Waukon, part 4 (Prairie LaFayette #3 school)

This is the Prairie LaFayette one room school that dad and his siblings attended near Thompson's Corner, 14 miles east of Waukon. It closed in May of 1939. Ten years later it was sold and moved to Waukon.

This was a picture taken in May, 1939 on the final school day of the final year the school was open. On the left, Uncle Billy, second on the right, Auntie Jean and on the far right, my dad.

Some of dad's memories:

- They had to walk a half-mile to school. No getting dropped off. If it snowed, they would get a ride in a bobsled and a team of horses. Some kids had to walk three miles.

- There was a wood stove to keep them warm. They had to carry wood into the entryway.

- Sometimes in their dinner bucket, they would have soup. That was put on top of the wood stove to heat it up. Also they had 2 or 3 sandwiches for lunch.

- All eight grades were really in one room, with the first graders in the front row and the eighth graders in the back.

- They had 15 minute recesses. A bell would ring when recess was over. They got out of school at 3:30.

- The water cooler was a crock with a spigot. Fresh water was hauled in every day on a wagon.

- There were nearby hills and a frozen pond in the winter that the kids would "belly bump" (sleigh down the hill on their stomach) and slide onto the ice. Once dad hit a stump and split his head open. He doesn't remember going to the doc or if he ever got stitched up. Some were very daring and slid under barb wire fences, with the bottom wire tied up to the second row wire.

- Even in the 30's the girls had a separate outhouse from the boys!

- In an average school year there were about 35 kids in class.

- At one time there were 163 one room schools in Allamakee County. Most were closed by 1960.

I bet that era won't re-appear.

This is how the school house looks today. It has been recently renovated. Dad was given a tour a month ago. It brought back alot of memories.