Honor Roll on Court House Lawn

Edwin F. Schrader 

 J Dzialo wrote that she remembered a sign in St Francisville listing all the WWII Veterans. Does anyone have a photo of this sign? The Historical Society would love to have one. (A copy or a scan will do nicely.)

Currently on exhibit at the History Center is an enlarged photo of the Lawrence County WWII Honor Roll sign that stood on the Courthouse lawn near the flag pole, prior to the memorial that is there now.  

Proposed originally by the Kiwanis Club, the American Legion took over the project of creating an Honor Roll. Deciding against painting the names on the wall of a business building, a temporary memorial in the form of a wooden sign was erected during WWII.  There was space for 2,400 names because at that time, there were already 2,000 men and women from the County in the armed forces. The names were painted in letters one inch high and space was left for additional names as more men were called for duty.

L. E. Cook was named head of the committee to list the names of all men and women in service and R. R. Rucker was selected as chairman of the publicity committee.  This temporary honor roll was to cost about $1,000 but excess funds raised would be invested in war bonds and when the final chapter of the war was written, the bonds would be cashed to erect a permanent memorial. 

Members of the committee were Chairman Philip Lewis, Charles Zipprodt, William Cunningham, John McGaughey, M. J. Lewis, Lester Brothers, and two Bridgeport members, Verd French and Lee Jenkins  Bad weather had hampered the work on the board but the Legion hoped to have all the names  painted, and decorations planned for the top and side panels in time for the dedication Memorial Day 1944. 

WWII Memorial 2014

In 2002, Lawrenceville resident Allie DeLoriea organized an effort to build the permanent memorial honoring Lawrence County natives who served in WWII.  The semi-circle black granite structure was to be about waist high according to DeLoriea and would be inscribed with the names of people born in Lawrence county and served in WWII.  Eaton Monuments of Newton designed the monument.  DeLoriea compiled the list of veterans with the help of the community.  The monument was to be paid for at least in part by selling engraved memorial bricks that would pave the walkway leading up to the memorial.  There were two sizes of bricks. The smaller one was 5 inches tall and 12 inches wide and cost $100 while the larger one was 8 inches tall and 16 inches wide.  The cost for the larger paver was $400.  The dedication of this Memorial was Veterans Day November 11, 2003. WWII Memorial 2014

History Detectives Needed

Help us date this photo published about 1968 in the local newspaper.  Here is the information we have been given. 

The Square Deal Grocery was owned and operated by Guy Mills for a number of years and as late as the 1930s.  In the late 1930s, it was renamed the Happy Hour Store and occupied the building where Personal Finance is now located at 1105 State Street. 

On September 26, 1935 Guy Mills purchased the interest of Wayne Gorrell in the Happy Hour Grocery business, but kept the name until 1941.   In 1958, the newspaper said it had been used for a grocery store for about 60 years. 

Shown in the interior photo is Lyman Quick and an unknown young man in the left foreground. Center left in the white cap is Guy Mills; next two men are unknown; Mr Brush, Ross Montgomery and Dr. Montgomery who was a veterinarian. On the top shelf right are the breakfast foods, Quaker Oats, Hominy Grits and corn flakes. The chairs are for the 'loafers' and are close to the pickle barrel or cracker barrel.

To date a photo, researchers often try to use biographic data, such as birth and death dates of the people in the photo.  So, let’s start there.  using http://lawrencepublicil.advantage-preservation.com or any genealogy programs you may have, determine the life spans of Lyman Quick, Guy Mills, Ross Montgomery and Dr? Montgomery. Send your discoveries to www.lawrencelore.com and they will be posted. From there the photo date will be narrowed into a window of opportunity and we will attempt to refine it even further.  

 So get busy and send us what you find   lawrencelore@gmail.com

The Bunn Family of Lawrence County

  Family records say that several Bunn families came from Ashland County, Ohio in nine covered wagons to Lawrence County early in the fall of 1838. Ben and Mary Finley Bunn were found living on a farm in Lawrence County at the time of the 1850 census. The family at that time had 2 older girls, a son and 4 younger children. 

