Our Past Is Present May 14, 2018

May 14, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Today’s story comes from a book we have at the Museum title Project Heritage. This book contains information about the history of early schools in Geary County.  This work documents the existence of numerous rural schools with names like Antelope, Kickapoo, and Hardscrabble.  These are names which vanished from local maps when schools were consolidated in the early 1950’s and throughout the 1950’s until all of them eventually closed. 

            The book, which required two years to complete was the brainchild of the late Irene Jeffries, who was a teacher and then became a counselor at the Junction City Junior High School. 

            In the book there are documented interviews of former teachers and some of their stories they shared.  For example:  Clara Grace Popejoy, who was known as Miss Earle in her school teaching days, shared that “At Kickapoo, I had 12 students and got $35 a month.”  She taught at Kickapoo from 1912 to 1915.  She went on to state that “I boarded about one half mile from the school.  One morning when I walked across a culvert, a coyote ran out from under the culvert and it stopped about 12 feet from me.  I was really scared.  He stood there and looked at me and I watched him. 

            The next year, the Schmedemann family asked Miss Earle to board with them and drive their children to school in their horse and buggy – since the children were also afraid of coyotes.”

            The Project Heritage book contains copies of numerous pictures taken by J.J. Pennell, who was a local photographer from 1880 to 1905.  One of these pictures shows Miss Mable Thompson with her class of 1910-1911 at Morris School, located near the site of Camp Toma Shinga Church Camp off of Highway 77.

            Miss Thompson, the founder of the Junction City Association of Retired Teachers, taught in Junction City area schools for 52 years before she retired in 1963. 

            The late John Jeffries took numerous pictures for the book referred to here and prepared copies of the Pennell photos.  Other members of the book committee were Mildred Walker, Alberta Ellis and Vera Morris.  We have copies of this book in our Museum’s Gift Shop at the corner of Sixth and Adams Streets in Junction City and you will see why we say: “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.