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Coos County’s Educational Facilities Among the Best
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By Martha E. Matter
County Superintendent of Schools
Several unique and pictur
esque things hnight be pointed
out relative to schools in
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Coos County.
At Catching
Inlet and Coos River the chil
dren are largely brought to
school by means of boats. The
loading and unloading of stu
dents from the Coos River
school is particularly impres
sive. The school is beautiful
ly located on an elevation of
land at the forks of the North
and South branches of Cy*
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f
and at the close of the school
day an army of children, with
some teachers, are seen has
tening down the long flight of
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stairs to the boats.
Na Roads Necessitate Boats
North Lake and Eden Valley are the only
school districts into which there are no roads. The
former is accessible by means of gasoline and row
boats from Lakeside up the beautiful North Lake.
The Eden Valley school operates only on certain
years, according to whether or not there are chil
dren to enter. A very scenic trail follows along the
South Fork of the Coquille River. The trail, in
crossing Eden Ridge, ascends to an elevation equal
to one-half mile. However, a road has now been
constructed over a part of the distance Also a road
by way of Douglas County leads into this* district.
At this time, Powers and Bridge are petitioning the
District Boundary Board for an annexation of Eden
Valley district, which has had no school children
this year.
Thf best equipped one room school, strange as
it may seem, is located in Brewster Valley, which is
a remote part of Coos County.
There are 73 school districts in Coos County
with a total school census in 1936 of 8308, of which
4242 were boys and 4066 were girls.
HMi
High Schools
There are ten high schools in Coos County lo
cated at Lakeside, Coos River, North Bend, Marsh
field, Coquille, Riverton, Arago, Bandon,, Myrtle
Point, and Powers. Besides educating the children
of their own districts, eight of these are providing
education for the children from the territory outside
of a high school.
All of this territory which is not
embraced within a high school district is known as
the Non High School District.
A board of -five
members, one elected from each of five zones, with
the County School Superintendent as secretary, car
ries on the business of this district and arranges for
transportation and tuition. The providing of tuition
is compulsory on the part of the board, but trans
portation is optional. The Non High School Board
in Coos countracts for buses to carry the children
in cases where the number permits of it. Where
there are only a very limited number in a location,
three cents per mile one way is allowed. If a child
finds it necessary on account of road conditions to
board away from home In order to attend school,
then SB is allowed toward his board in lieu of trans
portation. 496 young people from the Coos Non
High School District were attending some high
school during the last school year.
Due to the increased costs, tuition and transporta
tion are naturally increasing. This, in turn, is bound
to effect the tax rate. Also, the decrease in valua
tion due to fire, removal of timber and county land
sales has effected an increase in this tax.
In many counties no transportation is provided
and in such cases the expense of education falls
unequally upon parents and taxpayers and it would
seem only fair that, in as far as possible, everything
be handled with equality for all, hence the board in
Coos County allows transportation
A few interesting points pertaining to high
schools which have recently been called to the at
tention of the writer are listed:
In the Coquille High School, the home room
plan and rotating schedule are two features which
are being carried on.
The home room program
provides an opportunity for socializing of high
school pupils.
North Bend High School conducts an activity
period during the noon hour in order that students
who are denied these activities because of traveling
on buses can avail themselves of these opportunities.
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Located in Curry County are the following
State Parks:
Harris Beach Park, which is a seashore park,
17.58 acres;
Cape Sebastian Park, a seashore park, 547.29
acres i
7 Humbug Mountain Park, a seashore park in
which is located a mountain 1,750 feet in elevation.
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The Marshfield High School, co-operating with
the Rotary Club, has been able to give young people
some vocational experience. This was accomplished
by several Marshfield business people, each taking
one ot these high school students and acquainting
him W|th some particular line of work.