Ben and Mary Bunn’s eldest son, Eli Finley Bunn, was born December 16, 1838, in Lawrence County and became a farmer after he inherited 80 acres of land on the death of his father.  Eli then doubled this by purchasing more land. He married Mary Sager on November 7, 1861, in Richland County, Illinois.  The couple made their home temporarily in Claremont.  

Soldiers were needed for the Civil War, but Eli may not have been anxious to join the war effort since he was starting a new family.  Their first child, Clara Ellen, was born on January 31, 1863.  Eli’s wife was expecting their second child when he was called by the draft. Along with several young men from the Lukin area of Lawrence County, he went into the service as a Private on March 31, 1865, with Company F of the 53rd Illinois Infantry.  Some of his neighbors also drafted into this company were Daniel Bell, Henry and B. S. Cunningham, James R. Hill, James C. Stewart, and Abisha Turner.  As the war was almost over, Eli’s time in the service was short and he was mustered out on July 20, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky.

Eli became deaf from typhoid fever contracted in the service and filed for his pension at the age of 41 on February 26, 1880.  He spent the rest of his days in Lukin, dying on January 6, 1920, and was buried at Wesley Chapel Cemetery.

Ben and Mary Bunn’s second son, Hyatt W. Bunn was born 1840, and settled in Bridgeport in 1867, where he engaged in the photography business.  Before a bank opened in that city, he did a private banking business as well as serving as a justice of the peace for 43 years. On Christmas Day 1868, he married Caroline Hoover.  He died April 16, 1923. 

Ben and Mary Bunn’s youngest son, Benjamin Franklin, was born January 3, 1854, in Lukin. His father died of typhoid fever and his mother of cancer when he was six years old and he was reared by his oldest sister, Katherine Schrader. He attended Bethel school.  In 1876, he settled in Bridgeport and opened a furniture store that he ran for 36 years and also engaged in undertaking.  His hearing began to fail to such an extent as to make business impracticable, and he retired in 1912. He was a director of the First National Bank of Bridgeport and sold his store building to the bank which formed one half of the present quarters of that institution.  

(Research: North America Family Histories 1500-2000 Vol B and Civil War Files, Lawrence County Historical Society)

What's Happening February 2021

 February Happenings 2021

The response to the blog from readers who love, or at least, are interested in local history has been remarkable. (Either that or you are really, really, REALLY bored …) You might want to check out https://historyinyourownbackyard.com and watch the videos about two Lawrence County Bridges.  One is the Indian Creek Phantom Bridge just south of Lawrenceville on St Rt 1 and the other is The Haunted Wabash Cannonball bridge, St. Francisville.  Please note that the Historical Society had no input into either of these videos.  

Thanks to those of you who ordered books, and sent in your membership dues in the last month.  A big thank you for the extra donations that you sent as well.  (Even though the library and history center are still closed, and the heat turned down, we still receive those pesky utility bills.) The importance of these donations cannot be understated. With your help, we can preserve the history of Lawrence County for generations to come. 

After a reader inquired about the ice plant in Lawrenceville, A. Dale responded that James Randolph Childress, grandfather of Art’s wife, Deanna Harris Dale, was manager there in 1938. Art also sent an interesting personal recollection after reading that the sewing machine had been invented in 1846. “In 1956 my mother, Evelyn Dewhirst Dale, got a new Singer Slantomatic sewing machine from Singer in Vincennes. I was at home when a young man from Singer delivered the machine to our home on Washington Street in Bridgeport. Deanna and I moved to Danville in 1963. In the mid '60s we became friends with Charles and Beverly Long. He had worked at Singer in Danville but was then self- employed. When I told Charles I grew up in Bridgeport, he said he had been there. He had been on a temporary assignment at Singer in Vincennes and had delivered a sewing machine to a woman in Bridgeport in 1956, and the woman had several Siamese cats. Since he only delivered one machine to Bridgeport, it had to have been my mother’s. It truly is a small world.”   

