DUANE
Duane's take
Now, this one comes straight from the marker — and some markers give you dry facts, but every now and then you get a whole world in a few lines. This is one of those. Somewhere in Grayson County, on a patch of Texas ground that used to hold a large frame building, boys once learned to spell and cipher and stand up straight — because Captain John H.
LeTellier was watching, and the Cap'n did not miss a thing. The school went by two names. Officially: the Sherman Private School.
Unofficially, to every boy who ever sat in those rows: The Cap'n's. Founded in 1871. Tuition, three dollars a month.
And for that three dollars, you had better come ready to work. LeTellier was born in Virginia, educated at Bethany College, and came out the other side of the Confederate army wearing a captain's rank and, apparently, strong opinions about English, spelling, and mathematics. Especially math.
Oral arithmetic was a particular obsession — he didn't want you to figure it in your head quietly, he wanted you to say it out loud, in front of everybody. Keeps you sharp. Keeps you honest.
For each subject completed, the captain issued a certificate. There was a record of what you'd done, and what you hadn't. Mostly boys filled those benches, though a few younger girls were admitted too.
And the roll — that roll of names — turned out to contain a good number of future leading citizens of the area. High scholastic standards have a way of doing that. But here's what makes the Cap'n more than just a strict schoolmaster.
At recess, he joined his boys in sports. He didn't watch from a window — he was out there. He told them stories of his war experiences.
He sang. He played the guitar. And occasionally — occasionally — he held dances upstairs.
For those, Old Jim the handyman took up the fiddle, and I imagine the whole building had something to say about it. Then there was the fall pecan hunt. Each autumn, the fathers of the students furnished wagons, every last child piled on, and they all rode out to the Choctaw Bottoms for the favorite annual pecan hunt.
That wasn't curriculum. That was something better. In later years, LeTellier's daughter, Clifford, taught at the school alongside the legacy her father had built.
The captain himself lived until 1913. He was born in 1842, and by any measure he filled those years. When LeTellier died, the school closed.
Not restructured, not handed off — closed. Some institutions are the person running them, and that was The Cap'n's. He and his family are buried in West Hill Cemetery.
And this marker was sponsored by Harry — Pete — Hudgins. An ex-student. A man who, decades later, still wanted the Cap'n remembered.
Three dollars a month. A certificate for every subject completed. And apparently, a school worth remembering for the rest of your life.
What the marker says
This school for boys, founded in 1871, was officially known as the Sherman Private School, but informally as "The Cap'n's. It was established and run by former Confederate army Captain John H. LeTellier (1842-1913), who was born and educated (at Bethany College) in Virginia. Pupils who attended his school, housed in a large frame building, were mainly boys, but a few younger girls were admitted. Tuition in 1871 was $3 a month. The roll contained names of many future leading citizens of this area, and scholastic standards were high. The captain demanded constant drill in English, spelling, and math, stressing oral arithmetic. For each subject completed, a certificate was given. In later years, LeTellier's daughter, Clifford, taught here. The captain, an energetic man who was respected by his boys, joined them in sports at recess, told them stories of his war experiences, sang, and played the guitar. Occasionally he held dances upstairs, for which "Old Jim" the handyman played the fiddle. Each fall, the fathers of the students furnished wagons and all the children rode to the Choctaw Bottoms for their favorite annual pecan hunt. Upon LeTellier's death, the school closed. He and his family are buried in West Hill Cemetery. Marker sponsored by Harry (Pete) Hudgins, an ex-student.