Allamakee Co. IAGenWeb - School Records

School notes 1872

Taylor twp. No. 6
T.F. Healey, county superintendent of schools

Tuesday, March 5, afternoon
In the afternoon visited School No.2, same township [Taylor]; Louis Jackson, teacher; number of scholars on roll, 42; present, 26. No visitors but director during the term, Mr. Jackson is an able and experienced teacher of fourteen years' service in the harness, and though working hard to advance his scholars, yet this progress but slow, not through any fault of Mr. J's that I could discover, but rather of the parents of the district, who wantonly and recklessly permit 42 of their offspring, whom they love and cherish, to be penned up for six hours a day in a dungeon 14x18 feet and 6 feet high, with two windows and what purports to be a door, while the crevices in the floor are not as large as a steeple, but large enough to admit a hungry starving rabbit on a recent night, which devoured three books, two slates, four rulers, a part of the teacher's desk, and all of the Continent of Australia.

To the credit of the boys of the school it should be placed on record, that they succeeded in eventually capturing the literary gourmand, and as an example to all other quadrupeds of a literary turn of mind, he was speedily reduced from a composite rabbit to a compound fraction.

Ole Larson and Maggie Broderick deserves mention in this school.

~Source: The Mirror and Chronicle, Thursday, March 14, 1872, Lansing, Iowa, Page 3
~contributed by Cindy (Maust) Smith

Tilda Olson was the teacher of the Climax school when the photo was taken. Her father, George B. Olson is the second from the right in the back row. Lester Larson and Wilmer Larson are the two men on each side of George Olson.I believe Tilda is the fourth from the end of the right side. Her brother Evelyn is in the front row with the big white hat.

Also in the photo, but not identified as to who is who, are: Inger Olson, Gunda Olson, Clara Olson. All of the others are not identified.

~Photo contributed by LeeAnn Bollman
~Identifications for the unnamed adults and children are needed. If you recognize someone in the photo, email the Allamakee co. coordinator so they can be added.

Climax School
Record of Daily Attendance

1915-1929 selected records

Important!!
Clearly an error was made in one of these books, the first page of each of the two books are dated 8 years apart (1915/16 and 1923/24), but contain exactly the same list of students. All entries for both books were handwritten with the exception of the identical pages.

Not wanting to assume I know which dates are correct, I've transcribed both below, as they appear in the school records. Click the thumbnails to enlarge the image.

Click photo to enlarge

Record of Daily Attendance for the Winter term commencing
November 8th, 1915 and ending March 24th, 1916, Lola M. Wilson, teacher.

Advanced Division
James C. Hansen
Frank Peterson
Delia Patterson
Mary Cooley
Lewis Tabor
John Duncan

Second Intermediate Division
John Daily
Henry Miller
Bertie Duncan
Fannie Minor
Sarah Emerson

First Intermediate Division
Robert Cooley
Helen Patterson
Mary Hanson
William Holmes
Nettie Ladell
Kate Cameron
Peter Ennett
Sarah Manning

Primary Division
Mary Pitkin
Hannah Barlow
Lillian Marsden
Shelby Talman
Andrew Ward
Lulu Smith
Otto Bright
Arthur White

Record of Daily Attendance for the Winter term commencing
November 5th, 1923 and ending February 22d, 1924, Lola M. Wilson, teacher.

Advanced Division
James C. Hansen
Frank Peterson
Delia Patterson
Mary Cooley
Lewis Tabor
John Duncan

Second Intermediate Division
John Daily
Henry Miller
Bertie Duncan
Fannie Minor
Sarah Emerson

First Intermediate Division
Robert Cooley
Helen Patterson
Mary Hanson
William Holmes
Nettie Ladell
Kate Cameron
Peter Ennett
Sarah Manning

Primary Division
Mary Pitkin
Hannah Barlow
Lillian Marsden
Shelby Talman
Andrew Ward
Lulu Smith
Otto Bright
Arthur White