During a call from R. Moore, a Lawrence County history lover who now lives across the state (but really want to move back here), he shared that his mother Romona G. Bishop Moore had died January 17, 2021. Her husband Frank, had died in 2000. Romona was a 1942 BTHS graduate, and had met her husband at George Field Army Air Field. Romona’s parents had owned the Bishop General Merchandise store in Klondike from 1918-1953. 

In talking about the number of infants and small children who failed to survive in the 1800s, everyone involved with the Bethel cemetery restoration has commented on what an inspiration the women were who had to bury so many of their young. Not that fathers don’t also feel the heartache at the loss of a child, but a mother who carries a child for nine months, and then endures what many consider the worst possible grief, has to be a very strong woman.

Speaking of strong women, K Russell suggested we include her grandmother Mary Jane Zipprodt (Leach) who with her family owned and operated the Zipprodt Funeral home in Lawrenceville from 1923-1950.  She was one of the first female embalmers in the early 1940s and assisted her parents at the funeral home while her brother, who usually assisted her father, was away during WW2. 

Genealogists:  We are looking for ladies to include in our Ladies of Lawrence archives. In your family tree do you have a woman with an unusual number of kids, . . .   or husbands?  Was she a teacher or a life- long church member or a renowned cook in her neighborhood? Did she have a career or go to college when girls usually didn’t?  Was there anything unique about her life?  We would like to hear about her if she lived in Lawrence County.  Send your articles to lawrencelore@gmail.com.  

J Randall has been interviewing and writing Ladies of Lawrence bios for us. In doing so, a list of women who were county clerks was compiled. Ada Harrole 1934; Patricia Groves 1952-58 and 1975-86; Peggy L Bradley 1958-1962;  Oma Margurete Lynch 1975; and Nancy Hoke 1994. We are missing the ones after this.  Can someone help us fill in these blanks? 

J Dzialo responded to the posts about the Brian and Schrader families. “I love history, it gets even better when it's yours!  Jacob Brian was my Great -Great- Grandfather through my mother, Rose Brian Zell, who grew up in St. Francisville. His brothers settled in the area too. Brians’ spilled out all over the region. Jacob Brian’s son, my Great- Grandfather Martin Brian, married Harriet Melissa Schrader, daughter of Samuel and Margaret Corrie Schrader.”  

Incidentally we posted a mistake about the Schrader babies who were buried next to their grandparents, Samuel and Margaret Schrader at Bethel. The seven were the children of Samuel Wesley and Sally Thompson Schrader, not Samuel and Margaret’s children.  (Whew! Those Schraders are hard to keep straight.  Samuel Schrader born 1805 in Knoxville, TN, and Margaret Corrie born 1807 in Scotland, who are the grandparents listed above, and are buried at Bethel, had 11 children in all.) 

J Dzialo also enjoyed the stories of the men and women who served our country. Here is a photo of E Schrader standing by the sign on the Courthouse lawn.  Dzialo said she remembered a similar sign in St Francisville, but we don’t have a photo of it.  Does anyone out there have a picture? 

 D Rinesmith learned from the blog that we had the book “Heritage of Jasper County Illinois” in our collection and asked that we scan a couple of pages and send to him for a Mayflower Society application.  Our research library has so much more than just Lawrence County History!

J Hart is searching for information on the John Hart family.  Both John and his wife Anna Maria died in Russell Township; he in 1879 and she in 1881. He plans on visiting here this summer to do more research. 

 

J Longo, curator from the El Paso County Historical Society in Texas has a copy of “The Ladies Aid Book of the First Christian Church Lawrenceville, Illinois.” He is doing research on this cookbook but couldn’t find a year of publication.  J Hamilton checked our inventory and found that we had one also, but in worse condition that the one they had (see their photo). There was no publication, but there was a three- digit phone number on the cover (for a bank). John thinks that our system changed to a seven-digit number either in 1964 or’65 because the ’63 telephone book still had the three -digit numbers and the ’65 book had seven- digit numbers.  (The ’64 book couldn’t be located.) So, if any of you have any information about this cookbook please let us know and we will pass it on to Texas.  

