes at the first
brick school, located where the will
school now stands. There will be
greetings from others, including
North Dakotas poet, James w. Foley
Of the class OF '68. In an improvised
art gallery there will be pictures OF
the majority Of the 80 alumni. OF
that first high school. Eighty pic
lures already have been collected.
Public II Invited
Miss LAvina Register, principal OF
William Moore school, Is preparing
the reception and program to be
given Dec. Is. An invitation Is ex-
tended to the interested public.
In connection with the celebration,
a directory Il being compiled. giving
the addresses Of members Of all the
high school graduates from 1857 to
1912. when use of the building a. q
high school was discontinued.
During the celebration, special
tribute will be paid to Mrs. Slaughter,
who taught Bismarck's first school
In tent. The pupils were eight
children Of the enlisted men and Of
ficers who had brought their ami
lies to Camp Hancock.
For the history Of Bismarck,s earli-
est schools and q detailed account Of
the first teacher, the committee Is
indebted to Mrs. Joseph Burgum, Ar
thur, daughter OF Mrs. Slaughter.
Mrs. Slaughter died many years ago
but the work which she had done in
the educational field lives. Always
identified with every good cause. and
taking prominent part In it with
her ability as writer, she was the
outstanding woman In Dakota in the
70s and sos. Her picture, an oil
painting by an English artist, hangs
In the Pioneers room in the Memo
rial building. Her long dark curls
about her shoulders. the
beauty Of her facial expression and
her kindly interest and sympathy
still are remembered by many Of her
former pupils and friends now living
in Bismarck.
Daughter Recalls History
Following is the account Of Mrs
Slaughter written by her daughter:
Mrs. Linda w. Slaughter, the first
teacher In Bismarck, was born In
Cadiz, Ohio, and taught school there.
She was the fifth daughter OF General
and Mrs. Charles Warfel. She at
tended Oberlin college and was sent
as Home Missionary by the Presby-
terrain Board to teach the Freedmen
Of the South in Kentucky.
Here she met and married DR..
Franklin Slaughter, q graduate of the
School Of Medicine Of the University
Of Kentucky. who had served five
years during the Civil War as surgeon
to the 55th Kentucky Volunteers. He
In the army after they were
married and they spent their first
five years at Fort Humbolt, Ten
nessee.
During their stay here. Mrs.
Slaughter published her writings,
Early Efforts q collection of girl
hood poems. 'SummeTings in the
South, and Freedmen Of the South.
When the 18th Infantry was ordered
to Fort Rice In the Dakota Territory,
DR.. and Mrs. Slaughter went from the
south to the frontier west by railroad
and by steamboat.
"They lived two years in this walled
fort surrounded by hostile Indians,
and two years later, the 18th Regi-
ment was ordered to form a temper
airy fort called Camp Hancock. now
the site Of the Weather Bureau ut
Bismarck. This company of soldiers
was to guard the surveyors Of the
Northern Pacific In 1872 against the
attacks Of the Indians, led by Sitting
Bull. an incorporating Indian pa
triot, who strove to keep the white
man out Of the Indians country.
Lived In Tented City
Camp Hancock ct first was q city
Of tents, and several Of the enlisted
men and some Of the officers had
their families with them. The chill
dren had brought their schoolbooks
with them. and during the summer,
the eight children would meet ct Mrs.
slauehter's tent to recite their les
sons to her. each studying from. dif-
ferent textbooks. Mrs. slaughter's
own children were ct this time, two
infants. too young to appreciate their
opportunity Of participating In the
first school ct Bismarck In canvas
tent. 6entries marching by, the gun
fired ct sunset, threats Of Indian at
tacks and rumors Of the soon-to-be-
built railroad made the setting for
the first school.
THE tents soon were replaced by
log cabins with dirt roofs, the city
grew rapidly g the railroad was built,
and Dr.. Slaughter resigned from the
army and was appointed postmaster
Thus he and Mrs. Slaughter cast their
lot with the rapidly growing metrop-
oils.
Mrs. Slaughter continued to teach
and was appointed the first county
superintendent Of schools. Later sl1e
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