new content added 06/21/2021
School
Index
Village Creek School
LaFayette twp.
Village Creek schoolhouse, Lafayette twp. -
undated
Robertson photo
Village Creek Schoolchildren
1899
Back Row, L-R:
Minnie Chenowith, Walter Chenowith, Otto Gilbert, Nellie
Chenowith,
Annie Paulson, Eva Aldrich, Arthur Kelly, Jessie Kelly, Pope
Middle Row, L-R:
George Lang, Minnie Aldrich, Belle Flowers, Emma Jacobson,
Bertha Aldrich,
Ethel Doehler, Mabel Doehler, Gertrude Doehler, Mabel Johnson,
Emma Magnusson,
Martha L. Intlekofer (Cavers), teacher.
Martha was the daughter of Adeline Troendle and John Intlekofer
Front Row, L-R:
Les Knutson, Walter Cavers, Elert Erickson, Henry
Chenowith,
Carl Spinner, Frank Duncan, John Duncan, Lewellyn Johnson, Pius
Hess
~ source of above photos is the personal
collection of Fred Althoff
~ contributors note: I'm not sure when the school house
picture was taken. The school building is still standing,
although it is now being used as a livestock barn and the
bell is gone.
~ contributed by Fred Althoff
~*~*~
1st & 2nd grade class
of the Village Creek school ca 1920/21
~ contributors note: I don't know the names of the kids
except for my dad, Thomas Warren, 2nd row up from the bottom
- 2nd boy from the left. He was born in 1913 so he'd be 7 or
8 in the picture.
~contributed by Jan Miller from her personal collection
~*~*~
1933
Waukon- A school directors' meeting was being
held in the Village Creek district school house Saturday
evening, John Hill, president, presided, when the big
storm struck.
When adjournment time came, the waters of the Village
Creek had risen to such a height that it was not safe for
the school officers to return to their homes, so they
made an all night meeting of it. The directors are: John
Hill, president; George Munz and Clifford
Eckberg.
They had the company of several families who were driven
from their homes in the lowlands when the rising water
threatened ther homes.
~Monona Leader, Thursday, July 13, 1933, Monona,
Iowa, pg 2
~transcribed by Cindy (Maust) Smith |
~*~*~
Early
Education At Village Creek School
Waukon Restaurant Owner Tells Of Days At Village
Creek School
by Madonna Storla
WAUKON: Orville Bratrud's working day
starts early at the 66 Cafe here. At 4:45 a.m. he leaves
his Waterville home and by 5 a.m. he is ready to
accommodate early breakfast trade and the casual
customers who stop in for a cup of coffee on their way to
work. He has been at 66 Cafe for 8 years. He employs 2
girls on a regular basis and one woman part-time. On
weekends Bratrud's wife helps in the cafe.
Bratrud's early education was 8 years at the Village
Creek rock school. At times there were as many as 62
children of all grade levels in attendance.
"There were absolutely no discipline problems.
Everyone was too busy learning and too scared to
misbehave," he recalled. "The teacher was in
command, even if she had to do her own janitor work. Some
of the families had 7 or 8 children in the school at one
time. Money was mighty scarce and many of the lunch pails
had bread spread with lard and molasses in them. One
exceptional teacher who could really handle the kids was Alphid
Pladsen O'Brien, who now lives in Waukon,"
Bratrud said.
4-Foot Walls
The Village Creek School still remains standing. Built of
stone, the walls were 4 feet thick. School board meetings
for the township were held there, and it is said that
some of them were very explosive. Bratrud added, "At
one time the enrollment was so large that 2 teachers were
employed and classes were held on both floors of the
building."
School programs were held on many occasions. Once a year
a box social was held with women bringing gaily decorated
boxes containing sandwiches, fruit and goodies. These
were hidden near the stage so no one would know who
brought them until they were auctioned at the end of the
program. The auctioneer displayed each box and accepted
the bids of the young swains of the community. The sky
was the limit if the bidder had a hint that the box on
the auction block belonged to his favorite lady. Once the
bidding was completed, the couple enjoyed the contents of
the box.
High school days found Bratrud living with his
grandparents, the Louis Olsons in the Darby area, so he
could attend Waterville High School. As he spoke of his
high school days, he remarked, Waterville High School was
the very best. "The good discipline was part of our
education there," he said. "Dress codes
demanded neatness and believe me, there was no gum
chewing." "Every student who was out for
sports, rode the bus home after school. There were no
after-school practices. The same was true of play
practices and band lessons. That school was well
run."
He attended Waukon Junior College for a year and a half
before going to the army in 1945. He was stationed at Ft.
Campbell, KY at the Veterans Hospital there until 1947,
when he was discharged. Bratrud and his wife, the former
Dorothy Howe of the Wexford area, have been married for
27 years. They farmed the Alex Drogsett farms south of
Elon for 17 years before moving to Waterville. Dorothy
has been in the teaching profession for 36 years, some of
which included rural schools. Presently she is teaching
in the Waterville grade school. When asked about
retirement plans, Bratrud said, "We'll take our
fifth wheel camper and head south. We'll just keep on
going."
~Postville Herald, December 31, 1986, pg 8
~transcribed by Cindy (Maust) Smith
Orville Bratrud obituary * Alphid (Pladsen) O'Brien obituary
|
~*~*~
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