(A Vintage Vignette by John
P. Rankin, May 2, 2010)
 |
| 1903 Madison Training School |
x
Before Percy Keel passed away in January of this year, he
gave me many of his historical collection items for safekeeping. Among them is a large three-ring binder of
clippings about the history of Madison schools with notes of their pupils and
staff in the early 1900s. Within that
notebook is a page entitled “Rules for 1915 Schoolteachers” attributed to
Buckeye Farm News, which in turn quoted from an unnamed teachers’ magazine of
the day. Whether or not any of these
rules were ever applied here is not known to me, but they certainly would have
fit 1915 life in the town of Madison, judging from other items of the time that
I have found. The rules are repeated
here to perhaps illustrate to some degree how much times have changed.
·
You will not marry during the time of your
contract.
·
You are not to keep company with men.
·
You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and
6 a.m., unless attending a school function.
·
You may not loiter downtown in any of the ice
cream stores.
·
You may not travel beyond the city limits unless
you have the permission of the chairman of the board.
·
You may not ride in a carriage or automobile
with any man unless he is your father or brother.
·
You may not smoke cigarettes.
·
You may not dress in bright colors.
·
You may under no circumstances dye your hair.
·
You must wear at least two petticoats.
·
Your dresses must not be any shorter than two
inches above the ankle.
·
To keep the schoolroom neat and clean, you
must: sweep the floor at least once
daily; scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water; clean the
blackboards at least once a day; and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will
be warm by 8 a.m.
Obviously, these rules were developed with the assumption
that only unmarried women were to be teachers.
It is not clear today why loitering in an ice cream store would be
disallowed, but probably that would be taken back then as an indication of a
young lady of loose morals being available for approach by a lecherous
male. Apparently, schools of the day
were extremely careful to maintain a strict image of absolute propriety by
those who were shaping the lives of young students. It was also “good for business”, as schools
in those days were generally attended on a voluntary and personal cost
basis. Accordingly, parents had to be
constantly convinced of the proper conduct of those associated with any school
where they would pay to send their children.
The December 17, 1913, special “Madison Booster” issue of
THE WEEKLY MERCURY (a newspaper of Huntsville) stated that “More good and less
bad can be truly said of Madison than of any other town and community of same
population anywhere on earth… where the health conditions are unexcelled and
where the best of schools are to be had, a high moral place of pure society,
and where the effect of a wholesome religious influence is manifest on every
hand….”
The Vintage Vignettes were originally a series of eight articles for publication in the Huntsville Times newspaper over a period of five years, 2007 - 2011. The articles in this
eight-page historical newspaper issue were compiled by J. Willis Cargile. He concluded
his coverage with:
“Visit the attractive little city of Madison; it’s well worth your while…. We cannot ring off without adding a little post-script, commending the noble young people of that model little city for their sterling qualities and refined daring. It is noticeable that the young men of the community love their homes and are entering into pursuits in their own town, and there are many merry Madison maids, who prefer home and mother in preference to parading the streets and gathering at the (railroad) Depot to flirt with the blue coats and brass buttons who may have daughters at home older than they are. All Madison is proud of the elevated society among her most worthy and highly refined young gentlemen and young ladies. There are many, many more good things to be said about Madison.”