Click photo to enlarge

Record of Daily Attendance for the Winter term commencing September 15, 1924. No ending date is given. Irene 'Ida' Jenkins, teacher. The entries are for Sept., Oct. & Nov. & there are no class divisions indicated. Myrtle Gullickson Loretta McCormick Stanley Jenkins William Ruckhaver (teachers note in the Nov. column: moved to Harpers Ferry) Edward Sniker Lucille Jenkins Leroy Hermison Robert Ruckhaver Pauline Stanfield Earnest Stanfield Albert Ruckhaver Neta Thornton Daniel Jenkins Jimmie Ruckhaver James Houlihan (possibly Jessie Houlihan) *if you'd like this image by email, ask for image #665 Climax school		Record of Daily Attendance for the Winter & Spring term commencing November 17, 1924 and ending May 15, 1925, Claudia M. Donavan, teacher. Advanced Division Loretta McCormick Clyde (surname Sassence, Tassence or possibly Toaalel, very difficult to decipher) Hazel Kellison Second Intermediate Division Edward Supla Leroy Hermanson Doyle (surname Sassence, Tassence or possibly Toaalel, very difficult to decipher) Nettie Kellison First Intermediate Division Ethel Kellison Primary Division James Houlihan Arnold (surname Sassence, Tassence or possibly Toaalel, very difficult to decipher) Donald Kellison Teacher notation for the 3 children with the illegible surname 'Sassence, Tassence or possibly Toaalel': "renters & moved here January 12th to start school" *if you'd like this image by email, ask for image #666 Climax school
Record of Daily Attendance for the term commencing September 20, 1926. No ending date is given. Barbara Sadler, teacher. The entries are for September 1926 thru April 1927. Advanced Division George Bulman Mandar Lawfer Edward Super Vernon Hermanson Nettie Kellison LeRoy Hermanson Second Intermediate Division Ethel Kellison Viola Hermanson First Intermediate Division Donald Kellison James Houlihan Primary Division Leo McCormick *if you'd like this image by email, ask for image #667 Climax school		Record of Daily Attendance for the School Year commencing September 12, 1927 and ending May 17, 1928. Gladys R. Houlihan, teacher. Advanced Division Leroy Hermanson Nettie Kellison Edward Super Vernon Hermanson Arlo O'Brien Second Intermediate Division Ethel Kellison Viola Hermanson Roberta O'Brien First Intermediate Division James Houlihan Donald Kellison Primary Division Leo McCormick Leland Hermanson [teacher notation for October: "too young to go - Dropped"] Arlene O'Brien *if you'd like this image by email, ask for image #668 Climax school

List of Graduates in Climax School

Loretta McCormick, age 13, May 13, 1926
Hazel Kellison, age 15, May 13, 1926
George Bulman, (no age noted), 1927
Mandas Lawfer, (no age noted), 1927
Nettie Kellison, age 14, Feb. 1928
Arlo O'Brien, age 13, May 1929
Ethel Kellison, age 13, May 1929

~Source: Original records of the Climax School, Allamakee county, Iowa; photographed by S. Ferrall from the archived record books at the State Historical Society of Iowa Library, Des Moines, Iowa

~Photos, record transcriptions and notes by S. Ferrall for the Allamakee co. IAGenWeb.

*Contact me if you'd like a high resolution .jpg image of any of the pages transcribed above that I have not included an image here. Please include the image number so I'll know which one you want (available are images #665, #666, #667 and #668; each image file is 230-260 kb)

Climax School notes, 1935
Bernadette Livingston, Teacher

The members of the Climax school board and the teacher wish to thank the public for making their recent school dance such a splendid success.

Verda Demo received a a spelling certificate recently.

We have made a daily spelling chart and have it hung on the wall. After each spelling class the pupils' score is posted. This proves to be an incentive for better spelling.

The Weekly Reader, our school newspaper, proves to be of special benefit to Leo McCormick, Verda Demo and Stanley Palmer.They keep a Weekly Reader schedule of perfect scores.

Bernadette Demo received the October monthly tooth brushing and towel prize.

~Source: The Allamakee Journal and Lansing Mirror, Wednesday, December 4, 1935, Lansing, Iowa, Page 3
~transcribed by Cindy (Maust) Smith

School notes 1940

Francis Molitor, teacher of Climax school near Harpers Ferry has seven pupils, all of whom are boys.

This is Francis' first year as teacher and this is the second year the school has had all boy pupils.

~Postville Herald, Wednesday, April 10, 1940, pg 2
~contributed by Cindy (Maust) Smith