Country School Students, Teachers Reunite 2011

ERNST, RANDAK, SEEGMILLER, PROBASCO

Posted By: Mistina Christner (email)
Date: 7/6/2018 at 06:57:10

Source: Iowa City Press Citizen 8/15/2011

Country school students, teachers reunite
By Lee Hermiston

John Ernst's grade school didn't have much for amenities.
"The school had no electricity, no water system," Ernst recalls. "We carried the water from home."
Ernst attended Graham No. 9, otherwise known as Rose Hill School, in rural Johnson County in the mid-1940s. Graham No. 9 was just one of many one-room schoolhouses that dotted the countryside during that time.
On Sunday, Ernst joined 100 other local residents who all spent some time in one of the county's country schools. the Johnson County All-Country School Reunion, hosted in the Hills Bank basement in Coralville, was put on by the Johnson County Historical Society. The reunion was the culmination of a week's worth of activities centered on country schools.
"We just thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool to have a county-wide country school reunion?'" said Leigh Ann Randak, curator for the Johnson County Historical Society.
The first Johnson County country school opened in 1882, Randak said. The last country school in the country closed in 1966. In between, hundreds of rural Johnson County residents attended the mostly one-room schools.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, more than 70 percent of Iowans attended country schools. In 1901, the state had the largest number of country schools in the nation with 12,623. Johnson County alone maintained 157 in 1912.
Events during the historical society's country school week included and event at the senior center, a panel discussion about music in the country school, a film about country schools and a presentation about how some of the former schools are being used today.
Sunday's event also featured a keynote speech from Hills Bank CEO and country school alumnus Dwight Seegmiller, titled "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Country School."
The event even featured a few country school teachers. Margaret Probasco taught at Madison No. 5, Jefferson No. 1 and Monroe No. 2 during her career before getting married. Probasco said the highlight of teaching in a country school was the interaction with the students thanks to the small class sizes.
"You could really get to know each student," she said.