The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-01-28
Rural School Letter No. 8 THE CRAZY
 MOUNTAIN
 S C H Q 0 l.
By c. w. Tenny, Rural In-
 spector, Montana.


 State Superintendent Davee and the
 Montana Bankers Association, in their plans for the betterment of the Montana rural schools, are emphasIz- ing the point that the best way to get better buildings and better equipment | is to do the best you can with what you have Tn this connection the ex-.
 ample of the Crazy Mountain School. which has the poorest building and poorest equipment in Park County, IS Ieited.
 l The Crazy Mountain schoolhouse is 8 10 by 12 shack. with a roof which s1ants but one way and is covered with black tar paper. Cracks in the floor were so big that pencils easily fell through them. The only light that came in was from three tiny. wins dows. two in the rear and one on the left The hole cut through the roof to accommodate the stovepipe. was so large that when it raaned the water ran Into the stove and put the fire out. Rain also beat in at the Idoor, which was held shut by . chain hooked oyer a nail The desks were borrowed from a neighboring school which had thrown them away as use-
 less. The seats were held up by stocks of wood, unless a pupil was
 fortunate enough to .hndE OK of the right size to use as an indfvidual chair, and the teachers desk was d plank nailed to two :, sticks. and set against the wall1 s 4
 Into this school last spring came Miss Angeline Barker. as teacher, ana g pupils, repr resentirE four differentS families. Although the weather was damp, for the first three weeks they. had. no fire. Most or tf1e pupils had no books. But teacher and pupils went to work to do the best they could with what tn ey had and to get l4better equipment as fast as they could ssf's
 One day a premium list of the Mon ttana State fair. which is held at He1- ena each year. ecame to this little school. Both. teacher and piplls be- gan to read to see what there was Ethey could do Best Kindergarten work S' they knew they could not do; that. Fest shop 5Wor lxz;:ss :sss { that sounded
 
 of wild flowers, pressed and mounted. .s with description or hva;;" every body shouted: ssof courseS we cans',.. . and the. raoe as on.
 The Mexican children who lived
 far up on the nountain plucked the.
 flowers belonging to the higher alti-. tudes. while the rest drought in those peculiar to the lowlands and
 meadows At school the aewers
 were placed in textbooks and rnaga zines. and in the absence of a flower
 press the boys and girls would sit on
 them. At home the flowers were put iii books under the heaviest weights
 that could be found. One boy placed other a tool chest while 8 third said the heaviest thingIne could find was
 the large .sbucket''i in which his fafh-9
 CT carried the feed to the pigs, The
 girls resorted to just as ingenious ekpedients. utilizing trunks, burea us, and even one leg of d bed. in which
 adults were sleeping. in order that the necessary amount Of pressure might be obtained. 3ssl { When the days of collecting and
 st F pressing the flowers were over, all of the specimens were brought together and after the very best ones had been selected. each was carefully mounted
 on white cardboard, and the entire
 collection of 68 wild flowers was ssenA to the State department Of education to be entered at the fair. When the judges gave their decision it was found that the Crazy Mountain school. had won the first prize. the blue rib bon and the S, for the best collection of wild flowers from any school in the. State
 On the daysof the prize aware the rural inspector stood in the little booth and called the attention of the bankers and business men to the splendid exhibit and to the pictures of the little school. When one Of aGo and tell the people of Park Colin- ty that boys and girls who will do work like that are entitled to a bet ter schooihouse and better equip nent, and tell them that as soon as they get the house they can come 10 my store and get anything in it with out snoney or without price; for the best business men as well as the best school men realize that boys and girls who do faithful work with what they have will make the men and women who will do good work when the time of larger opportunity comes to them.' 2 NOT FIRST