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Boarding Houses

October 6, 1905, V. XXIII, No. 20:1-2

CHAPTER 62.

Catalog No. 6 the 5th since 1871, as a Normal school, was a fine catalog, the best and largest we had thus far published. We added many new features. The length of the terms as I have already said, remained the same as the previous year, the tuition was raised, but the price of board was reduced by sharp competition. Will give a condensed resume of student boarding houses.

I stated in a former chapter that the first prominent boarding houses for students were the Elberson house, corner of Buckeye and Gilbert streets; the Mustard house, corner Main and Mill street; the George house, then located on the corner of Simon and Ballard street. A little later Mrs. John Dobbins and Mrs. George Reese took a few select boarders. The Dobbins residence is now the terrace and Mrs. Reese then lived where Prof. Park now resides. Some other families, in those days, took a few boarders from $3.00 to $3.50 a week for room and board. Occasionally some aristocrat who wanted a well furnished room paid $4.00 a week.

The first club was organized the Fall term of 1871 and was in charge of by Mrs. Lizzie Smith. She lived in the old Harlo Gilbert house, where the Young hotel now stands. She owned the farm northwest of town, now owned by Justin Brewer, I think.

The Spring term of 1872, Mrs. Wilson, opened the famous Wilson club in the first house north of the Christian church. There were four rooms down stairs, each having one rough coat of plaster, the upper rooms were not plastered. The owner built a sidewalk in from of the house and employed a teamster to drag two large elm logs, hewn flat on the upper and lower sides, for a walk from the sidewalk to the from door, to serve for a walk till the yard could be filled with sawdust and then covered with ground. Sawdust was plentiful those days. The house stood on high oak posts or stilts. The sidewalk and logs were pinned to the earth that they might not be floated away during time of high water. In those days there were no sewers in Ada. Mrs. Wilson paid $6.00 a month rent. The boys furnished the provision and fuel, split the wood, and boarded Mrs. Wilson and the hired help. Mrs. Wilson furnished table linen, dishes and did the cooking. Each boarder paid her 59 cents a week. She owned two farms. She told me on several occasions that she realized a greater income from the club than from the two farms. In later years, she built what is now known as the Young house on the corner of Peach avenue and Main street.

About 1873, Mrs. Gardner, the mother of Mrs. Sadie Clark, started a club boarding house where Mrs. Russel now lives, the second house north of the Christian church. She proposed to the boys that she would do the buying and save them the trouble. She agreed to furnish even better board for what they had been paying for she could buy to better advantage. Club board had been costing the students about $1.50 a week.

Mr. G.W. Rutledge built the house now known as the Wilson house on the corner of Gilbert and Ballard street for a boarding house and rented it to Jacob Reese. He built it in the spring of 1874. Boarding houses now began to multiply. Mrs. Sale started a boarding house in the residence north of where Doctor Walters lives; and some lady, I think it was Mrs. Doctor McGinnis, kept some boarders about opposite the Sale house. Then some lady started a boarding house where Mr. Schindewolf now lives. In later years Mrs. Converse kept boarders there. About the same time Mrs. Cloud opened a boarding house east of the National Bank corner on Buckeye street where the livery barn was built last year. From there she went to the small frame where Mr. McElroy now has his grocery. She kept boarders there several years. Then Mrs. Bodell started her celebrated boarding hotel where Mr. Miller now lives, the first door north of the Normal bookstore.

As the school grew, they multiplied. There was the celebrated Gardner club in its new home where Miss Mattie Gardner now lives, and the popular Connor house, the one at Mrs. Johnson's later auntie located on the corner of Ballard and Johnson streets, now she holds forth on Main street. Jakey Reese moved to the corner of Johnson street and Peach avenue, Mrs. Cratty started a club in a small house where Dr. Campbell now resides and Mrs. Adams, later Mrs. Rutledge, the mother of Mrs. Prof. Vogenitz, started a popular boarding house on Main street in the house north of Russell's grocery, and the excellent little lady, Mrs. Dave Watt, many years conducted a very popular boarding house at her present home. The writer boarded there on different occasions.

Mrs. Reeder Hubble had a popular boarding house on south Main street and Mrs. Squire Rice about the same year conducted a large and popular club in the large brick residence on south Main street. Mrs. Plummer, corner of Gilbert and Ballard, Mrs. Goldsmith, north of the Povenmire house, followed by Mrs. Basinger, Mrs. Greenwood, Mrs. Galt on Gilbert street, Mrs. Lee on Main street, Mrs. Willie Stumm on the corner of Gilbert and Ballard, Mrs. Peterson on Mill street, and Mrs. Sallie Hubble on Main street, Mrs. Nettie Crawford at different locations, the Howell house and the John Wilson house on Main street. The Wilson house was later moved to Gilbert street.

