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Weiser Academy

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The first building—a three-story structure—was built on the highest spot. The first floor of the building had an office and living for the lady principal; a large dining room in which all the students ate, a kitchen, and quarters for the cook. One of the early cooks was Mrs. Endard, who had two young sons living with her.

A well was dug near the kitchen door. All the water for the school was drawn from this well by means of two three-gallon buckets—one on each end of the rope that ran over a pulley. As the well was 30 feet deep, drawing the water was quite a chore. Each student was supposed to draw his or her own water. Each room was supplied with a big crockery pitcher and a large bowl.

West of the girls’ dormitory, which was the largest building, was a smaller two-story structure where classes were held. Still farther on west was another two-story building where the professors and male students lived.

In mid-summer of 1896, the Weiser Academy published a newspaper called the “Search Light” to be circulated in the East for the financial interest of the academy. The “Search Light” was published by the Weiser Signal—no doubt for free as editor Lockwood was always ready to help such enterprises.

Meanwhile, Miss Lee had returned to Oberlin for further study, and Miss Jane Slocum, of Canandaigua School, a private girls’ academy in New York State, came out to take her place. She was truly interested in our young people and thoroughly enjoyed this new young country and its people. “I remember that on Thursday afternoon each week she received visitors, when some of the girls would help receive and serve the tea and cakes. She felt that we liked this, which we did, and it made us feel more like a family. When the bell rang at nine in the evening, the girls all trooped down to the spacious parlor, where she read to us for a half hour many interesting books,” said Marguerite Watson Taylor.

Miss Slocum’s place, both in town and the surrounding rural areas, was very high from the first. The Outlook Club of Weiser paid her tribute by making her its first honorary member, a reward for her outstanding ability both as a teacher and a citizen.

Attendance at the academy had substantially increased by the fall of 1897. There were 45 students enrolled with 120 more to come.

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At last, a windmill has been attached to the well at the Miriam Lee Hall, thanks to Rev. Paddock and his “begging” trip.

Weiser College and Academy in 1897 would compete against the College of Idaho in a field day (track meet). Events listed were different in 1897 than current ones. For instance, there were three bicycle races, putting 16-pound shot, running, then hop, skip and jump, throwing 16-pound hammer—which I don’t believe are included in present meets. But runs and dashes were scheduled then as now, except there were no hurdle races.

As winter approached, the Academy students found the going pretty rough on the hill to Weiser, so they cordially welcomed a new bus of home manufacture especially to go to church on Sunday. That gooey mud could ruin one’s best shoes. The bus was fixed by Mr. Pritchett out of a delivery wagon and presented on November 19, 1898, to the Academy.

The fourth annual commencement of Weiser Academy opened on Sunday with the annual sermon by Rev. Upton, president, followed the next evening by the musical recital at Miriam Lee Hall. Tuesday was “Society Annual” at the Opera House, at which the three students gave orations: Miss Margaret Watson, essay on “The Moral Teaching of the Aeneid”; “The History of Liberty,” by Glenn Shawhan, and “The Epic of Literature,” by Clara Mae Rose. Interspersed among the literary efforts were musical numbers followed by a debate, “Resolved, That senators should be elected by direct vote of the people.

Harry Wulff was one who supported the negative side, Flournoy Galloway delivered an oration at the commencement exercises the following evening, when diplomas were granted to Curtis O. Burley, Galloway, and E. Frank Douglas.

Weiser College and Academy won a track meet from the College of Idaho, taking 12 out of 16 events. A five-mile bicycle race was won by Douglas of Weiser by just two feet; the Caldwell man being handicapped by a heavier bicycle, his a 28-pound “roadster”, being eight pounds heavier than Douglas’s “racer”.

Three students graduated from the Academy in 1898, the stage was resplendent with flowers and verbiage. The class motto, lettered in flowers in Greek “For others, not ourselves,” was spread across the back of the stage: Curtis O. Burley, who was the graduate from the English department, gave his oration on the labor question.

