Newspapers / Oxford Public Ledger (Oxford, … / June 12, 1915, edition 1 / Page 3
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SATURDAY. JUJTK 12th, 1915. HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN OXFORD - INTERESTING GRADUATING ES SAY AT OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL By MUZETTE DANIEL) Education of the young has been ?a predominant principle with the people of this community ever since its earliest history,- and to this edu cational spirit is due the name chos en for the town Oxford, after the great university town of that name in England. From the number and excellence of educational institu tions which at various times have flourished here, and from the inter est in things educational manifest ed by its people, Oxford is often called the "Athens of North Caro lina." It is a significant fact that the first movement for establishing a place of learning antedates' the in corporation of the town by five years. In 1811, by an act of the General Assembly of North Caro lina, certain men of the community were constituted a body corporate by the name of Trustees of an Acad emy for girls and boys, to have per petual succession, to hold property for the use of the Academy, to make by-laws and regulations, to fill vaca ncies in the board, and to have pow er to raise, by lottery, a sum of money not exceeding $2,000 for erecting buildings, etc., for the Academy, on land granted by Mr. Thomas B. Littlejohn, adjoining the court house of Granville county. Since the establishment of the old Academy, Oxford has met the educational needs of her people by means of various institutions, which may be roughly divided into three classes: Home Schools, for the training of young children; College Preparatory Schools and Academies, some of which provide also for the instruction of pupils of elementary school age; and the Public Graded School, combining the features of the other two. Of the home schools, the first, and perhaps the one most broadly influ ential, was that taught by Mrs. John W. Hays and Miss Hattie Cous ins, at the Old Hays homestead on on College street. Mrs. Hays was a most talented and versatile wo man, and an inspiring teacher. Her spirit will long continue to "live again In minds made better by her pres ence : live In pulses stirred to generosity. In deeds of daring rectitude.in scorn For miserable aims that end with self, In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, And with their mild persistence urge man's search , To vaster issues." Another of these schools was taught by Miss Bettie Jordon, who succeeded Mrs. Hays at the Acad emy, taught with Mr. Hobgood for eleven years, and on leaving the College began a home school which she continued until three years ago. The last of the home schools, and the only one that exists today, was begun by Mrs. A. A. Hicks in the .year 1894, three years after the be ginning of Miss Jordon's school, and continues its excellent work at Mrs. Hicks' home on College street. Since the home schools offered an opportunity only to girls anrf boys who lived near enough to attend daily, some ,means for bearding schools had to be devised. I These institutions - make up the .College Preparatory element of education in Oxford. One of these,! Saint Stephen's Institute, was established in 1885, and lasted for oily five years, at the close of which tftne it was bought by Miss Bettie Clark, who called it the Granville Institute. This school, for girls only, was bought by the Misses Hilliard after a few years' supervision by Miss Clark, and was renamed the Fran ces Hilliard School. Its very effec tive work was successfully carried on until 1908. At about the same time as the establishment of the Granville In stitute a Presbyterian boarding school for girls was founded on the lot now occupied by the Graded School Building, by Rev. T. U. Fau cette and his wife. This school lasted only four years, closing after the death of Mr. Faucette. It was as a teacher in this school that the present principal of the Graded School, Mrs. Paris, then Miss Bertha Luck, came to Oxford. Of the other College Preparatory Schools, the Academy, being the first educational institution estab lished in the town, was, of course, the oldest. The buildings provided for in the charter were erected where the Oxford College now is, in cluding the sites of Mr. C. W Bryan's and Mrs. Ellen Bryan's res idences. The female department of this institution and Saint Mary's College were rivals and never would the people of Oxford have recogniz ed Saint Mary's as superior to the Academy. Dr. Kingsbury wrote that "The Academy had a high rep utation from 1833 to the war, and that many girls from the