 Bill Locates "Best of Show" at Iowa State Fair There is good reason Bill Sherman is proud of artist Grant Wood. Both he and Wood are native sons of Iowa who have revered their beloved state and have shared that passion in different ways. CSAA's Co-Founder, Bill Sherman, is known by country school enthusiasts as the most ardent promotor of schoolhouse restoration, preservation, and history in Iowa and across the nation. Bill is so dedicated, he believes Iowa should be known as the "Country School Capital,".... and we'll give him that! Grant Wood is the artist whose best known and recognized work is "American Gothic" portraying a farmer (holding a pitchfork) and his daughter in front of a classic Iowa farmhouse of the 1930's, people Wood envisioned would live there. For those who love one-room schools, Grant Wood is remembered for the painting entitled "Arbor Day," a scene reminiscent of the days he attended a country school in Antioch, Iowa. Just this month, Bill made his annual pilgrimage to the Iowa State Fair and located a 3-D hand carved replica of Grant Wood's painting "Arbor Day" as it is portrayed on the 2004 edition of the Iowa quarter! Coincidently 2024 marks the 20th anniversary since Grant Wood's painting was selected as the image for the Iowa State coin that year. It depicts scholars at a one-room school planting a tree to celebrate Arbor Day, the holiday first instituted in Nebraska in 1872. The idea of Arbor Day spread quickly across the US and millions of trees were planted to observe the holiday. Today, it is generally celebrated the last Friday of April, but schedules are flexible due to climate. The decision to select "Arbor Day" as the motif for the Iowa quarter was made by then Governor Thomas Vilsack who now serves as the US Secretary of Agriculture. Possibly unknown to some of our readers, Bill Sherman was actually instrumental in promoting and securing that image (twenty years ago) for the casting of this Grant Wood commemorative coin! How fitting it was for Bill to locate the creative wood carving of "Arbor Day," awarded "Best of Show" at the Iowa State Fair. The vignette below describes Bill Sherman's usual search for anything SCHOOLHOUSE. "As you can see by the purple ribbon this original carving was selected as the “Best of Show” by the judges at the Iowa State Fair in a Miniature Room carving competition. I was unaware there was any such building at the Iowa State Fair but happened to stop by the 4-H Exhibits Building. I asked to speak to the woman who was in charge of this part of the 4-H program in Iowa to see if there were any one-room school exhibits on display this year at the fair. She said she didn’t think so, but a few moments later she said she had seen an image of the Arbor Day school building in another part of the fairgrounds. I asked where that building was located. I quickly raced over to the building and the rest is history as far as I'm concerned. I’m probably the only person who attended the fair that felt the same way." ...Bill Sherman The photo was taken by Bill on Saturday, August 17th at the Iowa State Fair which he reported set a daily attendance record of over 1,000,000 for the 12 day s the fair was open. We thank Bill Sherman for more than we could catalogue here, but we do know you'll enjoy the information he submitted for this post.
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 Rules for Teachers and Students As we visit country schoolhouse museums across the country we often find posted a set of "Rules for Teachers" and some schools post rules for students. The two most common are the Rules for Teachers of 1872 and Rules for Teachers 1915, both of which have questionable provenance and their veracity has been debated elsewhere on the web. (They're still fun to imagine!) And those rules for students? When you consult the numerous 19th century books of "manners for children," the lists of do's and don'ts are daunting and cover rules for deportment at the table, in public, with strangers, in hygiene, in church, with their superiors, in school, etc. If you enjoy reading memoirs of teachers in our early country schools, you can imagine the many rules that COULD have been set in stone for students to ponder in idle moments....and maybe they did appear in conspicuous places in the classroom. But, lists of rules could also be so extensive they created more complications than the infractions they were designed to arrest! Living history schoolmarms and schoolmasters enjoy talking about the rules of the past that today's students find instructive, strict, or even hilarious...as in the case of, "Only one student at a time may go to the outhouse, or "Students will sweep and dust the room at the close of school." They respond by asking WHY two people would EVER go in an outhouse together...or they explain that their, "custodian sweeps the room!" One of the many treasures left by our dear CSAA friend, Susan Webb ("The Traveling Schoolmarm") is a very simple and usable list of Scholar's Rules that can serve any schoolhouse museum if they wish to post a list of proper schoolhouse behaviors. We share it here...click on the image for a printable PDF.   If you need more ideas for your list, check out this set of Instructions and Manners for Your School! This one is courtesy of the District #1 Schoolhouse in Nashua, NH from their "Standard Second Reader," a compilation of 19th century stories and poems printed in a reproduction reader. Click in the image at left for a printable PDF.  