A Dale responded to our list of recipients of PhD’s from the county by adding: Stanley Brunn, son of former Bridgeport Presbyterian minister, Rev. Philip Brunn and graduate of BTHS in 1957, received a BS or BA from Eastern Illinois University in 1961. He then went on to receive a PhD in geography from Ohio State University. He is a professor emeritus at University of Kentucky.  If you or someone you know graduated from our local schools, should be added to this list of advanced degrees, let us know.

B Smith very gently corrected the blog about the play starring Ayrol Ann Gibson: “You had one error in this one. Your text says Ruby Wittrock.  But if you zoom into the program it was Rudi ... a male ... Wittrock who had a part in the play. I recognized the name immediately because I trained with Rudi at WAKO in 1971 or 72. I came home for holiday and summer breaks while a Radio-TV student at SIU in Carbondale. And one of those years I worked with Rudi at night at the station.” 

L Selig was researching surnames, Faith, Lancaster, Seitzinger, and Benson and found that our  Pink Letter book had a short letter dated January 16, 1918, from Mrs. L H. Strain in Portland, Oregon, who said her maiden name was Rachel C. Carmony; she was married to J. W. Jones and her twin sister was Mrs. John H. Lancaster. Rachel is in Ms. Selig’s family tree.  

After the blog post about Lukin school A Dale wrote: “When I was on the basketball team at Tracy School in Bridgeport from 1949-1952, I used to go to the country school basketball games at the high school gym. The teams even had cheerleaders. I remember one of the cheers that went like this: Chew tobacco, chew tobacco, spit on the floor....... I wish I could remember the rest. I remember going to the games one time on the evening before Thanksgiving. I thought the country kids would have great Thanksgiving dinners since I thought the farm women must be wonderful cooks. I am always amazed that some thoughts remain with you for a lifetime.  You probably think that I like to see my words in print. That's not it. I just like to reminisce. That's why I like the Lawrence Lore blogs so much.” And why we like getting your emails, Art….

E S Knollenberg in Birmingham got word to her cousin here in the county that she read the blog every day, and went to school with Art Dale’s brother Lynn in Champaign. They were in the same Spanish Club 3.  The power of the blog to reach out and connect!  

After the blog about the young man who was “relationship -challenged” by saying he was his own grandfather, several comments were received about a song called “I’m My Own Grandpa”, a big hit in the late 40s and remains today a country western favorite.  (…and now that song is stuck in my head, and keeps repeating and repeating…. I won’t make that mistake again.)

J Howie said she enjoyed the articles on the historic schools and asked if we took requests.  She had attended Glade and East Pinkstaff before going to Pinkstaff for 7th and 8th grades. When she attended Glade, some of the students' last names were Benson, Tedford, Elder, and  Brown.. Ernest Stevenson was her first grade teacher and Glen Fiscus was the superintendent.  Ernestine Stevenson went to Waters School and Ernest was her father. He graduated from U of I. and became Howie's first grade teacher at Glade and her eighth grade teacher at Pinkstaff.  Do you have a school you would like to see featured?  Just send us a name to lawrencelore@gmail.com

The Richland County Genealogical Society contacted us about early birth certificates in Lawrence County. J King responded that there were no civil records of birth in the mid-1800s. The only hope to document an 1859 birth would be family bible records and baptism records. This is why it is so important to please copy the information written inside a family bible as well as the inside cover sheet giving the publication date of the bible. Then send a copy to us to file in the archives at the research library for future researchers. 

S Culberson found a box of old photos of Bridgeport and genealogy notes for the Gale, Allison and Gaynor families in a closet of an old house in Georgia and reached out to us to see if we were interested and of course we said YES.  Look for these on future blogs. 

