MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA SCHOOL NEWS

Transcribed, by Beverly Gerdts on July 17, 2019

Page 57

    JOHN H. BROCKWAY started old Garfield in April 1924. He tells us the following in his letter.

    We moved from Grandview, Iowa to Muscatine. He remembers the following teachers: Miss Othmer, Miss Asp, Miss Harris, Miss O'Toole and Mrs. Bowman. Ms Othmer was a good teacher and a good leader. She taught us to behave. Many of us got into trouble for whispering and chewing gum. Occasionally you would hear someone in trouble, for I 'm not sure what reasons, in her office where she used a big, long razor strap which could be heard throughout the building. I am sure she got the subject's attention.

     In 1925 Schmarje who lived next door to school, brought a German family by name of Bergen. I was impressed with the fact that they could speak no English. At Christmas time that year they sang to us in German. At that time Germany certainly sounded a long way from Muscatine.

     A few things I remember about the building are that there was no inside plumbing for the bathrooms. The bathroom was outside the building, on the north side, for everyone to use.

     In the basement there was a library furnished by Musser Library of Muscatine. It was there that we first got our education on how to check out books and be prompt in returning them.

     Tuesday was bank day. At that time the American Bank of Muscatine set up a program to teach the students to save money. It was through that program that we each opened a savings account with the Bank. Tuesday was the day on which I would bring ten cents and deposit into my savings account, which over several years, built up a balance of fourteen dollars and some cents. Sometime later the American Bank failed, eventually paying depositors ten cents on the dollar. I remember receiving a check for $1.40 as payment toward recovery of my lost money. At the time,

     I believe I was ten or eleven, movies were new. I had never seen a movie before and Miss Othmer, or someone, made arrangements for our class to take a street car, which was very near the school, and go to the movies. The first movie I think we saw was the Ten Commandments, the second was Wagon Train. Movies in those days were black and white with no sound, except, occasionally, when someone would play the piano at the proper time during the movie. The wording or what the people were saying was printed across the screen. In comparison to what we see today, it was rather primitive.

     During my later years at Old Garfield, I played on the Garfield basketball team, which was made up of Oscar Ruckles, Maynard Preston and two Haller brothers. We played Saturday afternoons at the YMCA. I do not recall how good we were but we won some and lost some. If I remember correctly, one of the Haller brothers was George and the other was Lefty. I believe that Lefty became quite a baseball pitcher for the Muscatine South End team in later years. (I might add a point here. Lefty Haller also became one of the biggest fish story tellers in South End.)

     Ben Gallagher was the director of the YMCA at that time. Pete Lindsey was his assistant. They were a good influence on all of us and we were lucky to have the guidance and leadership of these men.

     A short distance from Old Garfield School was Law's Grocery store, where we spent our pennies for candy. Laws had several sons. One, whose name I do not recall, had built a crystal radio set which fascinated me. I ended up with a bargain. I offered to give him three chickens from our farm for the crystal radio set. As it turned out that was the first radio in the Brockway home. I'm not sure that my dad took radio too serious but, after listening to it, it was not long before we had an Atwater-Kent.

     I am planning to attend the reunion that is coming up soon. I'm not sure how many I will remember but I think Bob Stohr and Bob Toborg were there. However, I am looking forward to seeing whoever is there.

     Sincerely,
     John H Brockway