~Printed in the Benkelman, NE Post, Fall 1976

It's back to school again for the children of Dundy county in 1976. But it wasn't always that way for Dundy county school children.

There are many interesting stories of those pioneer country schools which have all disappeared for one reason or another. I'll write about some of the early schools.

Let me take you back to the early 1880's to the first schools in the county.
The first school in Dundy county was taught in a little sod house that stood west of Taylor and King's store and was in the little settlement known as Collinsville that a few years later was renamed Benkelman. The year was 1880. This was a subscription school. According to the law at that time, before a school district could be organized in a new community, the patrons were required to organize the school and pay the expense by subscription for a short time.

A subscription school was a situation in money or other commodities by the parents of the children attending and not by a levied tax on all the people in the district. The success of a subscription school proved to the state and to the tax payers that a school was needed. This first term of school lasted ten weeks. The school room contained only the necessary items to carry on the school work. The pupils sat on wooden benches that were home made. Miss Alice Harrison was the teacher. She was from Driftwood, a place near Culbertson. The pupils attending this school were Stella and Marshall Drabing, Annie and Jimmie King, Mary Scott, Mary and Sophrona Terwilliger. Wouldn't it have been interesting to have looked in on this school?

A frame school house was built in 1883. It was located in Benkelman and a part of it is still standing. It was the first public school in Dundy County, before the county was organized. Miss Carrie Prouty was the teacher and her salary was $35
per month. The school opened in December 1883. The pupils were Annie and Jimmie King; Maggie, Annie, Johnnie and Kenney McDonald; Mary, Sophrona and Johnnie Terwilliger, Mary and Mintie Scott, Marshall and Stella Drabing and Stella and Johnnie Bond. The second year included Mamie, Gertie, Charlie and Chloe Van Buskirk, and Roy and Frank Neighbors. The Van Buskirk children drove five miles each day in a buck board. One day a pet antelope followed them to school. The term of school lasted from three to six months in length. Often a father would plow a furrow from his home to school so the children would not lose their way home, especially in stormy weather. In the future as the influx of settlers came in the 1886 to 1890 and made their homes here, Benkelman was to build four school buildings to accommodate the many children. Two of these buildings are still in use.

Many small communities sprang up in the county which contained at least a store, post office and a school.

School district No. 3 - Ough Precinct, was established. A sod house was built and school started in April 1886 with Fred Bicknell as the first teacher. This building was used until 1890 when a frame structure was built. It was used for church, Sunday school, political meetings, literary society and other entertainments or meetings.

School district No. 11 was organized with Eliza Blachley as the first teacher. Like District 3 the school building was used for church and Sunday school. Reverend E. J. Vivian was the first regular minister and W. M. Frasier was the first Sunday school superintendent.

Harmon Daily came to Indian Creek in 1886. In that same year the neighbors met to organize a school district. At this meeting were G. W. and Jim Delaware, John Chamberlain, Parker Thompson, Abe Vansickle, Walt Hobbs, and J. 0. Hedges. They decided to locate the school 1 1/4 miles north of Joe Ham's place. They wanted to set apart a district from District 10. A school house was built near Parker Thompson's house near the center of Section 17-2-37. They finished in time to have school in the spring of 1888. The first teacher was Sally Rainey, later Mrs. Sarah Fish.

Later a school district 3 miles by 4 miles was organized and set off from District 10. It was organized October 26, 1892 and was numbered District 66. Harmon Dailey was chosen as director, Jasper Wakefield as treasurer and Mrs. Fannie Dailey as Moderator. Mr. and  Mrs. Dailey served this district in various offices for about 25 years.

In 1896 Harmon Dailey  taught District 66 for one year, apparently they couldn't get a teacher. The following year he taught District 10.

Matie Thompson tells of the school District No. 10 that she attended when Sally Rainey was the first teacher. The Thompson children had a unique contraption to ride to school.

Mr. Thompson took three long planks, placed side by side and fastened together called sled stone boats. They slid over the bunch grass easily. Will, Fred, Charlie and Matie Thompson and Lee and Lenora Delaware rode together to school. They had an ingenious method of making the horse cover ground fast, when they pretended Indians were after them. One day Matie let her feet drag on the ground and they caught on a sage brush and she was pulled off the sled close to a red ant pile. Charlie and Lenora came to her rescue and found a red ant at work.

Mrs. Sarah Fish also tells about the school district No. 10 being divided and one was called district 66. The two school houses were built in 1888. District 66 school house was built on Parker Thompson land and school district No. 10 was build on T. C. Kimsey land. Mrs. Fish, or Miss Sally Rainey then, taught District 66 that summer and had eight pupils. There were 2 Delaware, Dunn, Vansickle, and
four Thompsons. She also taught in District No. 18 for three months.

Nellie Kimsey was born and raised on Indian Creek. She went to school in that same location. She said the school house stood down on Indian creek about a mile from her home. The three little Kimseys, Ora, Nellie and Sam walked to school in a path through the tall creek grass. She was so small that she  walked between the other children, one ahead and one behind, so she would not get lost. The school house was built of sod and plastered with native lime. Where ever the plaster had fallen off the centipedes would crawl in and out between the sod. They were four or five inches long. One day one of them got down Ora's dress on her back and then came out through her sleeve. Panic reigned for the teacher Mattie Strain as well as for the pupils.

