Chris Enss's Blog - Posts Tagged "teachers"
Eureka! The Discovery of Gold in California Part Three
Eureka! The Discovery of Gold in California Part Three
Many elementary schools across the country are now studying the California Gold Rush. This short, continuing story is intended to aid teachers in their efforts to share with their classes the significance of this historical events. Teacher who use the story in this week’s lessons can register to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers.
Marshall could not seem to saddle his horse fast enough. Down through the beautiful California country he rode to Sutter’s Fort. As he came closer he glances at the herds of cattle browsing on the lush grass. He nodded when Sutter’s Mexican cowhands, the vaqueros, called cheerful greetings, waving their high sombreros.
The Fort was the only American strong hold in the territory. John Sutter had obtained land from Mexico. He had been loyal to the country until California was practically taken over by the Unites States toward the end of the Mexican war. But now he was in sympathy with America. His Fort was at the California end of the only wagon trail from the States, and he gave aid and work to any Americans who came that way.
Now as Marshall rode through the gateway in the adobe walls surrounding Sutter’s Fort, he seemed to enter a city in itself. Here were shops and sheds and houses. He heard the clang-clang of a blacksmith’s hammer on anvil, and the soft Spanish song of a Mexican woman as she slapped tortillas on a flat stone.
Marshall strode at once to Sutter’s house, and startled his boss with his air of excitement.
“What is this, Mr. Marshall?” asked John Sutter in his quiet way.
Marshall carefully opened his small bag and emptied its contents on a desk. Sutter leaped over to it, his eyes lighting up. “Looks like that is gold, Mr. Marshall. Where did it come from?”
“From the tail race of the mill. There’s more there. Lots more.”
The ranch owner put his plump finger against his nose thoughtfully. “Now, how can we find out – ah, I know.” He went to a bookcase and took out a small encyclopedia. “Here we have it. Yes, I can try it out.”
He pored over the book for some time, reading the rules given for testing gold to find out if it was pure or mixed with other metals. Then he sent Marshall out to get silver coins from anybody who had them in the Fort. With about three and a half dollars in silver balanced on a small scale they figured it out. This was pure gold, unmixed with silver or copper!
John Sutter sat in his big chair for a long time, and stared across at his silent millwright. Gold! The word was like magic. How much would the river, and perhaps all his land, contain? Down under those waving fields of grain, those pastures where his horses and cattle and sheep grazed by the thousand – was there pure gold? What would this do to his little kingdom, where he ruled like a lord? He frowned, and chewed his under lip. Somehow this news brought a fear of losing what he had struggled so long to gain.
“Mr. Marshall,” he said quietly, “perhaps we had better not talk about this yet. Perhaps we had better think first of what to do? Let us preserve silence, for a while.”
Marshall nodded slowly. Here was a fortune. He had found it. It would be well to keep it secret from those who would perhaps steal it from him. He went to saddle his horse. As he rode into the foothills, the sun spread across the wind-blown fields of grasses and turned them all to shining, gleaming gold. A golden earth! Golden streams! A golden land!
Register now to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers.
Many elementary schools across the country are now studying the California Gold Rush. This short, continuing story is intended to aid teachers in their efforts to share with their classes the significance of this historical events. Teacher who use the story in this week’s lessons can register to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers.
Marshall could not seem to saddle his horse fast enough. Down through the beautiful California country he rode to Sutter’s Fort. As he came closer he glances at the herds of cattle browsing on the lush grass. He nodded when Sutter’s Mexican cowhands, the vaqueros, called cheerful greetings, waving their high sombreros.
The Fort was the only American strong hold in the territory. John Sutter had obtained land from Mexico. He had been loyal to the country until California was practically taken over by the Unites States toward the end of the Mexican war. But now he was in sympathy with America. His Fort was at the California end of the only wagon trail from the States, and he gave aid and work to any Americans who came that way.
Now as Marshall rode through the gateway in the adobe walls surrounding Sutter’s Fort, he seemed to enter a city in itself. Here were shops and sheds and houses. He heard the clang-clang of a blacksmith’s hammer on anvil, and the soft Spanish song of a Mexican woman as she slapped tortillas on a flat stone.
