| OCR Text |
Show WOMAN WRITES HISTORY SHE HELPED TO MAK o COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Kansas history is not made-it ard in Chase County. Previous to i ... . .. w is in tn mining. We study the past that we may learn how to make tho present bettor. The pioneers pio-neers solved their problems and if XTt are worthy of the Kansas they have given us, we will try to solve ours." This waa written by the "History Lady." as Miss Anna E. Arnold of Cottonwood Falls. Kan.. Is known throughout Kansas. Miss Arnold is County Superintendent of Chase County and broke all political precedents prece-dents by being elected to that office four terms. The first time she was elected with a reasonable competition. competi-tion. The second time sho waa easily elected on her record of the first term. The third time the Republicans Re-publicans kicked a little. "Sure she's made good." they admitted, ad-mitted, but bo reasonable, friends, bo reasonable Nobody ever heard of a third term County Superintendent." Superintend-ent." But the voters gave hor the third term Just the same. When her name came up for a fourth term she was so well established it was handed to hor in a neatly done up silver tissue bundlo tied with blue ribbon. Bliss Arnold won her prestige by her vigorous campaign of rural development de-velopment a campaign that placed the rural schools on a high stand - her cleetion the rural schools had been merely training stations for third grade teachers who must teach a year before they could move to the city schools. She looked upon her office is supervisor of the country schools. She had taught in them and knew their deflciences. In her official work she kept in close touch with them. She urged teachers to choose the rural districts. She pointed out to the State officials that of the 14,000 teachers in the State there were 9,000 teaching in rural districts dis-tricts when she was endeavoring to get for them what they had never hud before, a programmo for their especial benefit at the State Teachers' Teach-ers' Association. It was not until as vice president of the State Association Associa-tion that she succeeded in obtaining a special programme and a special department for them. She makes it a point to visit every rural school in her county as often as possible. "The lack of system was the hardest hard-est wall to climb," ho said. 'Everything 'Every-thing was haphazard and there was no continuity. Each teacher had her own method and upset all the good accomplished the year before by introducing an entirely new method of work and study." MJ. XxtxxilA lout nxt Ucda in unitv- W 1 " smammmmtmrnmrntm --ts tuuuHj acnoois. sne neia parent-teachers' meetings and sought co-operation between them. She urged better schools, better playgrounds, better social advantages, advan-tages, better teachers. ' I saw no reason whj the children in the rural districts should not have the same educational privileges as city children." she said. "Edu. a-tlon a-tlon in the city should bo no more practical than that In the country. And above all, there should bo no politics in Kansas school affairs." One of the first triumphs In making mak-ing better schools in the country was her solution of the country bully problem. There are still a few of tho proverbial "bad boy" school citizens left. One of her teachers had had trouble with one of them and appealed for advice to Miss Arnold. "Your position as a teacher does not require you to assume police duties," advised Miss Arnold. ' If this boy bothers yuu again telephone me." At the next outbreak of the bad boy, who mistook friendliness on the part of his teacher for weakness, weak-ness, there was a hasty telephone message to Miss Arnold. Within a few hours the County Sheriff appeared on the sceno and made it clear that the law stood he-bind he-bind tha taAchr. 'Any more mutiny in this schoolroom school-room will see a couple of you ringleaders ring-leaders landed behind the bar?," he pointed out to. the school. "Id advise ad-vise you to -,'entle right down and get busy at jour books." Which they proceeded to do and kept right on doing Miss Arnold was equally prompt in dealing with the hook question. She found that the old "Civil Government" Gov-ernment" we used to study left nothing noth-ing fixed In the mind of the average aver-age pupi! beyond the rhythm of th.j preamble. So she wrote, a book on "Civics and Citizenship" that was calculated to teach the pupils their responsibility personally for good Citizenship as well as the nge of eligibility for a Senator, etc. Tho book was adopted for the schools of Kansas, as well as the "History of Kansas" she wrote later. She has been asked to speak on Kansas history so often beforo clubs md other public assemblies that ''he has come in Kansas to be Widely Wide-ly known as "The History Lady " A Prehistoric People. What is believed to bo tho oldest and quaintest city in tho United States is located in what Is also termed "The most wonderful fifty-mile fifty-mile squaro In America" Santa Fe. New Mexico, which hus long at- ' 'wen traded the attention Of travelers and -scientists from all over the civilized civ-ilized world. To one who really has knowledge of existing facts it seems like a sac-rellgious sac-rellgious act for one to visit ancient ruins of other countries when right at the pry doors of all Americans lies the wonders of ages, Just as they reposed for ages and aces And this brings to mind that Santa Fe Was an old place when the Pilgrims lauded at Plymouth. It was in about 1100 that Juan dc nata, one of the Spanish conquistadores, founded his capital there on the ruins of two small Indian pueblos and Santa Fo has existed eery since. On of the most interesting places in Santa Fe is tbp ancient church, San Miguel, whii h was partly burned in 16S0 and rebuilt in 174.0. Hanging in the old place of worship is a bell cast in Spa in more th.m a .. entui v before America was discovered. The altar paintings are even older and of the earliest Spanish designs. But older by far than the old chun h Is the Ivillzation that has scattered its monuments throughout that territory, although those who builded have long since ceased to bo remembered except as traces of them are unearthed in the fastnesses of the mountains and out on the sun-kissed valleys Many are the ruirua ojr artfoanl oit l ies and villages, but none can compare com-pare with the 20,000 .ommnnal and lifl dwellings in Pajarito park, a. ross the Rio Grande River from Santa Fe. Here is located what Dr. Edgar L, Hewett savs is the most interesting archaeloglcal regions in tho United States. The cava dwellings dwell-ings here are not merely houses built in the shelter of some overhanging over-hanging lifi", but consist of rooms actually carved out' of the walls .r the cliff itself, in untohi ages pasl when the hard clifl dwellers sought out this secluded area, they evidently evident-ly made their homes in the many neutral cavities, but as the illation illa-tion increased they were forced to burrow into the walls of the cliffs and fashion, as they did, houees with their rude stone tools out of the soft volcanic tifa roCk. Every canon in this park is honeycombed with these ancient home-; Bach house contain? a fireplace, granaries, gran-aries, and other reminders of domestic do-mestic lile .Many ut Die walls show cruedly painted decorations of Plumed serpents, and all manner of mythical beasts and personages. Tho cliffs themselves are adorned with countless crude symbols chipped into the rock with stone hatchets ages before Columbus sailed for A merle a Many tons of pottery and utensils bv been taken from this locality for the enrichment of museums and j private collections, and yet tons and tons are still there and can be had for the asking Manj explorations have been made and others are be- .1 ing carried forward. It is impossible to give a detailed j account of the hundreds of ancient j places of interest that are located in j the modern State of New Mexico- 1 the places with queer Spanish and ! Indian names It being necessary , to see them to really know of theiu. I i |
