{"id":1959,"date":"2022-05-20T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959"},"modified":"2022-05-15T20:13:53","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T00:13:53","slug":"georgies-memories-part-5-at-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959","title":{"rendered":"Georgie’s Memories – Part 5: At School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n

As our family went through my mother’s personal effects, we discovered these essays, handwritten in a spiral notebook. Immediately, we knew we had found a very special look into the early life of someone we loved and admired. We’re sharing them here in the hope that others may enjoy them as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

November 23, 1986<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These essays are being written because I have often thought how nice it would be if, say, my great-grandmother had written about what life was like when she was growing up. It would have been so interesting to know how people\u2019s daily life and experiences fitted in with the history that was being made at that time.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Elementary School<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I started to school in September 1924.  There was no kindergarten then, no school buses.  The 1st<\/sup> Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.  There were no lay teachers – the school was run entirely by sisters.  They were the Franciscans of Perpetual Adoration and the mother house was in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

We had no Audio-Visual aids, special education, gifted programs, physical education, etc. etc.  We received an excellent education which included lots of history, music, Latin, business subjects (shorthand, typing, business practice, bookkeeping) besides English, Science, and Religion.  We were indeed fortunate to have such dedicated teachers.  At that time there was no rule about what age children started school.  Some started at 4, others at 5, 6 and I was almost 7.  The grade school building was constructed in 1884, the same year my dad was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An elementary school picture. Georgie is the back person in the row standing by the blackboard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

High School<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Her drawing of the outhouse.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

