In
1886, when Carl was seven years old, he started school. Like most of
the children of pioneers of Swedish descent, he neither spoke nor
understood a word of English, but children soon learn. He carried his
noon day lunch, a sandwich of bread and molasses, in a little pocket
that Mother had sewed on the inside of a new little coat. That was
the beginnings of school for the Peterson children. All of us
completed our grade school training in that little white school
house, District No. 9, in Clay township.
How
long before this time this school house was built, I do not know, but
there it remained on the corner about three-fourths of a mile west of
our home as a beacon of learning until the Gowrie Consolidated School
District was formed; the fine modern building erected; and school
buses went out into the country, bringing the country children in to
attend a good graded school, starting a new era of schooling.
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| Rural school, location unknown |
These
school houses were all built after the same pattern. The school room
had three windows on each side; at the front a raised platform for
the teacher’s desk; in front and on both sides, black-boards; on
one side of the teacher’s desk a globe of the world and on the
other, a Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. To the side front
stood the cast iron heating stove; on the rear wall was a tall
cupboard for lunch pails; on the side walls various specimens of the
pupils’ best work. When Carl Knock taught our school he secured
pictures of all our Presidents, which we framed and placed in order
of their presidency above the blackboard on the front wall. This
might have been a fore-runner of visual education. In the hall entry
to the building were hooks for all the wraps, but in winter time
overshoes often were arranged in a circle around the heater to dry
out and be fit to put on at closing time. I must not omit to mention
the shelf at one end of this hall where stood the water pail, with a
dipper which was used by one and all. Water was carried from the
nearest farm home, and the pupils took turns doing the task.
There
was also a coal house which in warm seasons the girls would fix up to
play house in. Another “family” would live in the storm cave if
there was no water in it. These storm caves were built after the
terrible tornado struck at Pomeroy in the 1890s. Only once was it
used when a storm threatened, and at this time there was about a foot
of water in it. So the older boys and girls stood barefoot, knee-deep
in water while the teacher and little folks crouched on the steps. It
got dark as night, but turned out to be only a bad dust storm.
The
pioneers showed by their action in erecting these schools that they
knew the value of schooling for the children. They were placed at the
section corners, two miles apart each way so that some children were
fortunate in living quite near to school while others might have as
far as two miles to walk. These walks were generally shortened by
cutting across the fields.
Our
walks to school stand out in my memory, especially when in the spring
we could walk barefoot, and often linger along the way to pick wild
flowers, buttercups, violets, and other flowers which grew in
abundance by the road side. The teacher generally had several bunches
of wild flowers on her desk. Often school would continue into June,
and then there was an abundance of wild strawberries to pick and eat
on our homeward way. Never did any fruit taste sweeter or more
delicious.
There
were rainy spells when water would overflow the grades, and we would
have to carefully pick out way if we had our overshoes on. Naturally,
if barefoot it was the more fun to wade through the water. What child
does not revel in wading?
In
winter the story was different. Bundled up so that only noses and
eyes showed, we bravely trudged through deep snow and facing the
biting cold wind. Seldom, if ever, did we get a ride to school. Of
course there were days when we had to stay home from school when it
was too stormy. That was especially true of the little folks. We all
hated to miss a day of school.
There
are many memories linked with that little school house, standing on
an acre of ground fenced all around with a board fence. There was
plenty of play ground space, and recess time was as much enjoyed in
olden times as it is today. Favorite games that I remember were
“Pump, pump, pull-away,” “Last couple out,” “The old
witch,” “Bear” (something like the modern game of “Cops and
robbers”). Very little ball was played because of the different
ages and sizes of the pupils, but “Anteover” over the
school-house roof furnished plenty of competition between the two
opposing sides. Aross the road from the school yard was a large
slough or pond, generally too overgrown with pond grass to afford
good skating, but we enjoyed wading there in warm weather.
Unless
the weather was rainy or stormy, the pupils were expected to all go
out at recess to work off some accumulated restless energy. It was
not often that the teacher had time to supervise or join in the
games, for her time was filled with putting extra assignments on the
black-board; extra samples to supplement those in the arithmetic
books, for example. I can still see the board filled with these
examples in the four fundamentals: their purpose being to develop
accuracy and speed in figuring. Long division combined addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division so was much stressed for the
older pupils.
