Schools: Oak Grove High School, Early History Source: West Carroll Gazette 1935 OCT 2001 Submitter: Carolyn Pevytoe Avery ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Oak Grove High School History In 1870, across the road from the Oak Grove Cemetery, was a log building which was used as a school and a Methodist church. It was made of logs,hewn down and put together with wooden pegs. The building was sealed with planks and had a punch rig floor made of logs which had been spilt in half and smoothed down very crudely. The interior was crude and simple and each peice of funiture was home made.The teachers desk was built on a platform at the front of the room. Some of the teachers used a block of wood for a seat, but the majority of them brought a chair from home, used it during the session, then took it away with him. The students fathers used split logs to make the students benches, which were of course crudely constructed. None of the benches had backs. Boards one inch thick and twelve inches wide were attached to the walls to serve the same purpose as our blackboards today. One of the ways of erasing, however unsanitary, may have been to spit on the site and rub it off with the coat or shirt sleeve. The school session began after the crops were "laid by" in the spring and continued three or four months until gathering time. Each day of school began at eight o'clock by the teacher ringing a clapper bell or calling "Books". A ten minuet recess was allowed in the morning and again in the afternoon, while one hour was given for lunch. School closed at four thirty, but students who had not done satifactory work were kept after school for futher instruction. It was not unusual for some of them to be kept until sundown. One of the things for which the pupils asked permission most was to get a drink of water from the bucket in the front of the room. This water was brought by the older boys from MR. TOM CASTLEMAN'S place from an old tiller well which was nearly under an old oak tree. The children drank from a tin cup-or half a coconut shell to which a handle had been attached. This would last a session. The people of the town held mass meetings to select the teacher or teachers who were hired for the term and paid about three dollars a month by each child. No child was admitted without payment of this fee, consequently there were many in the neighborhood who could not attend school. Amoung the teachers were T.B. RENEAU, ALBERT SHARP, HARRISON GEORGE, ELI THORP, THOMAS MANN AND J.T. GALLOWAY, none of whom are living today. MR. BROWN was one of the stricted of the teachers and often when he sent boys for switches the boys would cut them fairly in two so they would break easily. The punishment for this prank did not keep it from occurring again and again. There was no age limit for pupils, but usually a child started when six years old and continued until he wanted to stop or until he had completed the courses offered. It was no uncommon thing for a boy twenty-five or twenty-six to be going to school, but the average age of the pupils when they completed all of the work was about twenty- one. Many of the children who attended school lived nine or ten miles away and had to leave home before daylight and did not return until after dark. Some came in surreys; others rode mules or horses. CHARLIE HERRING, one of the students rode a black steer which paced like a horse. All the other boys were delighted when they were given an opportunity of riding it. Wild animals of all kinds roamed the woods through which the children passed and many times wolves attacked the sheep as they were being driven home by the children. It is said that many deer were killed where our court- house now stands. The course of study was not divided into grades; a pupil graduated when he had compledted all the work. Grading was done by headmarks, that is, credits given a pupil for each week he had remained at the head of the class. Competition and intereest were kept up by the head of the class having to start at the foot next week and work to the head of the class again. The childrens clothes were very simple. The girls dressed in calico dresses, with boused fronts, buttons in the back and full skirts with ruffled aprons over them. Their bonnets were pulled well down over the face and had fronts stiffened with cardboard or starch. The boys wore cotton caps, made of a cloth similar to cotton duck- ing and dyed various colors. Their pants and socks were long and woven by their mothers. Some of the students who attended this school were CHARLIE HERRING, WES HERRING, JOHN SETTON, HELEN SETTON, YOUNG SETTON, MINNIE JOHNS, TINY JOHNS, GEORGE H. CASTLEMAN, W.H. CASTLEMAN, THERESA RENEAU, ANDREW JACKSON. HENRY LAWTON, MILTIES ROBERTSON, and BILL GREEN. In about 1872, a second school house was erected on the lot which is now the site of EUGENE WILSON'S store. This was a frame building about eighten feet wide, twenty feet long and twelve feet high. There were no equiptment execpt the rough hewn benches and desks. JOHN GARNER was the teacher and CHARLIE TENEAU and HUGH CHEATHAM are the only pupils known to have attended school there. In 1874, a small frame house was built near the site of MR. WALTER BRADLEY'S present home. This building was occupied by MRS. LOUISA FRANCES PULLY, who taught school there in her