SCHOOLS OF YESTERYEAR
History of Ruth School
Sherman Township No. 2, Part 3
by Janis Stein

Join me in the continuation as I describe the children's favorite outdoor games and review various expenditures throughout the 1950s.

During the 1950s, about 25 children sought their education in Ruth's one-room schoolhouse, half of who were kindergarteners. Kindergarteners attending in the morning were released at noon. Those fortunate enough to have a father working in town would catch a ride with their dad, who was also going home for lunch. During the 1950s at lunchtime, the children retrieved their lunches, which they stored on two, long grey shelves running along the north wall toward the front of the schoolroom.

As their stomachs rumbled, the boys and girls eagerly unfolded their waxed-paper wrapped sandwiches. Most sandwiches consisted of homemade bread filled with left over roast beef, pork or chicken. In the 1950s, some mothers ground up ring bologna and mixed it with mayonnaise and pickle relish - a simply delightful combination. Instead of bologna, beef was sometimes used in this concoction as well. Egg salad or fried egg sandwiches were equally popular as were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For an occasional treat, a child may even have a store-bought sandwich spread consisting of salad dressing and relish.

To complement the sandwich, the children would often have a piece of fresh fruit or a little jar of home-canned fruit or sauce. Small glass jars were used instead of the plastic containers of today. Homemade cake or cookies were always a treat, and on a very rare occurrence, there may even have been a small piece of candy. A little jar of milk washed it all down!

In the 1950s, lunches were usually carried in bags - any kind of bag would do. An ice cream bag or a sugar bag held many a lunch, and chances were the bag would be recycled again and again until its life was gone. In the later years, one girl cherished her brand new lunch box. It was oval in shape and had a design painted on it. Two handles fastened near the center, and they would flop down so the lid could be removed. Some students also painted old metal lunch boxes to spruce them up a bit. Everyone carried his or her lunch, including the teacher.

The older children rotated weekly for cleaning duty: chores consisted of burning papers and maintaining the mousetraps. In addition, the erasers were also cleaned by banging them together outside or against the school or woodshed, and on Fridays the janitor was expected to stay after school to sweep the entire school, as well as thoroughly clean the bathrooms and toilets. Occasional dusting was a requirement as well, and during the 1950s the student in charge of these chores was paid one dollar a week for their efforts.

Alma Kosal taught throughout the 1950s, but when she fell ill in the late 50s, Mrs. Klaus finished out the year. Some of the students were intrigued to have Mrs. Klaus as a teacher, because she taught some of their parents at the Linwood School in Sanilac County in year's prior. The following year Mrs. Cavanaugh guided the students in their lessons, but Mrs. Kosal came back the year after to resume her teaching career in Ruth. During the 1962-1963 school year, Mrs. Kosal taught 15 children in her school, 8 whom were kindergarteners.

A fence surrounded the schoolyard except for the frontal edge. Several trees dotted the front and side borders as well. A little pump house stood on the south side of the driveway, and a short sidewalk led to the steps of the school. A flagpole just north of the sidewalk proudly displayed the American flag. The cement steps led up to the white entry door of the school. Shrubs flanked the front steps, and a window on each side of the door decorated the front of the schoolhouse as well. These matching windows were tall and rectangular with lots of small panels, and they allowed light to filter into the cloakrooms. The structure in the 1950s was wood-sided and painted white. On top of the schoolhouse roof in the front stood the bell tower, which housed the school bell. The bell would be rung to bring children in from recess or to start school if the children happened to be playing outdoors.

The students enjoyed a good game of softball during recess, and Ante I Over was ever popular. Other games sure to elicit giggles and laughter on the playground included Blind Man's Bluff, Pump, Pump, Pull Away, Kick the Can, Hide and Seek, Red Rover and skipping rope. The wood shed was located on the north side of the schoolhouse, and the ball diamond could be found between the wood shed and the school. On occasion, the older children played a competitive ball game against the students of the Kelly School, which was located on the corner of Ruth and Bay City-Forestville Roads in Sanilac County.

Many of the kindergarteners favored playing on the south side of the schoolyard where they careened through the air on the swings. All of the children were ecstatic when, in 1953, new swings and a slide were purchased from A. Flannagan Company for the amount of $242.09. Lester Maurer was paid $61.50 for installing the new playground equipment. Other playground equipment included monkey bars and a teeter-totter. The slide was a very popular attraction, and the children used their knowledge to make their ride a little more exciting. The girls and boys would bring waxed paper or cereal box paper with them to school. At recess, they would sit on the waxed paper and slide down the slide several times before the wax came off the paper. With this ingenious idea, the children slid a little faster down the slide, at least for a little while anyway!

Wintertime games were equally fun, and the children of Ruth worked off a little excess energy playing Fox and the Goose, having a snowball fight or building snowmen. Often the children would craft makeshift walls with large snowballs, and the snowball wars would begin. The children packed snowballs as fast as they could, and after whipping them at their opponents, they would quickly duck for cover below their wall.

