Volume 3, June 1973, Issue 2
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THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION started with the invention of the reaperand the threshing machine. The thrilling chug of the traction steam engine is indelibly imprinted upon the memory of most farm boys. As the rumbling machine passed each house a parade of children joined it, trotting along behind, and enjoying the feel of the wide, smooth tracks of the huge grain seperator on their bare feet. LATE AND IMPORTANT The June meeting will be held at Millie's Cafe in Waltonville, on Wed. June 20, 1973 at 7:30 pm. Please note: It will be Wed. instead of Tuesday this time. No program has been scheduled for the meeting as there is a great deal of business to be taken care of and the weather will be hot. Refreshments will be served following the meeting and we can have a good visit with our fellow historians. There are no pictures in this issue of The Prairie Historian as the editor has been sick and did not get them made. This issue of The Prairie Historian was produced mostly through the efforts of Connie Sue (Green) King for the same reason. She spent hours and hours, writing, re-writing, typing, re-typing, and arranging the the pages and finally typing the master carbons which produced the pages on the duplicating machine. A great many people helped run off and assemble the pages after that. In spite of my insisting that historic journalism reports only the facts as it really was instead of as we'd like it to be, a more humane sentence occasionally crept into Connie's writing, such as the Indian Corn Planting Song on page 2 and the fear of the ghost in the Ward Graveyard on page 11. I wonder if a more gentle touch might not benefit our little publication. There has been some changes in the editorial staff as noted on page 1 in order to give credit where credit is due. Everyone is encouraged to submit manuscripts for inclusion in The Prairie Historian. Most of us have something that would delight the readers of P. H. if it were made available to them. The September issue will feature Wolf Prairie, so if you have any historic information, stories, or other material about Wolf Prairie send it to the editors. Especially a picture of one of the old schools, together with identification. We may have two pictures in the next issue to make up for the omission in this one. The owners of the Old Baptist Church still have not made a committment, so negotiations remain at a standstill. We must begin to give serious consideration to the reprinting of John A. Wall's History of Jefferson County. It will be a very difficult task, but will stand as a memorial to the Prairie Historians. The March and December issues of Prairie Historian are reproduced by the Business Education students at Waltonville High School, but the June and September issues must be produced by the Prairie Historians themselves. I have just received word that Connie King will soon be moving away, so she will not be able to fulfill her duties as co-editor. Should any member wish to help with the typing and laying out of the publication, please contact the editor.
THE PRAIRIE HISTORIAN Issued by the Prairie Historians, an organization dedicated to the preservation of things of historic interest. Centered in, but not limited to, the southwest four townships of Jefferson County, Illinois and contiguous regions without geographic limitations. In this region lies Knob Prairie, Grand Arm Prairie, Long Prairie, Elk Prairie, Horse Prairie, Wolf Prairie, and a number of smaller prairies.
founded 1971
individual
family
Officers
Editor: Jerry Elliston, Co-editor: Connie King, editorial assistants:
Note: Comments and criticism are always welcome, but each member should assume the role of reporter should anything of historical interest come to his attention. Contents
BALD HILL TOWNSHIP Unlike most of the surrounding area, which contained numerous large prairies, Bald Hill township was mostly timbered and speckled with only a few small prairies. A very prominent hill stood in the north part of the township with the crest of the hill being completely varren of timber when the first settlers arrived. This prominent feature, from which the township gets its name, was located south of the Bald Hill Church and Cemetery and was along the home of the Woodrome family. William Henry Perrin's History of Jefferson County Illinois has this to say about Bald Hill Township. "The first settlement of this township is somewhat obscure. nor can the exact date of the advent of the first pioneer be given. Among the first settlers were Abraham McGinnis, John G. Turmon, James Bellows, Willis Hardwick, Isaac Smith, William Steerman, Samuel Irvin, the Scroggins', Soloman Goddard, Nathaniel Morgan, etc., etc. McGinnis afterward went to Texas, but left two sons here- James and Richard. Turmon went north, where he later died, leaving a son named Grant. It may be that all the settlers mentioned above did not settle in what is now Bald Hill township at first, but they settled in the immediate vicinity. It is a difficult matter, after so many years, to locate every early settler upon the proper section, and they were coming in now so rapidly that it is impossible to keep track of them. The abundance of game was a somewhat mixed evil. When the crops of the early settlers were first planted, they were subject to the attack of crowsm blackbirds and squirrels, and