OCR Text |
Show produced, and now and then a minstrel show. The scenery in that upstairs theatre had been painted by C C A . Christ-ensen and was used for many years. When the Opera House was built the upstairs place wa«s used less and less, and finally closed. The Social Hall had pre-dated the upstairs room for entertainments. SCHOOL BELLS The year 1896 saw a new three-story, red brick school house built on Main and First East, replacing the several smaller area schools that had been considered fine until then, The citizens voted to bond for the school, having also bonded for electric lights and the waterworks during recent years. The new school, with four large corner rooms on each floor (12 rooms) was said to have more school room than the town's population could use at that time, but the excess room had thoughtfully been provided for the future, and John K's children benefited by it in their school years. When a child became lost in the early days, an alarm was sent out by beating a drum and ringing available bells. The waters of Pleasant Creek claimed the lives of many children from the first days of settlement. After a large bell was hung in the tower of the school-house and another in the belfry of the North Ward Chapel, 96 |