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PAGE SIX County School System Is Nearly Half-Century Old FRIDAY, APRIL 48, 193? The beginning of the public school system of Newberry county was around 1890. Prior to that time the Newberry Male Academy and the Newberry Female Academy enjoyed fine reputations as institutions of learning before the War Between the States, and for more than 20 years afterwards. In the county there were only a few small schools with terms of a few weeks a year. The enrol ment of these early schools had to be limited and by 1889 and 1890 there was a growing demand for po pular education. The first large public school in this district was the Boundary street school, founded as the Graded School. On December 23, 1889, a charter was granted for the Newberry Graded Schools which opened the following year. The graded school charter provided that tuition should be abso lutely free to the children of all citi zens living within the Newberry school district, which district was made coterminous with the city lim its. Boundary Street school was erected in 1890, and follow,ng, schools began to go up all over the county, until today we have 26 white, and 49 negro schools. The city and county is well supplied with the best of buildings, equipment, and teach ers. The first year at Boundary street there were enrolled 369 pupils the other hand there has been a steady decrease in elementary enrol ment of white schools in the past ten years due to low birth rates. In 1928 there were 3,814 students in the ele mentary grades and last year, 1938, there were 3,527. These increases and decreases also apply to the ne gro schools. Because of the decline in the number of beginners, some of the schools of the county had no first grades last year. The number of teachers in the schools increased greatly. In the white schools there were 106 teachers in 1914; 130 in 1918; 154 in 1923; 183 in 1928; and 198 in 1938. The negro teaching staff has also increased as the following figures show: in 1914, 68; in 1918, 74; in 1923, 80; in 1928, 104; in 1938, 110. White schools of the county run between eight and nine months while the negro school terms last between five and six months. The average attendance in all coun ty and city schools in the past two years has been much improved as a result of the work of Newberry’s first county attendance teacher, Mrs. Mae A. Aull. Mrs. Aull’s adminis tration has not been marked by a high increase in enrolment as New berry county has always stood unus ually high in having practically ev ery child of the county in school. Her FIRST SCHOOL BUS TO OPERATE IN NEWBERRY COUNTY and by 1900 there were 511, soon ne cessitating the erection of more buildings to accommodate pupils liv ings in the city. Total enrolment in the county and city schools in 1914 was 2,196 in the white schools and 6,536 in the negro schools. The figures for 1923 show 4,219 in white schools and 5,817 in the negro rchools. In 1928 there were enrolled in the white schools of the city and county 4,730 pupils while the negro enrolment showed 4,842 last year, 1938, there were 4,977 in white schools and 4,270 in negro schools. It will be noted that in the years mentioned above the negro en rolment decreased from year to year as the white enrolment towered high above the negro enrolment after be ing less than one-third as large in 1614. Since the beginning of wider edu cation in 1890, the number of pupils attending high school has steadily increased. In 1928 there were 916 pupils in the white high schools and ten years later there were 1,450. On work, which has accomplished much, centers on nqjular school attendance of pupils. An extensive educational program has always been readily sponsored by Newberrians so when the compulsory attendance law was put into effect two years ago, it lit tle changed the enrolment of New berry schools. The education program continues to grow with new school buildings replacing old ones each year. Aside from the regular academic studies, most of the schools now have courses in agriculture, manual training, home economics, and business and commerce. Practically all the schools have Pa rent-Teacher's Associations and for the benefit of the teachers there is the Newberry County Education As sociation, of which R. C. Lake of Whitmire is president. Head of the city and county school system is the county superintendent of education, elected every four years by the people. C. E. Hendrix is now serving in that office. Origin Of Name Remains In Doubt In discussing how Newberry de rived its name, Judge John Belton O’Neall writes as follows in his An- nals of Newberry: "Whence the name ‘Newberry’ is derived is impossible with certainty to say. I have heard some assert it was called Newberry county after a Captain of that name in Sumter’s state troops, but whether there was such an officer I have never been able to ascertain. Certain it is that a family of that name once lived beyond Peedcc, in that section now called Marlborough district. Lately it has been my privilege to make the'acquaintance of a preacher of the name of James Newberry, and therefore it may be that the tradi tion is true. Others have supposed that it was called after some place in England of the United States; but it is to be remarked that the names of similar sound elsewhere are spell ed ‘Newbury’ while our district name is uniformly spelled ‘Newberry’ and pronounced with the accent on the second syllable. Others have sup posed it was a fancy