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Doctors Oliver
He Gave Schoolhouse Physician Couple Provided |
Cobleskill physicians Drs. Ward and Virginia Oliver, who retired in 1991, were interviewed by County Historian Wallace Van Houten and his wife Sylvia Van Houten this year. Among the Olivers' many contributions to Schoharie County is the one-room schoolhouse where Ward was once a pupil. This article includes the Van Houtens’ report and additional material from the Society pamphlet, The Oliver Schoolhouse, by Lori VanDeValk. |
DR. Ward Oliver, who was born and lived his early life in the town of Summit, midway between Summit and Charlotteville, celebrated his 99th birthday this year.
Ward attended the Summit District 3 one-room school, also known as Clam Hollow, near his home. The Town of Summit was established in 1820 and contained 12 school districts. School District 3 was located halfway between Summit and Charlotteville.
Early records show that District No. 3 received $17.32 in state aid in 1821, and in 1823 had an enrollment of 53 pupils. This first structure burned in the early 1860s and was replaced in 1863 by the schoolhouse you see at the Old Stone Fort Museum complex. This one-room structure had two doors, clapboard sides, and a shingled roof and belfry. The interior and its furniture have been restored with original furnishings and accurate reproductions to show us what a typical rural schoolhouse would have looked like in the period between 1890-1914.
The New York syllabus in 1912 made special consideration for the “welfare of the country child.” Aside from the academic lessons, discussion and instruction in the following areas was thought to be “beneficial for their daily life:”
The education of the students in District No. 3 took place in what we now know as the Oliver Schoolhouse for nearly 70 years, until it was closed in 1942 when enrollment dropped to three.
Many teachers at the Oliver Schoolhouse stayed at the nearby Oliver home. Among the Oliver Schoolhouse teachers, in no particular order, were Mrs. John Grosvenor, Hiram D. Haner, Grace Boughton, Eva Hannis, Liliveen Ryder, Maude Van Duesen, Mrs. Simmons (first name is unknown) and Anna Cohn.
In 1905, New York began discussing the idea of consolidating some of its rural schools. This was an unpopular idea with many small farm communities. Most held the belief that their children's educational needs were being met in one-room schoolhouses such as this one.
DESPITE decades of a thriving student population, attendance began to decline. More students began attending the central schools of either Richmondville or Charlotte Valley. Finally in 1942, with only three students in attendance, the District 3 schoolhouse officially closed.
Though there was talk of merging with a neighboring central school district, the residents resisted merger for 20 years. In 1943, they contracted with Richmondville Central for the education of the students. The contract was given to the Charlotte Valley Central School at Davenport in 1947 and it remained there until 1960 when it was given back to Richmondville Central.
Finally in 1963, School District No. 3 merged with Richmondville. Ward Oliver purchased the grounds and building with the hope of maintaining it as a rural school museum. The schoolhouse was broken into and items were stolen, including the school bell and most of the furniture, books, and maps. Dr. Oliver decided to donate the building to the Schoharie County Historical Society. In 1984 the building was moved to the Old Stone Fort Museum complex. The land where the school house stood was given to the Town of Summit.
A committee chaired by Bonnie Tryon supervised restoration of the schoolhouse to reflect rural education in Schoharie County circa 1890-1914.
It is a popular part of the museum complex, especially with the many elementary students that visit the fort as part of their study of local history.
MANY of Ward’s ancestors were from the Lutheranville area and many are buried in area cemeteries. His Palatine ancestors include his grandmother, Hannah Neer, who married Ward’s grandfather, James Oliver. The Neer ancestors trace back to Karl Neer (1672-1735) who was in the large 1711 emigration from the Palatinate along the Rhine River. Many of the Palatine emigrants were the first white settlers of the Schoharie Valley.
George Oliver, Ward’s father, was Summit town supervisor and was elected sheriff in 1918. When George assumed the sheriff’s office, the family moved to Schoharie and as was custom at the time, resided in the courthouse. The sheriff’s quarters were on the second floor.
Ward graduated from Schoharie High School and before going to college he taught one year at the Lutheranville one-room school, about 2½ miles from the Oliver home. Then, he went on to Middlebury College in Vermont and Albany Medical College. In 1929, he came back to Schoharie County to start his medical career. He was in active medical practice for over 60 years.
During World War II, Ward served as an Army medical doctor with the United States Public Health Service in West Virginia’s coal region and taught classes at West Virginia University at Morgantown.
Before and after the war, Ward covered much of the rural area around Cobleskill and Summit, sometimes using chauffeurs to drive him up into the hill towns.
DR. Virginia Loucks Oliver lived on a farm near Sharon Hill and attended the Sharon Hill one-room school before graduating from Gloversville High School. She went to college at the New York State College for Teachers in Albany (now the State University at Albany) and later graduated from Albany Medical College. In 1948 she came back to Schoharie County and started practicing medicine with her future husband, Ward.
Much of Virginia’s practice was in obstetrics. Before the Cobleskill hospital was built in 1958, she delivered many babies at Elm Home in Cobleskill, across Washington Avenue from St. Vincent DePaul's Church. Minor surgery was done on the first floor and obstetrics was on the second floor. More complex medical emergencies were sent to the Albany, Schenectady, or Cooperstown Hospitals.
The Olivers have five children; Carol Rodewig of Stuart, Fla.; Nancy White of Westboro, Mass.; Gail Deloung of Grand Rapids, Minn.; Ward J. Oliver of New York City; and Margo Cavlier of Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Olivers served with many committees and organizations including the Schoharie County Health Commission, New York Academy of Medicine, the medical staff of the former Community Hospital of Schoharie County, and Schoharie County Historical Society.