Another popular winter game of the times was called turkey. On a day when there was good packing snow, the children would congregate on one side of the pump house. The child that was "It" stood in front of the pump house wall. The rest of his schoolmates threw snowballs at him, with the smaller children standing closer and the older students standing further back. When the person who was "It" was struck with a snowball, he had the chance to guess who threw the snowball at him. If he was correct, the person who threw the ball became "It". If the weather was too nasty, the children entertained themselves indoors by playing Mother May I?, Jacks, or a blackboard game such as Hangman.

The annual financial report for the year ending 1953 showed the parcel of land at the Ruth Public School was valued at $1000, as was the equipment. The culmination of all the buildings was valued at $2400. The schoolhouse was insured in the event of a fire for $1800; the yearly premium for fire insurance totaled $3.60. Likewise, the structure had $1000 of tornado insurance, costing a $2 yearly premium.

Many other outdoor improvements were taking place in 1953 as well. A $75 septic tank was purchased from The Surface Mausoleum; Jerome Holdwick was paid $112 for digging and bulldozing, and Lester Maurer earned $254.50 for his work digging and cleaning the well. Fred Groth was paid $69 for well tile, and Lawrence Heinr was reimbursed $68 for cement work. In October of the same year, Wagner and Gravel was paid $104.50 for the gravel and sand they provided, and lumber totaling $508.92 was purchased from Minden City Lumber Company. Rudolph Block earned $168 for his carpenter work, and the children surely kicked up their heels on the new linoleum purchased from Schumacher Furniture for a price of $49.25.

Changes and improvements continued into the new year; a new flag waved proudly on its new pole, and even more exciting in January of 1954 was the new furnace and water system purchased from Ruth Farmers Elevator in the amount of $1,481.23. Alma Kosal continued to do an outstanding job teaching the children in the Ruth district, and she was there when the milk program was instituted at the school. In November, 1956, Don Meinhold was paid $5.56 for distributing Borden milk. Milk was delivered in waxy cardboard cartons, similar to cartons used today.

It was soon clear a refrigerator was needed. During the annual school board meeting in July, 1957, a motion was made by Alfred Priemer and supported by Robert Holdwick to purchase a used refrigerator for the milk program. The motion was carried, so not long after the district purchased one from Mrs. Cecilia Wahla for $51. The refrigerator was placed in the back of the classroom just south of the school's library. Milk was delivered weekly, and the children could place their order of white or chocolate milk for the following week. Chocolate milk was a special treat indeed. Sometimes in the winter the children would take their carton of chocolate milk and bury it in a snow bank. By noon, the carton of milk would be partially frozen, and the children scooped the tasty treat out with a spoon!

Improvements continued in 1958 and 1959 with the purchase of 2 new filing cabinets costing $122.23. Lester Maurer earned $182.48 for his work painting and repairing the school, and 2 new fire extinguishers totaling $58.95 were purchased from Miller Fire Protection Company. In December of 1958, the children took a vision exam, and Mrs. Myrte Call was reimbursed $8.68 for eye testing. Mrs. Kosal continued to teach through April of 1960, during which time Miss Carrie Klaus took over the rest of the year, earning a teacher's salary of $320 per month.

In the 1950s, the teacher acquired a store-bought corrugated cardboard "store". If the weather wasn't favorable, the children busied themselves playing store. They saved a lot of packages from products at home, and put prices on them to stock their grocery and supply shelves. There was a large opening in front of the store with a place to set things. Inside there was a shelf on each side, and the students also placed items on the floor behind the store. The store itself wasn't very big: It had just enough room behind it for a cashier or maybe two small children. Though there wasn't a cash register, the students made coins from cardboard and play money from colored paper. Someone would act as the cashier and the others would play the role of shopper. Not only was this a fun way to pass the time during a blustery noon hour, the boys and girls learned to add up a list of items and how to determine the correct amount of change.

Sometimes the students practiced their square dancing skills; music poured out of the old record player, and it was always a hoot. In addition to dancing, the children also practiced singing, and they would occasionally travel to neighboring schools for "singing meetings". Some of the students especially favored singing in rounds.

In the 1950s, the students learned how to dance in preparation for a bigger event. Several schools traveled to the Minden School or the Minden Hall, and the students participated in a grand square dancing production. Many a mother sewed skirts with lots of gathers for their daughters. One young lady still has fond memories of dancing in a very full, red plaid skirt, hand-made by her mother. Parents and relatives alike came to watch their children swing their partners 'round and 'round!

Be sure to look for this column in next month's issue as I share memories of school days long ago in the Ruth Public School.

If you would like to see your schoolhouse featured in this series and are willing to share your experiences, please email Janis at janis@lakeshoreguardian.com or write to Janis at The Lakeshore Guardian, 9697 Purdy Rd., Harbor Beach, MI 48441.

Copyright © 2005 Janis Stein