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Bissell Buzz
When the rodeo and rodeo parade is in the books for the year, it signals time for back-to-school. The previous year’s Juniors now start the year as seniors, sophomores as juniors, freshmen as sophomores and of course the seniors who have graduated from high school, start again at the bottom of the ladder as freshmen at college. School supplies are purchased in a frenzy, just to have all shopping be done in time.
At Fort Bissell we have our much loved one-roomed schoolhouse and the challenges for especially the teacher were many. Against the one wall, we have a cutout of a newspaper article about the Saylor School (District 16) that was situated one mile north of the Rooks County Line, in Bow Creek Township. Around the 1900’s the township had many large families and at one stage the school had sixty pupils under one teacher. To the older and more advanced pupils it was a privilege to assist the teacher and be requested to help the younger ones.
However, discipline was the biggest problem, as boys often attended school more than the required eight years, as they were only in school during winter and helped out on the farm during the other seasons. These boys were often twenty and twenty-one years old before they left the school. Male teachers were mostly hired in this district until 1907, not so much for their credentials, but rather for their ability to cope with the “big boy discipline”, which became pretty rough at times.
If the older boys could “run out” a teacher, they felt they had it made and sometimes they actually did. One teacher that managed to keep them on the straight and narrow, was Serman Gingles, who taught there for three terms. Most teachers usually left after only one term.
Early in the 1900’s the community decided they needed a large school bell that could be heard throughout the neighborhood. To raise funds, the ladies pieced and stitched a quilt, which was raffled. Box suppers and pie socials were held with accompanying programs and the bell was acquired. The bell served several purposes. Mothers set their clocks to correspond with the teacher’s time, it called pupils to hurry up and be on time for school, it called the community when there was a death and funeral and on Sundays for church and Sunday School at the school. Pranksters loved to ring the bell so hard that the rope would pull up through the ceiling and disappear – which necessitated a ladder to climb into the attic to release the rope again.
No school term was ever ended without the big community “last day of school” dinner held at the school. Planks were brought in and laid across the desks to form tables. These were covered with white table cloths and everyone helped to bring fired chicken, home canned vegetables, cake, pies and other goodies that the farm wives were known for. After dinner it was time for a baseball game with fathers and older boys also participating. After the game, the bell would be rung and everyone returned to the classroom when report cards would be handed out.
Around 1906 there was a general store, a blacksmith shop, a barber shop and a residence adjoining the school grounds. The mail route from Kirwin was established and came as far as the Saylor School, then turned back. A dozen or more rural mail boxes formed a line near the edge of the grounds and the coming of the mailman was an event to be looked forward to each day. The mail was delivered by a team od horses hitched to a buggy.
As the children became fewer, the old Saylor School, of which first mention is traced to 1878, was abandoned around 1915 and a smaller one was built. Later yet, the schoolhouse was sold to Charlie Groner, who moved it to Stockton and made it into apartments.
The list of school supplies has changed through the years, but some of the unusual items available at the turn of the century were slates, pen points (ink provided by the school), blotting paper, spelling blanks, noiseless rulers and book straps. We wish all teachers and students the very best as they enthusiastically embark on a new school year!
We have only two weeks remaining of our open 2025 season, but we are planning exciting events to take place after closing. We look forward to seeing you at the Fort. A reminder of our hours:
Tuesday to Friday 9am to 4pm
Saturdays 9am to 2pm
Ruby Wiehman – Curator
