Public Schools in the 1800s in America

This was a time when demographics were changing America from localized rural schools to more city schools. During this time children did not always go to school because of responsibilities to help the farming family or the family business and when poor children and orphans had to work in factories that paid them for their cheap labor. School was not mandatory. In 1852, Massachusetts passed school laws that required students to attend. Shortly after that New York did the same. Within 50-60 years all states had such laws on their books to at least get America's pupils through the elementary school years. Catholic schools emerged as private schools. The Supreme Court in 1925 allowed children to attend public or private school, stopping any legal battles over compulsory public schooling.

Localized schools were small and tended to have boys on one side of the room; girls on the other side. Some schools had individual desks in neat rows. Others used tables and benches. Students of all ages were often in the same classroom and the older students would help with the care and teaching of the younger ones. Students tended to be gathered by subject, and not by age, so the children learning a math assignment, for example, might be younger students as well as older ones. Chalkboards were common, and inkwells or quill pens were the norm.

The August 17, 1999 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch shared with its readers that patriotism and citizenship were taught in schools, along with the three Rs. The Pledge of Allegiance was a daily practice. Teachers were often strict, and discipline was routine. Actually, the parents would not be pleased if a teacher was lax in disciplining the children for misbehavior. Whipping a child was banned in 1830s, but not the use of switches or paddles. Children were well trained to pay attention to the teacher, rather than the kids sitting around or next to them. Each was expected to know their lessons well. Children learned from others in the room too because as they would be working on their assignments others might be learning a different subject from the teacher that interested them too. Classrooms were noisy and children spent a lot of time memorizing lessons from textbooks and the Bible. They often recited their learnings before the teacher. Older children tended to the woodstove in the classroom to offer some comfort from the exterior cold. Some parents still felt that school was a waste of time for their students. Most of the learnings a person acquired were from textbooks, family and schooling as most families did not travel and have new more worldly experiences.

Black children were not allowed to attend school. Any teachings for them were done secretly. Some were taught by the white town members or missionaries who wanted them to know how to read the Bible. Even this was dangerous as the teachers were subject to being jailed or fined, and the students to being punished or whipped.  After the Civil War ended, many blacks chose to go to new schools as Freedmen.  

Today we go to school, typically, year round except in the summer. To help with the farming, children in the 1800s would work the fields in the spring and fall and go to school in the summer and winter. Some of the older boys helped on the farms in the summer too. Teachers might be tested, but often were just grown students now hired to teach the next generation. Teachers might have their own place to live, but could well be boarded by various student families throughout the year which was known as being "boardround."

Children walked to school, or rode horses. They might bring their lunch or might not eat at all. They did get recess. At about age 10, boys might be "apprenticed" to learn a job, which could stop their schooling days. Girls might be married by 15 or so and no longer in school. Penmanship was a course that was given serious attention, along with the reading, writing and arithmetic.

This look back more than 100 years makes me curious as to what schools will be like in the next 100 years. No doubt they will still be centered around the 3 Rs, but I find it hard to truly imagine the vast amount of future technological advancements that will enrich schooling and lifelong learning experiences.

October is "Family History Month." Add Ghost Tales to Your Family Yarns

I am the family genealogist, and my passion for this hobby is never ending. October is designated as Family History Month in the United States. 

Our family collected stories of ghostly happenings and weird coincidences a few years ago and I created a family book on my computer.  If you encounter such stories, and you probably will if you ask or if it has happened to you, this is a very interesting way to celebrate Family History Month.

Here is an example of one of my stories:

Searsport Maine: Cold Rooms of Family Farm on Turnpike Hwy.

I was born in Bangor Maine but lived in Connecticut for most of my youth. Nana and Grandpa's farm was in Searsport, my favorite place to visit.

On winter visits my sister and I slept under a flurry of quilts in an icy room that allowed us to witness and amuse ourselves with each visible breath. Our Mom and Dad slept in the guestroom down the hall which overlooked the Penobscot Bay. Beyond their room is a small bedroom where Mom used slept as a child.

Her brother Gerry scoffed at her stories of cold chills and ghostly rattling of her bed, which caused her great aggravation and sleeplessness far too often. Being a very brave child, Gerry decided to swap rooms with Mom. He was so certain he could prove his sister was just making up stories to scare him.

That night was fraught with eeriness, at first conjured up in a lad's ever active mind; then it happened to him too. Cold! Rattling! And maybe something else?

Gerry tore the bedding apart. He even pulled some floorboards (imagine my grandmother's fury), but he could find no reason for the unruly rattles. He never again slept in Mom's room. And, never again did he rib my Mom about the cold and rattling.

As years passed and Mom grew up to marry Dad, her stepbrother Jimmy slept in this tiny room on his visits to the farm. Years apart, Mom and Jimmy independently experienced the presence of a spirit in this room.

One day Mom casually asked Jimmy if he sensed anything unusual when he was in her old room. He chuckled and shared with her that he did indeed. They now shared the same secret knowledge: No matter how hot a steamy summer's eve might be, or how chilly the winter night might become, this room would grow cold or colder as the sleeping person became aware of a ghostly presence who spoke no words, jiggled the bed, and caused the sound of a rhythmic heartbeat thumping in the chattering cold.

How I wrote my book on ghost stories:

As we gathered each story, I used my Word program to write them and to include photos whenever possible of the persons in the stories or the homes, etc.  When thoroughly edited and the final work approved by each family source to me, I printed the small book on 8 1/2 by 5 inch paper. I used 32 lb. HP paper because it feels more like a book and will easily run through my Kodak printer. For the back cover I used card stock. For the front, I used a clear heavy-duty plastic and then bound with spiral binding combs to neatly hold the book pages together. I have a paper cutter and a spiral binder machine. You can also take your book on a jump disk, etc. to a printer such as Staples or Office Depot and they will do this work for you. Another way to capture the stories is on DVD, giving each person their own personal disk of the book.