Marshall strode at once to Sutter’s house, and startled his boss with his air of excitement.
“What is this, Mr. Marshall?” asked John Sutter in his quiet way.
Marshall carefully opened his small bag and emptied its contents on a desk. Sutter leaped over to it, his eyes lighting up. “Looks like that is gold, Mr. Marshall. Where did it come from?”
“From the tail race of the mill. There’s more there. Lots more.”
The ranch owner put his plump finger against his nose thoughtfully. “Now, how can we find out – ah, I know.” He went to a bookcase and took out a small encyclopedia. “Here we have it. Yes, I can try it out.”
He pored over the book for some time, reading the rules given for testing gold to find out if it was pure or mixed with other metals. Then he sent Marshall out to get silver coins from anybody who had them in the Fort. With about three and a half dollars in silver balanced on a small scale they figured it out. This was pure gold, unmixed with silver or copper!
John Sutter sat in his big chair for a long time, and stared across at his silent millwright. Gold! The word was like magic. How much would the river, and perhaps all his land, contain? Down under those waving fields of grain, those pastures where his horses and cattle and sheep grazed by the thousand – was there pure gold? What would this do to his little kingdom, where he ruled like a lord? He frowned, and chewed his under lip. Somehow this news brought a fear of losing what he had struggled so long to gain.
“Mr. Marshall,” he said quietly, “perhaps we had better not talk about this yet. Perhaps we had better think first of what to do? Let us preserve silence, for a while.”
Marshall nodded slowly. Here was a fortune. He had found it. It would be well to keep it secret from those who would perhaps steal it from him. He went to saddle his horse. As he rode into the foothills, the sun spread across the wind-blown fields of grasses and turned them all to shining, gleaming gold. A golden earth! Golden streams! A golden land!
Register now to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers.
Frontier Teachers
Enter now to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
These women, many at the ripe old age of sixteen or eighteen, were trailblazers. They risked it all - traveling thousands of miles on crude trails through wilderness, across deserts, and over mountain passes - not just for the promise of a better future for themselves, but for the opportunity to bring education and the joy of learning to the children of the western frontier. They did as much to settle the Wild West as celebrated lawmen, gold seekers, and the railroad.
The women of the West broke the mail stranglehold on the teaching profession, which was dominated by men on the East Coast. Today, more than seventy percent of teachers are women. And although, sadly, it took more than a hundred years, the descendants of these pioneers, through union organizing, established the single-salary schedule that finally guaranteed female teachers equal work, passed a collective-bargaining law to give teachers a voice in their profession, and boldly made it so female teachers couldn’t be fired for simply getting married.
To learn more about brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to enter to win.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
These women, many at the ripe old age of sixteen or eighteen, were trailblazers. They risked it all - traveling thousands of miles on crude trails through wilderness, across deserts, and over mountain passes - not just for the promise of a better future for themselves, but for the opportunity to bring education and the joy of learning to the children of the western frontier. They did as much to settle the Wild West as celebrated lawmen, gold seekers, and the railroad.
The women of the West broke the mail stranglehold on the teaching profession, which was dominated by men on the East Coast. Today, more than seventy percent of teachers are women. And although, sadly, it took more than a hundred years, the descendants of these pioneers, through union organizing, established the single-salary schedule that finally guaranteed female teachers equal work, passed a collective-bargaining law to give teachers a voice in their profession, and boldly made it so female teachers couldn’t be fired for simply getting married.
To learn more about brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to enter to win.
The Mission Teacher
Enter now to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Twenty-two-year-old Olive Isbell cradled a loaded rifle in her arms and scanned the hilly landscape surrounding the adobe school where she taught at Santa Clara Mission in California. From far off she could hear a gun spit in swift five-syllable defiance, and she readied herself for a potential attack on the building. Twenty preoccupied students toiled away at the books and lessons in front of them. The exchange of gunfire was so routine it barely disturbed their studies.
The mission was under fire from the Mexican Army, which was trying to reclaim land it believed belonged to Mexico. Settlers scattered throughout the area had converged on the site for protection.
