History of Boone County Quakers - Boone County Community Network

“The committee makes regular reports once each year to the Meeting that
appointed it. The Committee on receiving the subject of education within our
limits feels encouraged and gratified in the belief that the minds of Friends are
generally becoming more alive to this interesting concern; and that there is an
increasing unity of feeling and sentiment on the subject amongst us. Yet it will
be seen from the report that a considerable number of our dear children have
not had the benefit of attending our schools. Towards this portion of our
members together with their parents our minds and sympathies have been
turned with ardent desire that a way may be opened whereby these tender
plants may be placed whilst obtaining their school education under the
superintendence of Society of Friends.
Children are very imitative, and we feel that there is a great responsibility resting
on parents and the Society with regards to the right training of our beloved
youth upon which as we believe the well being of our Society greatly depends.
We would therefore affectionately encourage Friends generally to give the
subject that attention which the importance of it demands; and we would
particularly say to our dear Friends whose locations are inconvenient to our
schools and to the Society, the we sympathize with your on the account of your
difficulties herein; we kindly but earnestly solicit your serious attention to the
subject, together with your labor as ability may be afforded and we believe that
a way will open for your enlargement herein where there now appears to be no
way, much to your comfort and peace of mind. Taken form the minutes of the
Committee on Education held 8 th mo 4 th , 1852”
Required Dress For Students At Sugar Plain Academy
Taken from the Minutes of the Monthly Meeting
Dress has always been a problem for the youth of any generation. Early Quaker
children at Sugar Plain were no different, as indicated by the minutes of 12 th mo
1848. There seemed to be a considerable variety of opinions even among
Friends in the regards to what articles of dress were considered plain. There
were even articles of plain dress not considered to be plain. It was the concern
of the monthly meeting to advise on what was and was not acceptable. The
reason given was, “. . .there is generally in youth a proneness to gayety, and to
follow the vain amusements and imaginary pleasure of the superfluous worldling
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