Early on the morning of Nov. 12, 1919, fire was discovered on the roof of the north side school building. Sparks from a chimney had ignited the roof, or a defective flue in the attic caused the roof to ignite. Teachers and students exited classrooms in an orderly fashion and no one was injured during the excitement.Following the 1919 fire, a bond issue of $35,000 was passed by Hamilton School District patrons. Along with $13,000 insurance money, it was used to build a new high school building which opened in 1920.

Trip down Memory Lane Published in 1965

Memories of Hamilton School Buildings, by J. R. Hemry

J. R. Hemry, 90, wrote the following history of Hamilton school buildings to be given at the Hamilton Alumni Association reunion as a part of the program. It should be of interest to all who have attended local schools and was written from memory.

Greetings, alumni and all other friends of the Hamilton schools: I believe you will be interested in a brief account of the beginnings and the development of the educational system in this community…I myself attended school here and was a member of the class of 1893, so I want to pass along to you some of the interesting highlights that come back to me as I think over the years gone by.

I shall begin with A. G. Davis, one of the founders of this town. Mr. Davis was an aggressive man and knew the value and the necessity of a school system. This town was founded about 1855 and some two years later Mr. Davis set aside one room in his home for school purposes. The Davis house was located in the northeast part of town and is now known as the John Keeton residence.

When the first school was established, some 15 or 20 children in this community were of school age. Mr. Davis was the teacher. But this limited space – a single room – was soon too small and it was necessary to make other plans. And so about 1860 the first building for school purposes was erected in Hamilton. It was built on the southeast corner of what is now the Methodist parsonage lot – that is, the corner of Davis Street and Samuel Street. This building quickly became an important hub of activities in the area. It served not only as a public school, but as a town hall, the place to vote and for various public meetings.

In 1862 a union Sunday school was held weekly in this building and out of the organization came the establishment of the First Methodist Church of Hamilton. A year later the Presbyterian Church was organized and a frame building was erected where the Bill Kuhnert residence is located. The Methodist building was on approximately the same location as is used by the church today.

The second school building was built on a lot where the workshop of the North Missouri Lumber Company now stands. A short time later a third building was built, known as the Brown school building. It was located where the brick building – once known as the Southside School – now stands. This edifice is now owned and occupied by the RLDS Church.

The fourth school was built on the block now occupied by the elementary school. The streets on the four sides are: East Arthur, East Bird, North Center and North Ewing. This was a four-room brick building, two stories high – with a full basement. The rooms were heated by wood-burning stoves. During the summer groups of men went into the country and cut what was called “cord wood.” That is, the trees were cut and split into four-foot lengths. The wood was then hauled to the school and ‘corded’ in the basement of the building. During the school months the janitors would saw these pieces of wood into halves – which would fit in the stoves. A large “wood box” was in every room and of course had to be filled each day.

There was a well on the school lot and at recess and noon a line of buckets of water and a dipper in each were put to use. This was the school’s water system. The school building was torn down about 1906 and another brick building, also a school, was erected.

This later school – number five – was a great improvement in construction, arrangement and equipment. At that time it was considered definitely up to date! The building was completely destroyed by fire in November, 1919.

Building number six was quickly erected on the same location. It is today known as the Hamilton Elementary School. The 1922 class was the first group to graduate from that building. A total of 17 students received diplomas – but caps and gowns were not worn by the graduates.

Building number seven was built in 1953. I am of course referring to this building – the Penney High School. It is the pride and joy of our city.

Now here are a few additional and more personal facts: I attended school number four – the building located where the elementary school now stands. I was born January 22, 1875 and could not enter school until I was nearly 7 years old – in 1881. My first teacher was Miss Bell Patten – a sister of Dr. W. T. Lindley’s wife – an aunt of Mrs. Walter Finch. Most or all of you here tonight know Mrs. Finch.

Miss Patten taught me to read from McGuffey’s First Reader, I can well remember some of those early sentences –

“I see a cat.”

“Can the cat see the dog?”

“No, the cat can’t see the dog.”

“Will the dog bite?”

“No, the dog is a pet.”

And of course I had to learn to count. By using the fingers of one hand I could make out with 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5. But then what? Well, if I hadn’t had my other hand, that might have been the limit of my mathematical career. By using that second hand, I was able to proceed.

And what about girls, you might ask? Well, I assure you that girls were a part of my school day. Do you folks here tonight recall your first date? No doubt you do. And how well I remember the first note I wrote to a girl – she was a classmate in the sixth grade – which made us 12 or 13 years of age.

Now back in those days we had parties at our homes. All the young people were present, we played “whirl the platter,” “pussie wants a corner,” “postoffice,” “chew the string,” and all those exciting kissing games. And let me tell you, my friends – it was fun!

Well, one of those parties was coming up shortly and I decided I’d take the girl who sat in the seat across the aisle from me. But a person wouldn’t think of coming right out and asking for a date! No, indeed – you sent a note. So I wrote a note and had a friend give it to the girl after school. The next morning she handed me a reply. It said, “My Mama says I am too young to date boys.” Then – “See you at the party tonight.”

I have many other pleasant recollections regarding those days – recollections which I shall not take the time to pass along to you tonight – but I assure you they were happy and I shall always cherish them in my memory.

The Caldwell County News

101 South Davis
P.O. Box 218
Hamilton, MO 64644
Phone: 816-583-2116
news@mycaldwellcounty.com

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