name, from the beautiful appearance of the country —covered with the oak, hickory, wal nut, pine, elm, and poplar forests, entertwined with grape and musca dine—the ground carpeted with the rich covering of pea-vine, and stud ded all over with fruitbearing shrub bery. It is hence supposed that the first settlers, enchanted with the prospect, might have said it was pretty as a new berry—and hence it was called Newberry! I like this notion best. John A. Chapman, writing in the Annals of Newberry on the . same et&ject says: “The origin of the name of the county of Newberry is unknown. Judge C^Neall was unable to trace it and gives a fanciful story to account for it. Mills, in his statistics, is entirely silent, though he gives the origin of the names of some counties. Ramsay in his history of South Car olina says nothing on this point- AH these historians lave us in the dark, so that now we can only conjecture. There is a city in England bearing the name ‘Newbury’ near which Cromwell defeated the Royalist dur ing the civil wars of his time, but there is no place in that country with the same form of spelling that we use. There are several post towns in the United States, five I think, with the spelling as we have it. “Judge O’Neall in his Annals says that the present form of spelling it is the correct one. But from all the information I can gather, and I have tried to investigate the subject very carefully and thoroughly, it was once almost, if not quite, a matter of indifference which form was used. The town in England, near which one of Cromwell’s victories was gained, is now spelled New bury, but I see that Evelyn in his dairy spells it Newberry. It seems to be almost a matter of indiffer ence with him whether he uses an i or a u, for I see that he spells Com bury with a n e, Cornbery. And so with other words of a similar form. In an old history which I have just been looking through, Winterboth am’s America, when the word New berry first occurs it is spelt with a u, and then two or three pages fur ther on changes to the present form. The same change occurs in Ramsay’s. Is not ‘bury’ the same as ‘burg’ or ‘burgh’? It is, according to Web ster, and is old English or Anglo- Saxon. This being the case, it is very clear that Newbury is the pro per form, and that ‘berry’ is a cor ruption and counterfeit. But it is the form established by custom and by law and must so remain.” It is said that Pennsylvania has more varied food dishes than any other state because of the food cus toms brought there by the English, Quakers, Swedes, Germans, Holland ers, Swiss, French and Russians. School System Growth (Continued from page four) stadium which will seat about 2500. It is hoped that within a year or two there will be a full time physi cal director for both boys andgirls, and more attention will be given to the physical development of all pupils. The Girls Glee Club, directed by Miss Hamm, is made up of 40 girls who do this extra curricula work with enthusiasm, and are called upon to sing on various occasions through out the year. Each spring they en ter the contests held at Winthrop College, and have been most success ful. The officers of this Club are: President, Jeanne Johnstone; Vice- President, Mary Layton; Secretary, Ethel Harden; Treasurer, Martha Jane Gray; Counselor and Director, Miss Rose Hamm; Librarian, Edna Shealy. This session Miss Hamm has or ganized a Boys’ Choir and the members have been fitted out in beautiful black robes and will be ready to serve their community in song. There is a small orchestra in the school, directed by Prof. Harry Feld, Professor of Violin at Newberry College. How fortunate these youngsters are to be trained by one so capable and without cost to them. One of the most popular clubs in the high school is the Latin Classi cal Club, organized in 1927, sponsor- edNby Miss Julia Kibler. There is a membership of 70, and to become a member and remain in the club an average of 85 must be maintained. The officers are: President, William Peery; Vice-President, Dorothy Car penter; Secretary, Martha Jane Gray; Treasurer, Elizabeth Ren- wick. The National Honorary Beta Club, the purpose of which is to promote Scholastic excellence, and cultivate ideals of loyalty, courage, honesty, and leadership, is sponsored by Miss Annie Lee Young and Miss Julia Kibler. Requisite for membership: scholastic average of 85 and high moral character. The officers are: President, Martha Je.ne Gray; Vice- President, Jeanne Johnstone, Secre tary, Mary Layton; Treasurer, Lane Kirkland. An International Relations Club has been organized in the History classes, the purpose of which is to get some understanding of world af fairs and the possible effects on this country’s economic and political fu ture. The Senior Class each year pre pares and publishes an annual “The Oracle" which gives a large number some very practical experience. The 1938-39 Staff is: Editor-in-chief, Bill Gatlin; Business Manager, Franklin Armfield; Advertising Manager, Caroline McCrackin; Photograph Editor, Lane Kirkland; Feature Edi tor, Harold Hendrix and Florence Wicker; Athletic Ediboro, Agnes Mayes and William Peery; Subscrip tion Editors, Evelyn Stone, Julia Smith, Doris Armfield, Max King, and Russell Addy. Mr. H. B. Wilson is Faculty Advisor. The teachers of the schools remain one-half hour every day after dis missal to aid any pupil who needs ex tra help in keeping up with their studies, or who wish to confer about any of their individual problems. The