Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
1996

To those of you who are not familiar with the "good old" country school days perhaps the following article will fill you in on them.

The rural one room country schools tarted closing in the early 1950's. Because of declining enrollment and the improvment of road conditions, it was possible to bus the children to the nearest town school

Enrollment in country school consisted of all eight grades. The mode of travel was usually by foot, a horse or by a Model-T or a Model-A Ford when the roads were not muddy. The schools were located so no child had more than two miles to travel.

The teacher would arrive early to prepare the room on hot days by opening the windows for the fresh breeze. Air conditioners were unheard of. With no screens on the windows, flying insects were a pest. In the winter time, "potbelly" stoves were started to have the room comfortable when the children arrived. In later years oil burners were installed. The children would bring potatoes, hot dogs, pork ribs, or many different kinds of vegetables wrapped in foil and placed on the stove. By noon they were well done for their lunches. Some rural schools had two burners portable oil stoves. On these the children would cook beans, cocoa and many kinds of soup that were very delicious on the cold, cold wintertime.

The flag salute was recited promptly at nine o'clock each morning before the classes began. Recess came at 10:00 - 10:15 each morning and at 2:00 in the afternoon. Lunch time and play time came from 12:00 to 1:00 School was dismissed at 4:00 each day.

At the noon hour many different games were enjoyed. Such games as Beacon, Ante Over, Ten Steps, Hide and Go Seek, Black Man, Last Couple Out and baseball. When there was sone the winter sports were Fox and Goose, sliding on sleds and building forts for snowball fights. These games provided plenty of physical education.

On stormy days, Button, Button, Pussy Wants a Corner and Fruit Basket Upset were all played inside.

Much of the morning was spent on reading, phonics and arithmetic. Class periods were usually only ten minutes long.

Everyone new about the two little sheds on the school ground. In the winter, the older boys scooped the snow so a good path was made forthe little boys to travel. The girls also helped each other. The older girls were like "mothers" to the younger girls.

Usually there was no water on the school grounds. [There was one at the Foland School with a pump off the front door in its later days.] The older boys used a big stick between them to carry a bucket of water from a neighbor's well. The water was kept in a big stone jar. Whatever was left over was used for washing hands before lunch the next day. An old peach can with a nail hole at the bottom served as a very good lavatory. It was a luxury in those days.

For music the county superintendent sent a list of songs that were played on a portable record player. When tested, the children who learned the songs and sang them in the right pitch were invited to sing with a group at the eighth grade graduation. The eighth graders were required to pass a state test given by the county superintendent before going to high school.

Education games such as cipher down, spell down or geography games were played. Otherwise the boys used coping saws, sandpaper and paints while the girls used needle, thread and sewing material the last period on Fridays. The gifts that were made were used for birthday or Christmas gifts.

If a teacher lived too far from the school she would pay room and board to a family close by. Can you imagine the savings she had after receiving her paycheck? In the early 30's a teacher's wages were around $60 a month. In the 40's the wages were around $100 a month, the 50's around $200, the 60's around $300 a month and in the 70's the wages started booming.

A program for parents, friends and neighbors was usually presented at Christmas time. Box suppers were held, too. If a gentleman knew when his girlfriend'[s box was being acutioned, he would try to bid and buy it, but other young men tried to get the bid and he was without his friend's lunch box.

On the last day of school, usually early May, all the families in the community came for a big picnic, picture taking and fellowship.

Research has not provided a clue as to what the game of Beacon or Ten Steps or Black Man consisted of. [Wanna bet that 'Black Man' is not politically correct by today's standards?]

Last Couple Out. This game has an interesting history. It's called "Widow" or "widower" in the Scotch or Swedish forms. The catcher in the game takes the part of the bereaved one who is trying to get a mate. Some research shows that it may be descended from the time when marriages were arranged by capture. This game requires an odd number of players. One player is the catcher, who stands at one end of the playing field with her back to the other players. The other players stand in couples in a long line behind her, facing the same direction she faces. The catcher should be ten feet or more in front of the first couple. When the catcher calls "Last couple out" the last pair in the line runs toward the front, the right person on the right side of the double line, the left hand person on the left. The couple running tries to join hands in front of the catcher. The catcher can't chase them before they are even with her, and may not turn her head to see when or from where the runners are coming. The best strategy for the couple is to vary their method of approach to the catcher. They could circle far beyond her on either side, or one circling around and the other running straight near the two lines. If the catcher succeeds in catching one of the players before that player can grab their partner's hand, the catcher and the "caught" then form a couple and take their places at the head of the line, which moves backward one space to make room for them. The other player of the running couple becomes the catcher. If neither member of the couple is caught, they're free, or out of the game, and can live happily ever after.

Ante Over. The class divided into two teams with one team on one side of the school while the other team stood at the opposite side. One team threw a ball over the roof of the school and the opposite team tried to catch it. If the team did catch the ball, the person with the ball ran around the school and tried to tag as many of the opposing team members as possible. To confuse the other team, all the members of the team ran around the school with the pupil who did actually caught the ball. Often this tactic led to collisions with other students. It was common for children to be knocked down, or, on occasion, knocked unconsious.

Duck, Duck, Goose. In Duck, duck, goose, a group of usually young children sit in a circle facing inward. One player, the picker or fox, walks around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a duck, until finally picking one to be the goose. The goose then rises, chases and tries to tag the picker, while the picker runs around the circle to try to sit where the goose had been sitting. If the picker succeeds, the goose is the new picker, otherwise the picker tries again.

