[Photograph of] Unionville Public School--Wellesley Massachusetts --grades 1-4
(2-D Visual Material)

First row : Miss Eleanor Coleman, teacher; second row : Arthur Batcheller, Elizabeth Brown, Frank Batcheller; third row : Lila McMahan, Laura Howard, Mary McCloskey, Warren Stevens, Lulu Waters, Bertha McMahan, Mabel Batcheller ; fourth row : John Montgomery, Martha Stevens, Lottie Fisher, Irene McMahan, Warren Fisher

Fells Branch Library

"Our teacher, Miss Eleanor Coleman was very pretty; she had titian hair and arrived at the school always on time and her mode of transportation was a bicycle designed for ladies because of the fashion, long dresses, mini-skirts were not the fashion."

"The years I spent with Miss Coleman as my teacher served me very well as later on, my work with the U.S. government and the many promotions I enjoyed has so proven. When President Coolidge nominated me for a U.S. Commissioner, Teacher Coleman was among the thousands to send her congratulations. A copy of Miss Coleman's letter is attached."

A brief history--use what you want of this material its historical and certainly part of the town's early history: Unionville Public School, Wellesley, Massachusetts--grades 1-4 : located on Blossom Street, now Weston Road and near the corner or what was then known as the Worcester Turnpike, now Route (9). The Unionville School was a real country school, a one room wooden structure heated by an iron stove placed in the center of the room and fueled by four foot oak cord wood sticks. A long tall stove pipe extended from the stove to the ceiling and suspended by wires for support, hence to the rear of the room where it joined the chimney. An oil lamp was available for lighting during the dark stomy days of winter and during thunder storms in the early spring and fall. There was no janitor at the school. However a farmer who lived near by, by the name of Seagraves kept the floor swept and the stove fire going during cold weather nights and week ends. The teacher during class attendance added wood to the stove, however pupil Arthur Batchller needed no instruction in this matter as he was born on a farm and well acquainted with this detail. There is no water in the school. However we had drinking water brought in from a near by farm. The school was fitted with a rest room located in the rear of the school. Quite modern for that period, it was a wooden structure divided in two parts one for the boys and one for the girls. This utility was not without its problem as during winter snow storms deep snow prevented arriving at this facility and during the late spring and early fall hornets and wasps resented any interferance [sic] with their place of abode. The front entrance to the school had two doors left and right, the girls entered at the left and the boys at the right. Dressing rooms were available inside each entrance. The Wellesley Public Library now occupy the building as a branch library.