Speed
an accuracy were given in a test at the Friday afternoon time of
ciphering down, much enjoyed by all. For beginning with the first
graders and their simple examples, the winner would choose another
contestant until the exciting last minutes when two eighth graders
would compete for the top honors. Proud and happy was the winner.
Similarly, contests in spelling down took place in that happy time on
Friday after the last recess. In this way accuracy and speed in two
very important subjects was stimulated.
Reading
and writing, spelling and arithmetic were stressed much in those
days. Much so-called “busy work” helped pupils to keep occupied
after they felt they had properly learned the assigned lessons. This
was became when teaching grades one to eight, a teacher had little
time for supervision. In one front side of the room was a long bench
for recitation of lessons. A very limited time (often as little as
five to seven minutes) could be spent for each class in order that
all would have time for a recitation. It followed that pupils of
country schools had to a great extent depend on their own initiative
and efforts, and really had to learn how to study. The last term I
went to school I was a lone eighth grader and brother Carl, who was
my teacher, just assigned so many pages for each day and hardly ever
had time for me to do any reciting. Still he kept an eye open to see
if I applied myself as I should. One day a book agent came during
school hours and as, proverbially, book agents are persistent; so was
this one, and took some of the teacher’s valuable time. I was an
interested listener-in and my eyes were not on my books! To my dismay
that day I was called on for a recitation and other classes were
skipped over! No doubt big brother saw a chance to teach me a lesson
in another subject than in my text books.
The
need of a school library for use as supplemental reading gave rise to
the custom of having one evening’s entertainment a year for fund
raising. Generally a pie or box social was the best means of raising
money. The entertainment varied from community spelling bees, to
programs put on by the school, consisting of songs, dialogues and
recitations.
For
these events folks really turned out. Many bought lanterns to hang up
for lights. Sometimes a lamp or two added extra illumination. Grown
folks squeezed themselves into even the primary children’s low
seats. I can’t recall where the school children were, probably back
stage in the hall. This was a high point in every winter term. The
funds raised were wisely spent for children’s classics and
supplementary readers, also some appealing story books of the age
like the
Five Little Peppers
series, the
Elsie Dinsmore
books, the
Fenimore Cooper
books, etc. These books could be taken out and brought home, but the
most use of them was made when pupils got permission tot ake a
library book to their seat after lessons were learned.
There
was also in later years a traveling township library, augmented each
year from a township fund. For several years after I had finished
eighth grade, Carl was secretary of the Township School Board and one
of his duties was to select and send for these books from the book
supply company. He, in turn delegated this delightful task to me.
Esther was much concerned lest I should grow to a lazy
good-for-nothing, for when that package of books came I felt I just
must read every one before they were distributed to the various
schools.
These
school houses could comfortably accommodate about 25 pupils. Then, as
now, enrollment varied by cycles, depending much on if large families
would move onto the rented farms in the district. When I was six
years old, Mother kept me home until the spring term, as Marie
Callerstrom that winter had 35 pupils enrolled. So crowded was the
room that the smaller children had to sit by threes in a double seat.
In contrast about 15 years later one winter term there were only
three pupils enrolled. Until just the last few years the school year
was only seven months long with quite long vacations between terms.
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| On the back of this photo, my dad wrote: “This is, I believe, a copy (perhaps an enlargement), of a picture I had printed from an old picture that, as I recall, I acquired after my mother died. It may be of the students at the country school the Peterson siblings attended, but I can identify no one of them.” |
Whatever
the enrollment a teacher must be read to teach first to eighth grades
if needed. No normal school training was necessary, no not even a
high school diploma. Any one who could pass the rather difficult
teacher’s examination in the subjects to be taught, plus Didactics,
or the art of teaching, would be granted a third class certificate.
After some months of teaching experience this could be raised to a
second class certificate. The salary? As I recall, it was $35 a month
for third class, and $37.50 for second class, but dollars had more
value then than now.
