The Real Westerner from Norton, Kansas • 1

A PUBLICATION FOR FARMERS AND REAL ESTATE MEN Every Live Wire Real Estate Man and Farmer who is a Real Constructionist will Subscribe for The Real Westerner SUCCESSOR TO THE WESTERN REAL ESTATER A Journal of Service, Education and Push, Published Every Little While by The Real Ones a Subscription Price One Dollar Per Year Single Copy Ten Cents Subscription Price One Dollar Per Year February, 1917 NORTON, KANSAS Vol. II. No. 17 BUILDING IN NORTON SEASON OP -1917 From the present outlook at the and brave enough to tell fond papas and mamas the truth about their young hopefuls. This real stand for truth often cost them a second term and a The Story Of A Short Grass Country Town early part of the year the city of Nor- raise in salary but the real progress in ton will do more building and growing educational affairs in our county has the year 1917 than in any previous been made possible very largely by this CHAPTER THREE year of her history.

Last year saw about a quarter of a million spent in new buildings and improvements and the present year's activities bid fair to run over a cool half million. We are already starting the work class of teachers. There were always four flushers at the normal. Teachers who wanted the county superintendent's office taken out of politics, just as soon as they ceuld be elected to the office and get Frank The Educational Leader with a new garage 120. by 48 that will permanently to the official cost around $15,000.

This is the Smith 1 i.Jj JL. nnmial -C AT A I i- salary, wanteu tne wuuwcouiuc garage, just eaau oi tue wauuitunuiu. teachers' examinations abolished, want- Directly across the street from Smith's the teachers' salaries raised and will be the new-Fleming garage, a ixed at an advancing schedule by the 000 two-story brick structure covering old wjse boys who constituted the state a ground space of 140 by 50. The two-legislature. In fact, about everything story, modern, wholesale bakery to be in the calendar was suggested for the erected by Bicks will cost around to do to the schools.

That -ooOj the two-story produce house for long whiskered old assemblage used to the new commission firm will be close play football with the day of annual to a $20,000 structure. A new $25,000 school meeting at about every session iCe plant is under contract. A modern until now scarcely any onein the state $75,000, four-story up-to-date hotel, a knows the date. $10,000 improvement to the M. E.

church, a $15,000 new brick plant" and several Not every one at the county normal was there for serious work by any means. While most of the young coun Frank, as everybody called him because they all knew him as a personal was an early character in the story of our town. His father was an itinerant Methodist preacher who took a homestead in the early days just to the southwet of the town. At this time Frank was a mere boy and his keen boyish desires Tor an education were perhaps sharpened by the hardships of his farm life. Those were the days of scant rations and hardships.

The farmers at that time i were too poor to own good teams and tools and it was the custom for several of them to club together and buy one team and took of the crudest make to use with it. When corn planting time came one corn planter often served an entire neighborhood and it was kept running day and night till the season was over. Frank's father planted his corn by moonlightT" being too poor to own a planter of his own and night being the only time he could borrow one. The boy cultivated the crop with a scrub team and a makeshift affair of smaller factories, as well as a half dozen store buildings and at least one big implement house, are among the try girls were ambitious to become, in- dependent, wage-earning school ma'ams, more important structures that will go some, of them cherished farther ambi- up this season. Aside from the business tions.

possible that some of buildings, at the lowest count twenty- the boys had other than studious in- five good residences will be among this clinations. year's new buildings, and numerous Out of this embryonic bunch of teach- improvements and additional the old ers and would-be teachers that Frank ones. (Continued on Page 4.) The buzz of the saw and the pounding of the hammer -will "be the common and welcome sign of the city's prosperity all the year, thru. No man who is willing to work will be out of employment this year. Norton wiU have no trouble in showing a census of 5,000 before the close of 1917 and all realty property will easily show a 25 increase.

In the face of all this, wouldn't it be a good idea for you, man without a home, to buy one, even if you have to use the installment plant? Rents 0, UUlllVilWl, UUi III Ui mcoc ficulties enough crop wa3 coaxed out of an indifferent soil to keep the family over the cold winter. Modern houses were unknown at that lime, the pre A Soul Within. Ugh! The infernal blizzard is disgusting. All day long I've watched the hard-driven flecks of snow and ice break away from the open and join the frenzied swirl beneath my window; even from this they flutter away to some less riotous niche, as tho their own compan- work for which he had no liking, he devoted his entire life time to teaching with far-reaching results, influencing the lives of his pupils. This was back in the time of the old country literary societies that we all used to enjoy and our hero, having an ambition to become a public speaker, found this a very good training school.

