The History of Frances, Kentucky - · PDF fileFrances, Kentucky: Days Gone By 2 Appearance of Frances Today (1947) What a difference there is to be noted in the appearance of the early

Frances, Kentucky: Days Gone By

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The History of Frances, Kentucky

History of Frances CommunityBy Mrs. Stella Simpkins

In 1874, the community we now call Frances was known asCrossroads because the Eddyville and Salem roads and the Dycusburgand Marion roads crossed each other here. On account of fields ofsassafras and persimmon bushes and a few dilapidated log buildings,our neighborhood was dubbed the scanty village, “Needmore.” Finallythe citizens got accustomed to this name and later liked the nicknameso much that in 1892 when Uncle Sam decided that we could have apost office and asked us to suggest a name for it, almost everyone wasin favor of naming the place “Needmore.” Uncle Sam informed us thatMetcalfe County had beaten us to it and nailed down our choice fortheir very own “Needmore.” Then we got in a huff and politely told thePostmaster General to name it himself. In cases of this kind thePostmaster General usually left it to the office force to settle suchpoints. After consultation they decided to call the post-office Frances inhonor of the wife of our one-time bachelor president who had justrecently married a Miss Frances Folsom. We like the name very much,but it does make us mad when some occasional illiterate keeps spellingit F-r-a-n-c-i-s.

Appearance of Frances in 1872In 1872 when Alvin Duvall sold a small triangle of land to Dr. Charles Owen, on which

Frances now stands it surely did look as if we needed more. Dr. Owen moved into a double loghouse which we would now call a stable. Uncle “Dad” Adams lived in two log cabins in whichthe roof had fallen in over the hall that separated them. Alvin Duvall had erected thesebuildings in 1844 on the spot now occupied by our splendid high school and auditoriumbuildings. The cotton wood tree now stands guard over the place where Alvin Duvall settled103 years ago.

The only other building in sight was Aunt Catty Seton’s cabin with a lean-to shed coveredwith clapboards held down by rails.

We must not forget to say that just over the hill but not in sight of Aunt Catty’s stood adouble log cabin which was the home of Uncle Billy Banks. Uncle Billy was a saint who, underall these handicaps, reared a large family of God-fearing children whom he took in his ox-wagon to Caldwell Springs Church to hear Elder Collin Hodge expound the Gospel with a fervornot equaled in those days.

Now we return to Dr. Charles Owen who was ship-wrecked in the English Channel on hisway to America and through Divine Providence was saved to labor at the bedside of the bedsideof the sick and dying in the hospitals of the Civil War and over the hills and hollows of southCrittenden and Union Counties.

He set to work at once to provide a home, rear a large family, keep his practice going andbuild the first store house and apothecary in the community we now call Frances. The Doctor’spractice grew until he could not afford any longer to carry on his mercantile venture so he soldhis store to Albert and Mark Weldon who prospered in business for more than a year. Then theDeath Angel came and suddenly carried away both of their wives. Disheartened, they sold outand moved away.

We have overlooked mentioning the fact that in 1874 Liberty Lodge and F & AM. was theonly sign of life when Dr. Owen came here. The old lodge hall has stood the storms of adversityfor seventy three years, but has been replaced with a splendid new building, which in a fewdays will echo to the sound of the gavel calling the faithful members to labor.

Frances (Folsom)Cleveland, wife of GroverCleveland, and thenamesake of Frances,Kentucky. Photo source:Library of Congress.


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Appearance of Frances Today (1947)What a difference there is to be noted in the appearance of the early community and the

community as it s now. Today we have scores of comfortable homes, three general merchandisestores, a seven room high and graded school, a beautiful Presbyterian Church, the largestfluorspar mines in the world, Highway No. 70, which is part of the Ruby Laffoon Trail and otherhighways which lead out in all directions. We also have farms on which many crops and stockof all kinds are raised. Then, too, we must say that the community boasts of a citizenship thatcannot be surpassed by any in the United States.

