| A History of STRUM and the TOWN OF UNITY by Roy Matson |
| THIS IS PAGE 27 | TABLE OF CONTENTS | PAGE BACK | PAGE FORWARD |
| written and could serve as a barometer of such building constructions in those times. The cost of lumber, doors and windows was $206.14. Morton Brandon was paid $8.00 for his mason work on the footing. John Nelson did the plastering for $13.40. Ole Nysven furnished a heater for $2.20. Desks were $103.65 and Sivert Rekstad was paid $94.50 for erecting and painting the new building. There were about $100 in miscellaneous expenses such as insurance, leveling and fencing the school yard, paint, brick, etc. The entire cost came to slightly over $500.00. The Johnson Valley School ended up with a square foot cost of slightly over 70 cents and served the district for 60 years. The last edition at Central High School was $32.00 per square foot. Johanna Solland was the teacher when all this took place. The next teacher was Maria Halvorson. $7.68 was spent for books, 2 yards of toweling cost 20 cents and a stove purchased from Kittleson and Willumson cost $18.50. The 1893 meeting had a drastic departure from regular routine. A six month term was voted in, beginning September 1, with no winter interuption. A special meeting in July, however, again divided the term, 4 months beginning October 1 and 2 months beginning April 1. J. P. Hanson was school clerk, the first of many public offices that covered school, town and county service over a period of more than forty years. W. F. Short taught in 1894. Maggie Warner succeeded him. The 25th annual meeting had little controversy except the school term. A dictionary was purchased that year as were 6 library books. Clara Lewis taught one term for $25 per month, another for $30. The clerk’s salary had remained at $5.00 for twenty years. During the last term of this school year we find the first real expenditure for books. Orders from several companies totaled $37.50. Crayons, a broom, and matches added up to 40 cents. John Dahl was paid $10.00 for the school deed and the inevitable 40 cents was again paid for a tin pail. K. N. Tweet, a Strum plumber, was paid $19.00 for a pump in 1896, but we fail to locate the cost of a well anywhere. W. H. Philips and Agnes Salt were teachers during the next four years. Also, there are entries showing that Mr. Tweet made several repairs to the pump he had sold. Daily attendance records with the term progress comments by teachers during the 1890’s are available and very interesting. Maggie Warner had 46 pupils enrolled of which several were 17 years of age and one 23. Her upper grades, 11 pupils in all, had read Longfellow’s Evangeline, Scott’s Lady of the Lake, and the Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare. They also had studied the constitution of this state and graded over 75 in an exam thereof. Decimals, percentages and square root procedures had been included in their course of study. The middle grades were studying the handling of fractions. She mentioned the primary grades needed spelling study. W. H. Phillips followed Maggie Warner and had 46 pupils, including 4 17-year-olds. His commentary is rather brief, merely mentioning how far each class had progressed in their various books and telling about absenteeism among the primary class during winter months. Several young children had a 21/2 mile hike twice a day. Multiplication tables, division, fractions and measurements were mentioned. It seems land measurement was part of the instruction in those days. Agnes Salt listed 42 pupils during her term and was followed by Clara Lewis who had a busy school year with 64 students. Three pupils were 17 years old, and all 64 attended at some time or other. Martin and Bertha Rice had only 3 days of school but may have moved into or out of the district during the year. The upper grades had studied the settlement of America up to that time. They needed composition work (who doesn’t), but they could handle fractions and decimals well. The lower grades had a progress report of various studies. On a special page was a listing of numbers on a Christmas program. Three recitations opened the entertainment. A song, “The Christmas Army” was sung by the whole school (no mention of how they were packed |