Mrs. Herold’s School
Back in 1916, a Mrs. Elizabeth L. Herold started a school of her own in Salisbury,Maryland. This was in an era when the county school system had already been established and education was offered to everyone for free. Mrs. Herold had different ideas. She was ahead of her time in starting a private “for pay” school. Now there are many options. Other women associated with the school were Ruth F. Slemons, Mary Waters Hall and Marjori P. Ruark as evidenced by the signatures on the graduation certificate.
Her private school offered grades from kindergarten through elementary and offered “high school preparation classes”. It was a private school and tuition was required of the attendees. The financial end of the school provided her with an income and insured that the students would get a better than average education. By the parents paying, they made sure they got their money’s worth and the children’s noses were certainly kept to the grindstone. Mrs. Herold had only the finest teachers. Bertha Adkins, a prominent Republican, taught there for a time. When the school closed down in the late 1940’s, she went on to become the Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Eisenhower.
Many of Salisbury’s leading citizens passed through Mrs. Herold’s School. Some are still around to tell tales of their school days. When Mrs. Herold passed, it became a home again. Stanton Adkins, of E. S. Adkins, and his wife, Ellen, lived there when they were first married. They lived on the first floor and an apartment was made out of the second floor and rented. The house has since been restored to a single family residence. Mr. Adkins was related to Mrs. Herold on his mother’s side of the family.
One of the students was a local named Jack Elderdice. One day when he was in kindergarten, he showed up at his home farther up N. Division St. When his mother inquired why he was home he informed her that he had “excaped”. I’m sure he thought it was much more of an accomplishment than did his mother.
The house that once was Mrs. Herold’s School at was located at 803 N. Division St. In the reassignment of house numbers in October, 1952, the house number was changed to 325.
Her private school offered grades from kindergarten through elementary and offered “high school preparation classes”. It was a private school and tuition was required of the attendees. The financial end of the school provided her with an income and insured that the students would get a better than average education. By the parents paying, they made sure they got their money’s worth and the children’s noses were certainly kept to the grindstone. Mrs. Herold had only the finest teachers. Bertha Adkins, a prominent Republican, taught there for a time. When the school closed down in the late 1940’s, she went on to become the Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Eisenhower.
Many of Salisbury’s leading citizens passed through Mrs. Herold’s School. Some are still around to tell tales of their school days. When Mrs. Herold passed, it became a home again. Stanton Adkins, of E. S. Adkins, and his wife, Ellen, lived there when they were first married. They lived on the first floor and an apartment was made out of the second floor and rented. The house has since been restored to a single family residence. Mr. Adkins was related to Mrs. Herold on his mother’s side of the family.
One of the students was a local named Jack Elderdice. One day when he was in kindergarten, he showed up at his home farther up N. Division St. When his mother inquired why he was home he informed her that he had “excaped”. I’m sure he thought it was much more of an accomplishment than did his mother.
The house that once was Mrs. Herold’s School at was located at 803 N. Division St. In the reassignment of house numbers in October, 1952, the house number was changed to 325.
3 comments:
It was a wonderful school.I only attended kindergarten .Cookies and milk at 10 AM
great story Joe
Great story.Too bad the #s of students locally and nationwide eradicated any possibility of such an ethic to work today.
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