To learn more about Olive Isbell and the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of the book.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Twenty-two-year-old Olive Isbell cradled a loaded rifle in her arms and scanned the hilly landscape surrounding the adobe school where she taught at Santa Clara Mission in California. From far off she could hear a gun spit in swift five-syllable defiance, and she readied herself for a potential attack on the building. Twenty preoccupied students toiled away at the books and lessons in front of them. The exchange of gunfire was so routine it barely disturbed their studies.
The mission was under fire from the Mexican Army, which was trying to reclaim land it believed belonged to Mexico. Settlers scattered throughout the area had converged on the site for protection.
To learn more about Olive Isbell and the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of the book.
The Montana Teacher
It’s time to enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
The sprawling mining community of Bannack, Montana, was awash in the far-reaching rays of the morning sun. The rolling hills and fields around the crowded burg were thick with brush. Saffron and gold plants dotted the landscape, their vibrant colors electric against a backdrop of browns and greens. Twenty-seven-year-old Lucia Darling barely noticed the spectacular scenery as she paraded down the main thoroughfare of town. The hopeful schoolmarm was preoccupied with the idea of finding a suitable place to teach. Escorted by her uncle, Chief Justice Sidney Edgerton, Lucia made her way to a depressed section of the booming hamlet searching for the home a man rumored to have a building to rent.
Referring to a set of directions drawn out on a slip of paper, Lucia marched confidently to the door of a rustic, rundown log cabin and knocked. When no one answered right away, Chief Justice Edgerton took a turn pounding on the door. Finally, a tired voice called out from the other side for the pair to “come in.”
To learn more about Lucia Darling and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers!
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
The sprawling mining community of Bannack, Montana, was awash in the far-reaching rays of the morning sun. The rolling hills and fields around the crowded burg were thick with brush. Saffron and gold plants dotted the landscape, their vibrant colors electric against a backdrop of browns and greens. Twenty-seven-year-old Lucia Darling barely noticed the spectacular scenery as she paraded down the main thoroughfare of town. The hopeful schoolmarm was preoccupied with the idea of finding a suitable place to teach. Escorted by her uncle, Chief Justice Sidney Edgerton, Lucia made her way to a depressed section of the booming hamlet searching for the home a man rumored to have a building to rent.
Referring to a set of directions drawn out on a slip of paper, Lucia marched confidently to the door of a rustic, rundown log cabin and knocked. When no one answered right away, Chief Justice Edgerton took a turn pounding on the door. Finally, a tired voice called out from the other side for the pair to “come in.”
To learn more about Lucia Darling and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers!
The Carson Valley Teacher
It’s time to enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
A precious, wide-eyed seven-year-old boy studied a sample of the alphabet in front of him and tried to copy the material onto a small slate with a broken piece of chalk. His teacher, Mrs. Eliza Mott, stood over his shoulder, kindly guiding him through the work and praising him for his effort. A handful of other youngsters reviewed the letters and practiced writing them out with pencil stubs on scraps of paper. Eliza’s kitchen served as a classroom, and students sat on bare logs around a crude, wooden table - some enjoying the learning process; others cursing the day school was created.
The Carson Valley area where Eliza and her husband, Israel settled in 1851 needed a place where children could learn the three R’s. In early 1852, the Motts offered their home as a temporary school; and, armed with a pair of McGuffey Readers, Eliza began teaching. Monday through Friday she welcomed boys and girls dressed in plaid, gingham dresses, home-knit stockings, tan trousers and over-shirts, who were either barefoot or wearing rough shoes with hard leather soles. The class ranged in age from five to eleven years. It toiled over a variety of subjects, sharing the limited books on spelling and arithmetic. On a few occasions, Eliza escorted the children to the small cemetery to read the epitaphs on the tombstones. It served not only to aid the students in learning to read but instilled a sense of reverence for those who had passed away helping to tame the wild territory.
To learn more about Eliza Mott and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com for more information.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
A precious, wide-eyed seven-year-old boy studied a sample of the alphabet in front of him and tried to copy the material onto a small slate with a broken piece of chalk. His teacher, Mrs. Eliza Mott, stood over his shoulder, kindly guiding him through the work and praising him for his effort. A handful of other youngsters reviewed the letters and practiced writing them out with pencil stubs on scraps of paper. Eliza’s kitchen served as a classroom, and students sat on bare logs around a crude, wooden table - some enjoying the learning process; others cursing the day school was created.