Capture your ghost stores to become a part of your family history now.

THE STORY OF SKIPPER in Colonial Beach, Virginia: Full of Memories as Home and as a Tourist

My husband and I and our large dog Skipper who is mostly border collie have spent a total of many weeks in the small town of Colonial Beach, Virginia. Each visit was to take care of our Uncle Tom Evans, to visit Aunt Dorothy who suffered from Alzheimer's and to help Tom with his home there. My husband Patrick also spent much of his youth there and his best childhood memories of summers always involve Colonial Beach. A good place to visit for all.

Small describes Colonial Beach. The peninsula town covers about 4 square miles and has a population of about 5,000 residents; perhaps less. Some residents are full-time while others are there part of the time. 

Patrick  has shared stories about the casinos for off-track betting and the legal gaming history of the beach. In the nineteenth century tourists boats made regular runs to the beach for fun in the sun, for fishing, and for the gambling. It was and is still known as the "Playground of the Potomac." Two things slowed weekend and vacation tourism there. The automobile's popularity allowed tourists to visit other places easily rather than having to rely on boat departures and arrivals. And, the legal casinos were destroyed by fire in the 1960s and were not rebuilt. Today there is only Riverboat Off-Track Betting with a restaurant, lounge, and pier which is the go-to place today at Colonial Beach for gambling.

The beach is near some interesting historical attractions including George Washington's birthplace and Stratford Hall, my personal favorite. Stratford Hall is the ancestral home of Robert E. Lee. In town there is the summer Victorian home of Alexander Graham Bell (see Right) and his family which is now a lovely B&B located on the Potomac River. Actually most of the town faces water from the Potomac or from Monroe Bay as it is a narrow peninsula. We have lovely memories of seeing all of these places with Tom and Dorothy.

By Suzyramble (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Two authors that I know of have lived here. Sloan Wilson who is famous for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit chose Colonial Beach as his retirement town. And, my personal favorite is Sherryl Woods who, like my husband, enjoyed summers as a kid in Colonial Beach. Sherryl authored many books including Return to Rose Cottage and the series of family friendly novels centered around the Chesapeake Bay which is now a Hallmark Channel Series entitled Chesapeake Shores. 

Tom had cabinets in his basement from Sherryl's Colonial Beach home that were perfect for his fishing supplies and which she no longer needed due to some renovation work. I could not walk in Uncle Tom's basement without thinking of Sherryl Woods!

Our dog Skipper would get so excited every time we went to Colonial Beach. First he would get a long trip in our car, which he loves. Then he would get to have the car's back windows down and his head poked out to catch the gentle breeze, ears flapping. We would drive 25 mph in Colonial Beach and he would bark at squirrels and other animals. Cute, but at times noisy. The highlight of his day was his ride around town. 

He did not enjoy it as much when we would be on Uncle Tom's golf cart although his ears did flap in the breeze.  Colonial Beach is a golf cart town so carts are everywhere! Supposed to be a licensed driver to be at the wheel, but I suspect a lot of the ones we passed or followed were underage, but driving just fine. They drove 25 mph also. 

We were always looking for interesting things to do in our C-Dory boat and the Potomac was a great place. We would launch from the Colonial Beach Yacht Club marina at the peninsula point, cruise the shoreline, head across the river when Dahlgren Weapons Lab was not testing equipment over the Potomac, and boat to the District of Columbia. Nice. Beware though that there is a lot of floating debris in the Potomac near DC, so be cautious.

Colonial Beach offers events for residents and tourists although we rarely went to any of them. They have an arts Friday program, craft events, rockfish tournaments, fireworks, etc. There are several antique shops. The beach does have restrictions that never existed in the heyday of the resort town. In the past dogs and drinking and sleeping on the beach were allowed, but today the "NO" signs include no dogs on the public beach, no alcohol beverages, and no fires. Oh well. Oh, the beach entrance at Colonial Beach Municipal Pier has a brick pattern walkway composed of bricks purchased by local residents and tourists alike. Our Cator family "owns" one of these bricks.

A couple of local must-see, extremely casual, places are Lenny's Restaurant which is open for breakfast and lunch only (a personal favorite); Ola's Restaurant; and Fat Freda's (closed now I think). Lots of locals gathered to eat at these, especially Lenny's. When we wanted something a bit fancier we would stop at the waterfront Wilkinson's Seafood Restaurant, with great entrees and coleslaw made with French dressing which is yummy, as well as several other welcoming eateries to choose from.

The worst time there for our dog Skipper was when we went to Fredericksburg which is about 45 minutes away to move our Aunt Dorothy from assisted living to the nursing home at the beach. Our dog thought we were at the marina. Someone visited our uncle's home, did not close the gate, and Skipper took off for the marina. Skipper is a disabled dog who has birth defects in his back legs. Despite this, he was determined to find us and ran to the municipal pier and swam from there to almost the Point of the peninsula where the marina is located.

This run and swim covered about 3 or 4 linear miles. About three miles was running the road from Tom's McKinney home to the Pier; the balance swimming from the Pier to the Point. Some people called animal rescue who fairly easily were able to capture him when he was returning from the Potomac waters to the road, exhausted. These wonderful people called us and my husband left the nursing home immediately to get him. Skipper slept for days afterwards. He was so very exhausted, but okay and very relieved to be back with us. We cannot thank the kind people of Colonial Beach enough for saving and finding our dog for us. Bless you all.

Eventually Dorothy passed.  Tom came to live with us in FL where he ultimately passed away also. We miss them both very dearly.