Newspapers / The Pinehurst Outlook (Pinehurst, … / Dec. 13, 1901, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Pinehurst Outlook (Pinehurst, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
VOL. V., NO. 5 PIXEIIUPST, X. C. DKC. 13, 1001 PI ICE THREE CENTS A NEGRO SCHOOL. The Work Begun by E. H. Dickinson, Near Pinshurst, To Be Continued. CONTRIBUTIONS ARE INVITED. The question of the education of tiie negro in the South is one that for years has been steadily developing in import ance and clamoring loudly and more loudly for recognition and consideration. The emancipation proclamation con verted the negro from a dependent chat tel into an independent being, self responsible to society at large and self answerable for his own acts and mode of life. He is a component part of our national life and it is to the interest of the nation to see that he is afforded every opportunity to keep pace with the moral and intellectual progress of the nation. With a century of slavery and, pre ceding that, ages of slavery behind him as a basis of hereditary tendencies, it is a self evident fact, that his need of edu cation is a crying one and that the peo ple of the nation and the nation as a whole will be benefitted and advanced by giving him that needed education. The corollary of this is that those who help to educate the negro help also to benefit and advance the nation as well as themselves individually. This truism is now recognized pretty generally throughout the South and a systematic effort is being made to provide educa tional facilities for the negro in all of the Southern States. This is particu larly true of North Carolina, where pro vision is made for colored schools to as great an extent as the resources of the State will consistently permit. Here, out of the State and county school funds, a certain amount is appropriated every year for the purpose of paying the sala ries of teachers in these schools only ; school houses and text books must be provided by local taxation or subscrip tion. According to the system now in operation, these funds are distributed, through the counties, to the various school districts in proportion to the num ber of chidren of school age in each dis trict, and at present, the amount of this fund as a whole allows of an average district appropriation in this (Moore) county of about one dollar per capita for the school year. That is to say, the sal aries paid to the teachers of these schools amounts to just about one dollar per school year for each scholar. Now, it is certain that no one teacher can properly teach more than fifty or sixty scholars and this necessarily admits of his earning not more than fifty or sixty dollars in any one school year by teach ing. It is consequently impossible, even at a great sacrifice on the part of the teacher, to maintain a school in session more than two or three mouths in the year. "With the exception of a few thickly settled districts, the average school year for colored children in this county is Feldom more than two months. This, it is generally conceded, is insuffi cient. Several years ago this immediate sec tion was without a school building for colored children and through the liber ality of a number of Pinehurst guest?, a building, which served for both school li.nd church purposes, was erected at Jackson Hollow, two miles from Pine hurst. Two years ago this building was burned to the ground and in that same season, the winter of 1800-11)00, theifev. Mr. E. H. Dickinson, pastor of the Xor h Presbyterian church, of Buffalo, X. V., who was spending the winter in Pine hurst, cognizant of the conditions pre vailing and of the great need of aff'ord- ties. Last week Mrs. Dickinson, wife of the founder of the school, visited the place in company with a party from the Berkshire consisting of Mrs. F. E. Pob erts, Miss C. E. Chesterton, the Misses M. L. and Anna Putnam, Mr. James W. Tufts and Master Edward Dickinson. They found that Mr Taylor was trying to carry on the work practically without equipment, a case of "bricks without straw." Out of the fifty scholars en rolled, over thirty were present, and their ages ranged from five to forty years, although they were principally small children. There was a deplorable lack of text books, only one book for every two or three scholars and these were of different kinds, not at all uniform ; there were no pens, pencils, slates nor tablets, no maps, no black board, in fact nothing whatever, except the bare walls and the stove and the fexs zzm ing educational facilities for the negro, interested himself and a number of friends in the matter and succeeded in raising by voluntary subscription from Pinehurst guests about $175 for the pur pose of replacing the burned building. Early last season, the present building at Linden, just one mile away, was com pleted and the school opened with A. E. Brown as teacher. But unfortunately, the erection of the building had completely exhausted the funds and there was nothing left with which to buy text books, appoint ments, etc. However, the school was carried on under the disadvantages of lack of equipment, scarcity of text books, etc., and considerable progress made. On October 21, of this year, the school was again opened with Kobert L. Taylor as teacher under similar difficul- stove smoked. In spite of this, the pupils appeared to be interested and working hard. Excel lent order prevailed and the behaviour of the scholars was good. The party heard several classes recite and then the entire school sang "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know," and "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty," in a very creditable manner. Mr. Taylor called on the party for speeches, but instead he was asked to tell of the needs of the scool. This he did in a very modest and unassuming way, indicating a willingness to make the best of the opportunities at hand. The need of uniform and sufficient text books was the most pressing one; a blackboard and slates for the scholars would also be of great help to facilitate the work ; a bell was also needed, as the pupils, many of them, lived some dis tance away and as they were without watches or clocks, it was very difficult to get them to school at any regular time. The bell, however, Mr. Taylor hoped to purchase by contributions from his pupils and their parents. The party came away convinced that the teacher was thoroughly in earnest, anxious to help in the advancement of his race and they determined to assist him in the prosecution of the work. They, are con vinced that the only hope for the future of the colored race lies in the education of the children and are hopeful that the Dickinson school, though comparatively small, will grow into greater value and usefulness. A house will be built at once by pri vate donation near the school building as a residence for the teacher, who now has to walk twelve miles daily to his school, and when this is completed he will be assisted by his wife and at once open a night school for the benefit of those whose circumstances do not permit them to attend school during the day. The teacher, Mr. Taylor, who is a col ored man, is 28 years old, a graduate of the Dayton Academy, at Carthage, and was for 4 years, a pupil in the night school of ex-County Superintendent of Schools W. II. McNeill. His wife is a graduate of the State Normal School, at Fayette ville, and a former pupil of Livingston College, at Salisbury. Mrs. Dickinson is very anxious to assist in promoting this school and invites all who are interested in the cause to join with her in the work. It is especially desired to secure a series of uniform text-books and money contribu tions for this purpose will be gratefully received. It is also suggested that con tributions of clothing will be much appreciated by the pupils as many of them are insufficiently clad. All inter ested are invited to send their contribu tions to Mrs. E. II. Dickinson at the Berkshire. Church "I must go and drop a line to my wife." Gotham UI thought you 'said she was up in the mountains?" Church "So she is." Gotham "Well, how can you drop a line upward?" Yonkers Statesman. Ilorton "You used to think Bember was a great friend of yours. I notice he never offers to help you now that you need help." Snobel "No; but then, you must not forget how free he was to offer me assistance when I didn't need it." Boston Transcript. A Hoy of Promise. "Johnny," said the teacher after read ing the youngster's "note from his father" excusing his absence from school the day before, "it seems to me your father's writing is very like yours." "Yes," replied Johnny, unabashed, "you know they say I take after Pop in everything." Catholic Standard and Times.
The Pinehurst Outlook (Pinehurst, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 13, 1901, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75