The Carson Valley area where Eliza and her husband, Israel settled in 1851 needed a place where children could learn the three R’s. In early 1852, the Motts offered their home as a temporary school; and, armed with a pair of McGuffey Readers, Eliza began teaching. Monday through Friday she welcomed boys and girls dressed in plaid, gingham dresses, home-knit stockings, tan trousers and over-shirts, who were either barefoot or wearing rough shoes with hard leather soles. The class ranged in age from five to eleven years. It toiled over a variety of subjects, sharing the limited books on spelling and arithmetic. On a few occasions, Eliza escorted the children to the small cemetery to read the epitaphs on the tombstones. It served not only to aid the students in learning to read but instilled a sense of reverence for those who had passed away helping to tame the wild territory.
To learn more about Eliza Mott and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com for more information.
The Philosopher's Teacher
Take a chance and enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
The long shadows of a beleaguered wagon train stretched across the Carson River Route, a parched trail through Nevada. Pioneers traveling west used this unavoidable route to get to California. The long, dry crossing was one of the most dreaded ordeals of the entire emigrant experience. The sources of fresh, drinkable water were forty miles apart from one another. Thirty-year-old Sarah Royce had read about the desolate section of land in the fragments of a guide book she’d found while on the journey to the Gold Country in 1849. By the time many of the sojourners had reached this part of the trek their wagons and livestock weren’t fit to continue.
Sarah, her husband, and their two-year-old daughter, Mary, stared in amazement at the abandoned vehicles and carcasses of ox and mule teams lying about. It seemed to the weary couple that they could walk over the remains of the animals for the duration of the trip and never touch the ground. The grim markers were nothing Sarah envisioned she would see when she embarked on the six-month venture. Having left her home in Iowa to follow the hordes of other pilgrims hoping to find gold, she set her sights on a serene and profitable life in a country depicted as a utopia. The expedition had proved to be more difficult than she had expected.
To learn more about Eliza Mott and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
The long shadows of a beleaguered wagon train stretched across the Carson River Route, a parched trail through Nevada. Pioneers traveling west used this unavoidable route to get to California. The long, dry crossing was one of the most dreaded ordeals of the entire emigrant experience. The sources of fresh, drinkable water were forty miles apart from one another. Thirty-year-old Sarah Royce had read about the desolate section of land in the fragments of a guide book she’d found while on the journey to the Gold Country in 1849. By the time many of the sojourners had reached this part of the trek their wagons and livestock weren’t fit to continue.
Sarah, her husband, and their two-year-old daughter, Mary, stared in amazement at the abandoned vehicles and carcasses of ox and mule teams lying about. It seemed to the weary couple that they could walk over the remains of the animals for the duration of the trip and never touch the ground. The grim markers were nothing Sarah envisioned she would see when she embarked on the six-month venture. Having left her home in Iowa to follow the hordes of other pilgrims hoping to find gold, she set her sights on a serene and profitable life in a country depicted as a utopia. The expedition had proved to be more difficult than she had expected.
To learn more about Eliza Mott and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com.
The Oregon Teacher
Enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
On March 22, 1851, the steamship the Empire City arrived at the Isthmus of Panama. The sun was hanging low behind a bank of clouds, and the busy seaport lay in purplish twilight. Five ambitious school teachers stood on the deck of the vessel watching the crewmen weigh anchor. Elizabeth Miller, Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Lincoln, Margaret Woods, and Mary Gray were wide-eyed by the feverish activity. A crowd of hundreds blackened the pier in the middle distance. The curious bystanders were like ants on a jelly sandwich. Cannons, firing from the ship’s bows to alert the harbor master that the Empire City was safely moored, rattled Mary, but a word from a deck-mate assuring her that it was routine procedure helped calm her down.
Like the other educators on board, Mary had never encountered anything quite as grand and foreign. Having been born and raised in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont, her experiences were limited to the family farm and a nearby town. At the age of twenty-five she consented to the journey to the Wild West to develop schools and teach in remote areas of the frontier. Mary Almira Gray had already been teaching students to read and write at a one-room schoolhouse in the village of Grafton, not far from her home. As the oldest of four children, she naturally took to helping her siblings to learn, and when she was old enough, she decided to parlay her talent into a profession.