We have received a collection of genealogy material on the Brian and Milligan families from a lady in Virginia.  This collection also includes two vintage quilts. One of the quilts was made by Almira (Milligan) Brian 1850-1899, here in Lawrence County.  The collection also includes several old tintype photos of the Milligan and Brian families along with various other family photos and stories. Look for more about this on future blog posts as well.  

Researchers proved that the father of Nancy Bowen was George Pickett who died in 1851 and is buried at the Bluff Cemetery in Petty Township.  This finding was made possible by researching deed records found on family search.org.  This information was requested by two of our members, one living in California and one in Texas.

A Lawrence County resident requested information about the Lawrenceville Merchants Girls Softball Team of 1940.  Newspaper articles were collected by using the online site for local newspapers and provided to her. 

Additionally, the group working on the Eagle on His Button project, a documentary about the Black Civil War Soldiers of this county, has been video taping segments this month. 

As you can tell JUST from this month’s activities, the Historical Society volunteers continue to “serve and preserve” despite our buildings being closed because of the pandemic.  Like the Marines say…we could use a few good men ..and women… to help us. 

If you have comments about the blog or the Historical Society or want to help with our projects,  just send us an email at lawrencelore@gmail.com.... and as always, thanks for supporting us and reading the blog.    Donna

School Records and Genealogists

Thank you for reading this past week's series about Waters school.   Many of you have asked why the Historical Society does such in-depth studies of schools that no longer exist. School records are often overlooked by genealogists, yet can provide a wealth of information.  Census records record families every 10 years, but a student’s family can be followed year by year through school records. Siblings and often cousins attended the same school.  Frequently in earlier times when travel was not common, students may have married one another, allowing researchers to answer the question how did my gr- gr- grandparents meet?

Teaching was an appropriate job for unmarried young women. Many researchers are surprised to find gr-grandmother taught for a year before she was wed.  Others have found that an ancestor attended college, a fact that may have been previously undiscovered. Did your ancestors have perfect attendance? or perfect spelling? Did the parents serve on the schoolboard?  These facts offer insight into a person's dedication to education. 

The history of education itself can be found in school histories. What was the prevailing thoughts on neighborhood schools? Were the School Board members progressive? Stingy with teacher’s salaries? Believed that schools played an important role in the development of not only students, but also the community?

 By writing such a history of a neighborhood school, it is our hope that genealogists might find information about their families, or at least, discover that school records are sources not be overlooked. 

The Historical Society has quite an extensive collection of photographs, school records, yearbooks, and Board of Education Meeting Books for viewing by researchers. Volunteers can assist you with locating what you might need.  At the present time, though the History Center and Research Library are both closed.  If you have a specific question about a school, or student and it can't wait... send an email to lawrencelore@gmail.com and someone will try to assist you.    

In the meantime if you want to browse through some of the yearbooks of Bridgeport High School, Red Hills High School, Lawrenceville High School or Sumner High School (Sorry St Francisville, yours aren't here) check out this webpage.  Warning someyou must pay for some of these sources.    https://ldsgenealogy.com/IL/Lawrence-County-School-Records.htm

1940s at Waters School

1940s at Waters School 

For the next two years, 1939-41, Stella Boldry was the teacher at Waters school, a small one room school located one mile east and one mile south of Birds.  The directors were Ernest Montgomery, James Crouch and Albert Wagonseller.  A Certificate of recognition was issued to school indicating it met certain state requirements. The entire student body, six pupils of various ages, published a paper called the Town Crier. The county superintendent noted that there were 167 books in the school library but the teacher still checked out books from the Lawrenceville library so the pupils could have a more varied reading experience.

Student Jean Fritchie earned a gold pin for 43 months of perfect attendance.  Arlene Montgomery also received an attendance award and Ernestine Stevenson received one for spelling. Graduates in the spring of 1940 were Norma Montgomery and Jean Fritchie.