About this time an excellent set of ladies began the business of boarding students. I am not able to name them in regular order but will do so as nearly as I can. Mrs. Ida Dobbins began where the Hill house now holds forth on west Peach avenue later moved to the corner of Mill and Gilbert streets, then further south on Gilbert. Mrs. Sadie Clark began on the corner of Main and Ballard, later removed to the corner of Main and Normal streets, and Mrs. Catherine Estill, Mrs. Russell Scott, Mrs. McKean, Mrs. Keckler, Mrs. Fritz, Mrs. Povenmire, and Mrs. George Lynch began the business, all faithful and true. I must not forget Mrs. Nate Poling on Johnson street. Her daughter Mrs. Anna Gill keeps up the reputation of the Poling house as a popular student resort. Mrs. Nettie Lynn and others kept boarders in Poverty hall.

Mrs. Dr. Croney kept boarders at several different locations. She was especially noted for house-cleaning every four weeks. With her, cleanliness was next to Godliness. Then came Mrs. Stockwell, Mrs. King, Mrs. Snyder, Mrs. Loper, Mrs. Yates, Mrs. Eberhart, Mrs. McArthur, Mrs. Close, Mrs. Heller began on west Peach avenue, then went to Gilbert street and quit on Main street. Mrs. Cessna, Miss Friedley, Mrs. Gray, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Martha Welsh, Mrs. Emma Wells, Mrs. Deck, Mrs. Belle Connor, Mrs. Yoder, Mrs. Jerry Stumm, Mrs. Sidener, Mrs. Coolidge, Mrs. Hutchison, Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Sallie Landon, Mrs. Teagarden, first on Main street later on Union street, Mrs. Heffelfinger. Mrs. Williams, Mrs. William Young on the corner of Main street, Mrs Wright on West Peach avenue, Mrs. Weir, Mrs. Turner, Mrs. Wilson on the corner of Gilbert and Ballard streets Mrs. Ziegler, Mrs. Rev. Ernsberger, Mrs. Price and many others.

Mrs. Estill, Mrs. McKean, Mrs. Loper, Mrs. Clark and several other boarding houses always were very accommodating in taking term and year students, and no one was any more so that Mrs. Estill. I have forgotten the names of some who served the school faithfully.

If I had my term and year plan receipt book at hand I could refresh my memory. Many of these good women began as it were with nothing. They had neither home nor dishes and table linen. To my personal knowledge some borrowed money to get a start, some to buy table, dishes, etc., others borrowed money to make the first payment on a home. At least ten borrowed money. All have paid back every cent but one and her name is not in the above list. As I said before, competition reduced the price of board and also of room rent. They say that Mother Bodell was the first of their number to hire a solicitor. The first student so employed was jolly E.B. Smith, then like the rest of us, a poor boy, but now worth a half a million and then some. Nearly all the boarding houses followed "suite." Even those having rooms to rent often paid a commission for roomers.

In order to advertise cheaper board and rent, we contracted with a number of ladies to pay board and rent in advance at certain reduced rates. Lebanon, O., Daville, Ind., Valparaiso, Ind., and some other schools advertised and still advertise board at $1.25 a week and rent at from 35 to 50 cents a week. They owned boarding halls and controlled prices. We felt the boarding and rooming of students to the people of the town. We paid out thousands and thousands of dollars in advance for board and rent, frequently paying some lady $500 and more at a time for term and year students and never lost a dollar with but one exception. One family, and I blame the husband, after drawing over $500, and he borrowing some money from me, quit, leaving us stick for about $400. The name is not in the above list, nor will I give it. It would only injure their friends and not help us. The family left Ada many years ago. The ladies named above are honest, honorable and reliable. Mrs. Estill and Mrs. McKean for many years were very accommodating and loyal in taking term and year students when the school was crowded. Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Weir, Mrs. Young and many others would also come to our relief, I could name many who began with nothing who now have comfortable homes, well furnished, have educated their sons and daughters, have set up their sons in business and some have a snug balance in the bank. As a example take the plant of Mrs. Povenmire. That house managed as she manages it, brings in fully as much a year as a 160 acre farm, and with less, or at least no more hard work. I am glad they prosper. They deserve it. They work hard and earn what they get.

The Faculty and especially "Lehr" have been blamed for grinding the faces of the poor boarding house keepers. I deny the charge. I permitted them to make their own prices. Again, when I severed my connection with the school in July, 1902, some reported that I visited the boarding house ladies and advised them to raise the price of board. If the party or parties who reported the story had visited the boarding houses they could easily have discovered their mistake. For about nine days before the school closed I was confined to my bed and under the care of Dr. R.L. Souder, which his record will show. I was taken to the church commencement day in a carriage and assisted into the church. For a number of weeks after commencement I was hardly able to walk. From July 1902, to this day, I have been inside of but five boarding houses in Ada and then on personal business. I have been at the Wilson house, sold Mr. Wilson a lot. Have been to see Mr. Alvord on business, have been at the Dobbins house to see the sick and on personal business. I sold Mrs. Clark wood and potatoes and sold Mr. Heffelfinger some straw and corn and have been to see them on personal business. I met Mrs. Estill, Mrs. Weir and possibly one or two others on the street doubtless I asked them how they were getting along and if they had many boarders, the old, old questions; but I am very certain that nothing was ever said about the price of the board. Any Adaite can easily ascertain the truth of what I state.

I have said much about the Literary societies, much about the Boarding houses. The Literary societies and the Boarding houses are an integral part of the school. Later on I shall speak with equal emphasis on the education and of the Military department of the school.