And smiling Prairie Gem lay to the south;
Raemer Creek on the west, now Herkimer;
And Pleasant Ridge, my rural alma mater,
In midst of all, and just a trifle greater.
When corn was husked and hard farm work was done,
The winter evenings long and restless grew;
Then country folks would long for that blithe fun
That they before from the quaint school house drew.
Some teachers then with pupils did contrive
To hold a spelling school among the five.