The Bell County Democrat (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 55, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 7, 1911 Page: 1 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Bell County Democrat and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Lena Armstrong Public Library.
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Section 2
Special School and (Educational Number
F
16 Pages--All Home Print
THE BELL COUNTY DEMOCRAT
FTTIBILISIIIEID TWIOE? WEEK.
Volume XV
BS-tTON, TEXAS. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, foil
Number 55
V' .
BELL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
By JL -S. Morganr County Superintendent
Reese's Creek has a nice, well
painted house and pretty location j
and an enrollment of about 90
pupils. The school is taught by
Mr. W. A. Harrington and Miss
Clara Nail. Mr. Harrington is
teaching hisy first year at this
place but has taught ten years in
the county. He was educated at
the Thomas Arnold high school.
Miss Nail’s home is in this com-
munity and she was educated
here. It is her first term and she
ds the work delightful.
npi
UOtJNTY SUPERINTENDENTS
OF BELL COUNTY.
\
The office of County Superintend-
ent of Public Instruction was cre-
ated in the year 1886.
Mr. T. J. Witt was chosen first sup-
erintendent, and served from 188 6
to 1890, or two terms.
Mr. F. C. Humphries was elected
in 1890, and served one term.
Mr. W;. C. Halbert was elected in.
1892, and served one term.
Mr. Forrest Smith was elected in
1894 and served one term.
Mr. W. W. Higgins was elected in
1896, and served two terms.
Mr. H. K. Orgain was elected in
190 0, and served three terms.
Mr. J. W. Grissom was elected in
1906, and served two terms.
Mr. J. S. Morgan was elected in
1910.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
I consider the public school
system the greatest factor in the
solving of our problems. 1 be-
lieve there is no group of people
in this world that stand so high
in morals, that stand so high in
ideals and patriotism, as the
teachers. But it is not so much
what you teach the child, it is
not so much what you say to
the child, as it is what you arc
the ll^d-that is of jcatest
to him. we sometimes
forget what examples we are.—
Dean Sumner.
Elm Springs School.
Elm Springs School is about fif-
teen miles from Belton, seven miles
wa,st of Saladq and is taught by Miss
Muda Griffith. Miss Griffith is re-
cently from Waco and this is her
first school in Bell county. She is a
graduate of Baylor University. When
visited by The Democrat represent-
ative her school had just started
with an enrollment of forty-seven.
Miss Griffith likes teaching, takes a
great pride in her work, and the in-
dications were splendid for a very
successful term. The Elm Springs
school house does not come up quite
to the average of the school house of
the county but doubtless the trus-
tees and patrons will bestir them-
selves soon for a new and better
building.
In Bell county there are 102 Com-
mon School Districts, and 10 Inde-
pendent School Districts, 75 of the
Common School Districts have one-
room school houses, and one teacher
each; 16 have two-room school
houses,' and two teachers each; 3
have three-room houses, and three
teachers each; 1 has a foui-room
house, and four teachers.
Three of the Independent Districts,
Bartlett, Belton and Temple, each
has a scholastic population sufficient
to place it beyond County supervis-
ion; while the other seven Independ-
ent Districts, Heidenheimer, Holland,
Killeen, Oenaville, Rogers, Salado
and Troy, together with the 9 5 Com-
mon School Districts, are all under
the supervision of the County Sup-
erintendent,
In the 95 Common School Districts
there are 120 teachers and 634 3 pu-
pils. In the 7 Independent Districts
there are 45 teachers and 173 0 pu-
pils. Omitting fractions, this gives
an average of 52 pupils to the teach-
er in the Common School Districts,
and an average of 38 pupils to the
teacher in the Independent Districts.
In' other words,, the teacher of the
rural school has an average of 14
more pupils to instruct than has the
teacher in the Independent District.
Furthermore, in many of the rural
schools, one teacher has 7 to 9 grades
to instruct, whereas in the Independ-
ent Districts no teacher has more
than four grades, and in most cases
only two or three grades.
The foregoing statistics do not in-
dicate or suggest that the rural
school is “losing ground.’ They were
compiled rather to show that the ru-
ral schools are “gaining ground,’’
and as a prelude to my plea for mak-
ing them better. These figdres plain-
ly show that the larger schools, that
is, the Independent Districts of the
county have plenty to do to attend
to the needs of those already in their
charge, and that the rural schools
rail ■flHMtkewise. Tliey^j
the rmflW^SFTToTri il? a~C7u way. He
to the educational interests of the
children in the country districts, and
clearly indicate that it is .here to
stay. They furthemore show that
more teaching force in the rural
schools is of prime importance.