faculty of the high school consists of P. K. Harmon, Principal, who has held this position since 1925; Miss Elizabeth Dominick, Miss Julia Kibler, Mrs. S. E. Whitten, Mass An nie Lee Youg, Miss Sudie Dennis, Miss Margaret Burns, Miss Catherine Smith, Mrs. Elsie Nichols, Mrs. H. O. Swittenberg, Mrs. Vanessa Holt, Miss Edna Hartnesse, Miss Clare Schaef fer, Miss Harriet Todd, H. H. Hedge- path, S. E. Whitten, Jr., H. B. Wil son, C. B. Ringer, N. K. Williamson, J. H. Pruitt, G. H. Cody, L. W. Bed- enbaugh and C. E. Bowers (Libra rian). Miss Eva Cromer is assistant librarian. Miss Azilee Graddick is Secretary. Mr. J. R. Clary is in charge of the Buildings and Grounds. The Trustees of the City Schools also come in for much praise for their foresightedness in assisting Superintendent Cannon in securing the beautiful location and in the erection of the present high school building, and thanks to the taxpayers in backing them up in this worthy undertaking. The Trustees had the authority to sell $250,000 in bonds for the erection of this building, but with an eye to the interests of the people as well as to erecting a nice suitable structure sold only $211,- 000 worth of bonds, leaving a balance of $39,000 which was voted for the purpose. A new addition to the pre sent gymnasium and an enlargement of the shops which has been approv ed by the Works Progress Admini stration, and construction is now un der way and will be ready for use in May. The present Board of Trustees is composed of J. Y. Jones, Chairman; L. G. Eskridge, Secretary; G. K. Dominick, H. B. Wells, and Dr. C. D. Weeks. There is a Parent-Teacher Associa tion at each of the white schools ex cept Junior High and Senior High. These organizations are very help ful in keeping the school and the home in closer contact with each other, and creating a fine co operative spirt and understanding between teacher and parent. They have, with the cooperation of the civic league, helped to beautify the grounds of some of the schools, and aided in other worth-while activities. COUNTY CLERK Agents Had Trying Experiences In Early Demonstration Work Frank Sanders J. Edwin Stokes—Druggist One of the most significant im provements of Newberry county : n recent times is the fine network of roads—good roads that lead to every section of the county. But it was not so many years ago when it was practically impossible to get from one community to another. Would-be-travelers had to resort to all kinds of slow, trying methods of transportation and even then they often couldn’t reach their proposed destination. During the World War the roads in Newberry county, what few there were, were dusty paths in the summertime and mud holes in the winter. It was over such as these that Miss Willie Mae Wise, then Newberry county home demonstra tion agent, and Miss Ethel Counts, her assistant, had to travel to reach the litttle groups of farm women who had gathered to hear lectures or see demonstrations. The agents were centering efforts on gardening just at that time because of the great need during the War of vegetables. On one occasion Miss Wise and Miss Counts were called to attend a meeting near Prosperity. Early in the morning they boarded the “mixed” train in Newberry. The trains weren’t so very modernistic either. Lanterns furnished the only light and smoke and soot pour- had never been clean in the first place, according to Miss Counts. After so long a time the ladies reached Prosperity and there rented a horse and buggy. Bouncing and bumping over miles of rough muddy so-called roads they finally reached the meeting place. Another time Miss Wise and Miss Counts were scheduled to be pre sent at a meeting near Jalapa. Here they were to hold an all-day session, teaching the women how to chum in the morning and how to can food in the afternoon. Arising early in the morning the two agents started out for Jalapa in their car, which was a real car in its day. Reaching the village they turned off into a road that seemed to grow worse with every mile. Afte>- several miles of very rough going they reach ed a stream minus a bridge. After considering possibilities, the driver thought she could get across the stream all right but that wouldn’t help much as there was apparently no road on the other side. The road just came to an end on the side of the stream they were on. Going back up the road a little way the ladies stopped at a farm house, in quiring as to the whereabouts of the road. They were told it was on the other side of the stream, all right, but they had to ride down the stream a piece in their car before they came to it. The two women bravely returned to the stream, driving into it the car and starting down stream when the car flooded and stopped in midstream. Back to the farm house they went for horses to pull the car out. After so long a time they were on the road on the other side and able b> resume their journey. When they reached the place of gathering the women were having lunch. So there was no morning session that day. After the after noon’s lecture and demonstrations, the two agents again climbed into their car and started for home. This time they were prepared for the stream. They merely drove into it, hitched horses to the car, and were towed upstream and to the other side of the road. And then back home they came after a very eventful and unforgetable day. The Southern Cotton Oil Co. MANUFACTURERS Cotton Seed Products “SCOCO” t - . . . High-Grade Fertilizers “A Neighborly Institution”