Unity 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="#CCCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="006c8c00dkelwi.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#CCCC66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Unity 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="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Unity"><U><B>Unity School</B></U></A></div> <div> The Passing of an Era</div> <div> <B>Article from </B><I><B>The Golden City Herald, </B></I><B>August 8, 1963</B></div> <bR> <div>   This Saturday morning of August 10, the chant of the auctioneer will ring the final</div> <div> curtain on another chapter of the American way of life that is rapidly disappearing</div> <div> from our rural areas.</div> <bR> <div>   Unity school building, its equipment and fixtures, located six miles south of Golden</div> <div> City, or one mile west of Dudenville, is to be sold this Saturday morning.</div> <bR> <div>   The seats, bell, desks, everything will be sold.  The land reverts back to the original</div> <div> owner.</div> <bR> <div>   For more than 90 years, Unity school was the hub of the Dudenville community.  </div> <div> From the days following the Civil War, when trails became dirt roads, roads nearly</div> <div> impassable in rainy weather to horse and buggy method of travel.  Then came the </div> <div> Model T Fords, and with the need of better roads came graveled roads, then a </div> <div> conversion to a numbered system of highways, and then the present blacktop.  </div> <div> Change in automobiles paralled the change in harvesting from puffing threshing machine</div> <div> engines to combines.</div> <bR> <div>   School terms would end a month early to the delight of the children while those in town </div> <div> had to attend a month longer.  The stable behind the school housed the teacher's horse</div> <div> and maybe some of the more fortunate kids who had a horse they could ride to school.</div> <bR> <div>   Unity was always known as a 'big' school, meaning they had 25 or more students in</div> <div> attendance.  In recalling the early days of Unity one man said he recalled one winter term,</div> <div> when the father of some students attending, decided to attend.  At the weekly spelling bee </div> <div> it came the turn of a young boy to spell down his dad.  The lad hung back but finally came </div> <div> up with the correct spelling.</div> <bR> <div>   In 1897 the school had 45 students of assorted sizes and ages.</div> <bR> <div>   This is perhaps an incomplete list of all who attended Unity school in 1897, as recalled by</div> <div> W. H. Salow:</div> <bR> <div> Julia, Ben, and Ida Sites, Willie Bawbell, Will Salow, Sylvia Wilson, Nellie, Mamie, Lorin, and</div> <div> Jimmie Cunningham, Lewis, Elmer, Mary Korah, Hattie, and Lema Hough, Osie and Addie </div> <div> Chambers, Nina, Orlie, Earl, and Roy Confer, Elsie and Clyde Larson, Earl and Ernest Maddox,</div> <div> Myrtle Frazier, Jessie, Walter, Chas., Alien, Luther, Maggie, and Ruth Stemmons, J.B., Leta, and</div> <div> Clara Pattison, John Wright.</div> <bR> <div>   Some of the early day teachers included a Miss Fugate (later identified as Gertrude Fugit who </div> <div> later taught school at Washington school in Carthage Mo.), Lizzie Hemphill, Elmer Brown, Edna</div> <div> Shands.  Some of the other teachers who taught one or more terms at Unity included:</div> <bR> <div> A. J. Keeling; Martha Brown, 1907; Bertha Ring, 1911; Hallie Raney, 1913; Ada Beckham, 1915;</div> <div> Lema Withers, 1924; Alice Salow, 1925; Pearl Busby, 1926; Helen Mae Wolfe, 1936.</div> <bR> <div>   Mae Hope was the last teacher of Unity school, and she has taught there for 16 consecutive years, </div> <div> from 1947 to the present time.  This fall she will teach here in Golden City.</div> <bR> <div> Founding of the Unity School</div> <div>   <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >Unity School District was organized May 1, 1872.  A meeting was held with O. Little as chairman </FONT></div> <div> and James R. Williams as secretary, for the purpose of organizing a school district.  The site as </div> <div> approved, was located at the northeast corner of W. Clark's land, to be known as Sub District No. 2,</div> <div> Twp 30, Range 29.  (This is practically the present day site).  The first board of directors was O. Little,</div> <div> T. J. Cunningham and J. R. Williams.  The selection of the name Unity probably came about in this </div> <div> way:  The War Between The States had ended only seven years previous, and feeling had been evenly</div> <div> divided in Jasper county.  The prairie was now beginning to fill with settlers, some being Federal soldiers</div> <div> of the late war, who had acquired acreage cheaply by reason of army service.  Unity naturally was the </div> <div> thought uppermost in the minds of many, and it seemed only proper that such a name should be given</div> <div> to this new school district.  </div> <bR> <div>   This school was one mile west of Dudenville, or Chambersburg as it was called by many.  The name</div> <div> Chambersburg was first applied to that community when the post office was in a store on the east side</div> <div> of the road.  Then Duden, who had a store on the west side of the road got the post office, and the </div> <div> name was changed to Dudenville.  For years, both names applied.  </div> <bR> <div> Length of Terms</div> <div>   It was in 1875 that the district voted in favor of changing from a four months school term, to a seven</div> <div> months term.  However it was a few years before this change was made, probably due to lack of funds</div> <div> to pay for the extra teaching time.