The Zanesville Signal, July 10, 1929 Former Pupils of Martin School in Perry County Plan to Hold Reunion Distinguished men and women of the nation today will gather Thursday, July 18, at the scene of their early childhood when former pupils, teachers and their families gather at the old Martin school, near McLuney. Located in one of the pioneer school districts of Perry county, the Martin school claims for itself the distinction of sending into the world more "men of letters" than any other school of its size in this section of the country. The early settlers of that section, realizing the necessity of education, spared no labor in afforming the best that conditions at the time could afford and the small, one-room building near McLuney was considered at the time of its founding, one of the ideally organized institutions for the advancement of knowledge. Reunion day, which will attract more that one hundred old scholars, will be spent reminiscing of old school days. Gray-haired men will join with more youthful "alumni" in playing games as they once were played. Older teachers will deliver a number of addresses during the program, following which a basket dinner will be served. One of the outstanding features of the day will be the reunion of the old McLuney silver cornet band, whose members were early attendants at this school. The old band was once the prince of Perry county and no function in the "gay nineties" was complete without the presence of the musical organization. Coroner G. B. Trout, this city, is believed to the oldest surviving teacher of the Martin school. He taught during the winters of 1884 and 1885. Included among the "illustrious sons and daughters" of the small school are the late Thomas Corwin Iliff, an eminent divine of the Methodist Episcopal church, Salt Lake City, Utah: Charles E. Shell, who officiated on various Indian reservations and later became superintendent of schools in San Diego, Calif.; A. A. George, attorney-at-law and lecturer, this city; Frank M. Ransbottom, Zanesville pottery manufacturer; E. P. Conaway, McLuney; Mrs. Mary Conaway Pletcher, Clay City, Ind.; A. B. Milligan, Wesley E. Brown, W. A. Brown, Mrs. Elizabeth Tatman, Mrs. Minnie Jones, Miss Ellen Cusick, all of Crooksville. A number of better known surviving instructors are: E. H. Brown, principal of Springfiled, O., schools; L. J. Brown, Newark, O.; A. J. Calhoun, New Lexington; C. O. Koehler, Saltillo; and Raymond Polk, Peoria, Ill. The Martin school "originally it was a one-room structure with a seating capacity of about eighty, comprising the beginner to the college graduate, and the beginner would start at age five until he was twenty-five. McGuffey readers were used exclusively." " It was strictly academic and classical in its form from its beginnings in the early 19th century until it was reduced to a grade school in 1908. It was situated one-fourth mile east of McLuney" (which was established in 1855). Prior to 1880 it was an "Alpha to Omega school". Aka "Old Martin Academic School" Anglo Saxon and Greek was taught. Former teachers include Jerome Sheppard, Jesse Atwell, Maggie Alexander, Lizzie Williams, Hubert Craddock, George Morgan, Samuel Zigler, William Morris, Dr. Granville Trout, John Taylor and Alva Calhoun. As of 1935, the oldest living former pupil was Mrs. Mary Conaway Pletcher (1845-1937), next was Alexander Burgoon Milligan an octogenarian. E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized county official. If you have received this communication in error , please do not distribute it. Please notify the sender by E-mail at the address shown and delete the original message. Thank you