when further advanced the thousands of wild geese and turkeys threatened to take all that was left." (The Indians planted corn by the hand full in mounds or hills, singing a little song as they worked. Can't you imagine them saying "Two for the blackbird. Two for the crow. Two for the gray squirrel, and two to grow.") "Deer were numerous, so were wolves, while the timber swarmed with the chattering game that found shelter there. "Painters" were numerous - too much so for a very great feeling of security, though as a general thing they were easily frightened away. A story is told of a person, on a certain occasion, riding along a trail on horseback through the woods, when he was very much frightened and his horse considerably scratched by a panther springing upon him from a tree, but it lost its hold and was soon lost in the distance. Woman out picking wild berries were often startled by seeing these treacherous animals crouched in treesm meditating the chances of an attack, but no serious results are known to have occured in this immediate section. The people of this settlement, like those surrounding it, and which were somewhat remote from other settlements, learned to depend early upon their own resources for the comforts of life. This was especially marked in the clothing of the people and the adornment of the home. Deer skins were largley utilized by the men, and even the women sometimes made their own garments of them." "Buckskin breeches and buckskin hunting shirts were more common then than the farmers "overalls" are now. A buckskin suit was not a very inviting thing to jump into on a cold morning, or to wear after getting wet, but these were minor discomforts, and were not allowed to stand in the way of daily duties. This was the way the people lived in the early days of the country - - days we know nothing of except as we gather it from the "traditions of the fathers." The early settlers of Bald Hill township had the same hard times in procuring bread as in other portions of the county. The mortar and pestle, the hand mill, and later the horse mill served them. Originally Bald Hill was a part of the Elk Prairie Election Precinct, but after township organization, it became Bald Hill Township. Bald Hill township is diversified between Woodland and Prairie. Horse Prairie lies mostly in Bald Hill while the four townships of Bald Hill, Blissville, Elk Prairie and McClellan corner in Knob Prairie." Some of the settlers who lived in the Horse Prairie area, such as the Lloyd Ward family, some of the Hartleys, and some of the other early settlers in the Winfield area may have lived in Bald Hill township. The Ward Cemetery on land given by Lloyd Ward is in Bald Hill township. A story of the beginning of the Ward Cemetery is elsewhere in this issue of The Prairie Historian. Scheller is the only community lying wholly within Bald Hill township. The original survey of the town of Waltonville was limited to Bald Hill also, but later additions have since extended it into McClellan, Blissville, and Elk Prarie townships. At one time there were five Post Offices within the township, Waltonville, Scheller, Dryden, Meso, and Reform. The history of the smaller Post Offices is listed below: Dryden..established August 20, 1886. Discontinued Sept. 15, 1893 Postmasters were John F. Allen : August 20, 1886 Susan C. Allen : April 21, 1890 Meso..established March 9, 1900. DIscontinued July 30, 1904 Postmasters were Oliver M. Strickland : March 9, 1900 Daniel Ulery : June 7, 1902 Reform..established July 14, 1886. Discontinued Feb. 18, 1893 Postmasters were W. A. Woodrome : July 14, 1886 James Lemmon : Nov. 18, 1886 DRYDEN Post Office was located in the home of R. J. D. W. Allen where the maple trees still stand on the east side of the road about a quarter mile north of the land that leads to Dryden (Black Jack) Cemetery. REFORM was in the home of Uncle Jimmie Lemmon on the corner west of the Lawtence Pitman place. MESO was south and west of Oak Grove Free Will Baptist Church in the southwest part of the township, and received mail from Star Route # 35168 plying between Tamaroa and Spring Garden. It was carried for many years by Henry Martin, father of Harl Martin. Just how Dryden and Reform got their mail is not known. Probably the Postmaster or a messenger met the Star Route carrier at Laur, receiving a pouch and dispatching one at a time. Records of Star Route or Mail Messenger service to the obscure little Post Offices have not been retained by the Postal Service. With the establishing of rural free delivery from Waltonville, Scheller, and Tamaroa Post Offices ( shortly after the turn of the century) the little Post Offices were closed forever. ( without some drastic action by the rural populace the Post Offices in small rural communities today stand to suffer the same fate in the near future.) THE SCHELLER POST OFFICE The Scheller Post Office was established on December 31, 1892, but due to a spelling error on the application it was given the official name Sheller by the Post Office Department. The name was changed to Scheller on March 12, 1926. Postmasters were... Andrew J. Black - Dec. 31. 1892 William M. Dudley - Feb. 26, 1895 Andrew J. Black - Oct. 1, 1897 John M. Shurtz - Jan. 22, 1899 Isaac L. Quinn - Jul. 27, 1914 Sophia Skortz - Feb. 11, 1919 Raymond L. Nadolski - Sep. 29, 1959 Gertrude Dressler - Apr. 1, 1961 Raymond L. Nadolski - Dec. 17, 1961 Rural service started in 1904.
