McGuffey society marks 55th year

COITSVILLE

Members of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society met Feb. 16 in Coitsville Township where township trustees presented a proclamation in celebration of the society’s 55th anniversary.

The proclamation included a listing of the organization’s accomplishments, some of which included the naming of the McGuffey Bridge, William Holmes McGuffey School and the listing in 1966 of the site of McGuffey’s boyhood home on McGuffey Road in the National Historical Registry.

Richard Scarsella, society chairman, thanked the board for the recognition and gave a brief history of the organization from its inception in 1961.

Shirley Eckley, society president and a McGuffey descendant, gave historical facts on McGuffey’s boyhood and how he had taught school at age 14, loved to read aloud to his students and had a remarkable memory. He was the author of the “McGuffey Readers” that were geared for young children by using pictures, poems and lessons that taught good moral values. The readers were widely used in elementary schools throughout the country and emphasized a love of nature, kindness to animals and a deep regard for one’s fellow man.

Township resident Lena Showman spoke about her childhood in the early 1900s and how the McGuffey Reader was used in her school as the primary textbook.

Also speaking at the event was Steve Avery, planning and natural resources director from Mill Creek MetroParks, who talked about the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve at the site of McGuffey’s boyhood home.