trail, that went west from the corner of E-29 and Dayton Road. The young folks were, in all likelihood, only a mile and a half from Milford Township.
The Frey family lived a little over a mile west of the Milford School of the 1950's in northeast corner Sec 20. This is the current residence of Orland Stensland.
Notice the editor used the expression ”one of her limbs” ---not one of her legs, not one of her arms. Is this the modesty of the times or had the editor not been informed of the seriousness of the injury?
One of the things that adds interest to the article is the mention of how some of the students of the rural one room schools left Milford Township and furthered their education in the high school at Ames.
In the fall of 2002, Harlan Harper Jr `41 sent the following information (Harlan Jr died in Jan of 2003):
”As a member of the class of `41, I will try to tell you a little of the athletes of my high school days. As for our class, Arnold Nelson and Stan Egland were the outstanding ones. They shared pitching duties on the baseball team and were very reliable on the basketball court. We didn't have outstanding teams but we learned the sportsmanship of winning and losing.
”Of the 1940 team we looked up to Don Wakefield and Ed Larson. Leonard Jones was an outstanding catcher in baseball. Fred Matters came along after us and lettered all 4 years in High school. One tournament game he made 10 free throws straight. The most outstanding team of our era was headed by Don Halverson and Earl Johnson. I think they beat Ames in a tournament game.
”Nevada was the first school we played to build a regulation size basketball court. We had an awful time running the length of their court without being short of breath.
”I believe the 1940 basketball team wore silver and blue uniforms and in 1941 we wore red and white.
”The Harper farm in Sec 5 was called ”Pioneer Crest Farm” because there was an 1850s log cabin in the timber. There was also a gravestone of Anne Brouhard, an 11 year old girl buried there in 1856. The CCC boys built an erosion control dam on this farm in the late 1930s. The county hand corn husking contest was held on this farm about 1940.
”Eight Harpers attended Milford School with as many as 7 riding the school bus each morning. The Harpers were active 4-Hers. Mother, Joan, won a trip to the National 4-H Congress in Chicago about 1917. Dixon won the same trip in 1939. Harlan Sr was 4-H leader. Harlan Jr was county president and state vice-president. He won a trip to the 4-H Congress in Chicago as state livestock champion in 1940. He also won a trip to the National Youth Camp in Muskegon, Mich.” See pages 238-242.
From the Nevada Paper of Monday, 8 April 1929
”G.W. Weyrauch, 58, superintendent of the Milford Consolidated school north of this city, was killed Sunday afternoon and his wife was severely injured, when their motor car was struck on a Northwestern grade crossing a mile this side of Ames.
Mr and Mrs. Weyrauch, who live at Ames, were going south on the Dayton Park Road, a mile east of Ames. As they approached the Northwestern grade crossing, which is a dangerous one at the best, they waited for an eastbound freight train to clear the crossing and then drove onto the crossing directly in the path of a west bound freight, which was bearing down upon them, while obscured from their view by the eastbound train.
The Ford car was a total wreck, the wreckage having been carried for a considerable distance along the tracks, by the heavy freight engine, going downgrade and unable to make a quick stop.”
Mrs. Weyrauch survived the incident but was in the hospital with severe lacerations on the head, a broken collar bone and severe shock.
The circumstances of this incident are a little difficult to imagine until one recalls that the trains were, most likely, traveling on the respective left track of the double track route.
When this incident happened, in early April, the Principal of the school, Edith Myers, was appointed acting superintendent and the year ended with that arrangement. Two subjects, Physical Training and Music, were dropped from the curriculum for the duration of that semester. Also, County Supt Kellogg provided some direct on-site assistance. Mr Weyrauch, had been hired in the fall of 1928 and lost his life before the completion of one year's service.
The fall of 1929, Wayne Pratt was hired as Supt. Pratt was at Milford Twp for just one school year.