eastern oart of the state came here to school." It seems that up to the time of the war, and probably long er, the boy's and girl's Academies had the same principals, though the work was entirely separate. In 1850 the Baptist people of this community perceived the need of a young woman's college, and agreed amonff themselves to establish such an institution. The site chosen for this was on the lots facing the southern end of Main street, and the buildings were erected almost Immediately. There were several other buildings but these have since then been torn down. Dr. Samuel Walt, who had been president of Wake Forest College, was the first president of this College, then call ed Oxford Baptist Femaie uoiiege On his resigning, Mr. John H. Mills who had taught with Dr. Walt, sue ceded him. Mr. Mills remained there until the close of the war, in 1865. when he bought St. John's College, which had been opened in 1857, where the Orphanage is today, and converted it into a girl's col lege under the same title as the one of which he was president. Mr Mills, as tutor, was followed by Rev J. H. Phillips and Rev. C. B. Kid dick successively. In 1871, .this in stitution, not having been success ful in its first situation, was trans ferred to a portion of the old- Acad emv grounds. In the meanwhile, in 1860, the girls' Academy had . been taken charge or ana conducted very sue oessf ullv by Mr. S. L. Venable, as sisted by Miss Margaret Mitchell and Mrs. Grant. They were, In 1875. followed by Mrs. John W Hava and Miss Hattie -NJ Cousins, Thftv taueht there for about three years, at the close of wnicti time Mrs. Stradiey ana miss - uerae jur--dom took charge. This- school was under their supervision when Mr F. P.- Hobgood moved his school, from Raleigh here and bought ' and im proved the Academy and named it Oxford Baptist Seminary, after the school that the Baptist people for twenty years had attempted to make successful. Since then Mr. Hobgood has held the presidency of this in stitution. . In 1904 that terrible ' monster, fire, swept away the buildings of this school, but did not burn the liberal spirit of the people of Ox ford. It only kindled anew the flame of liberality and unity. The following men: E. T. White. H. M. j Shaw, S. W. Parker, William Lan- ais, j . jr. Edwards, James Long, J. G. Hunt, Z. W. Lyon, W. B. Ballou. w. a. Mitchell, B. S. Royster, R. W. Lassiter, J. S. Brown, and Profes sor Hobgood immediately organized a stock company and had the school rebuilt. Since then the school has been very successful, so much so that the standard has been raised. and it is no longer called Oxford baptist Semenarv. but Oxford Col lege. While the female denartment. of the Academy, was passing through the various stages of development. until it has come to be the Oxford College, the boys' department, situ ated on the grounds adjoining that of the girls, though it did not have so high a reputation as the girls', until 1850, has experienced eaually as interesting a development; It was not so progressive as the girls Academy, yet its influence is worth the mentioning of a few facts con cerning its history. The most in teresting, since it was a prepara tory school, is that it afforded a place at which the young men of this town and community might be prepared for college, though, per haps, not so large a number of boys as of girls made use of their opportunity. The last two principals of this school were Mr. Edward Hubbell Hicks, father of Mr. E. T. Hicks who owns Brantwood, the beautiful summer home on the northern sur burb of Oxford, and Mr. James H. Horner, the founder of Horner's school, and father of Mr. J. C. Hor ner. Mr. Horner spent only two years there and then opened a pre paratory school for boys at the place now occupied by Mr. C. D. Ray and Dr. R. H. Marsh. It has been stated that Mr. Horner was partner with Mr. Ashbel G. Brown in Saint John's College, and if so it was between 1857 and the Civil War, at which time, on account of failing health, Mr. Horner moved to Hillsboro, North Carolina. While he was away the town bought the property, at present be longing to Dr. T. L. Booth and Mrs. Pinnix, and opened a boys' school under the management of Mr. Fred A. Fetter who taught here probably until 1878, when Mr. James Horner and his son, J .C. Horner, came back and established a school on the hill known as "Horner's Hill." Mr. Horner lived on the hill beyond the school, and students roomed in the cottages situated opposite Mr. H. G. Cooper's residence. In 1880 the military department was added and a new barrack was built. Mr. Horner had also built, for himself, a new dwelling house near the school. This military de partment was added