10 The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, December 1, 1993 Schools (continued from page 1) LaBar was promoted to second grade, Kunkle stayed in first grade for the rest of the year. Kunkle recalled that Hook School had a cupola containing a large bell, which the older stu- dents rang to signal the start of the school day. There weren't any school buses. Students walked to school. The school had an outside well with a pump, used to fill the water crock which students drank from. The crock now occupies a special place in Kunkle’s home. Because there wasn't any in- side running water, the school had two outhouses. “We didn’t go out there in the winter unless we really had to,” he laughed. “It could get cold !” Another Lehman Township alumna, Mrs. Dorothy Steele of Meeker, fondly remembers her days at Meeker School and three others in Wyoming and Bradford counties. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Wilkins, had sold half an acre for the Meeker School to the Lehman Township Board of Education in 1887. “Like most of its kind, Meeker School was heated by a potbellied stove,” Mrs. Steele recalled. “One side of the room froze, while the other side roasted.” Students were required to complete a course of study set up by the Luzerne County Board of Education, with extra subjects added, depending on the teacher's education and the students’ inter- ests and abilities. Mrs. Steele recalled that one of her teachers knew a lot about natural science and regularly took the students on nature study hikes. Her mother, Edna Harrison, also a teacher in a one-room school, once taught a boy who had learned geometry and ad- vanced mathematics from a pre- vious teacher. Her brother-in-law, the late Basil Steele, also taught in a one- room school in Ross Township. ~~ “I remember learning the Palmer style handwriting and memorizing phonics charts of the different word families which hung on the walls,” she said. “We wrote our homework on large blackboards on the walls, and also used slates or paper. The inkwells for our pens were mounted in the desks.” While the teacher worked with one grade at the front of the room, the rest of the students worked at their seats. | Well, they were supposed to be working. ONE OF MANY - This one-room school house still stands in Sweet Valley near the Fish Commission offices at Harris Pond. She remembered seeing boys bent more on mischief than math dip the ends of girls’ braids into their inkwells. Or they would quietly untie girls’ dress sashes, then retie them around their chairs, so that the young ladies couldn't stand up to recite when called upon. Meeker School may have had one of Lehman's first hot lunch programs, Mrs. Steele said. Once each week during the winter, students’ mothers would take turns bringing in homemade soup, which simmered on the potbellied stove until lunchtime. The rest of the time, students carried their own lunches. It wasn't all work, though. During recess, students played baseball, “Statue,” jacks or “Haley- over,” aball-tossing game, in warm weather and went sledding or threw snowballs during the win- ter. The school year often revolved around the planting seasons, since the children were also needed to help out on their fami- lies’ farms. Teachers did more than plan lessons, teach and correct pa- pers. They also fired up the school's potbellied stove and cleaned the: school room at the end of the day. Until the late 1930's, female teachers were required to quit if they married. One Week Only EVERY Parents often helped by clear- ing the sidewalks in winter, while students enjoyed cleaning eras- ers and filling the water crock from the well. “Our school was modern - we had a crock with a spigot in the bottom,” Mrs. Steele said. “We used our own drinking cups, which we kept in our desks.” Often the teachers weren't too much older than their students —- all that they needed was an eighth- grade education in order to obtain a teaching certificate, Mrs. Steele said. Aspiring teachers could attend Pleasant Hill Academy in Sweet Valley for further training. Once they passed oral exams given by the county superintendent of schools, they were considered ready for the classroom. In order to supplement the teachers’ training, the county held regular teachers’ institutes, con- sisting of teachers and county school directors visiting a desig- nated school for demonstration classes by the resident teacher and his or her pupils. ~ As quaint as Dad’s recollec- tions of his one-room school days might seem to today’s students in large, computer-equipped schools, one might wonder how equally quaint their reminiscences will be to their children. Haggar Slack /paquced Dress Shirt Tie 20% Sale Ends Sat. Dec. 11th 20 E. Main St. Nanticoke Lake accidents spur action Boating accidents at Harveys Lake have spurred the Pennsyl- vania Fish and Boat Commission to pass stricter regulations on boating while intoxicated and homicide by watercraft. These accidents also have resulted in prosecutions on these charges: & 1983: A boat operated by Denis Abromavage ran over another boat, killing four passengers. 