Flournoy Galloway, graduate from the classical course, gave “Life’s

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**Imperatives”, the voice and oratory was highly praised. Later, he received a scholarship from Whitman College to study Greek.

Frank Douglas, also from the Classical Course, orated on “Personal Rights”. He had a wealth of thought ornamented with finished diction, which promises very flatteringly for his future.

It was not until 1839 that a class was graduated from a fully accredited liberal arts college. The others just graduated from what we would call a “high school”. The class was composed of six students, Harry Wulff, Eugene Wulff, Roy Burley, Linnie [LarsH, Erma Lee, and Marguerite Watson. The academy was organized by [Ir, A. G. Upton, who became its dean.

On June 14, 1899, the Weiser Academy issued a catalogue for 1896-98 and printed in Connecticut. In it, a statement urged prospective students and their parents to keep their money at home by patronizing the academy which could educate them as well as any other school in the country in its class.

E. M. Metcalf, a generous gentleman of Ohio, advanced $8,000.00 in cash to the academy at “nominal” interest. He would cancel out the obligation, $2.00 for every $1.00 subscription by local people. Subscription blanks, needless to say, were pretty generously circulated among our people to raise money for the above purpose.

President and Mrs. Upton entertained the trustees and a number of citizens of Weiser in the pleasant residence on the hill. Following dinner, he remarked on some of the problems of the school. Other remarks were made by Rev, Brack, J, T, Wolfe, Alex Houlahan, Dr. Numers, H. C. Newman, I. F. Smith, ¥, C. Fritter, and R. E. Lockwood.

For more than four years, Rev. Paddock labored to establish the school known as “Weiser Academy” and raised most of the money that built up and maintained that institution. But he was unable to persuade officials who had chief control of the academy to adopt the industrial idea. They believed that a regular academy or college preparatory school, which at length should grow into a full-fledged college, would best meet the need of the time. He then withdrew entirely from the academy.

Rev. Paddock’s withdrawal as a financial salesman was a great loss to the academy, for they never found another such persuasive salesman for the school. It might have prospered had he stayed and not set up the Intermountain Institute. In a way, the board was relieved…

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…to have him go, taking his nagging for an industrial course with him.

On January 18, 1900, Notes from the Academy announced that 70 students had enrolled for the winter term, showing an increase of ten. A Glee Club and Choral Society had been organized. The first meeting of the Academy Literary Society elected their officers: Roy Hulff, president, Herbert Kelsey, secretary, Stella Watson, treasurer, Sergeants at Arms, Robert Ringer and Howard Merritt.

In 1900, the Weiser Academy was planning to construct another building from funds donated by eastern friends. The Board of Managers of the Academy has sent out an appeal to friends, former students, and relatives of these students, asking for donations with which to build a new chapel and make other much-needed improvements. The letter stressed the fact that the Academy was giving the “young people of this section a broad, practical education and training them in the highest essentials of wholesome citizenship.”

The students wanted a gymnasium and track field and decided to finance it themselves. “High finance is filling any extra time the students and faculty of the Academy may have. The students are raising money for the gymnasium they desire, having raised about $60 from their own pockets. They plan to give a fund-raising entertainment soon,” states The Weiser Signal, and by March 1900, they had raised $262.00.

The track for field athletics lay between the Boys’ Dormitory and the Gymnasium (was on the golf fairway and is the only visible evidence of the old campus). The dished outlines of this track could still be seen on the Weiser Golf Course in 1953. The track was used for field sports and races.

In March, the mud was so deep on the hill that the Academy boys, in company with Dr. Foster, laid a sidewalk from the corner near Mr. Ayres to the Academy. The City Council gave them some old sidewalks about town.

“The Weiser Academy is so pleased that Mr. E. T. Merritt of the Board of Directors gave them a horse so now they have a four-horse team to pull their bus to take them to town.”

The spring term of the Weiser Academy had opened after a ten-day vacation. Miss Miriam Lee had resigned her position as Lady Principal at the Weiser Academy and departed on Monday’s train for Boston.

Continued on Page 4 (of 6)

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From Fern Coble Trull’s book “From Grubbing Hoe To Model T”

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