Collecting Old School Books

As I was going through my collection of books, in preparation for our recent yard sale, I came across my collection of old school books.  Some of them reminded me of my school days.  Others were from my mom's time.  Still more I've collected as I've browsed yard sales and antique shops.

Among those in my library:

Seventy Lessons in Spelling (revised) copyright 1885.  This edition was published 1905.
The Sprague Classic Readers (Book One, a Primer) by Sarah E. Sprague, published 1903. 
The Big Show, 1949, paperback
Guess Who, the New Basic Readers, 1951.
Around Green Hills, 1963

Of course, the Dick and Jane, Baby Sally, Spot and Puff were the books I read at the one-room school in Poughquag. 

First Day of School

This time of year, I looked forward to going back to school and seeing all my friends. Sister and I had new dresses for the first day. My brothers had new pants (not jeans for school) and shirts. Even though money wasn't plentiful, Mother got us something new to wear for starting school. Getting a new "store bought" dress was something I looked forward to. (Mother made many of our clothes on her treadle sewing machine. But she purchased dresses for starting school.)

The school was about half a mile from our farm. Mother or Father drove us to school in the morning. But most days we walked home from school, carrying our bookbags and lunch boxes.

I've been trying to find a picture of the Poughquag Schoolhouse but have only come across one on a postcard that probably was an earlier version. The building seems somewhat different from what a friend and I recall. So we're wondering if the original school was distroyed or dismantled an a newer one built when we attended.

Some books available about one-room schools around the country. (Eventually I should compile my blog entries into a book with photos and sketches.)

Legacy of One-Room Schools
One-Room Country Schools: History and Recollections from Wisconsin
Northwest Indiana One Room School
(Image: sxc.hu)

Were Teachers Ever Sick?

As I began to prepare for the opening of the schools in our area and calls for substitute teaching, I wondered, "Were teachers ever sick when I attended the one-room school?"

I don't recall having a substitute teacher nor school being called off because a teacher was absent.  There probably weren't sick days and personal days written into the teachers' contracts.  I have copies of a couple of my mom's contracts.  They were simple documents and I don't remember mention of sick days.  I'll have to pull them out of the file and see what they say.

Do you recall having substitute teachers when you attended one-room schools?

(Back to school image: sxc.hu)