We’re always interested in suggestions for columns. These non-political proposals can come with telephone calls, visits at the Tribune (when I’m there) or anywhere else, and even on the Internet.

Not long ago, Janet Levine of Albert Lea sent the following nostalgia nudge by e-mail:

&uot;Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and such stated that they only had an eighth-grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the eighth grade in 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kan. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.&uot;

Here is that test with several questions deleted because of space limitations, or with specific references to Kansas.

Grammar &045; Give nine rules for the use of capital letters; name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications; define verse, stanza and paragraph; what are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of lie, lay and run; what is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

Arithmetic &045; Name and define the fundamental rules of arithmetic. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare? Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. of coal at $6 per ton. Find the interest of $512.60 for eight months and 18 days at 7 percent. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?

U.S. History &045; Give the epochs into which U.S. history is divided. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War, Show the territorial growth of the United States, Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn and Howe? Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (spelling and grammar) &045; What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication? What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals? Give two rules for spelling words with final &uot;e.&uot; Name two exceptions under each rule. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling, illustrate each. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

Geography &045; What is climate? Upon what does climate depend? Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean? Describe the mountains of North America. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude? Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

Janet ended her message with, &uot;This entire exam took six hours to complete. Gives the saying ‘He only had an eighth-grade education’ a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?&uot;

Let’s keep in mind that these students were using either pen and ink or pencils for what was a test that also included several written themes. These students didn’t have ball-point pens or calculators to make test-taking any easier.

Also, in that era an eighth-grade education seemed to be the standard. Going on to high school and even college was a somewhat outstanding accomplishment.

There’s more I could add, but we’ll leave that, hopefully, for a future column.

Again, special thanks go to Janet Levine for her contribution to help us

understand one aspect of the past.

Tribune feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears on Fridays.