Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/161

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

tcndent had been elected principal of the Norm ai'School at Indiana, Pa. H e accepted, and again became principal here in the fal o f 1906. The school has continued to grow, ffle attend­ ance in 19 12 reaching eight hundred during the year. Several additions to the buildings have been nude during these years, the most notable being Science Hall. In A pril, 19 13, at a meeting o f (he stockholders, it was voted to sell (he school to the State under (he provisions of the School Code, and in the near future its ownership and control will pass to the Com­ monwealth. T he State Normal School is under Ihe care o f a board o f trustees o f eighteen members, nine of these representing the Commonwealth and nine representing the stockholders. T he stockholders are the contributors of the orig­ inal $30,000 which the State requires to be furnished by the community in which a nor­ mal school is established. T hey arc not stock­ holders in the sense o f being participators of the earnings of the school, but they elect the trustees annually and suggest to the Common­ wealth those who may be appointed to repre­ sent the State. The trustees o f this school have upon more than one occasion furnished funds to the institution from their private means, and have frequently compromised their personal estates by placing their names on paper to help the school out o f financial em­ barrassment, when the State failed to appro­ priate sufficient funds, or withheld payment of funds appropriated. T he annual appropria­ tion of the State to the school at present is $7,500. which is not h alf the sum paid in salaries to the instructors. T he State also makes an appropriation o f one dollar and fifty cents per week to stu­ dents at least seventeen years old, who take the teacher’s course o f instruction and declare their intention to become teachers for not less than two years in the public schools of the Commonwealth. T his aid to the students is o f no direct value to the school, as it docs not furnish any additional funds. The following well known business and nrofessional men constituted the 19 13 board of trustees: A. Z. Schoch. president; j. C. Brow n, vice president; J. M. Clark, secretary; Col. Jo h n G. Freeze, N. U. Funk. L. E. W al­ ler, O. W. Chcrrington, Hon. V oris Auten, G. . Clark, on the part of the stockholders, and . R. Townsend. C. W. Miller, Dr. J. J. Brown, . C. Nc,al, M. J. Hess. Paul E. W irt, A. L. Fritz, F. G. Y orks, A. W. Duy, W. H. H id­ lay, treasurer, on the part of the State. O f the above trustees, four died between Ju ly 8th

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and Sept. 2 ls t, 19 (3. namely. Col. John G . Freeze, A . L . Fritz, F . G . Y o rk s and R . C. Neal. A t the M ay election, 19 14, these vacan­ cies were filled by the election o f Milton K . Y o rk s by the stockholders, and M . G . Y ou n g­ man. L. E . McGinnes and Benjamin Apple for the State. Rev. D. J . W aller, S r., was the first presi­ dent of the board o f trustees. H e was suc­ ceeded by Hon. L . B . Rupert, who continued in office until 1873, when Hon. William Elw ell W'as elected. He resigned in 18 9 1 and w as followed by WiUiam Neal until his death, when A . Z . .Schoch w as chosen and still fills the office ( 1 9 1 4 ) . I. W. Hartman is the only survivor of the original trustees. Four fifths of the yearly income of the school is spent in (he town, and it is esti­ mated that the students in their personal e x ­ penditures bring into the town each year at least $15,000. D u rin g seven years previous to 1898 the annual income of the school in­ c r e a s e from $42,000 to $69,000, or almost sixty-five per cent. T h e income expended in Bloomsbura during that time was $346,000 for rqnning expenses. Add to this the sum expended by the students and the estimated total is $431,000. Besides this the additions and repairs to the school buildings repre­ sented $70,000. which w as d isb u rs^ among residents of the town, so that the grand total that the town gained from the proxim ity of the school was at least h alf a million dollars. M ASONIC

The history of the fraternity o f Freemasons in Bloomsburg is coincident with the history of the town itself. W hile the town w as still a small vittagc, practically a settlement. R isin g Sun Lodge, No. too. F. & A. M .. w as oraanized, and met at the house o f W illiam M iller in Bloomsburg. T h e warrant w as dated Ja n. 2, 1804, and the first worthy master named was Daniel B. Potter, who however declined; Christian Brobst w as named in his stead. In 1805 and for a number o f years thereafter (he meetings were held alternately at Bloom s­ burg and Catawissa. There were twelve m em ­ bers of the lodge, among them John O a rk, W. M .; Philip M oyer, S. W .; Casper Christman. T. W .; Gabriel Lount, secretary, and Isaiah W illits. treasurer. T his lodge continued until about 1820 or 1822, when it surrendered its warrant. The next lodge here was formed on M arch 15, 1852, when Christian Frederick K napp, 33 °. w illiam Sloan and others met and