Early School Days in Sherman County, Kansas

Submitted by Judy (Leonard) Althoff

Before there were any schools in Sherman County, the only education a child might receive was what they were taught at home.

Early school was held in the months the children could be spared from farm work. Three months was the average term. Later, as it became more important to learn to read and write, laws were passed restricting child labor and people looked to the educational system as a means to provide their children with access to more opportunities.

The first school in Sherman County was in the fall of 1885. A building in the west part of the town of Gandy was used for a schoolhouse. They had an enrollment of 16. As the county was not yet organized, the school would have to be supported by private capital or sale of school land. The families of the students would be the ones to pay the costs. (County school funds were not available until the county was organized in 1886.)

Most of the early schoolhouses, after the county was organized and divided into districts, were made of sod and were never large, but neither was the enrollment. They were usually one room and heated with a coal burning stove. The stove was located in the center of the room, and the stove pipe ran to the chimney at the end of the room. The pipe was held in place with wires fastened to the ceiling.

One teacher taught all eight grades. Many of the desks were hand made, usually by the parents. Slates were used by the pupils and written on by slate pencils. When school funds were made available, the teacher's wages were $30 to $40 a month. They had their room and meals with families living near the school.

Pupils brought the drinking water from home. One dipper or cup was used by all. Pupils were instructed not to pour the water back into the can or bucket from the drinking cup. Lunches were carried in pails of various sizes, generally a gallon syrup pail with a fitted lid. The children walked to school if they lived with 2 1/2 miles. Some rode horses which were staked out near the school. A few schools had barns built for the horses. Box suppers were held to raise money for various projects.

There were more than 65 school districts in 1900. When the population decreased in the districts, the people held onto the school building, but sent pupils to another school and hired a teacher. The children were moved because the number of pupils didn't justify a district.

The last country school (Hillside) closed in 1970 in Sherman County. School children were taken into the Goodland School District and bused to Goodland.

In 1913, the total number of pupils in one rural school was four. The teacher received a salary of $45.00 a month. A school term was 28 weeks. The teacher usually boarded with a family in the school district.

As the rural areas in Sherman County became more thickly populated, more country schools were built. They were one room, wood frame construction, with an ante room or entrance way. The school house was heated with a big round wood-coal burning stove in the middle of the classroom. The drinking water was hauled to school in a cream can or other container by the teacher or the people, where the teacher boarded. The teacher was also the janitor. Back in the early nineteen forties, wages were from $60.00 to $100.00 a month. The school term was for eight months. The teacher taught all eight grades. Some country schools had a small enrollment of six or seven pupils while other schools had as many as twenty or more. It depended a lot on the number of children a family had. It was not uncommon for families in the early days to have six or seven children; while several families had twelve or more. The school house was also used as a community center. To be a teacher in the forties (1940s) in a rural school, one took a Normal Training Course in high school and also passed a stiff examination. Then the person could teach for two years.

In a lot of country schools after the last recess on Friday afternoon, the class time or last period was spent having spelling, ciphering or geography matches or art work. There was much stress put on handwriting in those days.

Some of the games played during recess were Andy Over, King's Base, Softball, Tag, Statue, Hide & Seek, and marbles. When it was too cold or stormy to play outside, the students played inside such games as Upset the Apple Cart, Hide the Thimble, I've Got a Secret, several blackboard games, put puzzles together, and others.

The information was collected by the Sherman County Historical Society located in Goodland, Kansas, and printed in one of a 3-volume set of books named "They Came to Stay." Information for these volumes was solicited in the late 1970's and published in the early 1980's.