CREECH LETTERS 1914

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 4A: Pine Mountain Settlement School History – Creech Family

CREECH LETTERS 1914 (1 letter)

CREECH LETTERS 1914: CONTENTS

September 7, 1914, William Creech to Mrs. J.R. Morton, Lexington, KY [2 pages 070-071]

Letterhead lists names of executive committee members and treasurer. William Creech writes this monthly board letter to Mrs. J. R. Morton, at Miss Katherine Pettit‘s request.

Creech describes his work in getting Miss Pettit elected district trustee, the efforts to move the sawmill to PMSS, and how well the work is conducted. The community is supportive and its children have advanced in education, morality and work. The school has helped rid the area of whiskey drinking. Other communities have asked for a school, such as Cutshin. Creech invites the trustees to visit the School. Signed by Wm. Creech.

CREECH LETTERS 1914: GALLERY

CREECH LETTERS 1914: TRANSCRIPTION

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PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL, INC.
PINE MOUNTAIN, HARLAN COUNTY
KENTUCKY

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Miss Katherine Pettit
Miss Ethel de Long

TREASURER
C. N. Manning
Security Trust Co
Lexington, Ky.

September 7, 1914.

Dear Madam:-

Miss Pettit has asked me to write the board letter to you this month. I visit the school as often as I reasonably can and think the work is proceeding nicely. One of the things I have done is to have Miss Pettit elected trustee in this district. I found a man who had the name of selling schools and who had moved out of the district, but was trying to get his son elected. I was not taking much interest in the school election until I heard this. I was at the polls when I heard this and I said I believed if Miss Pettit would run I would have her elected. My nephew and I hadn’t rid for a good many years, and rid down to the school house as hard as I could and got there five minutes before one o’clock and her name had to be in by one. Me and the old trustee polled her name and voted for her and they failed to get their man in. We hope now that the school will be taught by a person who is qualified and not by one about to buy it, although one of our neighbors said, when she congratulated Miss Pettit, that she was glad for any prosperity that would come to her.

We have had a considerable time moving the sawmill over to Gabe’s Branch and gettin’ it started to saw up the lumber for the school house. My son, who is overseer of the road, had eight men work for three days to get the road fixed before the sawmill could travel through.

I am glad of this chance to write to the trustees to tell them how well the work is conducted here and what a sight of work has been accomplished this year. I want you to know the school has the confidence of the people and I never saw anything advance further amongst a community as this work. I think the children of the community are doin’ awful well and have advanced greatly since the school has started both in education and morality and work. I think we are runnin’ whiskey away from here and we aim to clear hit up. One of our neighbor women told me this mornin’ that I had done more for her husband and one of her cousins than anybody else in the world, talkin’ to them about drinkin’. And I want to say the school has done a lot for the workmen along these lines.

People of other communities are payin’ us visits and are so pleased with the work here that they want us to start a school over on Cutshin about fifteen miles from here. On account of the evil work and drinkin’ carried on in that country amongst children, I think if we had a school started there like this, it would be a great blessing to the children there. I think this is…

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…all the school that you and Miss Pettit and Miss de Long and me can ever manage, but I would be glad if somebody could go and help them.

I would like if you would come to see this school and see if we are runnin’ things the way you’d want them run.

Very truly yours,
[signed] Wm. Creech

Mrs. J. R. Morton,
231 East Short Street,
Lexington, Kentucky.

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