We began our story with the appearance of our community when it was called “Needmore,”and now we go back to its appearance in 1797 when James Armstrong built the first cabin inCrittenden County. He came from Giles County Tennessee to make a home for his family. Thecabin was twelve by fourteen feet and had no door. He entered it through a window in the endby means of a ladder which he drew up at night as a protection from wild bests which roamedthe wilderness then. Bear and wild cats fought over the carcasses of the animals he trapped.Armstrong returned to Tennessee and came back to Kentucky with his family and severalmembers of the Brasher family, blood relatives of his who were entranced by his stories of thistrapper’s paradise and the thousands of acres of fertile land which awaited the pioneers ax.

SchoolsThe first school in our community was called Duvall School. It was built in 1844 and

abandoned about 1861. This school was named for Thomas Duvall who gave the school site offthe north west corner of his farm which is now owned by Brice McKinney. This school buildingwas about fourteen by sixteen feet, and was built of unhewed logs chinked and daubed withclay. The seats were of split logs which were smoothed off and supported by oaken legs. Therewere no glass windows and the only light came through the open window or oiled paper.

In 1862 the school site was changed to an acre of land donated by Henry W. Oliver fromland that had been conveyed to him by Andrew Jackson Brasher. A new building was erectedand called Oliver School in District No. 5. This building was used until 1900 when a new twostory building was placed across the road from the old Oliver School. The district grew inpopulation until the County Superintendent and Board of Education decided to sell the twostory building and change the site to Frances in order to equalize the distance of travel for allpupils. (The district now was called the Frances School District No. 5. A three room house waserected in 1919, and there came a demand for a high school in the Frances community.Enterprising patrons raised about $1000 to pay for the land and to build one room to beknown as a High School room. School opened in 1919 with Miss Ethel Cox and Miss MaziePogue in charge. There were only two pupils qualified to enter high school. These were LouisYandell and Pauline Pogue who had done previous work in Marion and Princeton schools.

The following people have served as principals of Frances High School: M. F. Pogue was thefirst principal and was followed by: C.D. Chick, Louis Yandell, Edward M. Bay, Herbert Foster,Hattie Lee McMillan, Herman Boucher, L. W. Guess, C. E. Atnip, J. O. Ward, J. R. Banton,Louis Litchfield, Charles Hindrix, J. D. Phelps, H. W. Faith and Louis Litchfield who is thepresent principal (1947).

Some of the teachers in Frances School from 1862 to 1947-48 are:

J. W. Wilcox Judge McCollum Malinda StallingsJohn W. Shannon George W. Perry Lucy AllenAyres Hard Robert Moreland Tom LaRueMarion Barnes Sherman Gass Frank NewcomJ. B. McNeeley J. P. Samuels Milton MooreTinnie Wheeler Elzie Riley Lizzie GlennJ. B. Garrett Homer Lowery M. F. PogueJohn A. Yandell Ervin Yandell Verna Lee Lindsey


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Gustava Cruce, Fifth and SixthGrade teacher. Source:Frances Echo Yearbook, 1951-1952. Courtesy of Nancy Lynch.

C. D. Chick Evelyn Moore Mazie Pogue HowardMrs. J. O. Ward Wilma Wright Charles SullengerJewell Pogue Stallings Darrell Phillips Ollie SiglerBirdie Jefferson Louisa Reed Mrs. C. E. AtnipMayme Lott Halleene Smith Virginia BrasherSadie Brasher Ruby Bennett Oda Boyd MatthewsMrs. E. M. Ray Geneva Holcomb Mary Alice SimpkinsMary Young Conger Stella Simpkins Gustava Brasher CruceMarjarie Ferguson Ruby Bennett Lillian HenryAllie Hodge Mary Frances Stevens Idabell MatthewsOpal Clark Rebecca Moore Pickens Ruby TaborSara Crider Cotha Hollowell Evelyn Hunter BragdonMina Thomason

The teachers for the term of 1947-48 are Louis Litchfield, principal, Gustava Cruce, StellaSimpkins, Geneva Woodall, Edna Fritts, and Dorothy Fritts. 1949-50, Louis LitchfieldPrincipal, Mrs. Virginia Faughn, Mrs. Gustava Cruce, Dorothy Fritts, Anna Hayes Easley, andStella Simpkins.

