Yesterday's School

 

School

In The Country

 

Scattered across the high plains of Colorado are variety of old country schools.  A few have survived and are still sitting on their spot.  Others have moved and have new uses.  This school appears to be sitting on its original spot and worse for wear.  Time and the elements are slowly bringing it back to nature. 

 

School districts were usually based on a township, 36 sections, one section set aside as school land.  Most school land was pasture land and the monies from its lease went to the school district.  That is probably why the building is still standing, it is not a tax liability.  It was probably built around 1915, plus or minus a few years. 

 

When it was constructed, there were few more folks in the area then today.  There were usually one family per half section but not all homesteaders made, had to sell out and move on.  That still would have left about 30 families in the district.   At the road intersection there could have been three families at the corner and more within a mile or two. 

 

What would of it been like to go to school here, more then a hundred years ago.  There would be no buses back then, so walking was the transport mode.  Maybe ride the horse bareback down to the fence and walk rest of the way.  Listen to the coyotes as you walk along, the distinct odor of the polecat, sidestep the rattler or maybe sing with the birds.   The winter all bundled up, trudge over the prairie, leaning into the wind, books tightly gripped.  There would have been path across the pasture or around the fields.  Look at the background of the picture and take a mile and half walk across the land.

 

There were no lunchrooms, so lunch was what the kids carried. Using a lard pail or wrapped in a cloth.  Food was homemade, nothing store bought.  There were no thermos bottles back then, so water or kool aid was the drink, often from a canteen. 

 

Mom and dad probably had not gone to school so homework the parents were learning with their children.  Often story time was one of the youngsters reading for the parents could not.  By the time the first one was in the 6^th grade, mom and dad were usually pretty good readers and good at arithmetic.  Sixth grade was the graduation for most boys, a few girls went on to 6^th.  The boys were to help dad with the farmwork.  With busses, the children could go into town and finish high school.  Most of the farm boys in WWII had only a sixth grade education. 

 

Sounds harsh, yet these youngsters survived and went on to be grandparents.