World War II made it harder to retain teachers, as males were called into service and women either relocated to be near their husbands, or worked for more money in war-related jobs.  Hanford Fry was hired for the 1941-42 school year. He had graduated from a local high school with the class of 1938, and then from Vincennes University.  He was employed in June, 1941, at the Tip Top Creamery in Vincennes before agreeing to teach at Waters. 

The Crouch children, Francis, Shirley, and Carol, were in classes  with Carl Curry during the 1941 school year.  The integrated school body of 6 boys and 3 girls studied for 8 months. There was one graduate that year.  

Waters school joined the rural school music program in 1941, created by Coen Cunningham, County Superintendent, in which a music teacher would go to a rural school to teach music to the students.  The music teachers were Mary Collins and Margaret Goodwin. That same year, Waters organized a PTA but by 1945, the group had combined with East Pinkstaff school PTA.

In the fall of 1942, Mrs Rena Steffey Allison gave a homecoming dinner at home of her father, Dick Steffy two and one half miles east of Birds in honor of Mrs Daisy Mullins of Los Angeles. Other guests were girl school mates who attended Waters school forty years ago and were then living near by. The Dick Steffey and Joseph Fritchie families of children were the only ones then living in that vicinity. The ladies spent the day talking over old school days and taking pictures at Waters School.  The dinner consisted of fried chicken and everything that goes with it including ice cream and cake. Dick who was then in his 80’ drove to Birds for the ice cream.  Those present were Mrs. Vick Crow Shoulders, Mrs. Daisy Fritchie Mullins, Mrs. Emma Crow Bird, Mrs. Gertrude Baldwin Mullins and son Jerry, Mrs. Annis Allison Clements, Mrs. Mattie Dollahan Lindsay, Mrs. Lizzie Volser Seitzinger, Mrs. Hattie Fritchie Wagonseller, Mrs. Stella Lindsay Emmons, their teacher, and Mrs. Rena Steffy Allison, the hostess.                    

During the 1942-43 term Florence Roth, was hired to teach six boys and five girls. The following year Elizabeth A Pavey was the teacher.  It was her first year of teaching, and she had one year of college and a two- week summer term as preparation.   Superintendent Glen Fiscus wrote in his annual report for the year 1943-44,  that Waters was a well -kept school and was fairly modern in supplies and facilities with the exception of adequate library material and correlation of subject matter. There was no audio- visual aids, no framed art pictures and no clock. Pupil activities and the expansion of a library were needed.

For the 1945-46 school year Leta Gosnell was paid $1000 a month to teach six children for 8 months. Miss Gosnell’s qualifications consisted of 4 years of high school and 10 weeks of Teachers’ courses.  The school board members were Ernest Montgomery, James Crouch, and Albert Wagonseller.  The class list consisted of one boy in 1^st grade, two girls in 2^nd grade, one girl in 4^th grade and two boys in 5^th grade.

A teacher’s record book was found in the Historical Society’s archives showing each student’s grades for that year as well as their height and weight, and their birthdays. Dee Weaver (5) was the child of Blachard Weaver; Rosemary Montgomery (7) and  Jack Montgomery(11) were the children of Ernest Montgomery; Francis Crouch (10) Shirley Crouch(8),  and Carol Crouch(7) were the children of James Crouch. Rosemary Montgomery and Jack Montgomery had perfect attendance that year.

 The last year Waters school was open was 1946-47.  Austin Seitzinger, a high school graduate, was hired to teach the same 6 students as the previous year with the addition of Francis E. McClure’s son, Jerone, age 14. Dee Weaver had perfect attendance for the school year.  When the bell rang at the end of the last class in April, Waters school would not reopen in the fall. 

On August 21, 1947, County Superintendent of Schools Glen Fiscus announced that five schools, Grass, Waters, Pepple, West Liberty and Hazel Dell #183 were officially closed.  All students who had previously attended would be sent to other schools.

