Franklin School History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="03fc8c93.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#BF0000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Franklin School History<B>   </B></FONT><A HREF="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org/"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Carthage"><U><B>Carthage School</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Franklin School"><U><B>Franklin School</B></U></A></div> <div> Franklin school was erected in the late 1880's.  It stood on the northwest corner</div> <div> of Maple and Miller streets.  It is shown on the 1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance map.</div> <bR> <div> Franklin School Boundaries</div> <div> Beginning at intersection of Oak street with Pacific Railway, thence east on Oak to</div> <div> McGregor, south on McGregor to Chestnut, east on Chestnut to Main, south on Main</div> <div> to district limits, the Pacific Railway forming the west boundary line.</div> <bR> <div> 1899 Franklin School Teachers</div> <div> V. May Smith, principal; Lizzie Peiffer, Pearl Blake, Gertrude Post, Frances Chapman.</div> <bR> <div> Franklin School Days </div> <div> by O. O. Quackentyre</div> <div> From <I>The Carthage Press, </I>date unknown</div> <div>   The old Franklin School:  Miss Stella Hodshier's and Miss Kate Fischer's rooms</div> <div> were having a joint Christmas program.  The festivities were massed in Miss Hodshier's</div> <div> compartment, Miss Fischer's served as dressing room for the performers.  Miss Julia</div> <div> Mitchell, arraying herself as the Christmas fairy, brought eyes out of stems when she </div> <div> produced, yessir!--white silk hose.  Who ever heard of such extravagance as silk hose?</div> <div> They weren't silk! Yes they were.  Julia tried to be modest and detached in demonstrating</div> <div> they were really silk her sister who had recently gone into dramatics had sent them to her,</div> <div> and as added proof there were such things in the world, she offered the known facts of the</div> <div> recent wedding of Dr. Matthews' daughter Lucille; she had had a pair on that occasion.</div> <div> We had been watching the Matthews' home from the schoolyard every recess sometimes</div> <div> we had seen the prospective bride herself get in a buggy and drive off somewhere, and </div> <div> once, feeling we had set our unholy eyes on sacred romance where eyes should never had</div> <div> trod, we saw her drive off in broad daylight, with the very McMillan man she was going to </div> <div> marry.</div> <bR> <div>   Word got out over school that Miss Benjamin (now Mrs. Ben Thomas) had something </div> <div> marvelous on exhibit in her room.  It was advertised as a biological wonder.  It was received</div> <div> as biological hooey, but we all rushed down to see--our first gold fish in a globe.</div> <bR> <div>   There is usually a traceable cause when ward school pupils fail to pass.  Will Wright was this </div> <div> fourth-grade cause at the old Franklin.  For day on end he fed a whole roomful on the daily </div> <div> doings at his house.  So good a press agent was Will that many of the more susceptible couldn't</div> <div> sleep at night, and many a scolding fell on fourth-grade heads because they were away from </div> <div> home without consent, or were too late with the hurried load of bread for supper.  All were going </div> <div> past the Wright house, or lingering stealthily at the corner of this yard to see what one could see,</div> <div> for, didn't Will have two older sisters slated to step off in a double wedding ceremony?  and didn't</div> <div> one have a dress made like this, and the other made that way, and didn't Till want it to happen in</div> <div> the morning and Bessie want it to eventuate at noon?  and--oh well, to make a long story short, didn't</div> <div> the whole fourth grade run like mad to the Wright home at recess and press their pug noses through</div> <div> the iron fence and stay until they saw the brides and grooms get the rice shower and leave in--street</div> <div> carriages!  The brand new Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Briggs and Mr. and Mrs. Geo. C. Hench.</div> <bR> <div>   Who can forget the progress of the Hill sisters through the Franklin school, Beulah, Creta, and Maud?</div> <div> The rest of us got an eyeful, and whether we were jealous or not, we had to wonder why Fate should</div> <div> decree three adored in one family when one popular queen ought to satisfy any family.  Was it </div> <div> Valentine's day?  There were always more of the treasured tokens piled on each girl's desk than </div> <div> there were pupils in the room.  But why limit to Valentine's day?  Beulah is Mrs. Ralph Purcell and lives</div> <div> in Oklahoma, Creta married H. J. Deardorf, of Jasper, and lives in Nowata, Okla., while Maud is Mrs.</div> <div> Fred Nesbitt of Carthage.</div> <bR> <div>   The old Franklin school had "recitations" or spelling matches after last recess on Fridays.  Once </div> <div> Frank Friend spelled down the head of the class, or most of us thought he did, most vehemently, Miss </div> <div> Fischer didn't think so and refused to let Frank go head.  Frank was heartbroken.  Neeley Friend snickered.</div> <div> School was out.  We were all walking home.  Frank was still heartbroken.  We were in for cleaning Miss</div> <div> Fischer and Neeley Friend, but which mouse in the crowd was to bell the cat?  Lawrence Milton, then</div> <div> the playground athlete and baseball champ, volunteered to take over the job and we all went home</div> <div> knowing justice would sit in high places next day.</div> <bR> <div> O. O. Quackentyre.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1512c3c0.gif" border=0 width="300" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> In 1912 parents of Franklin school students protested the condition of the Franklin school building.  It</div> <div> was suggested that the school board abandon the building and if possible purchase the college on </div> <div> South Main Street.  A petition was circulated asking parents to sign if they believed their children were</div> <div> in danger through attendance to Franklin.  It was cited that the school was unsanitary and a breeding</div> <div> ground for disease.  According to school board president, J. F. Harrison, Franklin school was erected</div> <div> in 1883 or 1884.    Information from <I>The Carthage Press, </I>January 4, 1912.</div> <bR> <div> Franklin school's usefulness ceased when the Mark Twain school was built.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>