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Osborn School
This is a country school in one room grades 1-8 in Iowa called Osborn Valley School. The kids are all from farms and they walked to school. There is a woodstove that used wood cut special for the stove by kid's parents and brought to the school on by a team and wagon. Carol is a 3rd grader. The boy in the back is Harold. That girl might be Catherine. She was adopted and played with Harold.
The kids walked a mile and a half to school. They had to leave by 8 to get there by a quarter to 9, walking down a dirt road, it was hilly, and there was one big hill – Osborn hill. All the classmates would come out when the kids walked by their farms. There were ditches on both sides of the road and they would go over a bridge. They would all walk straight to school. They would carry a lunch bucket with a sandwich in wax paper, a thermos bottle and maybe an apple. Except for Harold. Skerrit He has a family that is well-off – his lunch had nice looking stuff – bought things like candy.
Story was at 9, like the Bobsy Twins but she could only read so long. First graders went up front – it was easy to get distracted for the other kids. Only ten kids in school. 10:30 was recess and kids would go to the bathroom – the girls went up to the outhouse on the hill. If you had to go badly you held up a finger. There was time to get you a a drink. The teacher would ring a bell after 10-15 min.
The room had color, fun things, geography, windows decorated.
There was a piano and a record player. If it was snow or rainy they would play a game. She'd put the music on, the students would march around and get a seat when the song “God Bless America, land that we love, stand beside her, and guide her...”
The 7-8 graders had to go to Glenwood, Mrs. Hammers a heavy set lady gave a test in a room in the courthouse. It would tell if you go on to the next year or you didn't.
The kids would eat at their desks from their lunch pails that they kept in the washroom. There was a well outside and there was water from outside in the bucket. Each kid had a cup they could dip in the bucket.
After lunch classmates would come out and play Fox and Goose in a circle with a ball. Everyone liked Arts – good writing or good coloring was put above the chalkboard or on a place on the wall covered in gunnysack like a plaque on a wall.
On the way home kids would play tag or maybe eat a snack. When they got home they'd get the wood and the cobs in and if the hens laid the eggs you'd have to get them.
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