The Union High School at Myrtle Point seems
to be a pioneer as to the arrangement for an Eighth
Grade Day. On this selected day, all of those who
plan to graduate at the dose of the year and to en
ter that high school are invited to the Myrtle Point
High School for the day. At this time the “would
be freshmen" are shown a bit as to the work of the
school and are allowed part of the day for play.
When the freshmen enter school in the faU, they al-
modeled the Home Economics department.
Coos River High School has for several years
had a Smith Hughes department and during the last
two years, Riverton has also established this de
partment.
The Coos*County>School Masters’ Club is one
of the first and most outstanding clubs of this kind
in the state. It has for its object the building ot
closer co-operation between schools within the
county and the transfer of new ideas. This organ
ization sponsors such programs as debates, extemp
oraneous speaking, dramatics, and athletics.
The
president is Henry Hartley, Bandon.
The Elementary Principals* Association of Coos
is an organization which meets only a few times a
year. At these dates, arrangements are made for
the County inter-school elementary activities.
Theodore Gary, Bandon, is president at this time.
The newest organization is the Association of
Intermediate Teachers and was organized on De
cember 5, at which time Mrs. Rosabel Brown, of
Coquille, was elected president.
This group has
held three interesting meetings and plans for one
more before the close of school. One of the features
which has been taken up is the study of the songs
for the Music Festival.
The Association of Childhood Education, which
is comprised of those interested in primary teaching,
has been in operation for three years, during which
time much valuable help has been given to teachers.
The president is Mrs. Beatrice Abel of Myrtle Point.
In April a joint meeting of this organization and
that of the Intermediate group was held at Bandon.
The Coos County Division of O. S. T. A. deter
mines the aims and objectives of teaching for the
year and carries on some work of investigating
committees. During the last year, three committees
have worked as listed below and reported at the
Coos County Institute last February 26: Character
Education, Bruce Martin, chairman, Marshfield;
English, Miss Grace Mary Linn, chairman. Myrtle
Point, and Movies, Clarence Osika, chairman, Co-
quille. Richard Hughes, Marshfield, has worke d-
diligently and efficiently as president of the associ
ation for the last two years and is being succeeded
by Clarence Osika, Coquille.
An Executive Committee of Rural Teachers is
elected by rural teachers of the County and works
with the County Superintendent in arranging for
meetings, etc., for rural schools. Winnifred Ray,
Arago, has been chairman during the last year.
County Activities
The third County Music Festival was held in
the Community Building at Coquille on A.
April 24. At
this time all the elementary schools had an oppor
tunity
— - best • singers
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tunity of
of sendii
sending "
their
the festival
to join a large group of several hundred children.
In 1936 500 participated, but this year this number
was exceeded by 165. The preparation for theMusic
Festival has been a big factor in giving music to ou«
boys and girls. The elimination of the spelling con
test provides an opportunity for a morning rehear
sal to precede the festival.
The Coos County Junior Women’s Club has been
so interested in putting more music into the schools
that they purchased two phonographs and a number
of records to be left in the office of county super-
intendent and loaned to schools,
These records
have been so popular that they could not circulate
rapidly enough
____ to take care of the demand. Mrs.
Fred Watson, of Coquille, has generously given of
her services to carry on this music preparation.
Great interest has been displayed in the Grade
Basket Ball Tournament which was held on March
22 in the Community Building, Coquille. The North
Bend team won the County Championship by de-
1205.96 acres;
Battle Rock Park, 3.25 acres. A party left by
Captain William Tichenor to establish Port Orford
was besieged by Indians on this island, June 10-25,
1851. The party of nine, lead by J. M. Kirkpatrick,
escaped and reached the settlement on the Umpqua
River safely;
Port Orford Cedar Park, 194 acres. Purpose of
acquisition
—
luisition was to retai
retain stand of Port Orford cedar
whiich is native to this particular district;
Geisel Monument, 4.05
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acres.
this site oc-
curred an Indian massacre in the early days when
Geisel and his sons were killed, while his wife and
baby daughter were captured by the Indians, later
being released through the strategy of a friendly
Indian;
Buena Vista Park, seashore park, 52.46 acres;
Wayside strips of 253 acres.
