The Struggle for Self-Culture in Snohomish
An 1877 literary society meeting sparks a fierce editorial debate on the necessity of intellectual labor and the dangers of the 'critic' class.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A meeting was held last week, August 31st, for the purpose of reviving the Athenaeum Literary Society, formerly held in the old Blue Bell building. The officers elected for the ensuing season are: Pres. E. Ferguson; Vice-Pres. L. Bell and Mrs. Ward; Sec. A. C. Folsom; Treas. J. Pickett. It was moved and carried to hold the first meeting on Friday, Sept. 14th, at Athenaeum Hall; admission free to all. Self-culture is the imperative duty of all. We were created to accumulate knowledge, from birth till death and on through all eternity. Those who think they are too old to learn are simply mistaken. Association is the life of society. Solitude is the germinator of selfishness and insanity. Let us all come into the association not as idlers but as workers. Let critics beware. It is very wonderful how little brains are considered necessary by the average critic. A little learning, which somebody has said, is a dangerous thing, a matter of fashion. A few common platitudes, a little borrowed style and some shoddy; with these as a foundation, anyone can become a critic or a nuisance, generally the latter, sooner or later, unless they are fortunate enough to die young.
“Those who think they are too old to learn are simply mistaken. Such thinking is impossible. To be too old to learn, one must possess a solidified brain—a mind partially developed, then overtaken by petrifaction.”
This 1877 plea for 'self-culture' and community association captures the frontier drive for intellectual infrastructure in Snohomish. While the 'Athenaeum' of the 19th century sought to combat the 'insanity of solitude,' today's Snohomish residents face a modern version of this struggle: maintaining social cohesion and 'third spaces' in a rapidly gentrifying landscape.
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