Inside Our Schoolhouse
With our large “student body,” you can imagine all the various sized desks we needed in our one-room schoolhouse. The desks needed to be comfortable enough for a first grader (no kindergarten in those days), all the way to our 5′ 5″ eighth grade boys. There was the seat, with a desk work space and a shelf underneath for all our “stuff.” On top near the top was a groove for our pencils/pens, as the desktops slanted slightly to make easier writing. There was also a hole where we could set a bottle of ink for our fountain pens, or straight pens.
One year we had eight first graders and did not have enough small desks for that many. So the fathers built a low table and some benches with backs for that class. We older girls took turns sitting and helping with them. The desks all faced the front (north) of the room where the teacher’s desk was located. In front of our desks was a long bench with a back which was the recitation bench. Each class would go there for their “class” time with the teacher.
Marladeen R. Penner
Anamosa, Iowa
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from Capper’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.