In Coos County the following areas are to be
found:
«eating the Bunker HUI team,
pie grade Track and Field Meet is held annual-
lv. For several years this has been conducted un
der the auspices of the Elementary Principals and
‘ the
* 20-30 Club. The boys and girls of the County
are at this time training their muscles ready for this
coming event.
4-H Wark
About 900 club members are engaged in 4-H
work each year. In many districts, this has become
a regular part of the school work.
The Granges,
P. T. A. organizations and other clubs are co-oper
ating with the 4-H work to the extent that twenty-
five children found it possible to attend the 4-H
summer school at Corvallis, largely because of
V these organizations. Sev-
9 Asif « M *4MT. WfC
county agent, heads up the
4-H work in this county, with the county superin
tendent assisting with the girls’ work. Jessie Palm
iter, home demonstration agent, at large who 1»
being loaned to Coos county for part time, has given
much help to the 4-H girls.
A 4-H Leaders organization, with Carroll Ry-
craft, Riverton, as president, meets once a month
for the study of club work.
Valley View School—Typical Rural School
The First National Bank of Portland generous
ly offers to entertain two outstanding 4-H member*
from each county at the Pacific International. Last
Cear Ellis Rackleff, of Arago, and Winnifred New-
ury, of Broadbent, were selected to attend and re
ported as having had a most enjoyable time under
splendid supervision.
School Finance
Getting back onto a cash basis!
This is the
trend of the schools for this year. During the period
of the depression, most school districts found it
necessary to get behind. With the opening up of
the lumber industry and general improvement of
conditions, back taxes have begun to come in and
a
number of districts ««
are MVW
now Vll
on CB
a V cash
- large
—
CUSS 4 basis.
The school tax in the different districts, however,
is woefully unequal and will remain so unless the
budget committee sees favorably toward increasing
the County School Fund. The budget committee of
1936 went on record as favoring this increase to be
made by the 1937 budget committee. The range
now in total school tax is from 7.2 mills to 33.1 mills.
Although no new buildings have been built,
many have been improved by reshingling, painting
and general repair. The Coquille school district has
recently voted a $22,500 bond issue for the construc
tion of a new gymnasium which will seat about 100O
people.
Sanitary units have been installed in eighteen
rural school districts in the county. This service
has been carried on through the co-operation of the
U. S. Public Health and the local school districts.
These, added to the buildings which have already
had sanitary conditions, puts the number at about
forty-nine:
The writer feels that each district should plan
very carefully for the future, with a view that the
debt be eliminated as soon as possible, that wher
ever feasible, consolidations be formed and that
very old buildings be replaced where this is not
practical, that a monthly payment of $75 for a 8 Mt
or 9 month period is not a wage to compensate for
the education required for a teacher and that the
seventeen teachers now receiving this minimum
wage should, if possible, be raised.
This matter of the future of the Coos school»
should be studied carefully by all interested. All
energies should be bent toward the relief of proper
ty tax and the equalization of school tax.
Cape Arago Park, 134.0 acres;
Simpson Park, located at the south end of Coo*
Bay Bridge, 44.3 acres;
Golden and Silver Falls, north of Allegany, 112
acres.
Located in Douglas County are the following
parks:
Rhododendron Park, 80 acres;
Umpqua Lighthouse Park, 230 acres;
Tideways Island Park, 11.41 acres;
Loon Lake Park, 51.51 acres;
Elkton Tunnel Park, 200.0 acres;
Camas Mountain Park, 160 acres.
Long and tiresome trips are not necessary to
residents of the Coquille Valley to reach outing
places. They exist on all sides, whether it be at the
ocean beach, on rivers or lakes, in the cool of wood
ed lands bordering or off the highways, or enjoying
a trip high into the hills near the snow line.
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