ASHLEY ILLINOIS SCHOOLS By :Wilbert "Bucky" McCoy

November 27, 2007     The first School of mention was built in around 1890 or close to. The first part was four rooms with outside toilets and it had two rooms added on top later, but it burned about noon time in the mid-1913 (nineteen thirteen). No sooner than it fire stopped smoking the debris was being removed and later in the year the first car load of four inch by eight inch bricks were brought to town Via the L & N Rail Road from Albion Illinois Brick Yard. Two days later Brick Masons were at work on the new building. It took more than two years to get these four inch bricks in place. The year was 1916 (Nineteen Sixteen)and was the date of its' official opening.     The facility was kept cool by opening windows. Heat was furnished by coal fired furnaces, two of them, but most of the time one furnace could force enough steam into the schools rooms radiators to heat the building. This left one to idle and they were hand fired. Later the furnaces were stoker fired and made for more consistent heat.     I, Bucky McCoy pretty well remembers the lay out of the inside class rooms. The second floor was used by students 9 through 12. This was High School. The first floor was laid claim by students one through eight.     High School and Grade school shared the basement rooms. There was a time when the Home Economics class was held in the south east corner of the basement, How-ever the west send of the top floor was called the Auditorium. We called it the study hall.     The north end of this room had an elaborate stage. This was needed because it seemed some classes were practicing something and the school band used it on which to practice instrument playing. It had an heavy Velvet like curtain that was pulled open and closed between scenes and acts of plays. The only seating were pupils desks. Town people paid to see these plays, but seating was at a premium. The cost of a ticket was ten cents for students and under twelve children and twenty five cents for adult tickets. To enter this room was by double doors on the east side. Later on the west side on the outside a fire escape was installed. I believe this was 1936. By nineteen thirty one the stage and other extra curricular activities had been moved to the new Gymnasium. The same building stands today. The year is 2007 and it appears it will be used for several years to come. Let me get back to the Auditorium. It was about fifty feet square. Once with oiled floors, but later changed to varnished floors. Around three sides were large windows, with pull down curtains and two pieces of iron over each window. This was to keep students out of the windows. The only detractions were storms. The lightning was frightening. The room was filled with desks. By this time electric lights were installed.     Class rooms, two of them was entered directly from the auditorium namely the Typing room and the History room which also exited into the hall-way. The other rooms classes changed each year due to students enrolled in a class. The Superintendents office was on the east end of the floor. One room was called a music room. Most time it was used to store instruments. I remember several band directors, but Paul (Pops) Daniels had more going on all of the time. He always had several projects in the making. He was a work-a-holic. Seems like he had little time for himself. Ask an old student what teacher is remembered. Most of them will answer, "Pop Daniels." An old, old student will probably say, "Miss Addie Woodrome." She ruled with a strap, a paddle, a pointer, a ruler and if nothing more to slap faces. She could make you learn with tears in the eyes. There was always punishment by standing in the hall, in the cloak room, the supply closet, the corner of the room, a chair by her desk You could always expect a paddling for good measure. We boys thought for no reasons. Females were not excluded.