The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-12-16


for flocking pell nell after any
thing that is new. No matter how
good the old was, the majority of
the people are hoping that some
thing else is better. In using the
term american people," we do,
not mean the Indians or pure des-
cendants of original settlers. We
mean the conglomerate mess of
everything that has mogrelized
and adulterated the pioneer stock
whose descendants have been lack
ing in pride to preserve our racial
identity and a continued healthy
interest in our ethnogeny.
The American people can be
riding home from the fields on
wagon creaking under the fruits
of rich harvest, and hop off to joy
ride on a jalopy in hopes of finding
free lunch somewhere, although
there awaits at home a good old
country meal. Let some stranger
drift into a community, and say
he is big shot, and 10 and behold
he is a big shot, to his listeners.
The "Oh's" and "Ah's" indicate
that he is taken at his own ap-
praisal. He is the wonder of the
world, and particularly if he
marches out to church first thing
and gets into the front row of the
choir. 1t may be he has broken
out of Jail or bug house afar off,
but he flourishes like the green
! bay tree until he accidentally re-
veals himself an idiot or a crook
or, if he happens to be the real
goods he will lose face and favor
the first time he happens to knock
down some of the local idols or
differ with the self-appointed
rulers of the community.
However, l drift somewhat from
my topic which started out to be
the craze that followed the dis
covery of consolidated schools. We
were told by the teachers and pro-
fessors, whom we figured knew
more than we knew, that it would
bring about the millennium in edu-
cation. Every child should have a
better chance and get an educa-
ton quicker at less cost to the
elders. The rulers at the county
seats whenever they could wangle
it arranged to get all the children
brought to one central school
Costly new buildings were abolish
ed, some of them are still being
paid for. New investments in
school buses, and equipment were
made, often on borrowed funds.
OF course there were many
towns bigger than the county seats,
and they were powerful enough to
buck the politicians at the court
house, but allowed their own
powers to hold sway, and preyed
upon all the smaller communities
by which they were surrounded.
The bigger places ate up the little
ones; the buildings were abandon
ed, some given away and allowed
to come to nothing, and the chill
dren picked up in the early morn
| ing hours, and carried many miles
away from homo. Regardless of
their age, they were kept away
from home so long where they
might be influenced along with
good precepts and examples, the
bad behavior, recklessness and in
decency of many older children
they had never seen before.
Having been stuck with all the
evils of consolidation, we continue
to advocate and support it in spite
of all the evils we bought with it,
And of evils there are plenty. The
consolidated schools a long dis
lance from home can be excellent
for the larger children; it is like
going away to college. The mere
handful of high school pupils in
the smaller schools cannot stay at
home with continued progress in