Challenge readers know about counting people, including Larry Pridgen in Hillsborough who knew the answer to last week's Challenge: "On January 20th, 1840, the first free, public school in North Carolina opened in what county?"

As Pridgen replied, "William Powell in 'North Carolina Through Four Centuries' says the school was in Rockingham County."

According to www.learnnc.org, the following story, "Rockingham County and Common Schools," was reported in the North Carolina Standard, Feb. 12, 1840, p. 3: "The first free school in Rockingham county went into operation on the 20th of January 1840. This is probably the first free school commenced in the State. The entire county has been surveyed into districts, 8 miles long, and 4¬