1985: Harveys Lake resident Kim Krasner drove her boat into a dock and was killed when her head hit the diving board. e July 27, 1991: Luzerne resident Rich Walter was killed in a water skiing accident when the boat which was towing him, oper- ated by Harveys Lake resident Gregg Hanson, passed close to a dock, and Walter slammed into it. Hanson was charged with homicide by watercraft, homicide by watercraft while boating under the influence and boating while in- toxicated. © August 3, 1991: Lynnwood resident Marie Riss was arrested for boating while intoxicated and towing a waterskier without hav- ing a lookout in the boat. Police said that her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. e September 1, 1991: Six people were treated at nearby hospitals after a speedboat operated by Dallas resident Daniel Cochran rammed the rear of a slower boat operated by William Sickler, ran over top of it and left the scene. Three passengers in Cochran's boat and three passengers in Sickler’s boat were transported to area hospitals for treatment. Cochran was charged with two counts of reckless and negligent 2 operation of a watercraft, violating the no-wake zone within 100 feet of a dock, failing to stop at a boating accident to identify him- self and offer aid and fleeing police pursuit in the accident, which occurred at 3; 30 p.m. POST PHOTO/GRACE R. DOVE POST PHOTO/GRACE R. DOVE SCHOOL DAYS — Complete with outhouse, this renovated one-room school house at the junction oi Meeker and Outlet roads once belonged to the Lehman Township Board of Education. MINOLTA DEMO SALE Come see the Minolta factory representative demonstrate our outstanding Minolta products. This is the time to see Minolta equipment in action. And to get the right price. Thurs. Dec. 2, 5-9 P.M. MINOLTA FREEDOM ® High-quality 35mm-70mm Zoom 70ex quad-element power zoom lens. - HM High-power autofocusing for : improved accuracy with moving subjects. HM Built-in automatic zoom flash with red-eye reduction and nighttime flash portrait modes. B Worry-free automatic film handling, plus GREAT VALUE $9995 10-second self-timer $ 5 M Complete with Minolta’s USA 71 9 Quartz Data Back limited warranty. Quartz Data Back DALLAS PHOTO SHOP 447-449 MEMORIAL HIGHWAY 675-8800 MINOLTA FREEDOM AFT0R BM Fully automatic operation for complete ease of use # Precise autofocusing for super-sharp images HW Built-in automatic flash with red-eye reduction B® Worry-fee automatic film handling, plus 10-second self-timer BW Complete with Minolta's USA limited warranty. POST PHOTO/GRACE R. DOVE RELICS OF BYGONE DAYS - Franklin Township resident Matt Ostrum shows off an old water crock with a spigot and a wood and wrought-iron schooldesk seat from a one-room school house. The trailer park where Ostrum lives is on the site of one of Franklin Township’s former one-room school houses. GREAT VALUE Retail Store Owners: Tired of driving 100 miles to get these products? Or waiting a week for delivery? [GE MELT We are Major Wholesaler for: Ice Melt 1-2-3 10 Ib. Jug - $9.96 Pk. 4 40 |b. Bag - $5.50 Ea. Tradco Wash - $4.98 Pk-6 Spray Deicer - $18.00 Pk-24 Starting Fluid - $18.00 Pk 24 . Gas Line Anti-Freeze - $7.92 Pk. 24 Also Distributor of: Duracell, Eveready, Panasonic batteries and lighting products. Kodak Film & Fuji Video FREE DELIVERY with your order of 5 or more cases . A D Pennsylvania Importers & Distributors i > ENGINE STARTING FLUID TARTS GASOLIN ‘0 DIESEL ENGIht "UELTS ICE ON CO Jus FN LOCKS Phone or FAX (717) 675-6102 Mullay. 550 WASHINGTON AVE S 0M arket | 1227 MAIN ST. LARKSVILLE, PA oR v ue NC” SWOVYERSVILLE, PA 779-1892 4 wit 0k gE 287-0811 MONDAY THRU 1 ATURDAY 7 AM-7 PM +S KDA) X Ham i CM CENTER CUT PORK CHOPS 21.89 HATFIELD BAKED HAM DORMAN'S AMERICAN CHEESE 1.89 SKINLESS/BONELESS CHICKEN | BREASTS 2-liter Coke to the first 100 customers on Sat., Dec. 4 Limit one per customer SPECIALS HONORED NOV. 30 - DEC. 6 eo AT BOTH LOCATIONS Coke offer pertains to Larksville store only. ! © 1994 MCGROARTY
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