The Floyd Township No. 8 country school was built in 1878. It was located 2 miles east of Sheldon on Hwy. 18. The original building was remodeled as more space was needed. The school was replaced in 1927.

The school was sold to F.N. Frohwein who moved it to his farm where it was used for various storage purposes. In 1992, Mrs Ethel Frohwein Hulst and Iva Jane Frohwein donated the school to Prairie Arts Council Historical Park and it was moved to its new location in Sheldon. It is now used to host the Werner Lode Model Farm buildings and Churches, wood sculptures, and clocks.

School Days by Howard Cleveringa Sheldon, Iowa

Dynamite in The Pot Bellied Stove

The teachers that I recall were Mable Pearson, Elizabeth Den Hartog, and Grace Kleinjan. I wish to emphasize that all the teachers I had were excellent but these three standout in my mine for some reason.

At the age of ten, I was allowed to ride my pony the one and three fourth miles to school. One time, I remember, mother had put an apple in my lunch pail, on top of my sandwiches and whatever else I was taking for my dinner that day. Off I went, riding my pony with dinner bucket and books bouncing at my side. Was I ever surprised at noon when I opened my lunch pail and found nothing but mushed up food stuck to the bottom of my lunch.The bouncing apple had literally pulverized my food. I must have put up a terrible fuss because the teacher gave me half of her lunch that day.

One strange incident occurred at our country school. It had turned very cold. Luckily, one of the directors came to check out the school. He discovered that someone had broken into the building. He could see no visual damage done. Going ahead in his check to see that the school was ready for the cold weather, he checked the big potbellied stove. There he discovered that whoever had broken into the building had placed several sticks of dynamite into the firebox. Had he not found and removed the dynamite, what a terrible tragedy their might have been when the teacher went to light the stove on Monday morning. No one knows why this happened.

Another thing I recall that happened was a man of German descent had moved to America. He attended our country school for about one year so that he could learn the English language.

The school day was from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from around the first of September until the middle of May. The janitor work was done by the teacher.

Our drinking water was carried by the bucket full from a nearby farmer. In the Spring and Fall, I remember the teacher and we student would go on walks and pick wild flowers in the ditches and in a near-by grove.

The average attendance at the Nelson School while I attended was about 15 students.