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A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVENDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT #10, WRITTEN AND DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, SATURDAY, NOV. 26, 1932. By Robert L. Morris, son of Wm. Frank Morris, who served as a member of’ this School Board from April 1886 to June 1918, a period of 32 years.
Old Neighbors, Old Friends, and New Friends:
We have assembled here today to celebrate an important event in the life of this community, the dedication of this beautiful and spacious school building, so may I take this opportunity of extending my personal congratulations to the residents of this School District for having voted their approval of this undertaking and to the members of your School Board: Howard Gorman, President; Wm. Peiper, Vice-president; Clark McGrew, Ed. Baxter, Fred Vonderhaar, and Kurt Schmidt, Clerk; also John Fleckenstein and Jake Carstens, who recently retired from the Board, for their devoted efforts in making it a successful reality. No doubt you have had to overcome many obstac1es, as did the School Board which built the building that this now replaces.
By this act of confidence, you have made provisions whereby not only your children, but those for many generations to come may have the opportunity, to which they are entitled, of receiving an education that shall better prepare them to meet the prob-lems of life, in the generation in which they live. Much more might be said in this connection, however I have been assigned the task, one which I assure you I consider an honor and a pleasure, that of recalling briefly the history of this School District.
About the year 1840, a man named Jesse Cunningham, son of James Cunningham, an early pioneer from the State of Pennsylvania, and a few other men in the neigh-borhood, desirous of providing a suitable building where their children might receive instructions in what was then considered the fundamentals on an education, planned and built at their own expense a little brick school house on a plot of ground along Reading Pike, overlooking the banks of a small brook fed by the springs in the hills nearby, and a short distance south of the present location. (on the south bank of the creek, east side of Reading Road, on the old Veddern place)
A Miss Wilson, later Mrs. Pyle of College Hill, member of a noted family of teachers who were quite literary, and in after years became close friends of Alice and Phoebe Cary, was the first teacher engaged for this work. Miss Wilson, as well as many of the early teachers, boarded with Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, who lived in the red brick house located on a hill overlooking Mill Creek, built by Mr. Cunningham’s father in the year 1803 and being known as the oldest brick house in Hamilton County, outside the City of Cincinnati. To get to the school, they had to cross Mill Creek on a high foot log erected for that purpose, there being no bridges at that time; and when the water was too high to permit crossing on the foot log, Mr. Cunningham would take them across on horseback,
The earliest records available, those of the year 1844, reveal that Mr. William Moore was engaged as a teacher and authorized to collect a tuition from the resi-dents at the rate of one cent per day for each scholar attending, and three cents per day for non-residents of the School District. The School Board at that time being the first regularly organized, consisted of three members, namely - Jacob Shuff, Thomas Cooper, and Andrew Myers.
Mr. Samuel Adams was appointed as teacher for the year 1845, and Mr. R. C. S. Reed was the first teacher employed at a fixed salary of Twenty Dollars per month for a period of three months in 1846, paid out of a common school fund and the balance by subscription from the residents.
By the year 1859 it was found necessary to give consideration to the building of a larger school to accommodate those attending, and on June 18th of the same year, the householders met, with James Harvey acting as chairman and Morris Denman, clerk, to voice their opinions as to the School Boards’ action relative to a new school building.
However, not until May 14, 1860, did the qualified voters of the school district return a vote in favor of a new school, it is interesting to note that the vote stood thirteen in favor arid twelve against. After much deliberation and controversy, the School Board, consisting of Thomas Spooner, J. K. Fortney, and Jacob Shuff, entered into a contract on March 21, 1861, to purchase a lot comprising one and one--half acres of ground, the present site, opposite what was then known as A. C. Clark’s corner, from Andrew S. Meyers, for the sum of three hundred dollars.
Bids for the construction of a new school building were advertised in August 1861, to be received by the clerk of the Board or at Morris Denman’s Toll Gate, a short distance from the school site, up to three o’clock on August 17th, at which time the bids were opened and contracts awarded, totaling approximately $2000 for the general work and specifying that same was to be completed in six weeks.
However, the records indicate that the new school building was occupied for the first time in June 1862, Mr. Clinton Gerard being the teacher at that time. The enumeration showed there were eighty-six children of school age living in the District, although only an average attendance of thirty was recorded.
A well for drinking water was dug in the summer of 1862 and every provision made for the official opening of the new school building in the fall, Benjamin Gray having received the appointment from the School Board to serve as Principal at a sa1ary of one hundred twenty dollars for a period of sixty-five teaching days, and Miss Ruth Scott was appointed as a teacher in the Primary Dept. at a salary of forty-five dollars for a like period. The new school opened with an enrollment of fifty-three pupils. Music was added as a study this year.
It may be of interest to note that the first teacher in the new school was a real patriotic citizen as exemplified by his resignation as teacher on April 3,1863, to enlist in the service of his country, then engaged in a great Civil War. Mr. Charles Bullock was appointed to fill his unexpired term.
