SCHOOLS OF YESTERYEAR
Paris No. 3, Later Known as Maurer School
Part 4
by Janis Stein

Join in the continuation as I delve into the school expenditures from the 1920s.

Edgar F. Pearce assumed the teaching position in 1917, earning $765 over the course of the year for teaching his 47 students. Elizabeth Kavanagh followed Pearce in 1918 and Jesse L. Hagle arrived in 1919. Elizabeth Kavanagh made an entry dated September 26, 1918, in her teaching record book: “I started teaching on Tuesday, September 3. Had a holiday on Wednesday, September 11 – it was a day set aside by the government in honor of those registering, 18 to 45 years. I took off two days for the Huron County Fair, September 5 and 6, which I will have to make up, but I will surely take all the holidays allowed a teacher.”

Repairs and maintenance to the schoolhouse were ongoing throughout the years. In January of 1917, Leo Maurer was paid $4.60 for rebuilding the chimney, and Harry Wilkinson was paid 65 cents for locks. In March of 1918, Benez Maurer earned $9 for repairing the woodshed. These repairs must have been a temporary fix, because in November of the same year, Adam Heneski (surname may be spelled incorrectly, but is listed as it was written in the actual records) was paid $36.85 for his repair work on the woodshed. David Crorey received $64.72 for building materials, and Ubly Grain Co. was paid $13 for “5 barls of cement.” John White was also paid $1.20 for “window pains.”

The teacher’s annual report in 1920 stated 41 students were enrolled, and of the three eighth graders, two would graduate and one of these would enroll in Ubly High School. This report also stated Maurer School was located in the west half of Section 8 in Paris Township. Dimensions of the schoolhouse were listed as well. The structure measured 50 feet long, 22 feet wide and nine feet high. The children surely received ample natural lighting by way of the school’s 12 windows.

Expenditures listed in January, 1920, included $1.59, the cost of a pencil sharpener purchased from Montgomery Ward & Co. Likewise, John White was paid $1.08 for six window lights, and in September, Peter Helewski repaired the school windows for $3.

In 1920, Mrs. Leo Campbell became Maurer’s newest teacher, teaching eight months of school. No doubt she was pleased by the dramatic wage increase, which jumped up to $1040 for the eight-month school year. Annabell K. Graham taught the children of Paris No. 3 nine months of school each of the following two years, while the school board members included Peter Maurer, Director; Daniel Oberski, Moderator; and Adam Helewski, Treasurer.

In July 1921, the district paid A.W. Price $24 for “eavetroughing on school.” Other expenses, too, depleted the school’s budget. During the 1921-22 school year, three students residing within the Maurer School district attended Ubly High School, costing the district a tuition fee of $75.

According to the Maurer School expenditure registry dated October 1922, Peter Helewski earned $32.75 for painting and plastering the school, while the cost of paint totaled $26.35. Prior to classes beginning in the fall of 1923, the board decided to spruce up the property, paying John Maurer $6.25 for “building fence” and Louis Maurer $3 for repairing “school property.”

Clara Kirsch joined the ranks of Paris Township teachers in 1922, earning $95 per month, and returned the following year. During her reign, the district purchased a new Bible for the students, costing $2.64, and Slack Bros. received $1.95 in exchange for a pail, dipper and a dish. Marie Clancy taught during the 1924-25 year and listed Paris No. 3 as Smith’s Corner School.

One former student who attended in the mid-1920s recalls walking three-quarters of a mile to school with his siblings. He didn’t own a lunch pail. Rather, the young boy carried egg sandwiches in a 10-pound baking powder can; the makeshift lunch pail was big enough to carry two of the children’s lunches. For some reason, his teacher kept him after class on his very first day. He began to cry and holler and carry on; the poor boy was petrified because he didn’t know if he’d be able to find his way home alive!

Prior to the start of the 1925-26 school year, Mrs. Peter Maurer cleaned the school in early September, earning $6 for her efforts, and Vincent Oberski spruced up the place with a bit of paint, earning $10. Mrs. Florence Alma Rink led 57 children in their studies, making $100 per month the first year and $120 when she returned in the fall of 1926.

The 1926 school board consisted of Peter Maurer, Director; Dan Oberski, Moderator; and Adam Helewski, Treasurer. The school property was valued at $2,000, and the district’s library contained 75 volumes. Four pupils graduated from the eighth grade in 1926, though none would pursue higher education.

Expenditures in 1926 included $12 paid to Martin Fisher in April for his efforts in taking an accurate census and, in October, the stove needed $92.05 worth of repairs, courtesy of Smith Heating System. In addition, Joseph Block scrubbed the school and washed the flag, earning $8.25. In February 1927, all was still not well with the stove, and the district would shell out an additional $20.30 for repairs. John Maurer earned $1 for his work cleaning the outhouses, and Ubly Elevator delivered $43.99 worth of coal.

Miss Emma Krease taught the students at Maurer School in 1927 and again in 1928. The floor shined with the oil applied in October and again in December, the floor oil purchased from Bukoski Bros. and Bad Axe Hardware, respectively. In December 1927, the district awarded $9 to Martin Fisher for suppling three cords of wood. Miss Krease noted in her year-end evaluation that “some students left to attend parochial school at Paris.”

Be sure to look for this column next month as the history of Maurer School continues.

©2008 Stein Expressions, LLC