Now, I fully believe that if it were
possible to compile a census of the
best teachers of the State of Texas,
the rural schools of Bell county
would foot up as large a per centage
of such teachers as any county in the
State. From the time 1 assumed the
duties of this office up to the closing
of the schools for the holidays I vis-
Professor Morgan is serving bis
first term as County Sueprintendent
of Bell county. He is a man with a
vision. In his mind’s eye he sees the
hundred and more schools of Bell
county each with a model school
house with grounds oeautified,, and
made atractive by. the proper care
and the planting of trees and flowers,
with the standard of work raised a
little higher than ever before and
the ideals of each community approx-
imating perfection as nearly as pos-
sible. This is not all a ‘vision.
There is a great deal existing in fact
as well as in imagination, and the
superintendent is doing much to
make his vision a reality.
Professor Morgan was born in
Kentucky where he lived until
grown. He completed the common
school course of his native state af-
terward completing a full course at
two different academies, alternating
his years in school with years of
teaching, after finishing at two acad-
emies and teaching at intervals in
the public schools of-Kentucky. Af-
ter three years he entered the Ken-
tucky University. After leaving
the University he came to Bell
county, Texas, where he again toon
up the work of teaching,; having
fully decided to make it his life
work. After ten years in the pub-
lic schools of Bell county he went
to Sonara, Sutton county. There he
had charge of the Sonora schools for
four years. While he was there the
town erected a high school building
costing $16,000. It was constructed
after a plan of his own design and it
is said to be one of the best con-
structed buildings in the state. Pro-
fessor Morgan strengthened the
course of study from year to year
and affiliated the schools with the
State University. Six years ago he
returned to his former home at Troy
in this county and took charge of
the Troy school where he remained
until elected to the office of County
Superintendent. Besides his work ass
teacher he has occupied many re-
PROF. J S'. MORGAN
summer school in the famous Tex a
Colorado Chautauqua at Bouldei
Colorado.
Professor
j his efforts 1
j force for go
j the county.
11' i i a
S u m r m a
several
of the Bell County Institute, and ha
served as a member of the county
board of examiners for about ten
years in all. He has attended sev-
eral summer schools in Texas and one
build in selecting the plans that will
be best for their school. Also he
states that he will have in the of-
fice a library where teachers with a
few hours to spend in the city may
pleasantly pass the time. Another
space will be set apart for the exhi-
ofiiIL1-3XVmens of work that may be sent b
ormals president' tIle- °®ce in tIie court j i.oua%- which j any of the schools of the county.
- - occupies. In this fie expects to j Get Prof. Morgan started on the sub-
have models of the most approved jects of schools and you will be sur-
style ot school buildings and to be j prised at the great expanse of facts,
able to give valuable assistance to figures, plans and possibilities that
any trustees who may oe going to will open to view.
[ the Comm
an edueaiional^AlnmL
nnected with
School graduates, and collegebred
teachers in our rural schools.
New, modern, well equipped rural
school house are being constructed in
are involved and no political feelings , hope to meet the trustees and many
excited; for its benefits are so uni- ; of the patrons of your school, and
versa! that all parties can cordially ! to talk with them face to face on the
unite in advocating it.” In matters subject of the education of their chil-
many districts, and quite a number : of religion, politics, etc., we are di- dren there in your school room. I
are in contemplation for the coming i vided, but in the subject of education, : love the life of your beautiful, open
year. Already completed, and now I we are a unit. The public school ' country, and believe in its great pos-
in process of construction are four system unites our county into one ' sibilities and opportunities. It af-
ited 36 of the 102 schools that came j frame, one brick, and four concrete (great family with a common interest, fords me pleasure to say to the boys
under my supervision, and in many
instances, even where one teacher
had a large school of 7 or 8 grades,
the work was excellent. The records
of certificates and contracts here in
the office show that there is only one
teacher in the county teaching under
a third grade certificate. They also
show that the number of first grade
rural school buildings. j its pupils, come from the homes of
All these conditions and tenden- , farmers, mechanics, merchants, and
cies serve to brighten the outlook j other classes of society. The coun-
for the future of Bell County's rural j try school is the “people's college,”
and girls of your school away out
there in the country that the best life
in the world open to them is life on
the farm, provided they make of that
schools. Trustees, patrons and citi- j and making it serve fully the pur- life all that they should. Perhaps
zens generally are manifesting un- j pose for which it. was created is the the country school in your district is
usual interest in the rural schools, j greatest work of the hour. (not all that you desire it to be, but
“Education is a subject in which I -When I visit your school soon af- remember, it is your school, and if
every citizen, especially every parent, j ter the holidays, 1 trust to find every- ; pupil, teacher, parent, trustee, and
teachers is constantly growing larger. | feels a deep and lively concern. It thing progressing nicely, a d your , superintendent work together, it will
Again, we have a number of Normal 1 is one in which no jarring interests school room neat and home-like. 1 : soon be equal to the best. I long for
the day to come when the children
; in the country schools will have ed-
| ucational advantages, equal to those
| of the children in the towns and cit-
j les, and I believe that day is rapidly
approaching. But we must WORK
for it as well as pray for it. It
will not come unaided. “Progress is
man’s distinctive mark alone,” and
we must progress, or we will retro-
grade. There is no stand-still point
or period. As above stated, the
country school is here to stay. It is
a fixture as enduring as the fertile
farms in the midst of which it stands.
