My ancestor wrote in 1859, in Hampshire, that he attended a lecture on "earthquakes and volcanoes" and another on the "Mastering of Men" (whatever that was!). He also taught maths in an evening class - for boys only, of course. Regards Hami -----Original Message----- From: Chris and Caroline [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 27 August 2005 00:47 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HantsLife] Spelling School Not exactly spelling schools David But there are evening classes held at most of the local schools, for adults to further their education, with subjects ranging from English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Art, Motor maintenance right through to Origami and Yoga!! In fact if there is a demand for any subject the schools will endeavour to cater for it. Probably there is a Spelling or Reading and Writing class as the government is trying to encourage people who cannot read or write. Also a lot of jobs such as apprenticeships insist that their apprenctices go to either a day class or an evening class to further their education in whatever field they are working in. My nephew is doing bricklaying classes one day a week and also in the evening and works for a local builder. Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: "DAVID PARKER" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 9:56 PM Subject: [HantsLife] Spelling School > I have a collection of handwritten diaries from the North east > States for the late 19C early 20C. These are all written by adults, mainly > farmers, and I was initially surprised to read that a number of them > attended "Spelling School" of an evening. Apparently these were held > during the winter, in barns as well as schools, and were the > entertainment equivalent to the movies and baseball. Day-time bees would > help in the selection of a school team who would compete against a > visiting team. But they were not just spelling bees they were also > opportunities for the adults, who in addition to watching and encouraging > their offspring would take part by giving "declamations", recitations > and dramatic performances. It was not usual to provide refreshments and > each family brought its own candle > > .I am not aware of such events in England. Has anyone heard of them ? > > David > > > > ==== HAMPSHIRE-LIFE Mailing List ==== > To contact the List Administrator: [email protected] > To unsubscribe from the list: > Mail: [email protected] > Digest: [email protected] > In both cases put "unsubscribe" in the subject header and no text in the > message box > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.15/82 - Release Date: 25/08/2005