Hopedale History June 15, 2016 No. 302 Adin Ballou's School Days Hopedale in June Lilla Bancroft and her husbands, Howard Bracken and Rev. Frank Pratt.
The Northrop Loom - By 1914, the Draper Company had sold more than a quarter of a million Northrop looms in the U.S. This page lists the mills that bought them, their location, and the number they bought. <><><><><><><><><><> This town is to have a city delivery service (effective April 1) and two deliveries a day are planned, with one parcel post delivery. All call boxes at the post office will be discontinued. The law requires the numbering of all houses, the installation of a mail receptacle at each house, and the addressing of mail to a street and number. Milford Gazette, December 14, 1923 The Post Office The new quarters of the Legion were open for inspection Saturday afternoon, and a large number of visitors were entertained. Five "gold star mothers" were guests of honor. Music was furnished by the Marsh & Narducci orchestra, and members of the Legion auxiliary furnished refreshments. The quarters are beautifully finished and commodiously furnished. Quarters are provided on the second floor for Harry Scott, who will act as caretaker. Milford Gazette, December 21, 1923 The Legion home <><><><><><><><><><> Adin Ballou's School Days I will now take up the reminiscences of my earlier school-boy days. The State of Rhode Island was very slow to adopt the common public school system of education. In my early childhood the voluntary method prevailed. But every considerable section of territory had some kind of a schoolhouse and more or less schooling, both in warm and cold weather. The Ballou district (in Cumberland, Rhode Island) was not an inferior one in this respect. It had wealth and intellect enough to erect a small building for educational purposes, and to secure competent teachers for summer and winter terms, which were of about three months duration each. A female was employed for the former and a male for the latter. Our neighbors in Massachusetts, who prided themselves on being better provided for in this respect that we, were prone to reproach us as ignorant and heathenish Rhode Islanders, which begat no very amiable feelings on our side of the line. As a matter of fact we had in our particular district more and better schooling than the adjacent ones in our neighbor state, though neither had anything of this sort to boast of. Only the rudimental branches were taught and those but imperfectly, as compared with what is done at the present day. There were eight or ten proprietors of our schoolhouse and they managed all school affairs. They provided for raising money, for boarding the teacher, a fortnight in one family and a week in another, as circumstances would allow, for supplying fuel and other incidentals, and appointed such committees to act for them as were deemed needful. They had their yearly meetings which were characterized by some tedious deliberations and sharp figurings. I frequently attended these gatherings after I was old enough to long for school to open, but so much time was consumed in irrelevant talk and close reckoning that I often went home, discouraged and disgusted at the proceedings. But they knew what they were about and brought preliminaries to an issue generally on or before the first of December. The children of non- proprietors were provided for at a stipulated price of tuition per week; or, if their parents were quite poor, they might attend free, though this was of infrequent occurrence. I have a dim impression that I learned my letters of a school-ma'am when about three years old, but I recall distinctly the first master I had. It was when I was in my a, b, abs, and the shortest monosyllables. I was furnished with a new spelling book which was strongly covered with sheepskin by my mother that I might not soon injure it by careless usage. I was placed on the small boys' seat with others, a bashful, awkward little fellow, and ordered to keep still, but was very much at a loss what to do with myself or how to behave. For there was his majesty, the master, and a whole houseful of scholars, many of them men almost, and women grown. And who was I! The scene comes to me afresh. I dropped my head, stuck the corner of my book in my mouth, and unconsciously began to gnaw it. I had already done some mischief of this sort when I was discovered by the teacher and reprimanded. But I seemed fated to round off those book corners. Nor was I cured of the fault for some days, though frequently threatened with something dreadful if I did not desist. At length, after much harm had been done, I was called up, ordered to take off my coat and roll up my shirt-sleeves, when the announcement was made that here was a boy with bad blood in his veins, which must be taken out of him. The teacher then exhibited a fine sharp-pointed penknife as the lancet, and applied it to the skin of my arm with a slight prick. By this time the terror-stricken young culprit cried for mercy with such piteous penitence that, on solemn promise of amendment, he was spared further punishment and sent to his seat. He nevermore treated a book disrespectfully. But the nice new spelling book was irreparably damaged, and long remained a sad memento of my entrance upon my educational career. Nevertheless, I soon began to love books, study, and learning fully. And from that time to the present, I have hungered and thirsted for knowledge with unsatisfied desire. Autobiography of Adin Ballou, pp. 16-18. Adin Ballou Ezine Menu HOME . . |
Drawing of Adin Ballou by Gilbert Thompson. The original can be seen at the Bancroft Library. |