To learn more about Mary Gray McLench and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Register to win a free copy of Frontier Teachers.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
On March 22, 1851, the steamship the Empire City arrived at the Isthmus of Panama. The sun was hanging low behind a bank of clouds, and the busy seaport lay in purplish twilight. Five ambitious school teachers stood on the deck of the vessel watching the crewmen weigh anchor. Elizabeth Miller, Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Lincoln, Margaret Woods, and Mary Gray were wide-eyed by the feverish activity. A crowd of hundreds blackened the pier in the middle distance. The curious bystanders were like ants on a jelly sandwich. Cannons, firing from the ship’s bows to alert the harbor master that the Empire City was safely moored, rattled Mary, but a word from a deck-mate assuring her that it was routine procedure helped calm her down.
Like the other educators on board, Mary had never encountered anything quite as grand and foreign. Having been born and raised in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont, her experiences were limited to the family farm and a nearby town. At the age of twenty-five she consented to the journey to the Wild West to develop schools and teach in remote areas of the frontier. Mary Almira Gray had already been teaching students to read and write at a one-room schoolhouse in the village of Grafton, not far from her home. As the oldest of four children, she naturally took to helping her siblings to learn, and when she was old enough, she decided to parlay her talent into a profession.
To learn more about Mary Gray McLench and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Register to win a free copy of Frontier Teachers.
The Orphans' Teacher
Enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Sister Mary Baptist Russell and four other nuns from the Sisters of Mercy Convent weaved their way around a parade of scruffy miners, traveling salesmen, and saloon girls crowded on a sturdy dock that was hugging a shore in San Francisco. Wearing black habits complete with scapulars, veils, and coifs, the women stepped aboard the steamer that was splattered with mud and dirt. The deck of the vessel was aswarm with prospectors en route to their diggings down river. Some were sleeping, others were playing cards or discussing their mining claims. The sisters inched their way to a clear spot near the bow and grabbed hold of the railing as the small craft moved slowly away from the landing.
The scene around the bay in August 1863 was chaotic. News of the discovery of gold north of the city had prompted people of every kind and description to pour into the place to gather supplies before rushing to the hills. Men, women, and children were living in shacks, or sleeping on the ground under blankets draped over poles. The noise and pandemonium lessened considerably as the boat continued on past abandoned ships, old square-riggers, and new vessels anchored and waiting patiently for more eager passengers to come aboard.
To learn more about Sister Mary Russell, the Sisters of Mercy, and the school they founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Enter to win a copy of Frontier Teachers. Visit www.chrisenss.com for more information.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Sister Mary Baptist Russell and four other nuns from the Sisters of Mercy Convent weaved their way around a parade of scruffy miners, traveling salesmen, and saloon girls crowded on a sturdy dock that was hugging a shore in San Francisco. Wearing black habits complete with scapulars, veils, and coifs, the women stepped aboard the steamer that was splattered with mud and dirt. The deck of the vessel was aswarm with prospectors en route to their diggings down river. Some were sleeping, others were playing cards or discussing their mining claims. The sisters inched their way to a clear spot near the bow and grabbed hold of the railing as the small craft moved slowly away from the landing.
The scene around the bay in August 1863 was chaotic. News of the discovery of gold north of the city had prompted people of every kind and description to pour into the place to gather supplies before rushing to the hills. Men, women, and children were living in shacks, or sleeping on the ground under blankets draped over poles. The noise and pandemonium lessened considerably as the boat continued on past abandoned ships, old square-riggers, and new vessels anchored and waiting patiently for more eager passengers to come aboard.
To learn more about Sister Mary Russell, the Sisters of Mercy, and the school they founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Enter to win a copy of Frontier Teachers. Visit www.chrisenss.com for more information.
The University Teacher
Enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
On a bright, sunshiny day in mid July 1859, a dusty, travel-worn, weary schoolteacher named Hannah Clapp trudged into Salt Lake City, Utah. Dressed in a calico blouse and bloomers made of thick, canvas-type material and carrying a pistol, the thirty-five-year-old woman drew stares from the settlers, prospectors, and trappers milling about the main thoroughfare. Hannah made the trip from Michigan with her brother, Nathan, his wife and children, and a handful of other pioneers. The trip across the rough continent had been fraught with peril. The small wagon train had endured disease, starvation, inclement weather, and towering mountains, and had more of the same to look forward to before they would reach California.