The rural carriers were: We have no records of succeeding rural carriers. SCHELLER, ILLINOIS - JEFFERSON CO. BALD HILL TOWNSHIP Some things I remember about Scheller seventy years ago. The little village is located about a mile East of the large hill known as Bald Hill from which the township took its name. It is located on a rail road which at that time was known as the Wabash Chester and Western, (WC&W) which was from Mt. Vernon to Chester. A very nice little depot was on the North side of the depot. There were two trains which carried a passenger coach and a baggage coach. They brought the mail. Each train made a round trip daily. One going East and one going West in the A.M. and returning in the P.M. We could get on a train at Scheller in the morning and go to Mt. Vernon and spend the day, as well as our money and return in the late afternoon. The same was true going West or to Chester. Just North of the depot was an elevator where the farmers could sell grain and sometimes have grain ground. West of the depot and located on the switching track was a stock yard. There were some cattle dealers in the neighborhood who would buy up stock and load them into a car going to St. Louis. I have also seen cars loaded with turkeys, geese, chickens and ducks there at this pen. South of the depot was a two story building where Mr. Frank Hester operated a general store and he and his wife and two children, Olen and Hazel, lived in the upstairs apartment. Later the store was sold to a man from st. Louis who I have heard the oldsters say was a Jew. He operated the store for a time and advertised a reduced price sale, then a short time after the sale the store burned. Just West of this store was another small store building owned and operated by Mr. Jack Black who was also Postmaster. It also burned along with the other building. North of the RR was another store building where Mr. Frank Hester with Mr. Henry Davis opened a store known as Davis and Hester. It was operated by Mr. Hester as Mr. Davis owned and operated a store in Waltonville. Later this was sold to a man from Tamaroa, whose name I do not remember. This man then sold the store to two men; Mr. Hickle and Mr. Bennett. In the meantime Mr. Jack Black had built back a small building and continued to operate a store and Post Office until he retired. The Post Office was then moved to the building north of the RR and Mr. John M. Shurtz was appointed postmaster where he operated for a number of years. In the building vacated by Mr. Black, Mr. Isaac L. Quinn operated a store for some time. IN the meantime the store on the North side had been vacated and Uncle John Shurtz retired from the post office, Mr. Quinn was our postmaster. Mr. Quinn operated the store and post office for a number of years before moving to Waltonville with his wife and family. Mrs. Quinn formerly was Lena Newbury, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Logan and Anna (Shurtz) Newbury. This property was then purchased by Mr. & Mrs. Max Skortz and Mrs. Skortz was appointed to the post office and successfully operated it along with the store for many years. Now Mr. Raymond Nadolski is the postmaster and Mrs. Skortz still operates the general store where articles can be found that are scarce in many places. Going back to the location of the first store building mentioned that burned. A Mr. Noah F. Hargas from around the Ewing area bought the property and put up a new store and carried a very large stock of merchandise. He and his sons, along with wife and daughter successfully operated the store for many years. The store was then sold to Mr. (Lit) Hetherington, a resident of the village. The store was operated by Mr. & Mrs. Harry Adams for a short time when again the store burned. The village had many fire. Sometime back during these years the depot and elevator burned also. They were never replaced. At the North of the village was the public school. The building still stands. Next to the school was a church and a town house. The church is not there now. Some of the school teachers that I remember are Mr. Ed. Hicks, Miss. Laura Rosenbarger, Miss. Bertha Hartley, (Miss Hartley later became the wife of Dr. J. W. Wells.) Dr. Wells opened his first office in a small building in the village. Later moved to Waltonville. Other teachers were, Mrs. Nina Cherry, Mr. Galveston Reynolds. Mr. T. Jace, Mr. Carl Dalby, and MIss. Grace Wright (later Grace Smith.) At the South edge of the village was a blacksmith shop and across from it was the Catholic Church and School. Now it has been replaced with a beautiful new building. Some of the old timers who lived in the village were, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Quinn Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Jay Allen, Mr. & Mrs. William Laur, Mr. & Mrs. William Dudley, Mr. & Mrs. James Hester, Mr. & Mrs. Abe Denton, Mr. & Mrs. Sam Quinn, Jr., Mr. & Mrs. Joe JOhnson, Mr. & Mrs. R. T. Wright, Mr. & Mrs. S. C. Nowland, Mr. & Mrs. Frank Hester, Mr. & Mrs. N. F. Hargis, Mr. & Mrs. Cunningham,John, Julia, Bell and Mary Scheller (brother and sisters), Mr. & Mrs. Seburn Weaber and in the surrounding neighborhood were many Johnson and Quinn families. Submitted by Walter Nowland