Frances High SchoolBy Mazie Pogue Howard

On March 10, 1919, by motion ofCharles W. Fox and seconded by W. W.Howerton, it was ordered that a jointcounty high school be built andestablished at Frances.

In compliance with the order, this highschool was the first of the “consolidated”high schools.

Ethel Cox, from Dawson Springs, and Iwere the first teachers. She taught uppergrades, including a high school class of two;and I had the lower grades, first throughsixth. In 1920-21, Marion F. Pogueresumed his teaching, becoming a highschool teacher and principal of the school.Tina Lutz, of Dawson Springs, also joinedthe faculty to teach upper grades and highschool math. I taught lower grades and highschool Latin.

Many students came from nearby gradeschools because there was no high schoolnearer. Some came a long distance and hadto ride horseback. Space was provided fortheir horses. Stalls with room for feed werebuilt behind the schoolhouse near a pond.

Along with their academics, the olderstudents wanted more competitiverecreation. When Charles Sullenger joinedthe faculty to teach high school math in1922, he helped them organize a footballteam. This only lasted a short while.

There was an interest in basketball,

Stella Simpkins, Seventh andEighth Grade teacher. Source:Frances Echo Yearbook, 1951-1952. Courtesy of Nancy Lynch.

Dorothy Fritts, First and SecondGrade teacher. Source: FrancesEcho Yearbook, 1951-1952.Courtesy of Nancy Lynch.

Rudell McKinney, Third andFourth Grade teacher. Source:Frances Echo Yearbook, 1951-1952. Courtesy of Nancy Lynch.


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and it became the main sport.The first graduating class was in 1922. There were two graduates, Pauline Pogue and Louis

Yandell. They had taken work in the summer in order to finish in three years. The graduationexercises were held in the Presbyterian Clarch, which at that time was the only church inFrances.

The Class of 1923 had five graduates, Ina Teer, Willabelle Asbridge, Jewell Pogue, RaymondHooks, and Cecil Brasher.

In 1926 and 1927, classes were held in the summer by Western Teacher’s College atFrances. This was to accommodate studentswho needed to make up work and high schoolgraduates who were unable to start theircollege work.

A gymnasium was built with full facilitiesfor basketball and a large stage for plays andprograms. Once, a great deal of money wasmade when Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearlperformed to a full house.

In 1950, Frances High School was closedwhen Crittenden County High School wasbuilt in Marion. Other teachers who taught at

Frances are James K. Witt, Stella Simpkins,Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Foster, Mary Fuller,Mary Sue Highful, Louisa Reed, Wilma Wright,

Darrell Phillips, Opal Clark, Paul Stevens, Rev. Chick, Mr. and Mrs. Edd Ray, Mr. and Mrs.Atnip, Mr. Boucher, Prof. Guess, Kelsey Cummins, Carl Johnson, Clinton Brown, Mary Conyer,Jewell Pogue Stallions, Virginia Brasher, Ollie Sigler Howerton, Minnie Bell Cruce, Mary AliceSimpkins, Neenie Simpkins, and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Ward.Source: History of Crittenden County Schools, 1842-1987, Crittenden Co. Historical Soc.

George Hart – ‘Bullneck’ held national schoolboy scoring markBy Chris Hardesty, Crittenden Press Sports Writer

From 1946-1950, George Hart brought national acclaim to Frances, Kentucky.The great basketball star brought state and national media exposure to the small Frances

High School with his impressive scoring and tremendous hustle. When it came time to playFrances High, many opponents would move their games to a larger gymnasium in order to seatfans who wanted to watch the fabulous Hart perform.

Raised by his uncle and grandmother, at age 11 Hart movedwith them from Crittenden County to Baltimore where his unclehad found work. There, he learned the moves and court savvy thatwould make him a living legend later on in life. As a youngster,Hart played street ball with other inner-city kids and incorporatedsome of their tricks and moves into his own repertoire.

Once back in Crittenden County a few years later, Hart put hislearned basketball skills and natural shooting ability to the test asstar for the Frances Bulldogs. Soon, he earned the label of themost prolific scorer in prep history. In 1950, Hart became the all-time leading scorer in the nation at the high school level,surpassing former University of Kentucky great Wah Wah Jones’record of 2,398 points. He went on to finish his career with 2,604points—the best in America at that time. To this day (in the era ofthe 3-point shot), Hart remains among the top 10 all-time scoringleaders in Kentucky high school history.

