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| Vietta Montgomery, Cooksville School teacher 1890 |
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| Porter School room, c. 1920 |
William Stokes wrote about his
school days in Porter Township in the 1850s, including memorable disciplinary measures
by the teachers—some very stern—that took place in the school room. Here is
Part 2 of Stokes’ story:
“In our school, there were some
very unruly boys and girls, especially among those who were approaching manhood
and womanhood. Mr. Maine was a great stickler for order. He had various methods
of bringing this about…. Roland Cox the third was especially obstinate. I
remember very well the means that brought young Roland to time. Flogging would
not subdue him. Next to flogging came the bleeding of the nose. Mr. Maine had a
method of taking a pen knife and cutting a little vein in the nose. This would
make a boy bleed profusely, but this had little effect on Master Roland. The
teacher then resorted to the final test of throwing open the large stove door,
where there was a glowing fire, taking Roland by the seat of his trousers and
his coat collar, threatening to throw him into the big stove. This final test
was more than Roland was able to stand. He succumbed and ever after was prompt
in obeying the commands of his teacher. I have never seen the bleeding test or fire
test used in any school since.
“Mr. Maine also had peculiar ways
of his own in handling the young people. If he caught the young men and women
whispering, I have seen him take a stick, splitting it at each end, putting one
end on the ear of the young lady and the other end on the ear of the young man,
driving them around the stove like a yoke of oxen. Altho a strict
disciplinarian, Mr. Maine was a competent teacher and had the good of all the
scholars at heart and those who were under his instruction made rapid progress.
Other teachers followed, but with poor success as the older boys were lawless
and hard to handle.
“The next winter after Mr. Maine
taught, there were three different teachers One was a young man from the east,
finely educated, but of slight build and not intended for the pugilistic ring.
He had the audacity to bring into the school room a little desk in which he put
his books, placing it on the rostrum, behind which he stood while he talked to
the school. The older boys thought this was putting on too much style and in a
few days, the desk was demolished and trouble commenced, the school board being
obliged to discharge him. In a month a new teacher took his place, but he also
was unable to cope with the situation. These two teachers were no doubt
splendidly equipped mentally, but they lacked the muscle.
“This lack was supplied by the
board in a few days by a gentleman with black eyes, black hair, firmly set
mouth and muscular body who was able to cope with the situation. The older boys
soon learned that they mustn’t fool with the buzz saw. He taught the school
‘til the end of the term. I do not remember particularly whether the school
made progress mentally or not, but I do remember some bloody scenes that took
place in which the teacher was master of the situation. I could tell many, many
interesting incidents which occurred during my life at school.
“….When I was about ten years old,
my summer schooling ended, but I went a portion of the time during the winter
term. My education in boyhood was sadly neglected, but I have learned a great
many lessons in the sterner walks of life. My latter schooling consisted of
going to school three days out of the week and hauling wood the other portion
of the week and so on through the winter. I was considered however by the
county superintendent as somewhat brighter than the ordinary and in those three
days of the week allotted me, I managed to keep up with my classes, altho there
were scholars two or three years older than I in my class.
“I do not mean this as egotism, but
I was considered quite a prodigy in spite of my ordinary intellectual powers.”
The Stokes family left Wisconsin
about 1864, to seek their fortunes further west.
Seven of the nine Town of Porter one-room
schoolhouses remain standing, all with new uses, of course, mostly as
residences, one as the Cooksville Community Center. History— including everyone’s
personal history— marches on through Time, leaving people with fond memories of
the past, some of which get written down—and shared! And fortunately, some historical buildings, like
one-room schoolhouses, are preserved on the landscape, if we are lucky.
(Thanks
again to Laura Stokes, Tucson, Arizona, and Griff Stokes, Spokane, Washington, for sharing their family’s
story of settling in the Town of Porter.)
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