School District 29
Harvey Township could be considered the most “rural” of all of Meeker County townships, with no towns, villages, or community hubs within its borders. Even churches were scarce in the township. Schools, on the other hand, were a different matter. By 1884, there were over 70 schools across Meeker County, with five in Harvey Township and two more to form shortly after.
Among these Harvey Township schools was District 29, located in the northwest corner of Section 30. This school was started in the 1860s. Like many rural schools, the building was used for more than just school. For example, it was the meeting place for the Harvey Farming Club and also the Equity Society, where residents purchased bulk items as a group to get better prices. When the school burned in 1920, a new and improved building was constructed and even included a basement play area and a furnace.
Of course, the primary purpose of the building was as a school. In the Meeker County Museum’s archive is a teachers’ register book from District 29 which gives us a unique look into the early school days.
This was the era of one-room schoolhouses, with one teacher and students from grades first through eighth. The first year recorded in the book was 1933-1934, taught by Florence Youngquist. Stella Carlson became the teacher in the fall of 1934 and used the book through 1938.
In the book, the teachers kept detailed accounts of their class schedule, sometimes down to the last minute! For example, the school day started at 9:00 with ten minutes for “opening exercises,” and might include a musical lesson. For the next fifty minutes, the younger grades read while the older students learned social studies and history. Then from 10:00 to 10:02, there was an “activity break,” perhaps a time to stretch or get a drink of water. There were three such two-minute breaks throughout the day. There were also two ten-minute recesses and an hour break for lunch. Hopefully, the busy teacher had a few minutes to rest before the lessons resumed.
The teacher would have to be a master of multitasking. For example, at 2:00, first and third grades were reading, second grade had spelling, fourth and fifth grade had geography, and the oldest students were learning science. The youngest two grades were dismissed at 3:30 and the older students at 4:00.
The teachers’ book also includes a detailed list of what each grade learned in each subject and what textbooks were used. The teachers also wrote occasional notes about their students such as “Eunice and Harry are good readers so I gave them longer lessons” and “Gale had no phonics in other school.”
Classes were held in District 29, later District 1098, until the early 1960s when the district was consolidated with Litchfield. The land reverted to the original farm, and the building was later demolished. Such was the way for many one-room schoolhouses.
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