During his senior season Hart was named to the LouisvilleCourier-Journal All High School Team and was an Honorable Mention All-American and drew

Hart was the pride of Frances.Photo source: The CrittendenPress.

The gymanasium at Frances Elementary School (2000).


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attention from college recruiters.Hart played for head coach Louis Litchfield, who later coached at Crittenden County High

School. There were many games throughout his career that Hart would score in the 40s, but ifthey were beating somebody bad, Litchfield would take him out because he didn’t want to runthe score up.

Hart believes if allowed to play the entire game, he could have finished with even higherscoring marks on several occasions.

During his career, Hart played against some folks that eventually became more famous—but in those days, Goerge Hart was as much a part of Kentucky basketball as Adolph Rupp. Heplayed against Kentucky and Boston Celtic great Frank Ramsey, who was from Madisonville.They faced each other in the Second Region championship game in 1948. Frances lost Hart tofouls in the third quarter and Madisonville went on to claim the title 48-38.

Hart believes Ramsey was one of the best players he ever competed against. Ramsey musthave thought the same about Hart as he nicknamed him “Bullneck.”

Hart signed with the University of Kentucky and Coach Rupp sent one of his assistantcoaches to bring him to Lexington. After arriving at the UK campus, Hart scrimmaged againstRamsey, Cliff Hagan, and Bill Spivey.

A strict disciplinarian, Rupp always had his mind on basketball. But the boy from Franceshad a tendency to let his mind wander. He had never seen so many pretty girls dressed as niceas they were. The campus was filled with adorable young female fans, and Hart liked theattention. During one practice, Rupp saw Hart looking at girls instead of paying attention tobasketball. Rupp told him he was there to play ball, not to watch girls.

Not long after that, Hart decided UK wasn’t for him and came home to Frances.To this day, Hart says he wouldn’t change a thing because he has enjoyed life to the fullest.

Even if he would have remained at Lexington—and if the possibility of professional basketballpresented itself—he is not sorry for his decision.

Beginning in his sophomore season, opposing teams would assign two defenders to Hart,but that didn’t slow him down. The bullneck boy from Frances was virtually unstoppable, andto this day, his legend lives in the hearts and minds of basketball fans from Frances andbeyond.Source: The Crittenden Press, November 27, 1997

Hart, basketball legend, dies at 70 George Hart, a legendary basketball player at Frances High School in the late 1940s, diedFriday, Feb. 2 at Livingston Hospital. He was 70.

Hart, who played for the Frances Bulldogs from 1946-50, drew national acclaim as a seniorball player when he broke Wah Wah Jones’ high school scoring record of 2,398 points. Hartwent on to score 2,604 points during his career, which to this day remains 45th on theKentucky all-time scoring list.

Many who saw him, say Hart would have scored hundreds more points had he played whenthe 3-point shot was in effect.

Hart worked for 33 years and retired from U.S. Steel in Gary, Ind. He was a Marine veteranand member of the Princeton Veterans of Foreign Wars post. A Kentucky Colonel, Hart wasinducted into the Crittenden County Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 in the sports shrine’sfirst class.

Surviving are his wife, Pat C. Hart; one son, Robert Hart of Marion; and one sister, JoannUlsas of Sun City, Ariz. His parents were George and Lola Hart.

Funeral services were Sunday at Gilbert Funeral Home with Rev. Donnie Howtonofficiating. Burial was at Frances Cemetery.

As a senior basketball player Hart he was named to the Louisville Courier-Journal All HighSchool team and was Honorable Mention All-American. When Frances played basketball, itusually had to transfer games to larger gymnasiums because of the crowds that wouldassemble to watch Hart perform. Scoring 30 or more points in a game was common for the “bigbulldog.” He was in range after crossing mid-court, some of his opponents remembered.


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In the 1948 Second Region championship game, Hart and his Frances Bulldogs playedMadisonville in a typical David and Goliath showdown. Madisonville was led by Frank Ramsey,who went on to play at Kentucky and for the Boston Celtics. Hart fouled out in the thirdquarter and Madisonville won 48-38.

Legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp signed Hart to play basketball for the Wildcats,but Hart admitted in his later years that he was more interested in the nightlife and girls andeventually fell out of Rupp’s grace. He told The Crittenden Press in a 1999 interview that henever regretted the choices he made in life, including his decision to leave Lexington as afreshman. I “enjoyed life to the fullest,” he said.Source: Crittenden Press obituary, February 15, 2001.

More than Just a Building: The Lessons from Frances Elementary Continue to Inspireand Influence Long after She ClosesBy Rocky G. Doom

The old schoolhouse and gymnasium restsilent and peaceful now, the result of being

abandoned by those it knew andloved. It now sits as anotherempty building, the result of“educational consolidation in thebest socioeconomic interest ofthe county”…or something likethat. As I drive up the nowbroken cement road, memories echo from the stillness of the once ever-so-activeschoolhouse. Memories from my days spent here greet my mind’s eye withwarmth that only one who attended here could understand. As I look across the

faded, pale brown brick, my mind is flooded with memories of days gone by.We certainly were not the biggest school in the county, but there was no doubt in any of

our minds that we were the best. The warm and welcoming nature of the school was evident inevery facet. From the welcomes of our secretary Connie to the grandmotherly greetings andscoldings of Katie Shewcraft and Ruth Stone in the cafeteria (“Let me get you some extra tatertots, Honey. Now, Honey, you be sure and scrape that tray out real good when your finished,now”), we knew we were at our home away from home.

It all began with “Miss Achoo A,” the sneezing, yet fearless, head of the alphabet people.She was the leader of the pack for the alphabet people, followed by her friends “Tall Teeth T,”“Munching Mouth M,” and “Beautiful Buttons B.” With an almost surreal clarity, I still canremember sitting in Mrs. Tyner-Belt’s classroom on that first day, amazed and stunned that Iwas now in school. First grade officially had begun and what an adventure it would be.

The school year always started in the midst of the hazy, lazy days of summer. Despite theheat, we all longed for recess to come. We knew that upon exiting the building, we would beentering not just a playground, but a whole new world for our imaginations to run wild. Whereelse in town could you find a real life-size wheel to play “Wheel-of-Fortune?” Our teachers knewit was just another merry-go-round, but dared not spoil our fun by telling us. They appreciatedthe value of imagination and many days allowed those creative juices to continue flowing bygiving us the highly anticipated “extra recess.”

The heat of the summer at Frances did not stick around forever. As the weather changedand we watched the once-green surroundings of our domain become vibrant with the colors ofautumn, we knew that another favorite time of year was just around nature’s corner:Halloween.

Halloween was the time of year when we all had the realization that Mrs. Tyner-Belt wasnot the typical elementary school teacher. She listened to our music, wore our style of clothing,and drove a gray sports car that we all thought was the most incredible mode of transportationin town. These things we knew from the start, but at Halloween, she showed how much funshe really was.

At the age of six, walking into her classroom after it had been decorated for Halloween was

Rocky G. Doom


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like walking onto the set of Frankenstein. Paper skeleton and witches adorned the walls andceilings. Bails of hay had replaced the once-open space at the front of the classroom. Blackrubber bats hung from the lights. A real, homegrown, huge bright orange pumpkin hadconsumed the middle of the classroom floor, a pumpkin so large none of us could even budgeit. However, the thing that we all noticed with an almost eerie hesitancy was the coffin. Mrs.Tyner-Belt had an actual wooden coffin standing vertically along the back wall. The lid wasfully closed and none of us had the slightest urge to be curious and see what was inside (wewere six years old…little did we know that a card board skeleton was the object of our fearswhich kept us from peeking).

As Halloween drew nearer, so did the anticipation and excitement of Frances’ annualcommunity wide Fall Festival. For one Saturday night every year in mid-Autumn, ourgymnasium was transformed into a festival of events. The school’s PTO used this as an annualfundraiser and the entire community awaited its annual arrival. From face painting to dunkingbooths, cake walks to bingo; the Fall Festival offered events for folks of all ages and sizes. Theevent’s climax was the crowning of the Little Miss and Little Master contest. Students, parents,and teachers worked booths year after year to make the tradition one that is forever etchednow as a memory.

