Having already visited my wife’s places of learning, I thought she might want to see how our early education differed.  I first showed her where I lived so she would believe me when I said getting to school was two and half miles one way, up and down hills, walking on dirt roads.  However, in spite of what she had heard, I assured her it was not uphill both ways (… nor was it always walking barefooted with no cap or mittens in knee-deep snow.)

We had to drive to Mount Custer grade school by a round about way because some roads had been closed for many years, we approached from the North.  As we came over a small knoll I said “this is where I started school. There used to be a school house, a flag pole, two outhouses, a merry-go-round, a barn and a water pump, right about here.”

My wife noted the lack of all of these things.  It’s all just a corn field now.  So why was it called Mount Custer?  “If you look south, straight down this road and then about thirty degrees relative you can see Mount Custer.  I know it’s just a hill but it is a big hill, a high point in Custer County and it is rather tall as you will find out when we drive over it.”

Students at Mount Custer starting at the beginning.  There was no kindergarten, just straight into first grade at the one room school house, governed by one teacher.  My eldest sister was in the eighth grade, my brother was in the seventh, my middle sister in the sixth, my youngest sister in the third and me in first, all being taught all subjects by one teacher.  We were taught along with about twenty other kids, many of whom were not all that well-versed in English.  We had Bohemians, Czechs, Germans and many Swedes all speaking with different brogues, making it hard to understand.  Miss Bristol was English.

Aside from her teaching duties, there was water to pump by hand, into a bucket for drinking that sat in the hallway all day, with one dipper that was shared by all – and we always seemed to be quite healthy.  Her janitorial duties included fetching wood or coal and getting the classroom warm before any students arrived, sweeping the floor, keeping the place neat and tidy and making sure each two seater outhouse was stocked with a Sears, Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalog or in some cases red and white corn cobs.  For this she was paid $40 a month with thirty of that going for her room and board.

What I really liked about going to this school was that by the time I was in the second grade, quite often we would get to ride bareback on a beautiful horse, Dan Patch, with my youngest sister sitting behind with just me to hang on to.  During the day Dan Patch would be stabled in the barn.  I always pumped water and provided some hay or oats for nourishment.

Compared with our schools today, how well were we educated at that time?  There are some pretty successful people who began their education much in this same manner.  Now, with a bit of assistance from our younger generations, most of us can even comprehend and appreciate the use of modern technology.

This being said, my wife and I still might raise our eyebrows in curiosity when we see two people, sitting side by side, not talking, but communicating with each other on their smart phones.  We couldn’t/wouldn’t have done that at Mount Custer.