Mr. Martin Hutchison received appointment as Principal and Miss Matilda Hook as teacher in the Primary Dept. for the year commencing Sept. 1863. Apparently everything ran smoothly until the year 1885, when controversy arose as to the proportionate part this School District should receive from the regular school levy in Sycamore Township, resulting in the Probate Court of Hamilton County creating Evendale as a Special School District No. 10.
The records reveal the following persons to have served as teachers in this schoo1, for the most part in the order noted -- Mr. John C. Ridge, Mr. M. Nicholy, Miss Hosbrook, Miss Minerva Roman, Miss Ruth Greal, Mr. C. W. Ridge, Miss Florence Gilbert, Mr. R.W. Fortney, Mr. J. Reeder Fortney, Miss Ella Kyle, Mr. H. McGrew, Miss Hannah Myers, Mr. T. Edson, Miss Abbie L. Grosh, Mr. W. M, Smith, Mrs. M. Holtsinger, Mr. Jos. C. Smith, Miss Cora Jones, Mr. B. W. Barrow, Miss Sentney, Prof. Stein (music teacher in 1879), Miss Dollie Martin, Mr. John Church, Mr. Harris Myers, Mr. C. M. Williams, Mr. Theodore Botkin, Mr. Charles Hopping, Dr. Harry Cooper, Miss Stella Radabaugh, Miss Nellie Colter, Miss Laura Bailey, Mr. C. D. Luke, Miss Joyce Craw-ford, Mrs. Geneva Hickman, and the present teacher, Mr. Herman Yung. Also Miss
Ethel Ward and Miss Lillian Schmidt as music teachers.
Numbered among the men of the School District who have served as members of the School Board are
the following: Joseph A. Reeder, Reuben White, Wm. Conkling, John R. Dick, C. Hageman, Richardson Jackson, James Cunningham, Abraham Barrow, James Randall, James Harvey, Harvey L. Carr, J. K. Fortney, Joseph Grigg, Geo. Brown, A. C. Clark, Morris Denman, J. B. McWhorter, Morgan Ruffner, H. C. Bowen, John White, A. C. Tyler, Carl Seebohm, E. H. Gilbert, Dr. L. Hussey, Wm. Robinson, Wm. Hersh, Geo. Fettketter, Christian Jentz, Henry Eikenhorst, Arthur Heble, August Buhr, Clark McGrew, Lewis Bircher, Howard Gorman, Wm. Peiper, Ed. Baxter, John Fleckenstein, Fred Vonderhaar, Jake Carstens, and Kurt
Schmidt.
It may also be of interest to recall some to the families who were household names in the late eighties and the early part of the present century: Sharpshair, Peiper, Hoyer, Brate, Ruffner, Barrow, Sauerland, Veddern, White, Seebohm, Wm. Gorman, Gilbert, Jones, Morris, Jackson, Hussey, Pittman, Dunn, Cooper, Stegeman, Baumgartner, Pohl, Amos Gorman, Wulftang, Vedder, Bartholomew, Hersh, Clark, Dressing, Fox, Bircher, Hosea, Brink, Buhr, Knueven, Bowen Shotwell, Williams, Mohlencamp, Hawker, Robinson, Mahon, Jentz, Fleckenstein, Eikenhorst, Driever and Gibson. Also special mention of Miss Mary Mitchell, Mrs. Commer and Mrs. Ben Ferris.
In conclusion, it is fitting that we should pause for a few moments to pay a trib-ute to our own Little Red School House at Evenda1e, the history of which is indeed a unique one from the fact that it has contributed so largely to the life of the Community.
It was in the eighties that an undenominational Sabbath School was organized, holding regular Sunday School services in the school room as well as occasional preaching services, especially on Christmas and Easter. Many of the well known and re-membered Pastors of the Valley Churches conducted services here. This Sunday School gained quite a reputation for their fine Oyster Suppers, alluring Box Socials, Lawn Fetes, and Picnics.
About the year 1900, The Evendale Literary Society was formed,, also meeting in the School House, in order that those of the community feeling so inclined might develop their ambitions along Literary lines as well as afford an opportunity for social contact among the younger folks of the community. A number of interesting plays were given by this Society which drew hearty support from the neighboring villages.
Yes, my friends, The Little Red School House has for many generations been the inspiration for Song and Verse and, no doubt, there comes to many of the older generation, a feeling of sadness as these old landmarks pass from our sight, but, Ah, only time itself can erase those fond memories of pleasant associations, happy inspirations of youth and friends of yesterday.
We must give way to progress and I again, congratulate those men in whose keeping you have placed the care of your School and its purposes, and when the pages of his-tory yet to be made and recorded are revealed on future occasions such as this, may their record be one of credit to themselves, and of which this community will be proud.
To the boys and girls of this community, I take privilege to leave this appeal. Show your appreciation for the sacrifice that has been made in your behalf by making the most of the opportunity for an education that has been afforded you, so that you may go forth better qualified to face the problems of life, making your contribution to their solution, in order that Our Country may ever remain the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave and Our Government, a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Wishing you all happiness and. successful lives, I thank you.
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