Fond memories of attending a one-room country school

by Audrey Z. Martini

My family moved to the Bunkerhill/Fitchburg/Stockbridge area just before my fifth birthday.  Our party-line phone was a Fitchburg exchange, our address was Stockbridge, but we lived in Bunkerhill Township. Three school buses went by our house: one for Stockbridge, another for Dansville and one for the Catholic school.

When I was old enough, I attended Bachelor School, a one-room school on the corner of Parmen and Holland roads.  The bus would pick me up in the morning, but my school days ended at noon, so someone usually came to pick me up.  It was understood that I would begin walking home and hopefully meet my mom before I had to walk too far.

One particular day, Mom was late picking me up. I almost had reached the corner of Parmen and Catholic Church roads when I encountered a bunch of turkeys taking up the road at the Updike farm. Not wanting to wade through the rafter of puffed-up birds, I gladly accepted a ride from a nice elderly couple who got me through the birds. However, I could not exit the car before my mom saw me inside a strangers’ car. Oops! I would have been wiser to wade through the turkeys. No more accepting rides from strangers.

I loved country school. The pump sat out front on the northeast corner behind the lilac bushes and had to be primed on cold mornings. The privies were in back. The schoolroom had a fuel oil stove in the center at the back that divided the rear half of the room. Teacher’s desk was up front with a blackboard behind the desk and two small rooms behind that – one for coats, boots and lunches; the other for school supplies. Students were designated for various housekeeping tasks that included washing the blackboard, cleaning erasers, and putting a green substance from huge barrels on the floor before sweeping.

One teacher taught grades, beginners to sixth grade. Mr. Roscoe Spencer was my first teacher.  After that, I had only female teachers: Helen Cool, Ruth Shepard and Bertha Matthews.  Nella O’Brien taught there for a while (before my time) and so did Lulu Moeckle. I can remember riding to school one morning on a horse, bringing flowers from Mom’s garden to one of my teachers – I can’t remember if it was Mrs. Cool or Mrs. Shepard.  On one occasion, an ice-cream truck stopped out front, and we all enjoyed ice cream.

We had all of the traditional playground equipment — swings, slide, monkey bars and a teeter-totter.  Favorite recess activities included hopscotch with squares etched in the dirt; Red Rover, Red Rover, and jump rope. Of course, we also played Ante-I-over, as we tossed a ball over the roof of the school.

Oscar Bauer lived to the south of the school.  He donated the land for school use. When the area was no longer used as a school, it reverted back to him, but we had enough space for a softball diamond. I couldn’t wait for recess, so we could choose sides and play a quick game.

The school closed in 1958, my sixth grade year, and I was bused into Stockbridge. Classes were never the same again.