We all knew that the Fall Festival meant that the onset of winter quickly was approaching.Martha Roberts (our second and third grade teacher) decided that this was the time of year toturn our classroom into a traditional Native-American stomping ground. We worked laboriouslyfor weeks to turn the back of the classroom into a new environment for our reading groups.Our former set up of desks in a circle was gone and we now read from our texts seated on thefloor Indian-style (criss-cross, applesauce, hands on your lap) amid our newly constructedteepee fully equipped with matching Totem poles. This style of classroom decoration eased usinto the Thanksgiving holiday as we studied the Pilgrims and Mayflower and made constructionpaper turkeys from the tracings of our hand that our mother’s made us believe were true worksof art. Van Gogh would be envious.

Susan Purvis was our fourth grade teacher. She walked with a quick pace and seldomlooked up, but weknew how to make herhave fun. For theholidays, we alwaysdecorated a Christmastree in her class placedright in the center ofthe room. Year afteryear, it was adornedwith green and redchain links exquisitelydesigned by the mostspectacular of fourthgraders. The last dayof classes beforeChristmas vacation,the base of the treewas bombarded withgifts as each of us hadfor weeks pestered ourparents to purchasethe perfect gift for thegift exchange. Wealways concluded thesemester with smallcelebration for whichour mothers baked

The last basketball team at Frances High School, 1949-1950. Front Row (L-R) Jimmy Lockhart, Gerald Henry,Donnie Brasher, Bruce Ordway, W.F. “Nub” Simpkins. Back Row (L-R) Coach Lewis Litchfield, Clayton Shewcraft,George Hart, Carlos Bailey, Clyde Polk, Billy Perkins, Manager John Edd Rogers. Photo source: W.F. Simpkins.


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their best treats and brought them in to share with our classmates.The giving spirit and family-like atmosphere of the small school was not confined to those

who worked within the building. Ann Travis (Bus 2), Louise Travis, Bill Brown, MargaretParish, Sue Peek, and Jimi Hackney, who all provided our transportation to and from schooleach day via the traditional yellow school bus always dropped us off at our destinations on thelast day of the semester with a brown paper sack equipped with all the necessities to start our2-week Christmas vacation: an orange, an apple, a candy cane, a pack of Wrigley’s gum, andlast, but not least, an R.C. Cola.

Returning to school from the Christmas holiday always was an exciting time. We had beenaway from the old brick building as much as we could stand and were always eager to return.With the lingering cold weather, we were not able to visit our playground-turned-game-show-studio at recess. We did not mind. Our gymnasium was suited for more things than Festivalsand being able to go there for recessmeant one thing: warball.

As the bitter cold weather slowlyturn warmer, Spring was welcomedwith open arms. As students, weknew that the onset of Spring wouldbring about field trips galore. Mrs.Tyner-Belt was again our teacherfor fifth grade. Among her manystories, she weaved humorous talesabout the razorback that lived inher home named Laescyee-Phae.Our journeys would take us to oursouthern border of Tennessee for avisit to the Homestead andPlanetarium and the Land Betweenthe Lakes.

Spring also meant a visit fromthe local 4-H Extension Agent, whobrought with her potted plants.Each student was given a pot withsoil and seeds to plant. Weanxiously would await its growth tosee whose plant would sprout firstas they rested in the warm sunlightof the classroom’s windows.

The nearing of the end of theschool year always brought with itan air of excitement. Despite havingto suffer the turmoil of the CTBStesting (from which the only thingwe ever learned was: a baloo is abear, wuzzle means to mix, ayonker is a young man, and sculchis junk), we still were thrilled thatthe school year was drawing nearan end.

And none of us were as excitedas the school’s sixth graders. Again,Mrs. Tyner-Belt was our teacher. Itwas in sixth grade that sheintroduced us to her true sense of adventure with her heroic recollections of Cagney and Lacey-like stories of she and her friend Sandra Farmer as they approached the school after it had

Cheerleaders for 1949-1950 Frances Basketball Team. (L-R) Charlotte Dycus, JewelJones, Dorothy Nell Brown, Sue Owens.