By
diligent review and study, Carl, Esther, and I secured teacher’s
certificates and taught in the local schools for various lengths of
time. I marvel at our self-assurance in taking on the teaching of
neighborhood children who knew us so well. but there was a wonderful
co-operative spirit in those home districts and we got quite good
results in our teaching efforts.
The
country school teacher’s work did not consist merely of teaching.
No, she was the school janitor as well. This meant coming to school
early on winter mornings so as to have the room warm for the first
early arrivals. It also meant carrying in coal and carrying out all
the ashes, sweeping and dusting. Before the school year began in the
fall it was the duty of the school director to thoroughly clean the
school house. From that day on it was up to the teacher to try to
keep the dust down. In winter snow scattered on the cold floor in the
morning kept down a lot of the accumulated dust. Often times pupils
would volunteer to stay after school and clean black boards and
erasers.
Sometimes
on nearing the school house one could see smoke coming from the
chimney. This meant that some wandering tramp had spent the night
there. any a tramp slept on those long recitation benches! It wasn’t
much use to even lock the door, for they could easily com in through
the windows. It always was with a sense of fear that the door was
unlocked for the tramp might still be there, but it never happened in
our school. However, although for that one day, the fire need not be
started up in a cold room, there was the task of carrying in more
coal and also more ashes to empty, before beginning the day.
Some
pupils would come so early they almost beat the teacher. No one
wanted to come late for we all enjoyed the brief opening exercises,
always a portion read from the bible and the singing of a gospel
hymn, and perhaps a patriotic song. Roll call was often answered by
quotations we had learned, and proud was the pupil who some time
found a new one to copy into our copy books. Often times the teacher
would also read a chapter from some interest-book, like a continued
story. After that we were all ready for the day’s school work.
Not
very many pupils took the eighth grade county examinations for they
had no hopes of going farther with their education. Be it said,
thought that the Petersons one and all did “graduate” from
country school, and went on to some further schooling.
I
want also to tell about our Bible schools — in summer — then
called Swedish school, since Swedish reading, spelling, and
composition was taught as well as the Bible History and Catechism.
Two
years I well remember when we had two months of summer school, one
month in District No. 8 and one in District No. 9. Since the summer
days were longer it was as well to make good use of the day, so our
school days began at 8:00 A.M. and kept on until 4:00 P.M. None of us
considered it a hardship to attend. We thought it was a privilege for
we enjoyed the association with our neighbor children of different
districts; maybe also the change to get away from home duties. We had
one teacher born in Sweden who was very strict, but when in a good
mood would sit down and relate the most wonderful stories about the
Norse men and Swedish history.
One
summer when I was about 9 or 10 years old, I memorized the whole
Luther’s explanation of his
Small Catechism, about 100 pages including all the Bible verses. As I later have
adopted the English as my “church language” I have often
regretted that this memory work was not in that language, for what
one learned in childhood remains in one’s memory.
When
it was Mother’s turn to board the teacher it was Lawrence’s job
to carry his noon lunch packed in a grape basket, to us it seemed to
much, compared to what we carried in our own dinner pails, and to our
childish minds came the questions, “Why the difference?”
Until
the time of World War I, Swedish was the home language for many. Carl
tells how he didn’t know any English when he started school, and he
was not the only one. That first year I taught in the Telleen school,
it was next to impossible to make the pupils speak anything but
Swedish on the play ground unless the teacher was out there to
enforce it. In fact, an English speaking family of several children
learned enough of the Swedish language to carry on a conversation
with the “Swedes.”
After
World War I, there arose a decided opposition to any foreign language
being used even in Sunday School and church. It hastened the
turn-over from the Swedish, even at worship. This was a real loss to
many of the dear old folks whose heart language it was, but viewed
after 35 years, one can see it was the best of continued church work.
As an example, when I taught Swedish school in the summer of 1915,
there were several pupils who were struggling to memorize the
catechism in Swedish, a language which they did not even understand.
The change over was far from painless but because of the external
pressures it was necessary. It has been our regret that we who knew
two languages equally well, were not able to pass on this heritage to
our children, but the trend of the times was against it.
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