Reminisce Extra – September 2019

OUR LIVES

18 REMINISCE.COM * SEPTEMBER 2019

F

rom the fall of 1941 to 1947 , I attended

a country school in Boone County,

Iowa, just east and north of Ogden.

Having gone to kindergarten and

first grade in town, I

found it quite a change to be

the only second grader in a

single-room schoolhouse with

nine boys, three girls and just

one teacher, Marjorie Swain.

I learned so much during

those years, because I could

progress at my own pace long

before the term “individualized

instruction” became vogue.

I was able to listen in on every

class, from kindergarten to

eighth grade, and had access to

any book in our small library.

I excelled academically,

and it’s because of these early

experiences watching Mrs.

Swain manage and work with

students of all ages that I

later became an elementary schoolteacher and

curriculum specialist.

I also picked up some fun skills, learning

how to stoke a furnace and empty the ashes,

and how to pump water from

the well outside to fill the big

water bottle in the hall. On

the coldest days, I learned

how to warm my lunch in a

little toy roaster on our sole

heat register.

All of the students were

encouraged to keep the

outdoor toilets neat or else

we would have to clean them.

We also put on plays for

our parents and neighbors.

With so few girls, boys were

often given female roles.

Some were more willing to

do it than others!

Those were good years.

Our teachers worked hard

and deserve a lot of credit.

FROM PUPIL TO TEACHER

Learning in a one-room classroom taught her a career.

BY WANDA KILLINGER DARLINGTON • SARASOTA, FL

Growing Up

WANDA AND her friend Ramona

(left) sit on the stoop of their

Boone County, IA, school in 1944.

THE ENTIRE student

body of 12 kids posed

for a photo in 1942.