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Country Schools

I don't know what "Go to the cloakroom right now" meant when you were growing up, but when Mrs. Fingelrud said it to me, it didn't mean I had forgotten to hang my coat up. From arriving early to light the stove to staying late to wash off the blackboards to hauling up the drinking water to organizing the annual community Christmas program, the one-room school teacher was really a jack-of-all-trades and a master of all!  Oh yes, she also taught...all subjects and most ages, and often these teachers were still in their teens and living with a family of strangers. (Later on teachers could have had a little 'relief' if they hadn't been so serious about being good role models. They could have taken a whiff of the fluid used in the mimeograph machines and had a little buzz going for a while, but I don't suppose the students showed them how).


Country School MemoriesCountry School Memories      by Bonnie Hughes Falk  (Minnesota)


This book is exactly what the title says. Falk has compiled many short memories from people, both pupils and teachers, who experienced the one-room school first-hand. Heartwarming and often humorous, the recollections summon up often fond thoughts about long walks in all kinds of weather, skunks and snowstorms, the smell of wet mittens drying on a wood-burning stove, syrup pail lunches, and especially the bonds of early and lasting friendships. Although this book is not new (copyright 1986), the number of people contributing makes this one of the most inclusive on the subject of country school life.

ED 2 - 9    Paperback     $8.95



FlorenceFlorence
      by Audrey Wendland  (Minnesota and North Dakota)

In 1912, seventeen-year-old Florence Thompson, a "high-spirited girl who had to make her own way in rapidly changing times," accepted a position as the teacher at "the worst country school in Swift County," Minnesota. This is the story of her triumphs and tribulations as she lived among Norwegian immigrants in Minnesota and North Dakota during the horse and buggy era. Her experiences are vividly brought to life by Audrey Wendland, Thompson's daughter.

ED 2 - 10    Paperback    $15.00



One-Room Country Schools One-Room Country Schools   by Jerry Apps   (Wisconsin)

Subtitled 'History and Recollections from Wisconsin,' this book combines memories of pupils, recollections of teachers, historical facts, pictures and even an appendix about 'Recess Games.'  More than just one person's memories, this book is a good resource for anyone studying the history, success and impact of these institutions.

ED 2 - 11    Paperback     $18.95

 

They Called Me Teacher

They Called Me Teacher by Tom Melchior (Minnesota)

Subtitled 'They Called Me Teacher: Stories of Minnesota Country School Teachers from 1915-1960', this book is truly a tribute to the teachers of the past. It contains their stories -- funny and sad -- their pictures, their hopes and successes. It's clear why this book received a Merit Award in History from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association.

ED 2 - 12 Paperback $19.95

Stone Johnny School

Stone Johnny School by Erling Rolfsrud  (North Dakota) 

In a delightful homespun way Erling Rolfsrud relates his experiences as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse on the prairie of North Dakota, including teaching the beautiful 'Palmer Penmanship Method' to students whose hands were more at home with a gopher trap or pitchfork.

R 1- 05   $8.95

Order by using the 'Place an Order' form or you may order by phone (800 494-9124).  For payment and shipping charges, see 'Place an Order.'