The Haunted Schoolhouse of Newburyport, Massachusetts - 1873 From: Ghosts of Newburyport – Charles Street Schoolhouse Brick and Tree-October 2009, by indijerry77 The story goes like this....In about 1860, a male student at the Charles Street School in Newburyport, MA had committed some “horrible” (unspecified) act and had been given the appropriate (?!) punishment. He was severely beaten, locked in the basement of the building, and was left there the entire day while fellow students were ordered to ignore his cries and moans. When the school day ended he was helped home and died later that night. The teacher, "well within his rights as a disciplinarian," suffered no repercussions. It was this single event that began the rumors that the school was haunted by this boy but there was no sign of such a thing until the fateful year of 1871. This particular schoolhouse was situated very close to the port on the Atlantic. It was intended for the poorer children of the town and even in 1871 was in need of some repairs. The Charles Street School had become a dumping ground of the unwanted, needy kids of that day, and it tended to be overcrowded. Discipline was very strict in those days and may have been what triggered these ghostly happenings 11 years later. Spectral events began occurring in the schoolhouse that were basically the stuff of Hollywood special effects. There were ghostly apparitions of a boy, solid objects floated through the air and hovered above onlookers’ heads. There were loud knocking sounds and objects flying about the room. Teacher and children became increasingly alarmed and parents demanded an investigation. There were those who suspected that some of the activities were hoaxes, but many occurrences were seen by multiple witnesses and with no explanation at the time – the floating apparitions, heavy iron stove tops hovering in the air and the banging in desks and on the walls...in several different directions and locations at the same time! When the parents were told of these events by their children, they began to talk, and in turn the reports of the Charles Street ghost made it into the local newspaper, then into the Boston Media and soon enough, people across the country were reading about the young phantom of Newburyport, Massachusetts. For a brief time, Newburyport’s name was heard in excited conversations across the nation. In 1873 Loring Publishers of Boston wrote a detailed 24-page booklet detailing the happenings that unfolded at the Charles Street School, complete with line drawings, testimony, and local flavor, further spreading the belief that the events were indeed real. (You can access the digital copy of this pamphlet compliments of Harvard University at the end of this post!) Famous celebrities like Oliver Wendell Holmes came to try to debunk the story. Spiritualists who were an emerging movement at the time came to the school to perform seances to exorcise the "spirit." The town established a committee to investigate and possibly disprove the events. Their findings claimed that it was a hoax but most in the city felt the committee’s report was rigged from the start and no one took the findings seriously. They believed the ghost was real! "At a meeting of the school committee held Monday evening, February 24, 1873, the condition of the Charles Street primary school was taken into consideration and a sub-committee, previously appointed, reported in detail the facts that had been discovered after careful investigation. They recommended that a vacation of three or four weeks be allowed Miss Perkins, the teacher, and a substitute be employed to take her place. This report, signed by Samuel J. Spalding, pastor of the Whitefield Congregational church and society, and George D. Johnson, rector of St. Paul’s church, gave a brief summary of the facts established by the investigation, and closed with the following statement : After deducting the baseless and purely sensational stories put afloat and the exaggerations which the excited imaginations of credulous persons have made, and sights and sounds that can be accounted for by the most simple principles of natural philosophy, and by the tricks of mischievous boys (quite as natural), there is hardly enough left out of which to make a small ghost. The recommendations of the sub-committee were subsequently adopted. Miss Perkins was granted a vacation of several weeks for rest and recreation, after the severe mental strain that had seriously impaired her health and strength, and the Charles street school was placed in charge of Nathan A. Moulton. The ordinary routine of school work was resumed, the mysterious sights and sounds ceased, and all traces of ghostly visitors disappeared." A few years later the school building was sold by order of the committee on public property. It was repaired and remodeled, and according to local authorities of the time...the school is, "now a comfortable and convenient dwelling house." Just as they suddenly appeared, the apparition and supernatural activities ceased in 1873 just as quickly and no one has reported anything in the building since. Over the years, the homeowners reported no spectral activities after that. If we've piqued your interest you may wish to read the digital pamphlet provided below...or check out two other articles on the same story. FACT OR FICTION...decide for yourself! Do Not Miss This Post! Watch and Learn!
