Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/483

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 423 fixed his salary at the sum of $2,000 per annum. JMrs. Cheney was made au assistant, while Mr. Burrough and Professor Cheney were empowered to select such other assist- ants as were found necessary. The tuition or incidental fee was fixed at $3.00 for each of three terms during the year. The board advertised for plans for the erec- tion of a school building and at a meeting in St. Louis on January 14th, it opened these plans and selected the one submitted by C. B. Clarke, of St. Louis. At subsequent meet- ings the board received from Architect Clarke the plans and specifications for the building and advertised for bids for its construction. The sum of $39,000 was fixed as the maximum amount which would be spent on the build- ing. The bids were opened at Jefferson City on March 25th, 1874, but all of them were re- jected, for all were above the sum of $39,000. The board then determined to make such changes in the plans for the building as would bring the cost within the fixed sum, exclusive of the heating, seating and architect's fees. After this was done arrangements were made for the erection of the building and Jacob Burrough, Principal Cheney, and Otto Buehr- mann were appointed as a building commit- tee to supervise the erection of the building. Work on the building was finished in the spring of 1875 and was occupied by the school that year. This building, which at the time of its erection was the finest single building of its kind in the state, was of the modified Gothic style of architecture. It was 163 feet long and 72 feet wide and three stories in height. It contained ten recitation rooms with other necessary rooms and an auditorium on the first floor, capable of seating about five hun- dred. It was rather ornate in appearance, having a number of towers and spires upon it and was only fairly well adapted to the pur- pose for which it was intended. This build- ing was the home of the school until it was destroyed by fire in 1902. Before the completion of the building, ar- rangements had been made for opening the school in the fall of 1873 in a portion of the public school building. Mr. L. H. Cheney, an experienced and able teacher, had been employed a principal of the Normal and in- structor in professional training. Associated with him was his wife, Mrs. Frances A. Cheney, a woman of great ability and force of character and an experienced and successful teacher. Under Principal Cheney's guidance the first year of school was successful. There were enrolled 57 students, 28 of them being women and 29 men. The equipment of the school was very lim- ited, in fact for the first year it was prac- tically nothing at all. It was the intention, however, of Mr. Cheney and the board to equip the school as rapidly as possible with the necessary things for successful teaching. The faculty for the next year was com- posed of Principal Cheney, R. P. Rider, who taught language and mathematics; Mrs. Cheney, instructor in history and geography ; G. T. Lemmon, instructor in natural history and drawing; and L. C. Schleich, instructor in German. The session this year was held in the public school building until near its close when the school was transferred to the newly completed Normal building. This year the attendance reached 164, showing a consider- able and gratifying growth and bearing testi- mony to the fact that such a school was needed and filled a vacant place in the educational system. Near the close of this school year of 1874-75, the school was transferred to the new build- ing. There was great rejoicing on the part of