Student Memories
of
One Room Schools
Marilyn (Holt) Rosburg, student
Oak Dale School
I attended Oak dale school on Morrison Lane. For the first
3 years I was alone in class. My first and second grade teacher was a man who
drove a buggy from Foristell every day. A small shed was built for his horse so
it wouldn’t have to be outside.
Each student had a tin cup that hung on the porch wall and at recess we would
pump water and get a drink.
I usually finished my school work quickly and would listen to
the other classes and watch the teacher write on the “blackboard”, thus I learned
from the upper grades that way.
We had a 15 minute recess in the morning and afternoon with a
½ hour lunch but we usually managed to get in a ball game. If it snowed we
played Fox and Geese. Other games were Dare Base, Redlight, Hide and Seek. Sometimes
the teacher would play with us but not when she was wearing high heels. We also skated
on the ice in the creek or went sled riding on the hills near school. If it rained we’d
play catch inside and sometimes we would hit pictures and break the glass.
Lunch was taken in a lunch bucket, some used gallon syrup buckets but
I had a pail with a Thermos the last year or so. Hot cocoa tasted good.
The school was heated by a box stove in the middle. If one sat near
the stove you would almost melt and away from it you would be cold. One of the students
was the janitor and had to sweep and get wood to fire up the stove. I think most of the
time the teacher would start the fire in the morning.
There were no bathrooms but toilets outside. Some of the boys would
peek through the cracks to irritate the girls while we were inside.
One year there were only 8 pupils but more, usually. Everybody walked
to school even if it was several miles, cut through fields. Only took me 15 minutes but always good when
someone came along and offered me a ride. Even if I didn’t know them I would still take
a ride. I had an umbrella when it rained or my Dad would take me and pick up the
neighbors. I often wondered how the teacher could teach 4 or more grades in a day,
along with music. We usually had a program or 2 during the year to which parents and
friends were invited.
There was no telephone so the big boys would run to the nearest house to have someone call parents if a pupil was sick or got hurt.
The last day of school was a big event as we would have a Basket Dinner (potluck). Parents would all come and a big softball game was played.
A photographer would come by during the year and take individual pictures, so we had many memories.
back: John Smith, Bob Giessmann, Paul Timmons, Wilford Bote, Arley Schemmer, George Fredemeier, teacher
middle: Alverda Schemmer, Marie Marsch, Florence Higgenbottom, Bernice Nieweg, Elda Linnenbringer, Elsie Linnenbringer, Doris Schemmer, Marilyn Holt
front: Vernon Linnenbringer, Lester Meinershagen, Wesley Bote, Robert Nagel, Elwood and Lawrence Busdieker
written by Marilyn (Holt) Rosburg January 2009
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