Scene on highway 70 near Frances school. Source: Frances Echo Yearbook, 1951-1952. Courtesy of Nancy Lynch.


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been vandalized. The description of her reaching into her purse for her gun to fend off anypotential intruders imprinted the vision of 007on a mission…Rebecca Tyner-Belt-style.

It was then that she also introduced us to her true sense of style with her potato-sackshorts and half-shaved head and she expanded our vocabularies with new phrases and words.We learned that “semi-sorta” really is a word and we learned the hard way what it meant whensomeone said, “you’ve been had”.

And we introduced her to the joys of a surprise party complete with a three feet tallporcelain pig equipped with life-like eyes. The entire class orchestrated a surprise party for hercompletely beyond her knowledge, a feat from which we took great pride. Imagine her surprisewhen her “routine playground equipment safety inspection” turned out to be just an excuse tohave her gone as we decorated her classroom and transformed it into a party room. The tearsof joy she cried that day were followed shortly thereafter by the tears of sadness we cried asgraduation drew nearer.

Completing sixth grade was a significant milestone for us. It meant the end of ourchildhood days and the beginning of our transformation into young adults. It meant that wewould soon be rushed from room to room for each subject we took. It meant ours books wouldno longer rest underneath our desks, but instead in lockers whose combinations we oftenforgot. But most of all, it signified the end of our days at the place we had come to know andlove so much.

Our sixth grade graduating class consisted of a mere five students, so the ceremony wasnot extremely long. It was combined with the graduation of Kindergartners to be a more size-appropriate ceremony. As we took the stage to accept our diplomas, there was great pride inthe old gymnasium: the pride of knowing that we forever would have the memories of thiswonderful place we’d known day after day for 6 years. Our parents’ pride of knowing that their

Frances Elementary School class photograph, grades 1-2, (1954-1955). Photo source: Rayanna Phillips.


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children were about to embark into the next stages of life. Our teachers’ pride of seeing the onetrue reward for their toil and hard work. But most of all, as we departed, we looked back on thegymnasium, standing tall with pride as it held in our memories and the memories of each ofthose before us.

I waited, after sunset looking and the gymnasium and schoolhouse, to watch theovercoming dark consume the red flower blossom of the day. It was not tardy, beginning in theeast with the horizon of the purity of so many children who walked these halls. It stretched itshand of darkness overhead rapidly, pierced by the stars. As it overcame, the red flower blossomvanished to royal blue, darker, then black. Still the old schoolhouse and gymnasium rest silentand peaceful now, the result of being abandoned by those it knew and loved.

Owen SchoolI could not find the exact date Owen School was started,but believe it to be early 1800. The lad was donated by aDr. Owen who came from England to this New World andsettled here. On his way over, his ship wrecked, losingpart of his belongings. With what remains he had left, hebrought and settled here and felt a need for a school. Thefirst school was a log school at the sight of where RobertMoran’s house now stands. Later a new school was built,still a log one, at the back of where graves are today.Around 1888, another school was built; this was a boxschool and the last school at Owen. The first records Icould find started in 1888. They stated there were onlytwo seats in the school and according to Ina Polk thesewere a log split in two—legs put on it, and all the childrensat side by side. This was told to Ina by her grandmother. On the records the school was worth$100. The teacher was F.D. Perkins. He was paid $22 per month. There were The teacher wasF.D. Perkins. He was paid $22 per month. There were 60 children enrolled, average attendance59: 29 boys, 31 girls. F.D. Perkins was a trustee. There was 5 months of school-Sept. thru Feb.

If the people could afford to send the children at $3.62 per session they had a “spring” school.After regular school was out. Books took up at 8:00 out at 4:00—1 hr. for dinner—2-15 minute

recesses: 1 in the morningand 1 in the afternoon. Theexpenses for the year was15 cents paid out for abroom. There was anagreement by the teachersand trustees that theteacher build fire andsweep floors, but thetrustees furnish the broomand firewood. TheMcGriffins Speller wasused. There were nochildren under 7 years ofage and only 1 older than21. The room would seat75 and was bot properlyheated and was fairlyventilated. There were nolights of any kind and nowater except for a springdown under the hill.