not to make soldiers of the boys,, but to train them along military lines , namely, truthfulness, self-control;- ; a right sense of honor, - and habits of sys tematic and close 'application in the performance of every duty. In 189 2, the death of Mr. James Horner left the school in the care of his sons, J. C. Horner and J. M. Horner. In 1898, the Rev. J. M. Horner having been called to a bishopric in the Episcopal church, the school was left entirely under Col. J. C. Horner's control, and con tinued its progress as heretofore, until, in October 1913 while many of the boys were off enjoying the youthful pleasures of a holiday, the new barrack had the terrible mis fortune of being burned to the ground. In spite of this disaster Mr. Horner was able to complete the school term, but with decreased at tendance. Now that the school was to be rebuilt, offers came from cities both in Virginia and the Carolinas; Charlotte, North Carolina being fin ally victorious in securing this school. The third division of Oxford's ed ucational establishments, which is represented by the public Graded School ,is the one of most vital im portance to Oxford's present citizen ship. This school is to make the Oxford that will be in years to come. What shall it be? Shall it be a town of men . and women poorly equipped to meet the demands of modern life? No No Never. But this will be the case unless certain conditions are improved. In 1901 all that was necessary was to have a frame building that would accomodate about one hun dred and. fifty children, for there weren't so many in Oxford as now, but in eight or nine years there were several times that number of school boys and girls here. What should be done? The answer to this ques tion stands in brick and stone a monumant to the enterprise and public spirit of Oxford's school trus tees and citizens. Only four years have passed since this new brick building was erected and now there are more children in Oxford than can be accommodated conveniently in this building. We of the tenth grade of 1915 can testify that to be a true statement. Oxford greatly needs a High School building separ ate and distinct from the primary and intermediate departments. She must have this if she expects the people of her town to be properly educated. But there is need of some things of far more importance than mere house-room. First; vocational edu cation should be introduced into the school, and there are several reas ons why. In the first place there is a class of children who will never have an opportunity to attend school other than the High School, and if they could be taught to do well that one thing for which tney are nttea even if it is nothing more than mend shoes or tend the garden, the town would be noted for profession al men and women. A lawyer would be no more a professional man than the well-to-do trucker. Neither would the great musician be thought to . have accomplished more than the woman who had learned to keep house, a neat and clean house to prepare a meal according to the rules of dietetics, and to sew proper ly. Each of these -things can be taught, and by having them taught you are able to find out each per son's calling and have him or her to pay special attention to : that one thing, yet have the advantages of a literary education as welL Tb sac ceed in this calls for specially train ed teachers in addition to those al-1 C ready engaged in academic work, and the enforcement of the law for compulsory education. Now,, what kind of town will schools produce that train boys in agriculture and manual - labor, such as furniture making,, and carpentery book-keeping, and business courses, and girls in house-keeping, ' which includes domestic science and do mestic are, as well as in the same business courses as the boys ? Such training of her youth will make Ox ford a town that will surpass all others in the State. Let's make it so. ' PV B Ii X O LCDOCn . ,. - 1 T , ' - page nnt&n. Death of Aa Inf aat. The death angels visited the -home of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Critcher, June 3. and took from them their sweet little baby, only fifteen months of age. He was a bright and loving child. He was sick only eleven days. All that loving hands could do was done but God saw fit to take him. He was laid to rest in the family burying ground at Mr. R. L. Burnetts, beside two lit tle brothers who had gone on before. A precious one from us has gone, A voice we loved is still; The little chair is vacant in our home That never can be filled. Sleep on beloved, sleep and take thy rest; Good night, good night. The funeral was conducted by Dr. R. H. Marsh. A FRIEND. RUN an advertisement In oar WANT column, and see what surpris ing results you will get In return. EXECUTOR'S NOTICE Having qualified before the Clerk of the Superior Court of Qranville Coun ty as Executor of Absolom Yancey.de ceased, late of said county, I hereby notify all persons having claims against the estate of the said Abso lom Yancey to present the same to me for payment on or before the 9th day of June. 1916, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate are re quested to make immediate settle ment. This June 5, 1915. W. E. YANCEY, Executor of Absolom Yancey, deceased. B. S. ROYSTER, A ttorney. 