"One Room - One Nation"

We finally watched Kelly & Tammy Rundle's* documentary film Country Schools: One Room - One Nation yesterday. I say finally because it premiered almost two years ago and has been shown on IPTV several times. High school classmate Barb Beemer brought it to my attention last October when it was part of the 12th Annual Iowa One-Room School Conference being held at our local community college (SWCC). I should have gone then.
"Better late than never" as the old saying goes. No matter when you finally see this film, if you ever went to a one room country school, you are going to love it. It brings back so many memories. "The visually stunning film features a unique country school designed by Frank Lloyd Wright along with dozens of more traditional structures of brick, stone or wood - in all stages of restoration or decay - in picturesque rural areas of Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Missouri and Nebraska." (State Historical Society of Iowa Press Release)

Mom, Ruth Lynam, with Betty on the left and Ramona on the right. 'Normie' Firkins behind.

The foundation of my education occurred at Jasper #2 (once known as Humbert School) which I attended for eight years. The school was one mile north of our family farm. It had the typical vestibule tacked on the south side which was where we hung our coats on the hook with our names with boots placed beneath and lunch boxes on the shelf above. It is also where a large stoneware water cooler stood in one corner. In another corner was a broom closet which held janitor supplies. I don't remember what it was called, but I do remember the smell of the red sweeping compound that was sprinkled on the floors before they were swept.
I think this picture was taken on the last day of my first year of school. The school year ended with a picnic and packing up all our books which we passed down to a sibling or took to Lauvstad's to trade for the ones we needed for the next grade if there wasn't anyone in the neighborhood to trade with. I know this is where I learned my lifelong obsession about keeping any books I owned in near pristine condition - the condition of your books determined their value in sale or trade.

Back row, Left to Right: Fred Mitchell, Edward Talty, Virginia Vogel, Teacher, Vera Kimball, Ramona Lynam. Middle row: Betty Lynam, Edward Mitchell, Marylin Yearington, Front row: Carolyn Yearington, Douglas Brown, Douglas Olive, Gary Jackson, Byron Kapple, Susan Brown.

My first grade teacher was June Ternahan. My class mate was Mary Wilson - boy were we ever competitive. She moved away after first grade. From then on I was the only one in my grade. My second grade teacher was Patricia Flowers. Beginning with third grade and thereafter, my teacher was Vera Kimball. She was strict which is one of the reasons she was hired. It was the teacher's duty to keep order as well as teach. Some of those 7th and 8th grade boys were pretty unruly. I only remember one boy being expelled from school for three days in all eight years. I don't remember what he did, but it may have had something to do with packing a snow ball around a rock and then hitting my older brother Ron in the head when it was thrown at him.

Old School House Picture Credited to Ken Larson

At their numerical peak in the early 1900's, Iowa had more country schools than any other state in the nation. Iowa still has the most, with 3000 existing school buildings and 200 fully restored country school museums. Many of those old school houses have been re-purposed to hold machinery, hay and livestock. Many others are just slowly falling down. My son-in-law, took this picture of one of those hay storage buildings along HWY 169 between Afton and Mt. Ayr during a visit in 2010.

Les Lynam at Jasper #2

Some time between the start of my school years and the end, Jasper #2 was covered in gray asphalt siding. This picture is as it appeared at the end of its life as a school house. My younger brother, Les, is standing in the doorway. The 1959-60 school year was the last time school was held here. Les attended as a kindergartner and our sister, Betty, was an eighth-grader. The building and contents were sold. The old school house that had served so many was removed. Eventually that acre reverted to crop ground. The only reminders that a building once stood there were a few pieces of limestone foundation which would turn up when the field was cultivated and the school house sign that was put up after a successful campaign to mark all the locations in Adams County where there had once been one room country schools.

The documentary Country Schools: One Room - One Nation sparks so many memories - the games we played at recess, listening to the upper classes 'recite' and learning their lessons as well as our own, swinging as high as we could on the swing set and "bailing out", learning our parts for the Christmas play, having the honor of raising and then lowering the American flag each day, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, building "camps" in the ditches and plum thickets around the school property, walking to and from school each day (regardless of weather conditions), PTA Meetings, friendships and jealousies, Dewey school tours and finally that stomach churning eighth grade testing followed by the all important eighth grade graduation at the high school in Corning. (Where in the fall we would be freshmen - initiated by the seniors and made fun of as country hicks by the townies.)

As I said at the beginning - this documentary is so well done and brings back so many memories. It can be purchased from www.fourthwallfilms.com if you don't get to watch it via public television.

*The Rundle's are also the producers of Villisca: Living With A Mystery about the Villisca ax murders which we've watched several times (have the DVD) and Lost Nation: The Ioway which I'm looking forward to seeing.