History of Lisman School Number 30

The Lisman School is situated at the head waters of the Pecan Bayou, in what is known by old settlers, as Eagle Cove. The territory embraced formerly belonged to the Jim Ned and Potosi Districts, but, on account of the long distances and rough roads across the mountains, it was impossible for the children of the Lisman District to attend school with any regularity. Some twenty-seven years ago, Mr. C. P. Lisman and some of his neighbors, seeing the need of a school in this little cove, undertook the task of its establishment. Then the trouble began. Neither Jim Ned nor Potosi wanted give up any territory; however, after a hard struggle, the Commissioners' Court granted a small strip of land for the little school, which was established in 1895. Because of his efforts put forth in its establishment and his good services rendered as trustee for many years, the district was naturally called "Lisman," for Mr. C. P. Lisman. The first building was a little box house twenty feet by thirty feet; it was equipped with wooden benches and home-made desks. For a number of years the little district struggled along with a three or four months' school and a teacher paid about forty dollars per month. In 1915, however, thanks to the State Aid measure, it was possible for a modern building to be erected and well equipped, a bond and a fifty cent tax having been voted. All of the labor put into the building was donated the patrons of the school, and so the five hundred dollar bond was sufficient for its construction. The community was fortunate to have in its midst at the time Mr. H. W. McDaniel, who was a skillful workman; to him belongs much of the credit for our neat little building Mr. W. F.Utzman who generously donated the site for the building, should also be given special mention.

With the better opportunities thus offered in the district creditable work has been done and, for a number of years, Lisman has had an eight months school. A large per cent of its pupils have gone on to schools of higher advancement, after having finished the work offered here, and this little one teacher school up in the mountains has reason to be proud of the records these boys and girls have made. At present the school is moving along smoothly with Miss Ona Parker as its good teacher.

-ETHELYN CLARK.

Be The Best of Whatever You Are

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley-but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush, be a bit of the grass;
Some highway some happier make.
If you can't be a muskie, then just be a bass,
But the liveliest bass in the lake.

We can't all be captains; we've got to be crew;
There's something for all of us here.
There's big work to do and lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail;
If you can't be the sun, be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are.

- by Douglas Malloch.

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