Being well posted and having a fairly good command of language, he rapidly became a very popular speaker. It was just a step from country debating clubs to political discussions so it was little wonder that the best country debater was picked as a candidate for county superintendent. He was at this time principal of the Almena Schools, one of the best in the county. A ready speaker, a good debater, he naturally became a good campaigner and was elected by a handsome majority. In the county superintendent's office he became "the recognized leader of the western section of the state.

The teachers elected him president of the Northwest Teachers' association and he was very favorably mentioned as a candidate for state superintendent, but that was before the day when western Kansas paid over half of the state taxes or occupied the position of prominence and prosperity that she enjoys today, and our control of state offices was more limited. As superintendent he particularly displaced his skill in organization in handling the affairs of the county normal. Under his management our summer normal school became a western Kansas affair 'drawing students from many other counties and far eclipsing the attendance and reputation of neighboring counties. All classes of teachers attended these normals, the bright enthusiastic opportunity seekers, the hard working earnest plodders, and the amusement hunters, were always present. There was the natural born teacher who was so natural as to be beyond the need of-study, there was the earnest hard working ones who were ever looking for improvement in their work.

There was the bunch who believed in amusing the kids, flattering the parents and smiling the wise old whiskered echoolboard into second and third terms with raised salaries. Of course schools taught by them made small headway and real educational progress suffered defeat. Then we had a real live-wire class, who wanted their work to count and who had the interests of their pupils at heart, men and women who were big, honest Jvill be high and you might just as well I fancied I saw some poor devil ambling i. "be paying towards a home. along thru' the drifts.

Gad! Only a fool would be out now. No, I'm sick of billiards. Here Henry, bring me the Start the new year rightly buying a cigarettes, will you? farm in the west. 1 vailing style being the old time dugout, tho a few of the moat forehanded settlers were able to have real up-to-date sod houses with two rooms in them. The school house in Frank's neighborhood had the fProud distinction of being one of the few good sod school houses of the time.

The three or four months' winter school in the old sod school house was enough to fire the young student with an ambition for better things. Opportunities for advancement were not numerous but he was not the boy to wait for opportunity, it might noTOf tnnrIr nr it. Tmtrht, knock too late. Bare hands, muscle and brains grasp success much better than kid gloves and cigarettes. The man who is afraid to start at the bottom, never arrives.

There are over three million automobiles in use in the United States today, and over one-thirtieth of the number are in Kansas, which, considering that she only has about one-fiftieth of the people, is a very good showing for the state. This paper in the last year has re- A Soul Without. Oh God! How bitter is the cold. For hours I've struggled on and-on, directly against the icy blasts. With every gust their fury increases as tho they were determined to annihilate me.

My eyes burn so that I can scarcely see the way. Strange lights are flashing across my path. How cruelly they tantaUze me with visions of food and warmth and love. Behold! 'A mansion ahead. Perhaps they will shelter me from the storm.

Someone is at the window Ah, how scornfully he gazes down upon me from his world of. lavish plenty. No, I'll not ask more kind to me are the raging elements than the hellish charities within those walls. I'll rest here by the hedge a moment before venturing farther. I'm warmer' now Ah, how good it is to rest at last Eugene F.

Tinker, so by dint of hard study, and work he proceeded to dig up opportunities for himself. It would have been greatly to his advantage if at this time he could have had the benefits of high school and college training that is so common and so 'Utile appreciated today. However this was out of the question and he made the best of matters and by constant study and application soon became one of the best posted young men in the county. Passing a creditable examination, several openings were of- ceivea over two nunarea inquiries irom that booze-run city of Peoria, 111., from working and business men who want to get away from that place and make a home where the better element is in fered him as a teacher. He threw his 'whole heart into his school work and uMfV.

tlip pxppntion of a vear soent on i the road as a traveling salesman, a.