Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1908-05-16

only the largest boy in school
could touch his feet to the floor
and their little legs had to swing
like clock pedulums all day long. |
| could just see the top of little |
Johnnie's head over the top of |
the very smallest desk. There |
was small blackboard at one
end of the room. You could
write on it if you spaced your
words carefully along the cracks
and did not get any slivers under
your finger nails. These were
replaced few years later by
patent desks and a good black
board
About noon there was very
loud rap at the door. / opened
it, and there sat the director of
my school board on his pony
rapping on the door with his
quirt.
He was dressed in cowboy
style, except that instead of the
high boots he was barefooted,
because, as he explained to me,
THAT there blamed bronx step
ped on my foot and made it so
sore can't wear my boots"
Good morning, teacher" he
said. L thought I'd stop and
see how you were getting along.
/ Well now; no one here? I low
the treasurer wife has done
gone forgot that school began to-
day You better send her word
today. I can't, for they don't
talk to me. You will see plenty
of children coming over the hill
tomorrow, for they have twelve
children to send. My boy will
be here every day after this, but
today he had to watch the cattle
while | went to town"
While he had been talking he
had slipped the rein over TIL :
rope from the saddle horn. slip
ped it through the open door and
sat down to hold his pony and
give me some advice about teach
ing school.
Watch for blizzard clouds
and prairie fires and send the
children home early if you think
there IS any danger" He told
me to go home at 80 if no chill
dren came, which [ did. Mon
day evening the herder rode over
to tell the people that the teach
err was there ready for work and
Tuesday morning found ten or
twelve bright faced children
! ready for school with just as
many kinds of books as there
were families, for there was nc
county uniformity then and times
were hard.
Others came from out of the
district till we had about twenty
enrolled during the winter
Some walked over three miles
In the spring the little ones
watched big herds of cattle, leav
: ing their ponies with trailing
rein near the school house anC
; riding out when the cattle wan
: dered too far away and roundin-
them up again. The herderS
that is the COW ponies as they
call them, will remain almost al
day in one place if the reinS ar,
left trailing on the ground. Thu
big children had to stay at HON,
to help put in feed crops. How
hard they worked when the,
could come About two year.
later found me teaching in tn
Saline valley in Ellis county.
That school house was a small
box ten by twelve feet, boarde,
up and down, but no battens
half window in each side,
blackboard made from dry good
boxes painted nearly black an,
brought from their old dug on
school house where the snake
used to swing by their tails fror
the brush roof covered wit
shale. This frame school hous
stood on four large rocks wit
fresh air for a foundation. w
carried sod from the fire guar
around the school house. an
built walls of sod for the founds
ton, papered the cracks one da
to have them blow loose the mex
day, till blizzard came Thanks
giving week and then the schot
board built in the walls wit
stone work and mortar. Th
stove having done duty in til
dugout school house was yer
rusty. The sheet iron drum O
the top was full of holes and