home. Her only pupils as far as we can learn, were the Laymen children. In 1893 the Masons gave the town permission to use their lodge , which was where the cemetery is now, to be used as a school. The equipment was very meager, being only the log seats and benches made by the children's fathers and mounted on pegs. The teachers were selected by the parents who intended sending their children to school and received no salary except a tuition fee of two or three dollars a month from each pupil. Some of the teachers were MRS. R.W. SHILING, MR. DUNKEN. and MR. BURKETT. Class work was based on a text in grammer, one in arithmetic, Dary's Arithmetic and the "Blue Back Speller". There were only seven grades in the school and promotion from one class to another was based on the number of headmarks earned in each class. Because farming was the cheif occupation and almost every child had to help with the work, attendance was irregular and students seldom completed all seven grades until they were about twenty one years old. Some of the students in this school were STELLA JACKSON, MARY BRIGGS, ERVIN CASTLEMAN, FRED CASTLEMAN, ROBERT BROWN, JOHN ANDERSON, LANE MOORE, JOHN HART, ANNA SIMMONS, CLARA CORLEY, HOWELL CORLEY, WILLIE THORPE, HOWEL CHEATHAM,OTTO SETTON and LUCIAN CASTEMAN. The fifth school was taught in a Woodman of the World hall, which was located in front of the present site of MRS. EVA CHEATHAM'S house. It was a one room building. At this time there were no public schools. The teacher was paid $1.50 monthly by each pupil. T.B. RENEAU was supertendent without pay. Trustees were elected by the people and had the same duties as the school board members of today. The school hours each day were from eight a.m. to four p.m. The teacher at this school was MR. CHARLEY MOSLEY, who is now head surgeon at the Riverside sanitarium in Monroe. His pupils were DESS AKIN (HOWELL) SADIE WILSON, of New Mexico, BUDDIE CHEATHAM, LAURA CASTLEMAN (NORSWORTHY) of Bastrop, WILLIAM RENEAU, ETHEL CHEATHAM (BRADLEY), LONNIE RICHMOND, ALLEY GRISBY (BRASSWELL) ELLEN SKINNER ((BOLDING), CORRINE JACKSON (SCOTT) of Mer Rouge, and ERMA JACKSON (WOMACK). The next teachers were MR. and MRS. SMITH, who taught in 1905. MR. SMITH taught in the back of the room and MRS. SMITH taught in the front. Their pupils were ALLEY GRISBY, CORRINE JACKSON, ORA JACKSON, IRMA JACKSON, EVA LEE, BETTIE AKIN, ALMA BIVINS, ALMA CASTLEMAN, VERNON RENEAU, MURRAY RICHBURG, GEORGE BRADLEY, MACK SHILLINGS, ALBERT BIVINS, LESTER DICKINSON, FIELD McCANDLESS, LEMAN CROWE, GEORGE SHILLING, JEFF CORLEY, LONNIE RICHMOND, JACK CORBIN, WILLIAM REANEAU, CECIL SHILLING, SADIE WILSON, DESS AKIN AND JIMMIE DORMAN. There were no grades in this school but MR. and MRS. SMITH taught as high as the fifth reader. You may be interested to know that this MR. SMITH built the first store in Oak Grove, which was later bought by MR. A.W. BIVINS. It was the store next to the brick filling station, now operated by GERALD BYARGEON. In 1906-1907 NUSS JOSIE SMITH (OSBORNE) taught in the same school house. Later when the frame building was built she taught there. She was the first teacher in this parish to have a first grade certificate. The house by this time was well equipped with home made desks and benches, and the windows were shaded with cretconne curtians. In the center of the room was a small wooden block that MISS JOSIE would make her pupils stand on for punishment. MISS JOSIE was a very good teacher. She helped to build such characters as O.C. ROBERTS, MISS OMAH BIVINS, MRS. R.S. MILLIKIN (ALMA CASTLEMAN), MRS. D.B. PAULINE RENEAU, MRS. ESTUS SMITH, MRS. NANCY CORBIN, MRS LYNN GUNTER, MRS. I.M. McCURDY, MISS ALMA BIVINS, MRS. HERMAN CROWE,MRS. J.J. JARMON, GEORGE SHILLING, ROBERT LEE, CECIL SHILLING, CAP CASTLEMAN, ROY BIVINS, MACK SHILLING, ALBERT BIVINS, ELVIE MOSS, OR FISKE (CARRIE GETHAUSEN, MISS DORIS SHILLING. SAM JACKSON, AND OLLIE WOMACK. This term of 1906 was the last school taught in the little one-room school in front of MRS. EVA CHEATHAM'S home. For several years there had been much discussion of building a new and better school. Finally a five mill tax was voted and in 1907 and 1908 a six-room frame building was built. It was located between PURVIS and CASTLEMAN street facing east. The equiptment, punishment, social functions, school rules and school hours were much like that of today. there was a chemistry laboratory. MISS JOSIE SMITH and MISS TILLIE GELHAUSEN taught the first term in the new building. They were paid by the parish. MR. ANDREW JACKSON and R.W. SHILLING were trustees. DR DOLLERHIDE was super- intendant. In 1908 and 1909 the people of Oak Grove succeeded in buying five acres of land and establishing an agriculltural and domestic science department. The principal was MR. H.L. CAMBELL, who is now super- intendent in Lincoln parish. MR. BEN POLK, now a progressive farmer of Tallulah, was agricultural teacher. The assistants were MISS MAGGIE ALLEN, now living in Tallualah, and MISS MISS BETTY WALLSWORTH, an aunt of LYMAN and ELZIE FOWLER, MISS VIVIAN RAINEY from Minnesota taught domestic science. These teachers helped to orginize a Ladies' Aid Society, which proved very helpful to the school. In 1912 and 1913 MR. FERGUSON was principal. He taught as far as the tenth grade. His assistants were VIVIAM WILLIAMS, MABEL HANEY, VERA