This is one of those compelling posts graciously submitted by some hard working members of our CSAA community. If you are lamenting that your historical society is aging out, interest is waning, or you can't marshal community support, here is a story that will give you both encouragement and hope that you can "spark joy" for history once again. At the 2024 CSAA Annual Country School Conference held in Toledo, OH (June 9-12), three dedicated schoolhouse enthusiasts told the story of a small town group that started with virtually nothing to amass enough from fundraisers, donations, and grants to engineer a site for the creation of an entire historical village! The dynamic ladies from Dunkerton, Iowa (population 821) presented their program entitled: “VILLAGE PEOPLE - YMCA?” Representatives LuAnn Chapman, Teresa Stafford, and Julie Heiple of the Dunkerton Historical & Tourism Association, shared the story of a local group's determination to spur an entire community into action. They explained in detail how a number of small town Iowa residents dreamed of moving a train depot, two school houses, and a chapel to build an educational village....and how they are succeeding! Their presentation covered in depth how their 501(c)(3) was formed, explaining the make-up of the board, and how community leaders were lobbied. It addressed how local architects and construction firms were approached to obtain bids and buy in on the project. And, they answered the question many of us continue to face: How can we start a grass roots funding project that can bring in over $100,000 in one year, all while building our online museum catalog of artifacts and historic memorabilia (including items related to our one room schoolhouses). They answered those questions while sharing their own undaunted success story! They offered ideas on grants, how to think outside the box for fund raising, and how you can use your local story to build support and achieve goals. How fortunate we are that the DHTA (Dunkerton Historical& Tourism Association) has kindly shared their presentation with readers of The Report Card. The resources they created are donated right here for your benefit. This group has walked the walk and they have succeeded! Their side show presentation will prove to you that community support is not only possible, but inevitable, if you lay the groundwork and do not waver. 1. Attached you will find a timeline...Two Years: Dunkerton Historical & Tourism Association April 2022-April 2024. The PDF list highlights the activities that brought in the funding for the realization of their dream. You will be astounded!! 2. You will also be treated to the actual slide presentation of their progress via YouTube. Turn up the volume and be inspired!!!! Individual slides are also attached. 3. Thrilling to all of us, watch the bird's eye view videos created recently with drone footage featuring the DHTA's move of two historic schoolhouses (Barclay #3 and Bennington/Gresham #1) to their property, the site of the future historic village. You are witness to the beginnings of this fascinating tourist attraction. Heartwarming!! 4. You are also invited to attend the one-day Iowa Country School Conference: Saturday, October 12,2024 - 11:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. - at the Dunkerton Public Library. 203 East Tower Street, Dunkerton, IA 50626...or access more information at www.dunkertonhistory.com. More detailed conference information will be posted on their website and on this blog as soon as we receive it.  Clifton Johnson, Author & Illustrator What was it Really Like? Clifton Johnson (January 25, 1865 – January 22, 1940) was an American author, illustrator, and photographer. He published some 125 books in many genres including travel books, children's stories, and biographies, many with his own illustrations and photographs. This is the opening for Clifton Johnson's biography on Wikipedia, which includes a detailed inventory of his contributions to the literary world. So what has Johnson to do with our focus on country schools? You'll be surprised to learn how this talented author wrote one of the definitive schoolhouse memoirs describing life in a typical New England 19th century one-room school in Hadley, Massachusetts. Interestingly enough, he wrote this book from memories, "largely his own," as he was 28 years old when he penned "The Country School" in 1893. He includes countless details he obtained from interviews with "friends and acquaintances" who were former students of 19th century schoolhouses. He admittedly staged the photographs for the book (which he took himself), setting up his subjects in the same schoolhouse he attended as a boy. Clifton not only attended the school, but he married the schoolmarm, Anna Tweed, who was teaching at the Hockanum School in 1896. The School still stands today in his hometown of Hadley. His career in writing and publishing is fascinating. Johnson breaks his chapters into "Old Fashioned School Days:" 1800-1825, "The Mid-Century Schools:" 1840-1860, and "The Country School of Today:" (1860-1893- apparently). His book was so popular it went into a number of printings through 1907. Free Digital Copy Link: The Country School, by Clifton Johnson The 1907 edition has been carefully digitized and I am attaching the link below so you can take full advantage of Johnson's remembrances as well as those he obtained through interviews. We thank the Wayback Machine Internet Archive for making this wonderful resource available online. Take a peek into the past for a revealing picture of the "goings on" involving a 19th century one-room school. Jam packed with details! |
