Going to school for the kids living on a ranch that's sixteen miles, over fairly rough roads, from the nearest town school posed some interesting problems and creative solutions. The county roads leading to the outside gate (1 1/2 miles from the houses) of the Currier Ranch were, when Carol and I were children, minimally graveled roads. During poor weather and during heavy snows, sending a school bus to pick us up was not something the school district felt confident in doing. Solution: They offered to send a teacher instead!!!
My grandmother, with some foresight when this was under discussion, decided to build a school house for the grandchildren. When completed, it was a two story log building with the school room on the first floor and an apartment for a teacher on the second floor. Since the teacher couldn't be expected to travel the roads anymore than the school bus could, there had to be a place for her (they were almost always "hers" in those days!) to live during the school term.
The entry to the school was on the West side with an area just inside the door for boots and as well as a long narrow coat room just beyond the entrance area. The actual school room was a large room with good lighting, many windows and hardwood floors. At one end, was an actual raised performing stage with dressing rooms on either side. An upright piano was placed to the left of the stage area for music class and for accompaniment to music and dramatic programs. Grandma thought of everything, including a large, raised sand box for creative water and sand play!
The furnished apartment upstairs featured a large living room/bedroom, a roomy eat-in kitchen and a private room with a bathtub. The sink and toilet were at the top of the stairs and this facility was used both by the teacher and the children.
At the beginning of September after Labor Day, each morning at 9 a.m., the kids who were school age (5 and up) walked to the school (a distance of about two city blocks) and spent the morning learning. At noon, we all walked home for lunch and then back for the afternoon session which ended at 3:30 p.m. Sometimes someone would bring a kid horse to school, usually Mule or Brownie, that would be tied up to the back stairway rail until recess when turns were taken enjoying the fun until recess was over.
One-room schools, such as our school, had a great atmosphere for learning, since the younger children were helped by the older children thus allowing the teacher to teach effectively to all. I recall that the maximum number of students was eight spanning grades from 1st to 8th.
We attended this ranch school from September to mid-December when, due to the deepening winter and the fact that most of the hay for the cattle was used up, we all moved with the cattle to the Grand Junction area for the remainder of the school year and attended local schools, first in the Appleton area for elementary school, and then on to Junior High and High Schools either in Fruita or Grand Junction. The teachers in these valley schools were very helpful in providing school materials that would allow us to flow right into the classes when we arrived in December. Surprisingly, it all worked very well. Today, I'm sure, that lack of flexibility and narrow room for creative solutions would negate this from actually being possible!!
The teachers at the Ranch school usually stayed about two seasons, and then we would get a new teacher. I remember that we had several that were local people who were familiar with the area and several were from elsewhere, perhaps retired from full time teaching, who were looking for something interesting and short termed. They were all welcomed into the Ranch "family" during their tenure there. I think most of us kids remember them fondly for the most part. I hope that they remember us fondly "for the most part...."
Each December, we put on a Christmas program and invited many friends from the community around Collbran including the superintendent of the school district. This was a great event with twenty or so guests who were treated to music, singing, recitations and plays. Of course, there were quite a few snafus with things like recitations going awry (Scrooges "Bah Humbug" speach or Santa getting stuck coming "down" the chimney into the fireplace (everyone had to hold their laughter while he and his bag were extricated), but a wonderfully joyous time was had by all. Following the Christmas program, the Moms put out a glorious spread of food, sometimes including a roasted pig or a giant turkey and all the accompanying sides and desserts. It was a special occasion that the guests looked forward to each year.
The school operated as described through my 8th grade year and Carol's 7th grade year. At this juncture, the school district decided that the roads were improved enough that sending a bus was more economical than paying a teacher. Most of the older kids then opted in September to go directly to their respective schools in Grand Junction/Fruita with the Moms or various grandparents staying down in the valley to look after them during the school week. By the time a couple of us were in high school and of driving age, we often (Oh! Horror!) stayed in our valley home Monday through Friday looking after ourselves and siblings during the week and returning to the high Ranch on Friday after school for the weekend. I recall leaving the Ranch at 6 a.m. or so, driving the 60 miles to the valley to get us older kids to school on time on Monday morning. It was good experience in learning to drive on very snowy roads in the latter part of the fall. In those days, no social service snooper was tasked with rooting out free range kids "living alone". We were FINE...we had learned to be resilient, competent, and responsible and knew who to call in an emergency. Try that today and someone would end up in jail with the kids shuffled off to foster care!! That would be the true HORROR.
Our education in that little school was excellent....what an opportunity to grow and learn in an atmosphere that isn't found anymore. My Dad often said that the death of the small neighborhood schools in the rural areas, as schools were consolidated into larger ones in town, caused death of the close knit communities that once existed, centered around the school, helping each other and socializing. I think he was very right.
As I have said before, we Currier kids grew up in a beautiful, magical place and had a childhood like no other. How lucky we were!
