Interview of Ron Baughman for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Baughman discusses growing up in the village of Bloserville in Upper Frankford Township. Baughman's father owned one of two general stores in Bloserville and he also talks about attending a two room school house before moving to the Big Spring School District school and his career as a photographer.
Interview of Robert W. Black for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library an initiative of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Black discusses growing up on a farm in Gardners, Pennsylvania during the Great Depression.
Interview of Ray Heckman for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Heckman discusses his life in Newville, Pennsylvania from his childhood attending Newville schools to his life on a farm raising sheep and fixing old furniture.
A black and white photograph shows two horse-drawn wagons filled with children from the Basin Hill School and their teacher Miss Bertha Kitch. They are having their picture taken in front of Carlisle’s Market House. The ground is covered with snow.
In the early part of the 18th century, public schools did not exist in Pennsylvania. Affluent parents who wanted their child to have a formal education enrolled them in a private academy such as the Carlisle Grammar School or the Cumberland Valley Institute in Mechanicsburg. Private or subscription schools were very expensive but would prepare a child for college and the professions.