Owen School, circa 1916-1917. Front row: Ruben Peek, Nina Peek, Irene Adams, Ruby Travis, ElvaPolk, Tressie Brown, Ina Stubblefield, Elizabeth Hodge, Evelyn Pogue. Back Row: Joe Maxfield, HomerStubblefield, Sylvan Simpkins, Bernard Maxfield, John F. Howard, Robert Peek, Clyde Stubblefield, PiercePolk, Ilene Adams, Lula Polk, Estelle Pogue. Source: Brenda Underdown, Doyle G. Polk, Jr.


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Two children at a time could go fetch water and according to Ina and Aunt Pearl they got awfulthirsty. No outhouse according to the records and each year each teacher ask for an outhouseto be built. Later there was one built. Then on the records they wanted another one for thegirls, the other for the boys. Only once did I find on the records the school was closed and thiswas on account of fleas and Mrs. Stella said she remembered hogs sleeping under the school.In 1889, the teacher had a terrible time according to the records.

She wanted the outhouse moved to a dry place away from the pond. Her remarks at the end ofschool to the trustees were, “What this distric needs most is a teacher who can please theentire community and teach the children even if they stay at home. In short, what they want isthe perfect teacher.”

The received $130 state money and $4.68 from the county.

Ask what kind of seats they had, and she said only two; and they were very poor ones. Thechildren enrolled in 1888 were:

Ettie Travis Flora HalePolly Travis Nannie LovelaceAurie Hale Kittie LovelaceClara Hale Deane LovelaceLila Sunderland Phil TravisDolly Hard Harvey ButlerJulie Butler Lela HodgeDora Hunter H. Cel HodgeLaskew Hard Birdie TravisMarion Sunderland Mancl HodgeCharlie Sunderland Cillie DuvallPomerag Hodge

At one time on the records, the most I saw enrolled was 73.

This Dr. Owen lived at Frances where Northern McClure lives now. Some famous people wentto this school. One was Dr. Vernon Fox. The spring was on the Turner Place, later bought byMr. Brad Asbridge, now owned by Robert Moran.

After you got through 5th grade, you had more classes than reading. They were: Primary Class4, Spelling, Reading, Physiology and Hygiene, History, Writing, Arithmetic, Mental Arithmetic,and English Grammar.

Year Teacher1888 F.D. Perkins1889-90 Maggie Moore1891-92 Lemah Barnes1893-94 John Paris (from Ford’s Ferry)1918 (44 enrolled)1915 (62 enrolled)1920 (56 enrolled) No record of teacher1924 Anna Hayes Nunn1924-25 Allie Hodge1927-28 Myra Campbell1928-29 Rebecca Moore1930-31 Opal Wicker1931-32 ___


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1933-34, 34-35, 36-37 E. Jeffrey Travis1937-38, 38-39 Maude Steele1940-41 Emma Henry1942-43, 44-45 Edna Hodge1949-50 Mary Simpkins1951 till school left Edna Hodge

Other teachers remembered by Ina Polk, Stella Simpkins, Pearl Brown, Mimi Stone, and NellPolk were: Carrie Oliver, Oscar Polk, Mr. Rosco Ray Wilson, David Postleweight, Stella Polk,Jenny Clement, Jim Glass, Lark Hard, Rebecca Teer Moore, John Yandall, E.J. Travis, JennyBell, Birdie Wheeler, Carrie Oliver Paris, Oscar Polk, Omer Johnson, Frank Wilson, SadieRankin, J.B. Paris, and J.P. Paris.

The last records were burned by a superintendent. Alvin Elder built the last school. OscarWicker and Arnell Jacobs taught spring school.Information provided by Doyle G. Polk, Jr.

Caldwell Springs School, R.F. Wheeler (teacher). Date unknown. Photo source: Brenda Underdown.

Documents

The History of Frances, Kentucky - · PDF fileFrances, Kentucky: Days Gone By 2 Appearance of Frances Today (1947) What a difference there is to be noted in the appearance of the early