</div> <bR> <div>   In 1880 the board voted to go to an eight months term of school, and also voted to retain all McGuffey </div> <div> books.  In 1883 the board voted to again change the term, going back to a seven months school, with a</div> <div> new schedule of four months in the winter and three months in the summer.  One can see the boards of </div> <div> the early day schools must have been under constant pressure as to the lengthening or shortening of </div> <div> school terms, depending on how badly the youngsters were needed at home for work.</div> <bR> <div> A Well is Dug</div> <div>   In 1878, James Winant was awarded a contract to dig a well, wall same, build platform, and guarantee </div> <div> an adequate supply of water, for $40.  We are told the well is in use today, and had never failed.</div> <bR> <div> Original Building Burned</div> <div>   The original building burned around 1901.  From the beginning, coal was used to fuel the stove.  The</div> <div> building burned at night.  When the new building was erected, it was relocated to the south a short </div> <div> distance.  Two reasons were set forth for relocating a short distance to the south.  One, the gumbo </div> <div> condition of the schoolyard caused youngsters to get stuck in the mud when at play in the yard, and </div> <div> two, the fact the branch to the north of the building often went out of bank and flooded a portion of </div> <div> the schoolyard.  The school was relocated to the south.</div> <bR> <div> Report of September 30, 1873</div> <div>   The clerk's report, as of September 30, 1873, showed an enrollment of 19 boys and 10 girls under the</div> <div> age of 21 years.  The teacher had been paid $28 a month the past term.  School was held in a new one</div> <div> room frame building, erected at a cost of $558.44.  The teacher had been employed for three months</div> <div> at a total salary of $84 which had been paid.</div> <bR> <div> Early Day Happenings</div> <div>   O. F. Morgan taught a 4 1/2 month term of school for a sum of $135 commencing October 4, 1876.</div> <div> Josie Dinsmoor was teacher in the fall of 1875.  October 3, 1881 Dora Botts was named as teacher,</div> <div> school to start on that day, and her salary was $30 a month.  Her contract read, she was to receive $120,</div> <div> on or before February 1, 1882, the term being of four months duration. Belle Aldred of Golden City was</div> <div> hired as teacher in the fall of 1879 at a salary of $25 a month.  Other teachers before the turn of the century</div> <div> included J. C. Willoughby, Mollie Miller, Wm. Scantlin, Henry Upp, Pearl M. Hall.</div> <bR> <div>   The school district was an area three miles square with the school building as near the center as possible.</div> <div> The original building stood at the corner north of the present building.  It burned in 1901.  A new building</div> <div> was immediately constructed, but a short distance to the south, as the former corner was a gumbo area</div> <div> and children got stuck in the mud on the playground.</div> <bR> <div>   The new building had the front porch enclosed a few years ago.  The one room country schoolhouse was </div> <div> a world within itself.  The teacher was instructor, doctor, the herdess, the one who would listen and soothe</div> <div> the feeling of the youngsters, she was the one who stood out in the community.  How well she taught is </div> <div> reflected in the many honor students in high school that have come from Unity, as well as the many other </div> <div> one room school.</div> <bR> <div>   When storm clouds drew near, when rains came in torrents, when lightning flashed and thunder roared, </div> <div> when snows piled deep, or the first front of autumn came, the small world engulfed in that one room </div> <div> schoolhouse, became the domain of the teacher.</div> <bR> <div>   June 6, 1960 Unity district voted to annex with Golden City R6 district.  It was stated at the time, altho</div> <div> we doubt if it was ever more than just talk, that Unity school would be kept open as long as the patrons</div> <div> of that area wanted it kept open.  No method was reported as to how that opinion was to be found.  Anyway, </div> <div> Unity school is now, no more, all students will come to Golden City this year.  For the first time in 91 years, </div> <div> there will be no Unity school.  It is also to be remembered that in the immediate years prior to 1960, a </div> <div> school district to the west of Unity, combined with Unity, sending the pupils of both districts to Unity.</div> <bR> <div>   This September the door of Unity school will not open.  The shouts of children at play will be no more.</div> <div> Only a touch of nostalgia will remain, as thoughts turn back to the day of when Unity school was a dominant</div> <div> factor in the community, a gathering place of common interest and understanding.  Pull down the curtains, a</div> <div> last look at the clock on the wall, the lights grow dim, darkness envelopes.  The door is closed.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="01753ea0.jpg" border=0 width="339" height="490" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   </div> <div> <IMG SRC="05529120.png" border=0 width="297" height="1042" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="057568b0.png" border=0 width="598" height="907" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   </div> <div> <IMG SRC="05649d00.png" border=0 width="841" height="976" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>   </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>