6-9-4w.p DR. BRANTLY HENDERSON Will be in Oxford every second and fourth Monday of each month at the office of Dr. L. V. Hender son. . Practice Limited to the Diseases of the Eye, Ear, Nose and throat, and examination of the Eyes for Glasses. . should be "nipptJ la fce bud", for if allowed to run unchecked. ' serious results may follow. Numerous MM cases ol consumpqon, pneu monia, and other fatal dis eases, can be traced back to a cold. At the first sign of a cold, protect smtif . by thoroughly cleansing - your system with a few doses of TllEDFOtlD'S DRAUGHT the old reliable, regetable liver powder. Mr. Chas. A.. Ragtaod, o Madison Heights, Va.. says: "I have been using Thed- ford's Black-Draught for stomach troubles, indiges tion. and colds, and find it to be the very best medicine 1 Liever used. It makes an old man feel like a Insist . -oli The original and genuine. E-67 fiord's. GCTICM tares DR. BENJ. K. HAYS ' May be found in his office from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m. CsSLy except Sunday. Hicks & Stem Attorneys-at-Law. OXFORD, - - - N. CAROLINA. Practice in State and Federal Courts. B. S. ROYSTER, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW PRACTICES IN STATES AND FEDERAL COURTS OFFICES ODD FELLOWS' BIDO Hlllabro St OXFORD, If. C." ALL OCCASIONS We grow them. Roses, violets, Tallies, and carnations a spec ialty. Wedding and funeral flowers arranged in the latest artistic styles. BLOOMING POT PLANTS: Ferns, palms and many other nice plants for the house. Write for' our Spring Priclist of rose bushes, ' shrubberies, hedge plants, evergreens; and shade ttOQS Our Business la ; GROWING Mail, telegraph, and telephone orders prompty executed by y J. L O'Quinn & Co. FLORIST, Raleigh, N. C. Phones . Store 42, Greenhouse 140, fffiM-(GfflE KrCOHFAHY NOW IS YOUR TIME Jto buy your second pair of low shoes and hat as we have decid ed to turn what we have left into cash. Therefore you can buy them almost at your price and es pecially Millinery. We will cut every trimmed hat we have on hand at about half the original price. We also have a number of other bar gains to offer you in good new fresh staple goods. Come to see us, we will make it pay you. rwsm -GREER GOHTARY 26th ill fl I7iil 7V ffY portion ATTENTION Wednesday, May The First m Passed over a of Granville The next one may strike YOU! Why take the-riskwhen you can be protected by calling on JOHN El. MIX, Manager, J. R. ROLLER & SON CO. AGENTS County We Beg To Announce the following prices for ICEJe ginning May 1st, 1915: " 180 lbs. book $1.00 380 lbs. book $2.00 1000 lbs. book $4.70 2000 lbs. book $8.90 4000 lbs. book $14.75 12 block strips $12.60 300 lbs. blocks delivered $1.20; 300 lbs. blocks at plant $1.10; 300 lbs. blocks shipped $1.25 Car and Half Car Lots $3.50 per ton. . All ice retailed from wagons or at the plant for cash 75 cts per hundred . pounds. OXFORD ICE COKnPATJY : - 29 Cts. Saturdays Only THESE Good Will Chocolates are packed in . handsome lithographed boxes, each contain ing one pound of fine assorted chocolates. The factory making these candies are selling them to us at actual cost of materials and labor during the summer months in order to keep their several . hundred candy makers togetherduring this period. We have their sworn statement to this; effect: One day in each week we will selj this candy at the low price of 29 cents, which gives us a small profit but quick sales. : : : : We have just received a new Candy Refrigerator equal in beauty and service to those in New York City. Come in and take a look. AGENTS FOR HUYLERS CANDY J.G.HALL TUCE TO DELUMQUENTS I ECmi(0)wfiinig that tin tnm haw lbeiu tight in sinni plae9 w haw Tbim lw. t pmish mw eMetiiini8o W wfiM thamik ur simlbsOTlbeiPS t glanu at the laM nu thw papip anud n nun aKTair w will tfoamik thinni t iremmiit. The accounts aire smmaHl and scattered here andl there albount the coiumty and we take this means of wg ing a pairtial payment at least.
Oxford Public Ledger (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 12, 1915, edition 1
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