SCHELLER George and Gertrude (Kuhn) Scheller came to Illinois from Fayette County, Indiana. They both came to this country from Germany. Gertrude Kuhn (Scheller) was about sixteen years old and came with her family across the Atlantic in a sail boat. They landed in New York. She was married to George Scheller in 1856, and they came to Illinois in 1857 or 1858, because her family had settled in DuBois, Ill. and the land here was cheap. They made Scheller their home. They cleared and cultivated the land and as they prospered, acquired more land. Then there was talk of a railroad, and in 1893 a deed was given to The Wabash Chester and Western Railroad. The track to be built within 2 years of that date. The railroad was built and business developed. Some of which was the buying and shipping of stock. In October of 1892 the land was surveyed and divided into town lots. Streets were named as follows: North Railroad St., South Railroad St., Main Street, Evans St., Water St., Scheller St. The town was officially known as Scheller. Soon after this a lake about 3 miles west of Scheller came into prominense as a resort. It was known as Scheller Lake and people came by railroad from Mt. vernon to Chester to spend the day at the lake fishing and picnicking. The children of George and Gertrude Scheller, in order of birth were: Mary, John, Bell, Julia, and Elizabeth (Lizzie). Only one of the children married. Lizzie was married to John L. Rainey of Marion, IL. He resided in Scheller a few years as telegrapher and agent at the W. C. & W. Railroad depot. They later settled in Mt. Vernon, IL. The following is a letter from Jay L. Denton and Johnnie Hartley. Pinckneyville, IL
February 22, 1972 Dear Cousin, Your note received and contents noted with interest, of course I was surprised to receive the same. Hope all is well with you and yours. I pass with sight of your home frequently and wonder about you folks. I visited there several times when you were a small child, thats been many years ago. As to your request for information regarding churches and cemeterys in Bald Hill township; my knowledge of that subject is limited however I will give you what I have - Dryden Church and cemetery was built in 1892 the four acres of which it comprises was given by my Grandfather Robert D W Allen. The first burial there was Ann Isom wife of Henry Isom and the next was Mat Cline as their stones will show if my memroy serves me correctly. The Ward cemetery was used prior to this. The Ward cemetery was given and named by a Mr. Ward who at that times owned about 250 acres of land there which lies adjacent to the land your father owned. Dryden church and Bald Hill church were served by a circuit rider from Ashley having services on alternate Sundays with neither ever having had a regular minister. After Waltonville had a church congregation these 2 churches were supplied from Waltonville. I have no exact knowledge as to when Bald Hill church came into being but I believe it was about the time Dryden came. There was at one time a Post Office known as Dryden, it was in Grandfathers home located just north of the old Black Jack school, there are two or three maple trees still standing beside the road on the right, the land now belongs to a Mr. Witges who lives on the old Frank Smith Place. Mail was brought from Tamaroa three times per week to Fitzferrell, later known as Winfield and to Dryden. I well remember the case of pigeon holes for the letters that stood in the front room of Grandfathers old house, as we lived in it for a while 70 years ago. People residing in the area now known as Dryden attended religious services at Old Baptist, Bear Point, Green Briar and Paradise several hours driving in a wagon or surry. There was in the first decade of the 19th century a church organization known as Dunkards in the Meso neighborhood and the minister was a Rev. Daniel Ulery. It desolved with the passing of Rev. Ulery. Families prominent in the Dryden neighborhood were: Hartleys, Allens, Smiths, Isoms, Gilberts, Clampets, Benthels, Fitgerells and Stricklands. There is a church in the southwest part of the township known as White Oak. Its date of its erection I do not know, but it was before the turn of the century, I am sure. Families living in the vicinity at the turn of the century were: Wells, Bob Clampet, Coffel, Dodge, VanHooreback, Dave Loucks, Hicks, Frank Ames that I can name readily. There was a church located in Scheller which was Baptist and was erected between 1892 and 1900. It flourished for a while and then began a decline as people who supported it moved away or died. It was not very active after about 1912 and is now torn down. Families interested in this church were Johnson, Wright, Keller, Gilliland, Hetherington, Wever, Dudly. There is St. Barbara Catholic Church at Scheller which I believe was organized between 1890 and 1900. History of this church and cemetery can best be obtained from the older parishoners now living in that area. Jay L. Denton Johnnie Hartley P.S. On the old John Hartley place there was a few years ago a log structure used as a corn crib, and if still standing some one interested in things of old should take a picture of it as log structure of a hundred years ago are scarce. JOhn Hartley tells me his father built that homestead in 1870 so it is over 100 years old.