High school was held in a corner brick building which had been a store at one time.  It was operated by my Great Grandparents Kempker, parents of my Grandma Teresa Link.  By accident my father was born in this building.  My grandmother was spending the night with her parents, went into labor and gave birth to her first child, my father, William John Link. (Ed. You can read more about it here<\/a>.) The high school was enlarged while I was in grade school and has been added to again since then, including a new gym.  When I started school plumbing had been recently installed.  The outdoor privies, one for boys and one for girls, were still on the playground and still were used when everyone was out playing.  They were built circular and each stall was pie shaped (see illustration).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kempker’s store, before it was incorporated into the high school. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At that time there was a parish hall south of the church.  The floor was shallow wide steps wide enough to hold chairs and these steps descended to the front where there was a stage.  Before basketball, plays were popular, and the hall was built to accommodate them.  This floor was torn out when the hall was remodeled and a hardwood floor was installed for basketball and dances.  Grade school floors were wood and swept daily with sweeping compound, a mixture of sawdust with some kind of oil which helped to keep down dust.  In most rooms two children sat at each desk.  There was a common inkwell.  We used pen points and dipped the ink.  Everybody had a pencil box and a pen point wiper.  Somehow, we did Palmer Method (cursive writing) exercises with these and earned Palmer Method buttons and certificates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lunch break and recess<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There were no hot lunch programs.  There was an hour for lunch so if you lived in town you went home for it. Children from the country carried a lunch, some in a lunch bucket, some in a lard bucket or syrup bucket.  There were 15 minute recesses both morning and afternoon.  There was a well on the west side of the grade school and a tin cup hanging on it if you were thirsty.  Almost everyone had a folding tin cup of their own as the school was trying to teach good health habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mass and communion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We were very respectful of the Sisters.  When we met Father Grothe, our pastor, we moved off the sidewalk and said \u201cPraised be Jesus Christ, Good morning (or whatever) Father.\u201d  Being sent to the principal\u2019s office was a disgrace and real hard nose cases were sent to Father Grothe.  Children were expelled once in a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Georgie in her communion dress. Taken in 1925<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I think school started about 8:30 am and dismissed at 4 pm.  There was a Mass at 8:00 am in church when the weather was temperate, in the chapel in school when it was cold and in the chapel in the sister\u2019s home on Saturday.  At that time very few people received Holy Communion at daily Mass.  More received on Sunday after going to Confession on Saturday.  A large number went to Confession and received Communion on the first Friday of every month.  Children made their First Confession and Communion when they were 7 and made their Second (Solemn) Communion when they were 8.  This was in the spring.  Girls wore white dresses and veils, at that time fasting from food and drink from midnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 At 40 Hours Devotion all the school, girls in their 1st<\/sup> Communion dresses or a white dress later, marched in the opening service on Friday morning and again at the closing on Sunday night.  On First Friday and at 40 Hours children went home for breakfast or brought their breakfast.  My Uncle Ben\u2019s children, my cousins, often came home with us for breakfast.  My Aunt Teresa would send eggs and we would have as many eggs as we wanted with homemade bread and jelly.  This was always a happy time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walt’s Comments<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stayed with Grandma for a month in 1971, and she still went to Mass every morning. Very early in the morning, in fact. It was the summer, and I would have preferred to sleep in, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Palmer Method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Palmer Method of writing was similar to many other teaching techniques of the time. It was first published in 1888. The idea was that by using the muscles in you arm to write, rather than just your hand, it would reduce fatigue. The Palmer Method is still available today – you can even download a PDF of the 1900 book here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Digging Deeper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration is still a house in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They were founded by German immigrants in 1849. You can read more about their history here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As our family went through my mother’s personal effects, we discovered these essays, handwritten in a spiral notebook. Immediately, we knew we had found a very special look into the early life of someone we loved and admired. We’re sharing them here in the hope that others may enjoy them as well. November 23, 1986 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten then, no school buses.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[18,59,44],"class_list":["post-1959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-family-history","tag-memoir","tag-west-point"],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgie's Memories - Part 5: At School - Down the Rabbit Hoel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Georgie's Memories - Part 5: At School - Down the Rabbit Hoel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Down the Rabbit Hoel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-20T04:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michelle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michelle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michelle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0c431d27a0de7ddfa2e868fc36ba824\"},\"headline\":\"Georgie’s Memories – Part 5: At School\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-20T04:01:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959\"},\"wordCount\":1133,\"commentCount\":3,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Family History\",\"Memoir\",\"west point\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Family History\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959\",\"name\":\"Georgie's Memories - Part 5: At School - Down the Rabbit Hoel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-20T04:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0c431d27a0de7ddfa2e868fc36ba824\"},\"description\":\"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?p=1959#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Georgie’s Memories – Part 5: At School\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Down the Rabbit Hoel\",\"description\":\"Stories of family, creativity, and diverse distractions.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0c431d27a0de7ddfa2e868fc36ba824\",\"name\":\"Michelle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5c2e99efb9b65a5d5ba031b413264be1d75df437b11e33fb4089a0bc78105804?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5c2e99efb9b65a5d5ba031b413264be1d75df437b11e33fb4089a0bc78105804?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5c2e99efb9b65a5d5ba031b413264be1d75df437b11e33fb4089a0bc78105804?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Michelle\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/therabbithoel.com\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Georgie's Memories - Part 5: At School - Down the Rabbit Hoel","description":"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Georgie's Memories - Part 5: At School - Down the Rabbit Hoel","og_description":"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.","og_url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959","og_site_name":"Down the Rabbit Hoel","article_published_time":"2022-05-20T04:01:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michelle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michelle","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959"},"author":{"name":"Michelle","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0c431d27a0de7ddfa2e868fc36ba824"},"headline":"Georgie’s Memories – Part 5: At School","datePublished":"2022-05-20T04:01:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959"},"wordCount":1133,"commentCount":3,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg","keywords":["Family History","Memoir","west point"],"articleSection":["Family History"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959","url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959","name":"Georgie's Memories - Part 5: At School - Down the Rabbit Hoel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg","datePublished":"2022-05-20T04:01:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0c431d27a0de7ddfa2e868fc36ba824"},"description":"I started to school in September 1924.\u00a0 There was no kindergarten.\u00a0 The 1st Grade had a room to themselves but most rooms had 2 grades in them.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/therabbithoel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/grade-school-class-1925.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=1959#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Georgie’s Memories – Part 5: At School"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/","name":"Down the Rabbit Hoel","description":"Stories of family, creativity, and diverse distractions.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e0c431d27a0de7ddfa2e868fc36ba824","name":"Michelle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c2e99efb9b65a5d5ba031b413264be1d75df437b11e33fb4089a0bc78105804?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c2e99efb9b65a5d5ba031b413264be1d75df437b11e33fb4089a0bc78105804?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c2e99efb9b65a5d5ba031b413264be1d75df437b11e33fb4089a0bc78105804?s=96&d=monsterid&r=pg","caption":"Michelle"},"url":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?author=2"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1959"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2001,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959\/revisions\/2001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}