SCHOOLS OF YESTERYEAR
The History of Bingham District #4, Part 4
by Janis Stein

Join me in the continuation as I share information from the 1940 ledger books as well as a vote taking place in 1952 that would determine whether Bingham #4 would send their seventh and eighth grade children elsewhere to obtain their education.

Ruth Moore taught the students of Bingham in 1945, and in preparation for the new school year, Mrs. Don Near cleaned and painted the interior of the school for a fee of $56. Chores needed to be handled in the yard as well. At the end of September, Robert Henderson cleaned the well and pump for a price of $24, and Fredrick Hagen cut the grass in the schoolyard - for his trouble he was paid $5.

The following year, residents of the district cast their votes again to determine whether to close Bingham #4. For the second year in a row it was decided Bingham should remain open. This time 26 people voted with 17 being in favor of keeping the school open and 9 voting to close the school.

Since it was decided the school would remain open, preparations for another school year were in order. Lillian Pastor earned $48 for her work cleaning the school, and Ralph Brown cleaned the toilets for $40. Ruth Moore returned to teach in 1946, and much to her delight, in December of that year, a set of World Book Encyclopedias was purchased for $81.08. After enduring a cold winter, plans were made to better insulate the schoolhouse. Eagle Insulation Company was hired for the job, which they completed in March, 1947, for a cost of $140. With this added warmth, five of the older children surely settled in much more comfortably to read their brand new copies of Rip Van Winkle.

The board had some difficulties securing a teacher for the 1947-1948 school year. Ruth Moore signed a contract in March, 1946, for the ensuing year, but contracts could be broken if enough time was given in advance, and for whatever reason, Ms. Moore changed her mind. The school board surely thought they were fortunate when they found another available teacher in May. Lourene Brown signed a 12-month contract where she would be paid $135 per month. This teacher fell through, too, and finally the board secured Florence Louks in July. The contract she signed stated a wage of $225 would be paid monthly for 9 months.

Maintaining the appearance of the schoolhouse was an ongoing labor of love by many members of the district. In the fall of 1947, Amil Petzold began the hideous task of removing plaster. No doubt he appreciated the fresh air all the more when he cut the grass in the schoolyard for $5. Roman Broilet earned $10 for his work in plastering, and L.E. Richmond was paid $20.75 for painting the ceiling. Lyle Richardson fattened his piggy bank a bit with the $25 he earned for his janitorial services. A new furnace purchased for $273.63 from Bukoski's in December, 1947, set the district's funds back a bit, as did the $246 bill from McFadden Septic Tank Service for repairing the toilets in January, 1948.

Berdean Shantz signed on as teacher for the 1948-1949 school year. While sometimes the janitor work was absorbed by the teacher, other times the students were hired for the task. On December 13, 1948, Joyce Brown was paid $30 for her janitorial services for the first half of the year. December was always an exciting month for the children. Anticipation and excitement ran high as the Christmas program neared. New curtains were purchased for the stage totaling $15.83, and Christmas tree lights were purchased from Dunn Electric for $3.75. Ms. Shantz was reimbursed $5 after the big night for the Christmas candy she purchased for the children.

Floura E. Carr assumed the teacher's role in 1949, earning $2475 for her 9 months of work, and Mrs. Hazel Melick followed suit in 1950. During the 1951 school board meeting, it was moved and supported the board use a maximum of $656 for improvements on the schoolhouse, which included remodeling the back room for 4-H purposes and bringing running water into the school. Among the other expected expenses associated with the project, Floyd Zulauf earned $100.80 for repairs he made, and Tony Klien was paid $73 for his work painting.

The Bingham Busy Bees 4-H group worked on many projects in the back room, but just as likely the children went over to the couple's house in the district who acted as their 4-H leaders. The Busy Bees worked on various wood projects, some learning skills they enhanced in later years.

The children always had something going on to entertain them. One of the students had an older brother who had been diligently working at training a team of oxen. He took a bale of hay along with him to school to feed his team, and when the day was done he drove them home again. Anything out of the ordinary provided the children a pleasant distraction from all that studying!

