Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1908-03-28
PLEASANT MEMORIES OF TREGO
SGHOOLROOMS.
By Mrs. Jessie F. TAYLOR. Topeka.


From The Club Member. Topeka. Kansas.
How many pleasant memories
we pioneer teachers have | re
call with especial pleasure one
Trego school where I was en-
ployed for several terms.
The schoolhouse was small,
unpainted, and weather-beaten.
The Kansas storms and winds
had given it a dull color that
blended harmoniously into the
wide sweep of dry buffalo grass
that surrounded it. 1t stood
/ lonesomely in the midst of a big
cattlerange without a fence in
! sight, though later, during my
work there, a school yard of one
acre was fenced with a barb wire
fence, and we thought ourselves
quite stylish.
| Many things were required of
the pioneer teacher that seem
very odd now. Times were hard,
and most of the small boys bought
their books with scalp" money.
With what interest we kept ac-
count of the scalps, meanwhile
copying the lessons on the black
board for those without books.
Finally when enough had been
secured, would take them to
the county seat, turn them in at
the county clerks office, buy the
books, and take them to the. chill
dren.
Besides looking after rabbit
scalps you were also expected to
be a weather prophet. There
was one unvarying set of instruc-
tions from the parents: Look
out for prairie fires, teacher, and
watch for billiards.. Send the
children home early if it looks
like blizzard" Mrs. Samuel's
tragic death, near her school
house, was still in the memory
of all, and whenever teaching in
a district with no dwelling near
the school house, I kept a glass
fruit jar filed with sugar, a pack
age of coffee, also in a fruit jar to
keep it away from mice, and
can of condensed milk in my desk
from the first cold day in the fall
till spring opened. Fortunately
1 never needed to use my reserve
supply, as 1 never had to teach
school all night on account of a
storm.
My most exciting day in that
school was the day of the big
prairie-fire. The ga" class was
reciting, when suddenly my big
gest boy stopped in the middle
of the definition of adjective pro-
noun and said excitedly: Il smell
prairie fire." A quick glance
showed that he was right, and
the fire was not far off either
All the big boys are excused"
said, and that was the end of
school work for a time Over
the top of a nearby hill we could
see the clouds of smoke, and up
the hill went the boys, hatless,
excited, each one anxious to help
keep the fire off his fathers cat
tie range, if possible. And glad
indeed were the men to see the
big boys coming to help.
For while we watched the
fire, but soon the little children
grew afraid and l was alarmed,
too; so [ decided to close school
for the day. Fortunately all the
children that did not go with me
lived across the creek and in the
opposite direction from which
the fire was sweeping. So, tell
ing them to cross the creek at
the nearest place, and to go all
the way home on the south side,
I let them go, and taking my
own two children, who were
quite small, 1 started for home, a
mile and a half towards the fire.
When we got to the top of the lit
tie hill we saw the whole coun-
try, as far as we could see, black,
hot, and smoking. I began to
cry then, as / felt sure our home
was burned. Never shall I for
get the feeling of thankfulness
that came over me when we
scrambled up the steep bank of
the next draw, and saw the top
of the windmill. A little farther
on was another draw Down we
ran, and up we rushed again, and
saw the house and stables. There
was just the road between the
fire and home. The ground was
still warm to our. feet, and our
faces falf d1-u and narobo1 Tho