Mena Weekly Star, Aug. 27, 1936
THE
HISTORY OF ACORN SCHOOL #30-1878
By Ralph Payton
The
Acorn community was settled sometime near the year 1820 by early pioneers who
were searching for homesites. They
staked out claims and livid on them receiving deeds for their lands in
1890. In
the early days of the community there was no law. There was much rustling going on at that time so the
settlers decided to make laws of their own. This resulted in an organization known as the “Blue Ribbon
Gang,” so named because of the blue ribbons they wore on their arms when
attending their meetings. This
secret club had its own passwords and signals similar to the lodges of the present
day.
The
sole purpose of the “Blue Ribbon Gang” was to bring to an end some of the
lawlessness of the time and its purpose was carried out. The men of the organization were
divided into four groups and each group was given a certain section of the country
to watch, in an effort to keep out the rustlers of livestock. Their plans worked well. This was the only law of the community
until 1886 when "legal law" was adopted.
The
first name given the Acorn district was “Goardneck”. Why it received this name is not known but it was known by
this name for a great number of years.
There are now a number of descendants of those early pioneers living in
this community. The best known are
Owens, Reeds, Garlands, and the Whisenhunts. The early settlers had to go to Old Dallas to send and
receive their mail, that being the nearest post-office.
After
the community had been settled several years, the people realized the need of a
school and church house, so in 1876 a small log house, with a fireplace was
constructed about one mile southeast of the present Acorn school building. The seats were made of split logs,
wooden shutters took the place of windows. Morton Imoe, a civil engineer was the first teacher. His salary was $15 per month. The money was paid from the state
apportionment, and by money made up by the people as there were no local taxes
for the support of schools at the time.
The subjects taught were arithmetic, reading, writing and spelling. Grammar was not known in these early
schools. Spelling matches were
common. The school books used were
those handed down to the students from their ancestors. Practically every student’s books were
different. There were no grades at
the time. They had ten hours of
school daily, the recesses being limited to the time the teacher had to
spare. Goose quills were used for
writing pens. The writing fluids
were made from maple bark, sumac, and poke berries.
Some
of the students possessed slates upon which to write. Painted boards were used for black boards. There probably was fifteen or twenty
students who attended the first schools.
The length of the school term varied from one to three months, whichever
the people wanted and could afford.
There were no directors for the first schools.
Sometime
shortly before 1883 the first school house was torn down and another one of the
same type was erected less than one-half mile north of the campus of the
present school building. J. C.
Garland’s father was the first teacher in this new building. He received a salary of $25 per
month. The same kind of school was
conducted here as in the former school.
At this location there was no well, so the students had to carry water
from a spring nearby. The school
district at this time extended from some points near Eagleton to within about a
mile from the present town of Mena.
In
1886 another building was erected, being constructed on the present site. It was a boxed house twenty by thirty
feet. The structure was on land
donated by Gene Anderson’s father.
In 1890 there was a post office located in the Acorn community about two
miles south of the school house.
Sometime during this period the name of the district was changed from
Goardneck to Acorn, presumably for the reason of the stately oaks around the
school building.
In
1887 the first school tax was levied.
It was a five mill tax and some of the old nesters thought it was
ridiculous to levy a high tax. It
was about this time that the school began its progressive movement. Another new school was built in the
place of the old one. Two teachers
were hired, both teaching in the same room. Two or three years later another room was added. James Rogers, one of the teachers at
that time, established grades and persuaded the people to buy textbooks, the
first used in the district.
Sometime
near 1910, the people in the southern end of the district, set up a school of
their own and named it Oak Ridge.
The reason given for this action was that the students had too far to go
to school. The real reason, it is
said, was that they thought the Acorn school was becoming too modern.
By
the year 1914 another room was added to the school building and another teacher
was employed, making three rooms and three teachers. A few years before this there had been constructed between
Acorn and Eagleton another school house.
Here they taught for the first four grades. In 1916 the latter building was torn down, the lumber used
for constructing a teacherage at the Acorn site. In the same year there was a dormitory built where several
students boarded. This same year
also marked the first graduating class of the Acorn High School. The class consisted of two members,
Etta Garland and Maud Ried.
In
1921 basketball was introduced by Prof. T. D. Mullins, now deceased, but it was
some years later before games with outside schools were permitted. Once when the Acorn team was playing
Oak Ridge one of the Acorn girls wore a pair of bloomers that did not quite
reach her ankles. The people
thought it was ridiculous to see a girl in public dressed so indecently.
In
1923 the average attendance of the school was 69. Its high school was not accredited until 1925 when it was
classed as an “X” class school, signifying that some of its work would be
accredited by the high school department of the state. Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Middleton, present
teachers in our school, and Miss Willie Jones of Nashville were employed in
1924 and in 1925 a fourth teacher was added.
In
1928, through a combined effort of W. E. Middleton, A. W. Dodson, and the
school board with other prominent patrons of the district, the Oak Ridge
district was consolidated with the Acorn district and the first bus was
purchased to transport the children of that district to and from school. In the same year a room in the
teacherage and one in the dormitory were remodeled to serve as school-
rooms. The fifth teacher was then
added. In 1929 the high school was
classified as class “D” by the state department of education and received
credit for all subjects taught. In
the same year the grade school received a classification of ”B”.
Two
years later, through the efforts of the same men combined with those of the
outlying districts, two other schools, Union Grove and Eureka were consolidated
with Acorn. In 1930 the
consolidation program was completed by adding the Eagleton, Rich Mountain-Howard
district. This was done after much
and earnest cooperation on the part of the prominent individuals in that
district with those in the newly made Acorn district. In this last consolidation it was agreed that all high
school students in the Northern part of the district would be provided a school
at Eagleton. To accommodate the
students, two new buildings were constructed, one at Eagleton and one at
Acorn. The Approximate cost of the
buildings were $27,000. Both are
modern and among the very best in western Arkansas. It was necessary to purchase an additional bus and the
number of the faculty was increased to eight.