The first building in Allston was a sod school house that was built in April 1887. The town of Allston had a post office, a store opened by Charles Towle in 1887. Miss Ridgeway opened a Millinery shop and Mrs. Stenstrom had a cafe and boarding house. John Stenstrom had a blacksmith shop. There was a newspaper
called “Allston Times." The sod school house was used as a church until a church was built. The panic of 1893 caused Allston to break up. The town was dismantled and buildings sold and moved away. The Church building was moved to Mount Emmet, eight miles northwest.

One of the most influential schools established in Dundy county was at Neel, later called Hiawatha. A school had been established at Neel. Dr. W. E. Stewart tells of going there to school when a boy. Miss Elzora Cain was the teacher at that time. Dr. Stewart praised her very highly because she was an excellent teacher and he vows he never got more out of one term of school than the winter she taught him.

In September 1889 the Hiawatha academy was established. Reverend Herbert J. Mott, a brother of Mrs. Philip Marshall of Benkelman, organized the Friends Church and established the Friend's Academy at Hiawatha. This was indeed a most unusual opportunity for higher education in high school and college preparatory courses and cultural training. The influence of this academy can still be felt in the descendants of those pupils who attended the academy.

The academy fell into a series of bad years due to the drought, no crops, no money, and the people moving away which caused the school to close its doors in early 1890's, a sad thing for the Hiawatha community. Its pupils still look back to the Hiawatha Academy with glowing pride and praise.

In looking over a 1908 map of Dundy County every precinct had at least two schools and several had four country schools. Each school had a distinct and interesting history and background. I think our book "Dundy County Heritage" will tell a lot of those  stories when it is published.




~Printed in the Benkelman, NE Post, October 21, 1981

The consolidation of the Max, Parks and surrounding rural schools into District IA, located in the Benkelman schools, caused many changes to take place. The school budget was enlarged and in turn the curriculum was enlarged and in some instances changed. These changes took place in the 1970.s.

A Special Education department was added to the grade and high school. The objective of this new program was to give special attention to the small percent of students in our schools who had learning problems.

The Benkelman school had several years previously incorporated the Remedial Reading Program under the supervision of Mrs. Paul Morris. This was a government sponsored program.

The high school and grade school curriculum and methods of teaching are notably different from the pioneer schools.

Where once an eighth grade education was adequate, this in turn was later considered insufficient, and a high school education was necessary to secure a job.

Today, a high school education is considered only a step in the direction of an education. A college degree or training in a specialized area is a must, a master's degree is desirable and a doctorate degree is the privilege of the corning generation.

In 1970 there were two schools in Dundy county: Dundy county District IA and Haigler 7A. This was a big change from some 70 rural and town schools to the two remaining districts.

Please keep in mind the year of 1970 as I recall these facts.

Benkelman, or Dundy County District 1A, employed 34 teachers and administrators in grade and high school, or kindergarten through 12, which included two special education teachers, one remedial reading teacher, a speech therapist hired by the Tri-County organization, four teachers' aides, and three secretaries. Nineteen persons were employed as bas drivers, custodians, and in the school cafeteria.

The enrollment of the entire school was approximately 480 pupils. Seven school buses transported the rural children to Benkelman and Max.

The school board was made up of nine members representing Benkelman, Max, Parks and the rural area.

The above facts are a far cry from the little sod or frame schoolhouse with one teacher with 7 to 15 pupils and many times she taught grades one through eight. She was required to prepare the eighth grade for county examinations so that those pupils could enter high school.

In the 88 years, up to 1970, our Dundy County education process has progressed through five school buildings to the present setup of Dundy County District IA where two school plants plus Max were utilized.

In comparing the subscription school with the schools of this era, the teachers' first wage was $20, plus some food commodities.

The average wage In 1970 was about $8,000 for a degreed teacher. This was an amazing situation, and a change from pioneer to the 1970's.

Let me say a word about the rural school. I greatly admired them. The sincere teacher was dedicated to her job. She was the head of the school. The patrons of the district admired her and her ability as a leader.

Parents admonished their children, "You mind the teacher. If you get a licking at school, you'll get another one when you get home.”

The rural school room was a school family. The older children helped the smaller children, not only in the school room but also on the playground.

The opening exercise—which took place first thing in the morning after the bell rang—was the salute to the flag and Pledge of Allegiance that was repeated. Perhaps if the school board of three members required it, there would be Bible reading. The routine of the day began.

Reading, arithmetic, language or grammar (upper grades) history, civics and geography in the upper grades, and spelling in the afternoon.

The Palmer Method of Penmanship, or the Spencerian Method, were given full attention. Children were expected to read, spell, write a good hand, and be able to figure.

Smaller children learned by listening to the older children recite. As they advanced to the next grade they had a knowledge of what to expect.

Very often these country children had to walk a mile or more to school. Some rode in buggies or on horseback. It had to be a bad storm for children to miss school.

I remember one instance in my country school days when I was in the first grade, a bad snowstorm came up quickly. The teacher dismissed us early. I had to walk about a mile and a half north, facing the storm, to reach home.

My parents had gone to Benkelman for coal and groceries, using a team of horses and a wagon. They had told me to follow the fence along the road and it would lead me home.

I had full confidence in myself and that barbed wire fence. I arrived home about the time I saw my parents coming over the hill north of our house.

The present-day pupils will never experience the school life in a rural school. I think they have missed a great experience. I wouldn't have missed it for the world, in attending or teaching in the old country school.