MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA SCHOOL NEWS

Transcribed, by Beverly Gerdts on July 18, 2019

Page 55

     MADISON TOMFELD attended Old Garfield from 1930 thru 1937and sent in the following article. He married a girl by the name of Mary Feb 17, 1952 and they had two children, Alice Tomfeld Andersen who is 45 years old and Deborah Tomfeld Whimer who is 41 years of age. He retired from Kent Feeds and his spouse is also retired.

    Madison writes he remembers the bewildering days of kindergarten, getting acquainted with kids he had never seen before. Walking down the path that led from Home to school, by Kemper's Greenhouse and the Pond between the Old Vault and Monument Co. He can still hear the beautiful old bell calling him from all over south-end. We had an hour for lunch and he always went home. A half pint of milk was provided at mid-morning for a small fee per week.

    I know that Ms Othmer paid for several who could not afford it. She bought clothes and other things that no one was supposed to know about. His dad drove a city bus for 11 years and a lot of the cops rode to work with him. He was told several times that there was a lot less trouble in south-end than anywhere else in Muscatine- and they gave credit to Miss Othmer for her strict discipline and value teaching. He thought this was noteworthy!

    Everyone was active at GARFIELD. Before school and at recess NO ONE sat around and visited. Everybody played some active sport and Miss Othmer was right in the middle of everything. She supervised and refereed touch football and softball. She coached the marble game players and had her share of city winners thru the years. If a poll was taken, he'd bet the big majority would tell you that A. Mera Othmer was a big and important part of their growing up. She was strict but she was also fair. She was tireless in her job. She taught us appreciation of important National and World events via the large console radio in one of the rooms on the second floor. We heard the coronation of Edward the V, Presidential Inaugurations, Walter Damroasch concerts and on and on. She encouraged the kids who had some talent to share thru singing, instrument playing etc.

    Madison says he was on the School Patrol a couple of years and Miss Othmer impressed on all of us in that group how important that job was and gave us lots of instruction. When the fire alarm gong went off everyone came out of their seats about a foot! GARFIELD (in my day) was always in the top order of evacuating their school quickly and with discipline - (thanks to you-know-who).

    Back then, the schoolyard was surrounded by trees, Big Ones, the ally side didn't have any but in the heat of the day, the trees on the south and west provided excellent shade. The School Bldg. had a lot of windows and when there was a thunderstorm, it was like being right outside in it!

    When the boys "matured" to big guys in the 7th grade, several were often asked to help with the health clinics the school had in those days. They lifted the little folks up on a stool or chair or table at a level the doctors and dentists and nurses could examine them. The big boys were very important people for this event!!

    Miss Margaret O'Toole always read books to her class on certain days of the week. They were always interesting and some were exciting. She would always stop her sessions right at a suspenseful or exciting event about to take place. No one wanted to miss the next episode - I think they would have come to school in a stretcher just to hear how things came out.

    Strep Throat and Polio struck fear in all parents when an outbreak came. Some came to the school and got the kids' books and brought them home and made the kids stay home for several weeks.

    Bible school was available to anyone who wanted to go for 2 weeks and it was taught in the school. Man! How times have changed. This was right after the regular school year was completed in June. Lots of Kids went. They learned prayers, bible verses and people in the bible. There was a big program in the evening of the last day of bible school and parents and friends were invited.

    Some Teacher came once a week to teach the Palmer Method of Writing. Very strict and wielded a thick ruler & whacked our knuckles if we did wrong. Edith Stocker taught art once a week and we always looked forward to her arrival.

    Mr. Marx always kept the rooms and halls spotless. He had a lot of work keeping the building warm and clean and winding all those room clocks!! I don't know who washed the windows.

    All of teachers; ASP, COLEMAN, ROSENTHAL, HARDEN AND O'TOOLE prepared us well for the next grade. We entered a new school year eager to learn what was coming up next. The Old Garfield hand written book shows an 8th grade class taught at Old Garfield. It must have passed on before I entered because after 7th grade, we all transferred to Franklin school which was on Grandview Ave and then it was on to Muscatine High School.