Volume Three  Issue Three  February 2018
The History Center on Main Street
The History Center on Main Street
83 and 61 North Main Street
Mansfield PA
The Museum of Us
 Director- Joyce M. Tice: President - Deb Talbot Bastian: V.P - Amy Welch
Mansfield's Business Colleges
A forgotten part of the educational and business history of Mansfield is the series of business colleges that operated here from the 1870s until the early twentieth century. In 1883 the Mansfield Business College opened on the second floor of the newly built Welch Block on the corner of North Main and Center Streets. Ephriam Westbrook was the principal. It went through several ownerships and locations but operated on and off for decades. It was also called Allen's Business College later and was operated by Fred Allen, son of Fordyce Allen who had been principal of the Normal School and founder of the Soldiers Orphans School discussed in the previous newsletter. Fred also operated business schools in Williamsport and New York State.
1882
1884
Before Mansfield had a high school and before high schools offered commercial programs, the business schools offered practical career training for young people whose education otherwise stopped about eighth grade. They could take this training right into businesses as experience.
Courses and Students
Courses included penmanship, basic business procedures including banking, telegraphy, stenography and shorthand.
Among our artifacts is a tattered list of students and hometown from 1886. The list includes about 200 names from all over Pennsylvania and New York, even many other states.
Students stayed in boarding houses in town where they were expected to behave with all propriety.
Many of the people who later operated businesses in Mansfield started out in Mansfield Business College.
1892
The Museum of Us - Tell Us About You
You and your family are part of Mansfield's Community History. Do you have a story or anecdote to tell about growing up in the Mansfield area? We'd like to hear it and include it in the newsletter. We'd also like to see your family photos. You can send them by email as high resolution scans or bring them in and we'll scan them for you. This will not only help us tell Mansfield's story, but will also protect and preserve your treasured family photos. Our story is not complete without you.
1956
The above photo was found in our mailbox some months ago, donor not identified. This is the Fourth of July parade ca 1956 with the Dairyman's League float passing the telephone building outside Smythe Park.
Note the high school band wearing white uniforms as they did in the 1950s. Probably too small for you to read is the Sunoco sign in front of Barnes service station announcing gas at .24 per gallon. Great photo. Thanks to our anonymous donor.
Coming Soon

The History Center will be offering beginner genealogy courses in March or April this year. We will announce exact dates shortly. There will be a fee of $15 for History Center members or $25 for others per session.

If you are interested, let us know if you would most likely attend a weekday afternoon class or a Saturday afternoon class, so we can determine the optimal time. Class size will be limited to 8 per session. Joyce M. Tice will conduct the courses. Email to histcent83@gmail.com indicating your interest and preferred time.
Have You Missed Previous Newsletters? You can reach them here.
Progress Report

January has been a great month for new archival material. We have been able to scan the burial book and burial permits for Prospect and Oakwood cemeteries. These give us information about people who may not be on our tombstone listings or for whom we do not have obituaries. We have also continued to acquire and catalog more tombstone photos. All of this is part of our objective of keeping track of the people who have been part of our local communities. These are important records for genealogical researchers.

We have two work study students this year from Mansfield University and we have had MU interns for both semesters. Along with our regular volunteers, we have been moving forward very well. We could always use more volunteers to go out and photograph the tombstones at some of our other area cemeteries when the weather improves. Drop us a note at histcent83@gmail.com if you will consider this and we can let you know what needs to be done and how to proceed to make cataloguing them easiest.
Memorial Donations

2018
Sherry Frost Runco in memory of Venita Benson Parker (MHS 1944)

2017
Darwina Neal in honor of the Neal Family
Patty Hutcheson in memory of Ben Hutcheson
Gene Seelye in memory of John and Audrey Griffiths Baynes
 Joe Moore in memory of Allen Schanbacher (MHS 1962)
Joan Nash Odell in memory of Bob Odell
Marcia Bartlett in memory of Robert Bartlett (MHS 1953)
Oliver Bartlett in memory of Robert Bartlett
Maxine Smith Mills in memory of Lisle and Evelyn Bardwell Smith
Terri Jo Goodall-Komar in memory of Howard and Connie Goodall of Mansfield
Jon Mingos in memory of Margaret and Henry Mingos of Monroeton PA
Sherry Hafer Courtney In memory of her father, Barry Hafer
In memory of Philip Wilson, MHS Class of 1956 by Carl & Phyllis Zenger
Deaths 2017 (Missed in last newsletter's list)
MHS Class of 1953 Marjorie Brodrick (Rex) (May 2017) and Duane Seymour (31 DEC 2016)
Wellsboro DAR is sponsoring a trip to the Museum of the American Revolution . Cost includes museum entrance and tour, hostess service, free time in the historic district, coach transportation.
Wherever Life Takes You, You Are Always Welcome Home
Is this your year for a class reunion? One of our favorite activities is to welcome home our local people with a reception during their high school reunion weekend. We have hosted about sixteen reunion classes over the past four years and enjoy meeting or catching up with old friends. It gives us a chance to share what we are doing for Mansfield's people and gives the reunion class members the chance to meet and reacquaint in an informal setting. 
This year we will make our  Mansfield Then and Now  program available to classes who want to see Mansfield as they remember it. Additionally, most of the first floor of our Museum of Us is set up with artifacts and exhibits relating to Mansfield High School.
 
We will be glad to work with your reunion committees to help schedule a visit to the History Center in your plans.
DONATE
One way to you can make sure that we can continue to preserve Mansfield area history and ensure that it is available to you now and in the future is to become a member or donor.
Paypal makes it easy to give a one time donation or a smaller one on a monthly basis to spread it out over time.