Early Schools of Mills County, Iowa
"Memories of Walnut Grove School"
From the book“The Way it Was”
by Amos Jensen
Used with permission of his son, Francis Jensen

My brothers started school at Walnut Grove, a one-room school just a mile west of where I was born. Fremont, my oldest brother spoke only Danish, as our parents were immigrants from Denmark. I didn't start to school at Walnut Grove until I was seven years, old but I learned a lot from my brothers before I started to school, and made good progress when I did start. Some years at Walnut Grove there were about forty pupils at one time, and all eight grades were taught by only one teacher. Some of the kids were actually eighteen years old, and almost as old as the teacher, so it was a problem at times for the teacher.

Those older kids could be very unruly at times. I can remember only one male teacher while I went to school, and he handled things quite well. My favorite school subjects were spelling and reading. When the teacher had a spelling match, usually on a Friday afternoon, I was always one of the last to be spelled down. The last day of school each year we always had a picnic. Games were played and no classes were held all day! When I was in grade school the teacher gave us a spiritual verse or song to sing each morning when taking up school.

Back in those days here in the country, the teacher usually stayed during the week at the home of one of the neighbors who lived fairly close to the school. On Friday evening, the teacher's parents would get her for the weekend, then bring her back some time on Sunday for school on Monday.

Besides teaching all eight of the grades, in the winter time the teacher had to start a fire in the old wood burning stove and try to have the building warm by the time the kids came to school. The school board had to furnish the sawed wood that was hauled to the school, and put in a woodshed to be out of the weather.

There was a well at the school, but half the time the pump wasn't working. Usually twice a day a couple of the kids were sent for a bucket of drinking water.

There was a big bell up on the top of the school building, and the students took turns pulling a rope to ring the bell when it was time for the kids to come inside the schoolhouse. One morning, one of the kids got too anxious at pulling the rope, and pulled the bell out of its brackets. Down came the bell! Luckily it didn't hit anyone.

Before getting out of the eighth grade, the students had to take an examination given at the school by the teacher. The questions came down from the County Superintendent's Office. Later though, I believe these same eighth grade examinations were still given in town with the Superintendent personally in charge.

Source: Thank you to Mr. Francis Jensen for contributing this article, written by his father, Amos.
Thank you to Carolyn Campbell Reid, and Fran Jensen for sharing these photos.

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