THE CENTENNIAL ODE. BY J. M. HARDING. Columbia's pride, Ohio, grand and fair, Where wealth and beauty are beyond compare, Nursed to thy statehood at the Nation's breast And taught wisdom of the Ordinance Rule No slav'ry chain but e'er the public school, Ohio, name for what is good and grand, With pride we hail thee as our native land; With jealous pride we sing our heartfelt lay To laud thy name, this first Centennial Day. One hundred years and half as many more Ago, from ripples on proud Erie's shore Far to the south where, beautiful and grand, The placid river's wave kissed untrod sand, The dusky twilight of the forest old Concealed the native Indian, wild and bold. Within the awe of that primeval wood The white-skin captive, pining, lonely stood And longed to lift the prison veil to roam From-savag'ry to join dear ones at home. Here lived the greatest, noblest Indian men, Retreating from their Eastern glade and glen, They crossed the River, called this land their own And hoped to hunt and fish and live alone. Here came another Race. The renegade, The scout, the trapper, followed each his trade. Here, too, the priest and bishop, with sad face, Converted souls, built missions, "Tents of Grace." But they are gone. The annals of the strife Have oft been writ, by deeds not free from stains, The Mayflower of the West, her moorings fast Debarked that crew to found a new empire. They brought with them their all; but ere they came The purest laws that Liberty could frame. More settlers followed them. With steady stroke And fire they cleared the land of native oak, And reared the cabin homes. Soon did appear The rude log schoolhouse of the pioneer. One decade and a half of honest toil Create a state of Freemen on Free soil. One century of statehood-statehood such As all the World proclaims the guiding touch Of man's long strife for liberty, and one Full-gemmed with pure deeds that men have done. When Tyranny, in dark expiring throe, A few times dared on our horizon show A cloud of war, Ohio's noble sons Were first to bear and last to stack their guns With Erie's waters mixed their crimson blood; They reached and crossed the Rio Grande's flood; They "Starred and Striped" the Montezuma's halls, They filled the ranks at Lincoln's sev'ral calls, And fought till Freedom won. Ohio's roll Was near Four Hundred Thousand men, each soul Free born and taught, for that great civil strife. Ohio men in ev'ry fight were rife, In cabinet and battle camp each plan, A Stanton, Chase, a Sherman, Sheridan Or Grant direction gave. The slave is free. The breeze but one Flag floats from sea to sea. Pure, noble women, honest, learned men For peace and progress here have ever been,. Each morning's breeze, throughout our hills and dells, Where lived a Race in dark antiquity, To speak to us of industry and toil With tongues entombed in mounds of clay and soil; Ohio, guardian of eternal right, The lamp of justice burned but dimly bright Till thou, from off thy Northwest Throne, Interpreted, with will and arm of stone, That grand old page, where Heaven's guided pen To guard thy name a thousand centuries. Caldwell, Ohio, February 4, 1903. VOL. XII. No. 2. EDITORIALANA. &O, Randall OHIO DAY IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. APRIL, 1903. At the regular monthly meeting of the Executive Committee of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical society, held Friday, July 18, 1902, Professor C. L. Martzolff, trustee, presented a scheme to have the public schools throughout the state, celebrate the admission of Ohio into the Union on March 1, 1903. He proposed that the Society, through a committee, prepare a program of exercises for that occasion, such program to consist of historical sketches, literary excerpts, poems and other literary matter pertinent to the day for the children to read or recite, and that this literature with some suggestive schedule of exercises, be sent to the superintendents and principals of all the schools of the state. Professor L. D. Bonebrake, School Commissioner, and Mr. O. T. Corson, editor of the Ohio Educational Monthly, had signified their willingness to co-operate in this matter. The Executive Committee of the Society endorsed this plan and appointed Professor C. L. Martzolff, Professor F. B. Pearson and Hon. D. J. Ryan as a committee to prepare such program and report to a subsequent meeting of the Executive Committee. Accordingly on November 14, 1902, at the first joint meeting of the Centennial Commission appointed by the Governor and the Executive Committee of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society, this matter was presented by Hon. A. R. McIntire and it met with the approval of the joint committee. Again at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Society on December 13, 1902, Professor Martzolff, on behalf of his committee, reported that they proposed to send to the principals of the schools a little pamphlet containing the program of exercises for the children to follow, with a list of books and literature to be consulted. A preliminary statement in the form of a circular had already been sent to very many of the teachers and something over one hundred of the county newspapers. These papers had published the circular and commented favorably thereon. The matter had thus been sufficiently advertised to establish its popularity and justify the carrying out of the project. It would, however, require considerable expense. The only source from which funds for the purpose could come was the Centennial appropriation of $10,000 made by the legislature in its extraordinary session, October 22, 1902. The Executive Committee decided to recommend to the Joint Centennial Committee that this proposition for the school day celebration be carried out and that a sufficient amount be voted from the centennial fund for the purpose. At the second joint meeting of the Centenntial Commission, held December 29, 1902, Professor Martzolff presented the proposed pamphlet to be sent to the teachers, which was entitled "The Ohio Centennial Syllabus," the material of which would constitute a pamphlet of 64 pages, with an appropriate cover upon which was printed the National flag in colors. This pamphlet comprised an introduction by School Commissioner Bonebrake, a statement of the history and work of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society; statement of the committee preparing this material setting forth the purpose of the school celebration; the origin of the plan and steps taken to carry it out. The material chosen for this pamphlet was carefully selected by the committee from leading histories, volumes of poems, works of literature, publications of the Ohio Archæological and Historical Society, etc., also a valuable list of reference books pertinent to Ohio history. The Centennial Commission made the proposed appropriation and authorized the committee to proceed with the publication and dissemination of this pamphlet. It was decided not to hold the school celebration on March 1, 1903, which was the real date of the admission of Ohio, because that date fell this year on Sunday, but rather to hold it on Friday, February 27, which day would be more suitable and convenient for the schools. The Centennial Commission authorized Professor Martzolff and his committee to print and circulate the proposed pamphlet. The committee had 15,000 of these pamphlets printed and sent to that number of the leading teachers, principals and superintendents of schools in Ohio. Indeed, more than half of the teachers of the state were thus supplied and there was scarcely a school in a town of any size that was not a recipient of the program and that did not make use of it. It was indeed a most successful achievement for the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society and on the day, in question, hundreds of thousands of school children gave their thought and attention to the history of Ohio and the literature that has been published concerning it. Probably in no state at any time has so universal and complete a program of a state event been observed by the school children. The results of this Ohio Day will certainly be far-reaching. It not only added vastly to the information and interest of our young people in their own state but it was an inspiring and patriotic occasion well calculated to stimulate and encourage their study of the achievements not merely of the Buckeye State, but the American nation. |