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Transcription
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We had good roads and fences to follow when it was stormy, there were many stories in homesteading days when children got lost in blizzards. There was only one time that the storm came so quickly that we were picked up at the school. The only warning we had, that a blizzard was on the way, came over the wires from the Burlington R.R. A call would be sent out over the country lines that we could expect a storm to reach us soon.
The nine months of school were over on the last day of May. We would often have a picnic, and the parents would celebrate with us. This last day could be a big affair, parents and relatives would arrive at the school at about ten o'clock. They would arrive by wagon, buggy, or horseback and some would walk. We had only a small hitch rack for horses, but there would be teams tied to wagons and fence posts that were close by.
When it came time to start the activities, everyone would go into the school house. The teacher would speak for a few minutes, she would proudly tell of the accomplishments of her students during the past year. There would be high praise for the students who had excelled in their grades for the year. I don't remember receiving any awards, except in mathematics.
If it were nice weather we would then gather outside and share our lunches. If it were bad weather we would push the desks back against the wall and set up some plank tables where we spread our lunches. If it was warm weather there was always someone who brought a freezer of home made ice cream, and there was always lots of cakes and cookies.
The last day of school that I remember best, was on the 31st day of May 1917. It was the only time I remember seeing snow in May. It had snowed enough, that Dad took the sleigh, saying "I never have gone sleigh riding in May, this will be the time." When we came home most of the snow was gone and we rode at the side to keep the sleigh runners on grass, we called our sleigh a grass schooner.
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Metzger Memories