ST. BARBARA'S CHURCH, SCHELLER, ILLINOIS The first St. Barbara's church was built in 1896 on a plot of land donated by the late Gertrude Scheller and children. They migrated to Illinois from Indiana being one of the pioneer families settling here. It served as church and school until the new building was completed. Dedication ceremonies for the present St. Barbara's church and school were held March 25, 1958. The following information was taken from the leaflet distributed during the dedication ceremony. "The new St. Barbara's Church and School has been built to replace the frame church built in 1896 and the first Church built here. The new Church is of contemporary Gothic Design and contains the Santuary, mave, narthex, baptistry, mother's room, shriner, two sacristies and the choir. The choir is located on the balcony which is of antilever, "island" design. The exterior material include brick walls with stone trim and asphalt tile roof. A beautiful rose window is located over the double entrance doors which are surmounted by a soone canopy on laminated arched beams, an innovation in roof contruction, decked with natural Hemlock timber. Floors are of ashphalt and rubber tile laid over a concrete sub-floor. Interior walls are of haydite masonary units laid in stacked bond and painted. The alter rises a reredos of St. Genevieve marble which is topped with a baldachino of marble whith a baldachino of wood with bronze symbols ornamintation and with recessed light for illumincation the alter table. The communion rail is wrought iron with a marble top. This and the crusifix have been provided through the liberality of two of the many faithful families in the parish. The beautiful stained glass windows manifest the generosity of St. Barbara Ladies Society, the school children of 1957 and 1958 and the several parishioners. The organ, a Wicks pipe organ, has been donated by the Parish of OUr Lady of Czenstochowa and has been completely rebuilt by the Wicks Organ Co. The school unit included two classrooms, a sister's office, boiler room and snitary facilites. Construction is completely fireproof with painted block walls, plastered ceiling and concrete roof. Classrooms feature steel chalkboards and clothing hanging facilities. The entire structure is heated with forced hot water radiation which is zone controlled so that any or all of the seperate units are heated independently as desired. The New Church and School is a fitting tribute to the unceasing effort and the charity of pastors and faithful parisioners who have worked side by side for many years to see their dreams realized.
THE NEW THRESHING MACHINE As a small boy I lived on a farm on the Jefferson-Franklin county line in southern Illinois. I cannot remember anything more exciting to a small lad than a steam traction engine. In the early spring of about 1912 or 1913, a salesman from The Russell and Company, Massillon, Ohio, came to our house and my dad placed an order for a factory rebuilt steam threshing outfit. As the time for delivery drew near, I could hardly stand the suspense of waiting for the railroad company to notify of its arrival, but would walk the 2 1/2 miles to the town of Sesser about every other day to see if it had arrived. Finally one day there she was, a wonderful sight in all her splendor, high upon the flat car, on the rail siding. A big Port Huron, 22 HP, double tandem compound, with longfellow boiler. The large head tank mounted in front of the stack. The shiny brass bands around the jacket, the bright red wheels, and mirror finish on the face of the fly wheel. Also the big red 36 by 56 "Massilion Cyclone" seperator impressing upon a small lad a vivid memory that would last a lifetime. I regretted to leave but had to go and tell dad the good news, so I tried to absorb enough of the view to last until I got home, and away I went. The next day Dad and I, also one of the neighbors, went to town. We had a switch engine spot the car and soon we had a collection of onlookers and volunteer help to carry ties with which to build up a ramp for unloading. It fell my lot to unpack the brasses and install them on the engine, which of course made me very happy. After the ramp had been built and the water tank taken off so we could get water to fill the boiler, the old sun was swiftly heading for the horizon, so we headed for home with everything in readiness to start unloading the next morning. For some reason, I can't remember why now, I could not go the next day to help unload and believe you me it was a bitter disappointment. However, each Saturday morning my buddy and I (his dad was seperator man) would take off and find that rig. We knew the general direction of the run so would keep our eyes peeled for smoke in the distance, or watch the roads for Port Huron tracks. I never will forget one time when we were crossing