CLEARWATER - A new and enhanced record of the Plumb family, with pictures of the ten children and their families, and historic copies of abstracts and maps of early Clearwater, compiled by Ruth Ann Galatas-Sands, was recently presented to the Plumb House Museum which is managed and sponsored by the Clearwater Historical Society. The book is now available for inspection by the general public.
Galatas-Sands is the geat-granddaughter of Jennie Reynolds Plumb, the first paid school teacher in Clearwater for whom Plumb Elementary School was named. Kathleen Plumb and Myrtle Plumb Howell were two teachers in the family who were honored at the school's dedication. Kathleen Plumb was Supervisor of Elementary Education from 1944-1957. A copy of Kathleen's Masters Degree thesis is contained in the new book and was a record of teaching local history to fifth grade students. The thesis includes a description of the early Clearwater area, its pioneers, schools and churches, Indian tribes, communication, transportation and leading industries before 1912.
The book tells about the first public school in Clearwater being held in the Baptist Church located in the Clearwater Cemetery at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Lakeview Roads. Students at the school carried drinking water from a ditch which drained from Lake Belleview. Often, the students had to chase away a motherly sow and wait for the water to clear up.
As we know today, what was done then could have caused death since the teacher did not know about "germs."
Children brought Indian relics to school for "Show and Tell," all of which would be prized possessions today.
The agriculture section in Plumb's thesis mentions the practice of burying oranges in order to preserve them, and also says that bears roamed freely in the woods near Cleveland Street.
Galatas-Sand's book is a must for those doing research on early education in Clearwater and is available for review during the historic Plumb House Museum regular hours of operation from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. every Saturday through the month of April, and from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month. The Museum is located at 1380 South Martin Luther King Avenue, and admission is free. .