On July 10, 1948, a public auction was held to sell the Waters School building, coal house, two sanitary toilets, heater, piano, desks, pump, steel cabinet, light fixtures, slate blackboard, bell, books, playground equipment, and the 4 ft. fencing enclosing the building.  The Trustees at that time were Chas. Sherry, Bert Conrad and Ernest Stevenson. And so, ended the era of Waters school.

 If your ancestors attended Waters, let us know, and if you have pictures please allow us to make copies. 

                

Carl Curry is that young man in the center of the photo walking down the road and is seated on the bottom step (far right) with other 1941 Waters School students.

1930’s at Waters School Part B

 1930’s at Waters School Part B

Researchers discovered a humorous classified ad in the Lawrence County News July 29, 1937. “Wanted Man at Waters Schoolhouse to push merry-go-round.  Not enough kids to push it.” Signed, A Taxpayer. The next week another ad appeared. “Position filled.  R. S. Steffey is hereby appointed to push the merry-go-round at Waters school.” Signed, Another Taxpayer. Unfortunately, the hidden message in these classified ads has been lost to history. Superintendent's reports, student registers, and newspaper articles however still provide a view of education at Waters School. 

With more teachers being trained for their job, rural schools were expected to offer more than “readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic”. Marjorie Allen Critchfield, a graduate of BTHS in 1935, and a graduate from Eastern Illinois State Teachers College, at Charleston in May 1937,  specialized in music.   She received her teaching certificate and immediately began teaching at Waters school that fall.  She used the proceeds from the pie supper to purchase a new piano for the school.  Using a hectrograph or duplicator, she and her students made a beautiful three-color program booklet for their Christmas program. 

That spring, 1938, Miss Critchfield presented attendance awards to Margaret Fritchie, James Selby, Walter Fritchie, and Ernestine Stevenson.  Jean Hollwell Fritchie, son of Joseph T. Fritchie, had perfect attendance for that year and the previous two.    Arlene and Norma Montgomery were also students at Waters.

The following school year, Calvin Seitzinger, Ernest Montgomery, and James Couch made up the school board. Marjorie Critchfield was once again the teacher. Among the students were Ernestine Stevenson, Norma Montgomery, and Kenneth Devin as well as others.  Miss Critchfield attended the music conference held at Eastern Illinois State Teachers College Charleston in November, 1938.   Two of her pupils, Arlene and Norma Montgomery, attended with her.

A new school paper, “The Octave--in Tune with the Best”, was presented to the patrons of Waters school district. This five- page publication full of news and information was created on the hectograph by the pupils.  In the March 1939 issue of the Octave, the pupils wrote about their open house during which Miss Critchfield demonstrated six different types of songs.  Illustrations explained how rhythm through motion could establish a sense of time value in the child’s mind.  

The county superintendent reported that spring that Waters school, although small, had many new things added during the year of 1938-39 including new reading circle books and new curtains that the pupils helped make.  They drew Mother Goose characters and ironed them onto the curtains with a hot iron. Their pie supper in October was so successful that they cleared $25.00, some of which was used to purchase more material for their musical education.  

 In May of 1938, Miss Critchfield closed a successful term of school.  At the noon hour, parents and visitors brought well- filled baskets and a sumptuous dinner was served and heartily enjoyed by all. Because of the absence of three of the pupils, the program that had been prepared by the teacher and pupils was not given, but a musical program was presented after the dinner, by Mack Waggonseller, Margaret Fritchie, and James Selby singing and playing their guitars.  The teacher played several piano selections and the audience sang several songs.  A tap dance was given by John Devin accompanied by Mack Waggonseller on the harmonica. Graduates were Margaret Fritchie, James Selby and Esther Montgomery. Wilbur Stevenson received perfect attendance and spelling awards.

The Lawrence County News announced on June 16, 1939, that three pupils of Waters school would sing at the Rural School Festival held at Eastern Illinois State Teacher’s College on June 22.  The three were Norma Montgomery, 7th grade, Ernestine Stevenson, 5th grade, and Arlene Montgomery, 3rd grade. 

to be continued tomorrow