But it must be made better from year
to year. If the farmer of today were
forced to go back to the methods in
vogue 25 and 30 years ago, his pro-
gress would be^slow. The world
would grow hungry in waiting his
harvest. Pie would have to reap his
grain with a hand cradle, at the
rate of few square yards per day, in-
stead op reaping 20 acres in the same
time with a machine and 6 horses.
Pie would sow the cotton seed in the
furrow by hand and cover them with
a hoe, instead of using a machine
and two horses and planting 10 acres
per day. Progress is similar in all
other industrial lines. Should pro-
gress in educational methods not
keep abreast with progress in other
great movements? Then let us con-
tinue to improve our school houses,
providing better seats, better black-
boards, better heating and ventilat-
ing processes for our school houses,
more attractive and sanitary school
grounds.
In closing this article, I desire to
say to the trustees of the county that
within the next few days I will have
a model school house, on a small
scale, here in my office. It will be
made of wood, and every particular
of its structure will be clearly phown
in the model; also the description'and
cost of fi,yery_P.i£ce_ .oJLmaterial in
a
Professor E. B. Echols who as
charge of the Amity school, is teach-
ing his second term in Bell county.
He is not new in the 'school work,
however, having a 15 years exper-
ience as teacher. All of his teaching
has been in Texas in Lee, Milam and
Bell counties. He taught awhile in
Thorndale school but the greater
part of his teaching has been in the
country school as he prefers the ru-
ral school work. Professor Echols
has a nice school at Amity of about
fifty pupils and is giving them good
training. The Amity school is lo-
cated on the Belton and Salado road,
about six miles from Belton.
BE SINCERE.
The shortest and surest way to
live with honor in the world is
to be in reality what we would
appear to be, and if we observe
we shall find that all human vir-
tues increase and strengthen
themselves by the practice and
experience':of them.—Socrates.
quired in the building. I will also
have for your inspection samples of
the best school desks on the market,
their cost, etc., as well as samples
of the best blackboard, erasers, etc.
I .hereby solicit the teachers of the
rural schools, as well as thosp of the
towns and cities, to preserve samples
of the best work done during the
year by the children of the different
grades, and bring the samples to this
office for exhibition. Work in draw-
ing, composition and greography pre-’
ferred, such having been done under
the direction of the teacher, in the
school room. I am very anxious to
secure this work, and will appreciate
any effort on the part of any teacher
to furinsh it.
“I speak not for the great departed
Who framed our country’s laws
Nor for the bravest hearted,
Who died in freedam's cause.
Not for the living hero,
To whom all bow the knee,
Nor for any has-been
But for the man to be!”
Yours for good schools,
J. S. MORGAN, Co. Supt.
SEEING BELL COUNTY BY AUTOMOBILE
To prepare for special school mat-
ter that appears in this issue the
editor of The Democrat made a few
trips—-or we might say one ex-
tended trip—to the country schools
of the county to familiarize himself
to some extent with the school condi-
tions as they exist in old Bell coun-
ty as present. What he saw was
gratifying. Not only was the school
work and school conditions such as
to bring a thrill of pride but the
resources and high state of develop
ment of the county in many respects
was a revelation. In all, five and
. a half days werespent in a rapid
tour of schools in the car shown in
this picture, and one hours’s delay
•from a punctured tire on the first
afternoon was the only mishap of
any kind on the entire round. The
trips weer made in the latter days of
november. The weather was ideal,
delightful and exhilerating. While
down in the records as a business
trip the outing really became a “joy”
ride though not accompanied by any
of the reckless driving that joy
rides are usually supposed to have.
