In the latter part of March of the same year father came to our place was taken sick there and after an illness lasting some three weeks he died and was laid to rest beside her in the cemetry at Waucoma, Iowa.

The farm was encumbered at the time & it required years of labor on the part of the three sons at home to pay the indebtedness.

A few days after father's death our babe Ina Kate was born (April 25th, 1887) She was a bright, healthy babe but when only a few weeks old she contracted the whooping cough and lived to be but two months and two days old.

It seemed as if we were having more than our share of trouble and sorrows crowded fast upon us. Little Ina was buried in the New Hampton cemetery in the flowery month of June when all nature was smiling, and there were aching hearts which mourned her loss. Three times within the space of a little more than four months had we been bereft of those who were near & dear to us.

I continued to act as County Supt. until January 1st, 1890, when, having been defeated for a third term the year Horace Boies was elected Governor of Iowa, I turned over the work to my successor W.J. Nugent.

The strong prejudice which then existed against a third term in Chickasaw Co. & the great land-slide of that year resulted in my defeat, although I ran 94 ahead of my ticket.

This defeat was a matter of much regret to me. I was interested in the work, had worked faithfully & conscientiously to up-build the schools & felt that I was fairly entitled to a third term.

But the people are often ungrateful in these matters of public service & in that county faithful work could not overcome political prejudice.

The days spent in school work in Chickasaw County will, however, always be regarded as among the happiest of my life, though the labor was unceasing and my health for a time was impaired by the strain.

It will always be a pleasure to recall the work & worth of many of those who were co-workers with me at that time & to know that my efforts were appreciated & my short-comings overlooked by these friends.

The following circular letter is the last one I sent out while County Supt. of Chickasaw Co, Ia.

Office of

County Superintendent.


New Hampton, Ia., Nov. 16, 1889.

Fellow Teachers:
There is no safety but in the education of the masses. Education is the growth and improvement of the mind, its great object being immediate and prospective happiness. Everyman is what education has made him, whether he has drunk deep at the Pierian spring, or sipped at the humblest fountain.
The teacher has a great work to do, and he should strive to perform his task well
After being associated for nearly four years with the teachers of Chickasaw county, I can but think that a very large majority of them sincerely desire to "go where duty calls."
If, during the past ten years, much has been done to improve the standard of our common schools, let us remember that there is till much to do before our rural schools shall become what we wish to have them. Confident that "the spirit maketh alive," enthusiasm in our calling has been steadily emphasized.
May I not bespeak for your new leader the same hearty cooperation; the same zeal for the cause of educaton which has been manifested during the past four years?
In revising the Course of Study for the Ungraded Schools in 1888, I used the following language, which to my mind, is true:
"That in the course of study and the classification register adopted by the school boards of this county nearly seven years ago have been done much to elevate the standard of our district schools, I think all will admit.
System is necessary in all school work. The course of study and the classification register have brought system into our schools; they have made it possible to accomplish greater results in the same length of time; they have stimulated pupils to greater efforts, and have awakended an increased interest on the part of many patrons.
At the present time the work of classification is being vigorously prosecuted in almost every Northern state. Our county was one of the first in the state to take this advance step."
The grading of the Normal Institute has been, and must continue to be if properly conducted, one of the strongest factors for good in our educational system. Each year should find us with a strong institute.
it is only in healthy, aggressive growth that we can maintain vigorous progressive schools.
The superintendent has sought to keep up a high standard in the matter of granting certificates, believing that the best interests of our schools demanded this line of action. INCOMPETENT TEACHERS SHOULD HAVE NO PLACE IN OUR SCHOOLS.
Regarding school visitation as one of the most important duties of the Superintendent, it has been MY AIM, as it was that of my immediate predessors in office, to emphasize this duty; and to aid and encourage teachers in every way possible while visiting their schools.
Much good has resulted from the interchange of thought, and the illustration of methods at our meetings of the Chickasaw County Teachers' Association. These associations are always profitable and they are especially helpful to our young and inexperienced teachers.
The next meeting of the Association will be held in New Hampton on Saturday, December 7th, 1889, commencing at 10 o'clock a.m. Teachers, I hope to see you at this meeting.
"Come let us reason together" once more before the bells "ring out the old, ring in the new."
Every real teacher will find it greatly to his advantage to OWN and READ CAREFULLY some good books upon teaching. The question is not: "Can I afford to buy such books?" but rather: "Can I afford to be without them?" Then there are the educational journals. Do not forget them; a dollar spent in a good journal is money well invested.
The blank, herewith inclosed, please fill out and return to this office soon after your winter term of school opens.
And now, fellow teachers, this being the last circular letter I shall publish as county superintendent, the time has come to say, GOOD-BY.
For your generous co-operation; your unswerving loyalty; your ready response to every call; your devotion to the great and good work in which you are engaged, I am deeply, profoundly grateful.
Our associations have always been so pleasant that I shall never forget the four years spent in the county superintendency in Chickasaw county.
Accept my best wishes for your success, happiness and prosperity in all the years to come.

  "Remember that brotherhood strong and true,
Builders and artists, and bards sublime,
  Who lived in the past, and worked like you--
Worked and waited a wearisome time
  Dark and cheerless and long their night,
Yet they patiently toiled at the task begun:
  Till, lo! through the clouds broke that morning light,
Which shines on the soul when success is won."

	Respectfully Yours,
	        O.A. McFARLAND,
	            County Superintendent.

	Continue with Part VII
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	Bethany McFarland's Family Journals