Blind Man's Bluff. Blind man's bluff or blind man's buff is a version of tag in which one player, designated as 'it' is blindfolded and attempts to tag the other players, while the other players try to avoid 'it'.

Fox and Geese. A traditional type of line tag, sometimes played in snow, is Fox and geese. The fox starts at the center of a spoked wheel, and the geese flee from the fox along the spokes and around the wheel. Geese that are tagged become foxes. The intersections of the spokes with the wheel are safe zones.

Drop the Handkerchief. This is one of the oldest known games and has been played by kids throughout the world for centuries. There are versions of it played all over the world. To begin, all the players except one stand in a circle. The odd player runs around on the outside of the circle carrying a handkerchief, which he will eventually drop behind one of the circle players. The main idea of the game is to drop the handkerchief without the other players knowing. The players in the ring must look toward the center at all times, and can't turn their heads to watch the runner behind them. If the runner is creative, they can try to trick the other players. For instance, they may speed up the pace after the drop, or not vary in pace at all to leave no clue. The runner can also make a lot of noise to distract the other players. As soon as the player in the circle discovers that the handkerchief has been dropped behind him, he must pick it up and chase the runner who dropped it. The runner may run around the outside of the circle, or at any point through or across the circle. The goal is to reach the vacant space left by the person chasing. The circle players should lift their hands to allow both runners to pass freely through the circle. Whichever player reaches the vacant space first stands there, the one left out taking the handkerchief for the next round.

Red Rover, Red Rover. This 19th century children's game is thought to have originated in England. The game is played between two imaginary lines, usually around thirty feet apart. Each team lines up along one of these lines, and the game starts when the first team (usually called the "East" or "South" team, although this does not relate to the actual relative location of the teams) calls out, "Red rover, red rover, send [name of player on opposite team] right over." The immediate goal for the person called is to run to the other line and break the chain (formed by the linking of hands). If the person called fails to break the chain, this player joins the team which called "Red rover". However, if the player successfully breaks the chain, this player may select either of the two "links" broken by the successful run, and send them to join the team that had been called out. The other team then calls out "Red rover" for a player on the first team, and play continues. When only one player is left on a team, they must try and break through a link. If they do not succeed, the opposing team wins. Otherwise, they are able to get a player back for their team. [The game can be a potentially painful experience. Due to the possibility of injury, the game has been banned in a number of schools. I personally thought it was a precursor to the more dangerous, sinister and evil, in my estimation, the dreaded Dodge Ball game.]

Flying Dutchman. The players stand in circle facing inward holding hands. Two other players hold hands outside the circle and are the Flying Dutchman. They circle the world, looking for a harbor in which to rest. As they walk around the circle, the Flying Dutchman slaps the handhold of two players who are in the circle. Those two 'tagged' players must leave the circle as a pair and run around the circle in the opposite direction as the Flying Dutchman. Whichever pair reaches the opening again first, reaches safe harbor. The other pair is now the Flying Dutchman.

Dare Base.A tag game played between two teams on an open field that places a premium on speed and agility. Dare Base holds some similarity to capture the flag in its basic premise of chase, capture, and conquer. It differs in that the game field consists of a large no-man's land with team bases occupying two opposite ends of the field and in the methods of achieving victory. A variation called "stealbase" uses an object that may be either touched or stolen (as in capture the flag) to achieve victory. The size of the game field typically ranges from between that of a basketball court and about half the size of a football or soccer field. Each base belongs to the team that starts on that side and if the distance between the bases is longer than the average player is able to sprint, game play will begin to suffer. Effective game play can be achieved with as few as ten players and up to a quite a few more just as long as the game field and baselines are large enough to accommodate them. A popular variation of Dare Base was "Jail."

Pom, Pom, Pull Away. To begin this game, one player is designated 'It.' The other players break up into two groups and stand about fifty feet apart. Whoever is 'It' then yells, "Pom-Pom-Pull-Away, come away or I'll pull you away." The players run to opposite sides while It tries to tag as many people as he/she can. The tagged children have to stay in the middle of the field with 'It' and become 'Its.' They also tag the other children as they run from one side to the other. The game is over when everyone has been tagged and a new game can begin. The last person to be tagged is 'It' for the next game.

Hide the Thimble. Played indoors during bad weather. One child is designated 'It' and hides a thimble or other small item in the schoolroom while the other children have their eyes closed (No peeking!). After the item is hidden, the children can open their eyes and begin to wander the room seeking the object. Once a child sees the object, he/she leaves it there and goes back to his/her seat and sits quietly until everyone else has found it and returned to their seats. The first child to see the object cannot help anyone else find it. As soon as everyone has found the object, the child who found it first is designated 'It' and must hide the object again.

Statues. Played indoors during bad weather. One child is designated 'It', the rest either sit on a bench or they can stay at their desks. The recitation bench would be a very good seat for this game. 'It' begins with the child at the end of the row or in the last desk. 'It' either pulls the child out of his/her seat or describes a position for the child to get into, such as an Angel. The child must then stay in that position until the end of the game. If the child was pulled from his/her seat, he/she must stay in the position he/she landed in. It continues to do this until all of the children are out of their seats. 'It' then picks the child that he/she considers to be in the best, funniest or most awkward position. This child is then designated 'It' for the next game.

Transcription games notes by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2010