Jefferson Township
Page 3 of the Manning Monitor December 14, 2006

I now have a web page setup specifically for the 1979-2009 Manning school history book project. http://www.davidkusel.com/mhs/school.htm

I will be adding new and different information to this web page quite often. Please let everyone who has an interest in Manning school history know about this web page. We are looking for contacts with former town and country school employees. If you have an address of a former employee who no longer lives in the Manning area please let them know about the school book web page and encourage them to e-mail me. If they do not have access to Internet please contact Jean Stadtlander, Karen Kienast, or myself and give us the information so they can be contacted about their school history and future 2010 All-school reunion.

Country Schools

Did you notice what is engraved on the back of the Iowa Quarter? It is a one-room country schoolhouse and titled "Foundation in Education." The engraving was taken from Grant Wood's 1932 Arbor Day painting of a teacher and her students planting a tree in the schoolyard. How fitting for our state and community which places education as a top priority. It further shows the importance of preserving our school history so we can appreciate how we got where we are today.

Country Schools in Jefferson Twp.

For the next several weeks we will be concentrating on country schools by county & township. This week we are looking for information on Jefferson Township, Shelby County. Thanks to Dave & Carol Souter for sharing their 1921 Atlas - I was able to scan the Jefferson map which has locations of the country schools. The number 6 is marked next to Jefferson No. 6 Country School and is featured in detail below.

Some of the names that lived near this school in 1921: Guy Graves, Charles Escher, David Souter, Thomas Campbell, Charles Moore, Phillip Armentrout, Charles Wooster, Peter Waller, Henry Kuhl, Thomas Alwill, Ernest Kuhn.

Things that will make the country school section of the history book interesting will be pictures of students and the school along with names of teachers and students and some "I can remember" stories. Several years ago Opal (Weems) Christensen sent me some information and pictures about Jefferson No. 6. To give you an idea of what we are looking for this is some of what Opal remembered -- Ron Hiatt was always a neat guy & a lot of fun. The Hiatt family use to spend a lot of time at our house ...one winter when snow was so deep, they found a way thru the fields so they could get to our house with horses & sled .. Dad & Mom & Roy & Edna would play cards and we kids would go sledding down the hill in front of our house.

Because we were the only farm on the one mile, it would be a long time before they would clean our road so we would be literally stranded. Dad would walk to the corner & go to town with neighbors for supplies but we really didn't need much as we had meat, potatoes, canned goods, etc. Flour, sugar & coffee were probably most of what we needed to buy (and minced ham for sandwiches.. ha)."

Edna Gawley lived east of Irwin & stayed at the farm house right close to the town school. Chester "Chet" Mohr was a half-brother of Ronald Hiatt & Velma Hiatt. After the Hiatt family left the farm the family of Anna Marie Asmus moved to that location (Anna attended this school). Evelyn & Berthelene Meyer were sisters of Bill Meyer Jr. The Weems family lived on the Charles Wooster Sr. farm (southwest of the school) and moved to Manning in 1946. Wayne Alwill lived up the road from the Weems family so they all walked to school together. The Kuhn family lived east of the school. Jefferson #6 was located 6 miles south of Manning on the Airport road (West Street) and 2 miles west. The school house was on the northwest corner of the intersection.

1935 Back: Edna (Gawley) Campbell (teacher), Chester Mohr, Gale Moore, Marjorie Kuhn Kusel, Evelyn Meyer; Third: Evelyn Weems, Velma Hiatt, Leona Weems, Joy Moore, Berthelene Meyer; Second: Ronald Hiatt, Art Kuhn, Lois Weems Wegner (far right); Front: Wayne Alwill, Bill Meyer Jr., Opal Weems Christensen, ??

Cute memory of Ron
When Ronald Hiatt was going to be scolded at school he would say to the teacher -- "Teacher, Teacher, Don't spank me, spank that monkey up in the tree!"

Around 1942

Back:?attended for short time?, Hazel Doyel, Ruby Borkowski, Lois Weems Wegner, Bill Meyer Jr., Opal Weems Christensen, Dale Leinen, Wayne Alwill; Front: LaRae Weems Heller, Ethel Leinen, Janet Borkowski, Orrin Kuhn, Elliot Svendsen, George Doyel, Shirley Borkowski, Larry Svendsen.
Another student that attended this school around this time frame was Melvin Borkowski. Larry & Elliot's parents are Dagna & Wilbur Svendson. Some members of the family changed their name to Swanson.

7 other schools
For the other country schools on the Jefferson map we need pictures and information. Please take some time to dig out those pictures and write down names of your teachers and students. While you are at it jot down some memories you have of your country school days. Then put the information in an envelope with your name and phone number on and bring it to the Monitor office. You can also contact me directly (712) 653-3259 or mhs@davidkusel.com