Many emigrants were coaxed west by their desire for gold. Hannah was driven by a desire to bring formal education to frontier towns. An unattached female making the journey over the plains was an unconventional as Hannah’s manner of dress. She was not affected by the attention her nonconformist behavior attracted. She was armed and ready to take on anyone who might physically challenge her style or dream of going to California to teach.
To learn more about Hannah Clapp, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers on this site or visit www.chrisenss.com and register to win there.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
On a bright, sunshiny day in mid July 1859, a dusty, travel-worn, weary schoolteacher named Hannah Clapp trudged into Salt Lake City, Utah. Dressed in a calico blouse and bloomers made of thick, canvas-type material and carrying a pistol, the thirty-five-year-old woman drew stares from the settlers, prospectors, and trappers milling about the main thoroughfare. Hannah made the trip from Michigan with her brother, Nathan, his wife and children, and a handful of other pioneers. The trip across the rough continent had been fraught with peril. The small wagon train had endured disease, starvation, inclement weather, and towering mountains, and had more of the same to look forward to before they would reach California.
Many emigrants were coaxed west by their desire for gold. Hannah was driven by a desire to bring formal education to frontier towns. An unattached female making the journey over the plains was an unconventional as Hannah’s manner of dress. She was not affected by the attention her nonconformist behavior attracted. She was armed and ready to take on anyone who might physically challenge her style or dream of going to California to teach.
To learn more about Hannah Clapp, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers on this site or visit www.chrisenss.com and register to win there.
The Sorrowful Teacher
Enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Mary Graves Clarke, a dark-haired woman with a pale face and deep age lines marking her high cheekbones and small mouth, sat behind a wooden desk staring out a window that was slightly tinged around the edges with frost. The view of the distant snow-covered mountains that loomed over Huntington Lake in Tulare County held her attention for a long while.
The eleven students in the one-room schoolhouse where Mary taught pored over the books in their laps, quietly waiting for their teacher to address them. The pupils ranged in age from six to fifteen years. The majority of the class was girls, a few of whom couldn’t help themselves from whispering while casting worried glances at their distracted teacher. Finally, one of the children asked, “Mrs. Clarke, are you all right?”
Mary slowly turned to the pupils and nodded. “I’m fine,” she assured them. “I was just remembering.”
According to the journal kept by one of Mary’s students, her “expression was one of sadness.” In spite of her melancholy spirit she led the students through a series of lessons then dismissed them for recess. She followed them outside and for a moment was content simply to watch them play. A cold breeze drew her attention back to the mountains and drove her thoughts back to a time when she was a teenager, hopeful and happy; traveling west with her family and other members of the Donner Party.
To learn more about Mary Clarke Graves, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com and register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Mary Graves Clarke, a dark-haired woman with a pale face and deep age lines marking her high cheekbones and small mouth, sat behind a wooden desk staring out a window that was slightly tinged around the edges with frost. The view of the distant snow-covered mountains that loomed over Huntington Lake in Tulare County held her attention for a long while.
The eleven students in the one-room schoolhouse where Mary taught pored over the books in their laps, quietly waiting for their teacher to address them. The pupils ranged in age from six to fifteen years. The majority of the class was girls, a few of whom couldn’t help themselves from whispering while casting worried glances at their distracted teacher. Finally, one of the children asked, “Mrs. Clarke, are you all right?”
Mary slowly turned to the pupils and nodded. “I’m fine,” she assured them. “I was just remembering.”
According to the journal kept by one of Mary’s students, her “expression was one of sadness.” In spite of her melancholy spirit she led the students through a series of lessons then dismissed them for recess. She followed them outside and for a moment was content simply to watch them play. A cold breeze drew her attention back to the mountains and drove her thoughts back to a time when she was a teenager, hopeful and happy; traveling west with her family and other members of the Donner Party.
To learn more about Mary Clarke Graves, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com and register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers.