Important decisions regarding the eldest students of Bingham #4 needed to be made in the summer of 1952. At the annual meeting in July, the board discussed the need for a new furnace, as well as voting to transport the seventh and eighth graders to a receiving school. The motion lost to a unanimous vote. In August, just one month later, another meeting was held, and the district had the opportunity to vote on closing the eighth grade and sending them to another school for the 1952-1953 school year. Twelve people voted yes to the proposal, while only four voted to keep the eighth grade at Bingham #4. Likewise, a separate vote was held to decide whether the seventh grade should also be sent to another school. It was decided by a 12 to 4 vote that the seventh graders would remain at the Bingham schoolhouse.

A radio was purchased in November of 1952 for $20.70, and Richard Osentoski earned $35 for his janitorial work during the first half of the school year. By the time 1953 rolled around, folks were still working on getting that new furnace. It was approved by a six to one vote the district millage would be increased to pay for this necessary expense. Thoughts of closing the eighth grade surfaced once more, but this time around the motion lost by a five to three vote. Mrs. Dorothy E. Johnston taught the children in 1953, earning $325 per month. In November, Ted Shunk was paid $10 for his skills tuning the piano, and in December Duering Electric was contracted to install the new furnace, which cost $950. Likewise in November, W.L. Pickering was paid $537 for his services constructing the new addition, which would house the furnace. Though the old coal burner had stood in the corner for many decades, the new oil furnace sat in the addition built along the center of the north wall.

The rest of the year ran rather smoothly, and the parents and children of the district celebrated the last day of school with $10 of ice cream purchased from the Ubly Dairy Bar.

The following year proved a bit more difficult to secure a teacher; the board went through two contracts before they finally landed Mrs. Eva Rochefort. During the 1955 school board meeting, Mrs. Mildred Ramseyer read a letter in regard to the additional $200 bonus to be paid to one-room schoolhouse teachers. This money would be paid to the school district in additional state aid by vote of the State Legislature. Mrs. Hannah Ross was hired for the 1955-1956 school year, and no doubt she more than deserved the additional pay. Other decisions made during the July meeting included employing Sophia Ertman to clean the school for a price of $25 and hiring Merrill Cranston to cut the yard. A motion was also supported to purchase new drapes for the school.

Transportation expenses paid to Bad Axe Public Schools in April, 1956, totaled $132.16, and $488.25 was paid out in tuition. Likewise, $950 in tuition was paid to Ubly Public Schools, as well as $409.50 for bussing. Martin Ramseyer and Susie Salowitz each earned $30 for their janitorial work, and in July, 1956, the decision was made to employ Harry Lenton to fix the bell and repair, if possible, the walls of the boys' and girls' restroom.

Children attending Bingham #4 in the 1950s enjoyed the usual childhood games, including softball and Pump, Pump, Pull Away. Many of the children used their imaginations in their play. About one-quarter of a mile of brush, or so the distance seemed to a little girl, ran along the road side with trails stomped down from running through the overgrowth. It was there the children mimicked and modeled their parents, role playing such games as house and wedding.

While it seemed to the girls that the boys were always in trouble, the girls sometimes had a few problems of their own. One young girl was the sixth child in a family of seven, and her older sisters had a prom gown or two hanging in their closet, perfect to dress up in for a game of wedding. Sneakily, she stuffed the desired gown in her school sack and quickly exited the house to go to school. Playing wedding had never been more fun than the day she looked so gussied up in the "borrowed" turquoise gown, and when the young actress returned home, she hid the prom dress in the potato bin until the perfect time arose for her to return it to her sisters' closet. All of this seemed like such a grand idea. Until, of course, the young girl got sick and her mother found the gown in the potato bin before she had the opportunity to stash it back in the closet! Not only did she get in trouble with her mother, her sisters were equally unimpressed!

All the schoolwork and fresh air gave the children quite an appetite. Most mothers of the day were made-from-scratch cooks, growing everything off the land they helped tend. Chicken sandwiches and fruit were always plentiful, the fruit fresh if it was in season, canned if it was not. Cheese and biscuits were common during the 1950s as well, and jello made a great dessert.

Be sure to look for the continuation next month as the children delight in a new record player and listen to the tunes of $35 worth of records purchased from Huron Music Store.

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.

© 2006 Janis Stein