Before going .further perhaps it
would be well to introduce the gen-
tle reader to the parties whose like-
nesses are shown in the picture.
First, the car is a Buick, was desig-
nated by some of the party as tin
“Old Reliable.” Some wanted to
call it the Colquitt because it had
made such a good run but there bt
ing other favorite candidates among
the crowd the suggestion carried
Only by a plurality vote and not hav-
ing a majority it was declared lost.
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| The sign “Bell County Democrat
| Special Edition Car” was placed
j upon it after the first day’s run.
| The suggestion was made by Mr.
j Gray that we ought to let the people
j know who and what we were, and so
j on getting ready to start the second
j day we found that he had the sign
| already prepared and ready to fasten
j on the car. It had not been the in-
tention to dignify this number of
the paper to the extent of calling it
a special edition but rather to let it
be known as a special school number.
However, as the sign was painted
and we all agreed that in reality it
was the truth it was decided that it
should go without change.
Standing at the front of the car,
wearing his automobile cap and a.
hibitual dignified demeanor, is Wil-
ber Gay, who steered the old reli-
able over all the roads with a skill-
ful hand. He is only about seven-
teen or eighteen or nineteen years
old but as safe as a man on the first
base when the horsehide is a hundred
yards from the diamond.
The man standing near the , front
of the automobile with his head up
like a thoroughbred in the blue grass
regions is Mr. Alex Gray, the official
photographer and story teller of the
party. By story teller of course we
mean the kind of story that the
dictionary defines as a “verbal nar-
ration of a series of facts or in-
stances,” and never in the sense in
which it is substituted for the short-
er and uglier word. His entire busi-
ness was to scatter good cheer along
the way and make the pictures of the
schools and school houses which ap-
pear in this issue.
The gentleman at the rear of the
car is Professor J. S. Morgan, who
furnished the dignity for the entire
crowd and whose presence was an as-
surance rwelcome to the schools
of Be1’
Th«
bI<T
In tin
Bell count!
point of the"
and prairies, blaTI
land, were all vij
cession and each*
country left its impressTTtne great-
ness of Bell county. In every part
there are happy homes, industrious
and prosperous people. Sometimes
the road lay along the crest of the
hill, overlooking fertile valleys dot-
ted with rich and well kept farms;
sometimes in the more sparsely set-
tled section in the southwestern cor-
ner from the hills there was pre-
sented a view of the more broken and
pasture lands with cattle grazing on
the numerous hillsides. Such view's
always bring forth exclamation of
delight for the beautiful scenery that
burst upon the vision. And then the
road would swoop down into the val-
ley and along the country lanes,
where the goddess of autumn had
painted the fields and the woodlands
with lavish hand.
Other days the route lay over the
black land sections, where land is
so valuable that it seemed that the
wheels of the car were crushing gold
dollars as they pulverized any clods
that happened to be in the road.,
But whether the way was through
the sections where the eyes feaJ
upon wonderful scenery, or whetij
through other parts where the hi
value of land challenges the at|
tion, there was always suffii
meeting the gaze to make on<i
claim, “Great is Bell county.”
At many points there are
houses of recent construction
elegance and style of architurel
commodious appartments woulc|
credit to a modest city. The
and best in farm machinery and1
grade and well kept teams werii
evidence in all parts of the col
try. To be sure, there are spots he!
and there which need much improv
ment but in few places is the viral
of sloth manifested in the conditioil
of the country- In other words this1
is not the home of the hookworm,
People of the country have leariysu
to spend money and what is
more important, they have learned
hovv t° spend it. They know that
while extravagance is a malady that
should be shunned as a deadly sin.
| miser ness is a canker that eats out
the hearts of its victims leaping
nothing-in return. They do not ex-
pect to take the money with them
when they die and therefore they
are learning to make the best use of ,
| it while living; hence many good
; homes ■ equipped with the comforts
| and conveniences of life; many good
; barns in which good stock is housed,
and many new school buildings and
improvements on others. The coun-
ty has made great strides and its de-
velopment has not been onesided.
Progress has been made along nearly
every line.
!
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Doyle, Davis K. The Bell County Democrat (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 55, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 7, 1911, newspaper, February 7, 1911; Belton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth845461/m1/1/?q=%22Texas+Normal+College%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lena Armstrong Public Library.