a field. I stepped into a nest of yellow jackets. I soon had a swollen ankle. My buddy tried to carry me on his back but I was about as big as he was, so I had to hobble along until we got to the machine. Afterwards, the swelling soon went down. I can remember an incident on one really hot day in July the pitchers made it up to try and slug the seperator. I suppose in was to get a rest while the machine was being unchoked. Now this engine was equipped with another throttle whereby all 4 cylinders could be simpled (similiar to the intercepting valve on the cross compound Reeves) and as long as the boiler could furnish the steam something was going to move. It wasn't but a short while until the pitchers began reaching for their bandanas, and wiping sweat, made for the nearest tree. One year a fellow with a little Star engine took the contract to grade the roads from the town of Sesser to the Keller mines, but he could not pull the grader so he made a deal with dad to use the Port Huron to grade and he would pull the Russell seperator. It was during this grading, the countershaft broke and we had a new one made at the Mt. Vernon Car Mfg. Co. The story is that the people who bought the rig from my dad did not know much about engines. So one morning they started a fire, but most of the smoke came out the back through the firebox door. Finally they decided that the wind was in the wrong direction. So they turned it around by winding rope around the flywheel, but to no avail. Finally someone who had run engines happened along. He asked them if they had cleaned the flues. They said no, and that they didn't know they were supposed to. He looked at the flues and they were nearly clogged up with soot. I wonder what ever became of this engine, probably junked during the war. I now own a 65 HP J. I. Case steam engine and an Avery 28 by 26 Seperator, with which I thresh each year for show purposes.
THE LEGEND OF THE WARD CEMETERY It is said that when the Lloyd Ward family came into Jefferson County, sometime in the late 1830's or early 1840's, they settled in the north end of Horse prairie on land that was extended into both Elk Prairie and Bald Hill townships. Owen Wilson, the brother of Mrs. Ward, the former Catherine Wilson, stayed with them. One Saturday afternoon he saddled his horse and started out to court his sweetheart who lived a few miles away. He never returned. It was not unusual for suitors to go a courtin' and be gone for 2 or 3 days at that time, but when he had not gotten home by Monday evening the family became worried. On Tuesday, when he had still not returned, a search party was sent out. Wednesday morning a horse was seen grazing on the little knoll where Ward Cemetery is now located. It was sadled and bridled and on close examination seemed to be dragging something. When it was finally caught it was found that Owen had apparently been thrown from the horse, catching his foot in the stirrup, and had been dragged to death. During the long period since the tradegy had occurred the horse had continued to drag the body until it was now in a very bad state of decomposition and the head and arms had been almost completely torn away by the trees and brush. The menfolk, not wishing to shock the ladies with such a gruesome sight, wrapped him in a blanket and hid him from view before the womenfolk were notified of the terrible tragedy that had befallen their beloved kinsman. When Mr. Ward arrived he said they must lay out a burial ground somewhere and it might as well be here. So an acre of land was measured off and Owen was buried where they found him in the northwest portion of the chosen ground. The ladies brought flowers and assisted with the ceremony, the body was laid to rest and thus the Ward Cemetery came to be. In passing it might be said that sometimes on a dark foggy night a large, dark, object can be seen moving about in the cemetery. Some say it appears to be a horse dragging something alongside, but who is brave enough, or curious enough to investigate such an eerie phenonmenon? THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL On the last day of school at Four Corners when John Robinson was teacher nearly eighty year ago, everyone was to say a verse of their own composition. Tom Newell (a brother to Hawk Bill and Happy Newell) told some of his friends to hold the window open for him and he would give them a very pleasant surprise. When it came his turn to recite, he stood up and said "Oh Lord above look down with love, on us poor little scholars. It was Jack and Joe who served us so. They hired a fool to teach the school. And gave him forty dollars." He then jumped out the window and ran home, never to return to school. The last day of school was full of surprises in those days.
Submitted by: Abby Newell |
For corrections or additions, please contact me: Sandy Bauer