CAMPBELL, LONNIE BALEY and MARY MAULL. In 1914 RALPH O'QUINN, who now teaches mathematics at Louisiana State University was principal. This time the pupils were taught as far as the eleventh grade, but no diplomas were issued, for the school was not approved by the State Board of Education. The pupils to finish the eleventh grade were HERMAN CREW PAULINE RENEAU, ANNIE THOMPSON, GEORGE and MACK SHILLING and OMAR BIVINS. A girls basketball team was organized in 1914. The first team consisted of TRESS and FRANCIS DARK, forwards, PAULINE RENEAU and ALMA CASTLE- MAN, guards, and OMAH BIVINS, center. they went on several excursion trips to Pioneer, in wagons, to play ball. On one trip to Epps the mules gave out and they had to borrow a pair of mules to continue the journey. The team that Oak Grove feared most was Forest, which had such expert players as DELLA and LAURA MOORE and ONNIE MAY who are now MRS. LUTHER JONES and JOE HARPER of Monroe and MRS. THOMAS VINING respectively. The brick building which is our present grammer school was built in the years of 1916 and 1917. The first principal was W.G. HANCHIE, who taught only one year and was succeeded by A.J. FUNDERBURK. Four years later in 1923, he resigned and was replaced by D.W. McBRIDE, who is our present principal. The enrollement in 1923 was about three hundred and twenty-five pupils. This has increased one hundred percent as we now have an enrollment of about six hundred seventy five pupils. In 1924 there were only seven teacher in the entire facilty. We now have nineteen teachers . The first football team was orginized in 1924 and 1925, with R.F. GREER as coach. There has been a graduation class each year in spite of short terms and insufficiant funds. In 1926 State Superintendent of Education, HARRIS, found it impossible to have but a seven months school and as students would not have received credit for that years work had not the P.T.A. sponsered a plan by which students could attend school another month for five dollars and receive state credit for their work. Again in 1932 and 1933 the term was cut to seven months insted of the nine months term. In 1924 there were only eleven graduates, but in 1931 there were thiry seven to graduate. In 1934 the school enrollment was large enough to necessitate enlarg- ing the school building or erecting a seperate building for the high school grades. The latter plan was deemed advisable and funds were obtained frome the United States government through the Civil Works Administrarion and Emergency Relief Administration to supplement money supplied by the parish. Although work on the building was begun in January 1934, it was not completed until the following September, because the carpenters and masons were allowed to work only fifteen hours a week in accordance with government regulations. The building is a frame structure sixty four feet wide and one hundred feet long. It has a large study hall, a principal's office, storage room, laboratory, and five classrooms, each of which is equipted with electric lights and gas. There are desks in some rooms and chairs with attached writing boards in others. The walls are decorated with pictures and charts. The course of study recommended by the State Department of Education is followed and graduation is based on the completion of enough work to total sixteen points. One point is given at the end of each term for satisfactory work in each subject. Instruction is offered in chemistry, history, English, Latin, biology, general science, home economics and mathematics. The state furnishes the text books, but the pupils buy their own paper, pencils and notebooks. In accordance with the state regulations each teacher is a graduate of a four year college course and has a bachelor's or master's degree. They are selected by the parish superindentant with the approval of the parish school board, and sign contracts for nine months or one school term. Their salaries, which are paid with funds resulting from state and parish taxes, are paid at the end of every four weeks and vary with the number of years of teaching experience of each teacher. The school hours are from eight forty in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. This time is divided into an opening exercise period from 8:40 until 9: o'clock, five class periods each one hour long, an hour recess at noon, and twenty minutes in the afternoon for supervised play on the canpus. In rainy or cold weatheer the period usually devoted to physical training is used for group singing, either in the class rooms or auditorium. The students are divided into four classes,namely freshman(eighth grade) sophmore (ninth grade), juniors (tenth grade), and seniors (eleventh grade). In addition to their class work they take an active part in various activities such as plays, societies and drives to raise funds for additional school equiptment. Each student is required to be a member of one of the organized groups which are listed below with the teacher sponcering it. Homecraft Club, sponsored by MISS IRENE DELONEY; Glee Club, MISS DORTOHY RODGERS; Home Ec. Club, MISS IRENE DELONEY; Latin Club, MISS DOROTHY FOLSE; Science Club, A.B. BEAM; Math Club, TAYLOR SMITH; Debating Club, MISS MEARL LEE; Literary Societies, MISS LEE, MISS FOLSE, A.B. BEAM and SMITH; 4-H Club, MISS DISCH and A.H. SINGLETARY.