~ Temple of Education ~

Fayette County, Alabama


Generously contributed by
Karen Melton Manasco

Submitted by Fred McCaleb

According to the Sesquicentennial Broadcaster (Sept. 1969): "Hal P. McDONALD was
a colorful and sincere man. He had a dream for years that one day Fayette would
have a college of its own. He built his own institution of higher learning many
years ago on top of Ford's Mountain just off of Townley highway. He named it
the 'Temple of Knowledge'; spent years of hard work and no one knows how much
money trying to get it started. He advertised through newspapers and handbills
and equiped it as money was available. He gave guided tours to Sunday
visitors."

Mr. McDONALD bought a 1000-acre tract of land on Ford Mountain. He chopped
timber on this land and sold it for more than $20,000 to help build the school.
His wife was the former Hattie Belle RAINWATER. "He worked from 1936 until his
untimely death in 1960."

Everyone around Fayette County has heard about Hal P. McDONALD. Some say he
never had a student, but I guess they were wrong. Here is a "Certificate of
Proficiency" that my aunt, Sarah Joyce SMITH, received in 1958. The
certificate also lists the courses that she took and the grades she earned. I
just thought others would like to know that something of that old school.was
left behind.

Man's Best Friend, the Dog

Down through the centuries the dog has come in many varieties and has been used
for many purposes. It has been used to herd sheep, to go after the cows, to tree
squirrels and other animals, to run rabbits, and to hunt fox and other animals.
It has also been used as a house watch dog and as an inside-the-house pet and
companion. I suppose the most important use has been as a guide to the blind.

The dog's most beneficial use, other than as a guide for the blind, has been in
a rural setting. In a town or city setting, most of the benefits of a dog
vanish. Dogs are there to bite the postman trying to deliver a letter from your
best friend. They have a tremendous ego, trying to bark and bluff away friends
and foes. Fortunately most dogs are mostly bluff, or everybody would get bit.
Pick up a rock or stick, and the brave watch-dog loses his zip and high tails
it away. If on a bicycle, the dog is brave as long as you are moving and he is
running after you. Stop the bicycle and point it at him, and then he high tails
it away. So the house watch dog is good for making a noise and trying to bluff
your visitors. That's about all he is good at.

There is another use of dogs that seems absolutely foolish to me. That is the
use of small and large dogs inside the house treated as members of the family.
They are used as man's best friend when he appears to have a scarcity of human
friends. These best friends lick their friends in the mouth after licking
another dog's tail end or after eating another dog's bowel movement. One must
be really suffering from lack of human affection to tolerate this kind of
friendship. But millions of families do just that. They then catch diseases and
pay big doctor bills to get their health partly restored to where it had been.

Man's best friends cost their owners dearly. The owner is legally responsible
for damage their dogs do to others. They are required to have the dogs
inoculated against hydrophobia and other diseases. All this costs plenty of
money that could be better spent on other family needs. Just feeding the dogs
costs more than feeding a baby. Most young families figure they can't afford
more than two children, but many seem to be able to afford thousands of dollars
for dog food while foreign immigrants come and take over the country. The dog
food industry is a multi-billion dollar set up. They can pay for expensive adds
on TV. It is far ahead, in volume of sales, of the baby food industry.

People provide for their supposedly best wild animal friend. If their friend
has been hurt, it will bite them as soon as they try to show it some love by
rubbing or touching it. If one is approaching a dog in the road, and another
car is approaching in the opposite direction, then beware! The driver of the
other car will most likely run over and kill you before he will dare run over
MAN'S BEST FRIEND. If your female dog friend has just had pups, she will chew
up your best human friend that comes along. I have just recently experienced a
bite on the leg by a little female dog with pups. She quit biting when I kicked
her about ten feet against a wall. The dog's owner can never see that his dog
could cause woe to other people. According to him, his dog is a lovable dog and
could never hurt him or anyone else. He or she is a perfect dog. The owner's
love for dogs has put blinds over his eyes. When he goes visiting he takes his
dogs with him, and expects others to take them into their residence. Love of
dogs in one direction prevents love and respect for fellow human beings in the
other direction.

My summary on dogs:

1. They are mostly a costly nuisance in modern urban society. In some cases they
may be of benefit to the blind, the aged that has lost a mate, and to the old
maid or bachelor that has no children.
2.They are a danger to both the owner and to his fellowmen.
3.They are an unnecessary carrier of diseases such as hydrophobia and other
diseases that transmit to the owners.
4.Dogs are a symbol of your insensitivity to your fellowman's welfare. They may
boost your lagging ego, but at the same time your neighbor may want to use his
firearms on them to liquidate your best friend.
5. The dog is nothing more than a wild beast that waggles its tail and jumps
upon you to make you think it loves you. Thereby it gets a free meal. There are
more dogs on welfare handouts than all the white and black people combined.
Think of all the good that could be done with all the billions spent on dog
food and dog medical care. This would be a good area for people that call
themselves Christians to meditate upon. What am I doing here? Christians are in
the same boat as are others in the DOG LOVERS' WORLD.
Prepared by Fred McCaleb