Dist. 2

Last weekend when we were visiting my parents the kids and I went for a short drive. While we were cruising the countryside, my boys wanted to know where I went to school as a child. Well here it is......

This is Giles School District #2. My grandparents went here in the early 1900s. My dad in the 50s and my brother and I in the 70s and 80s. It didn't look this shabby when I was in attendance during the 70s and early 80s. It was kept up, painted, and the yard was mowed. It has been empty now for well over 10 years. It is so sad to see it in its present state.

Brace yourself....when I was in kindergarten....now mind you, I am not that old.....there was not indoor plumbing and if you had to use the "facilities" you had to go out to the outhouse. So we wouldn't get lost or fall in, we had to ask an eighth grader to escort us to the outhouse. Not the most pleasant experience during the winter. Fortunately, by the time my first grade year started restrooms had been added on....one for the boys and one for the girls. If you look closely you can see the small addition on the back side of the building.

I went to this school house all the way through to the eighth grade. There were only 8 students and 4 of us were Madsens....my two cousins, my brother and myself. Our teacher was Mrs. Snyder. She was really strict. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but now think of her as one of my favorite teachers.

School started at 9:00 am. At 10:30 we would have a 15 minute recess. Lunch was at 12:00. Then we would have a 15 minute recess at 2:30 and dismissal was at 3:30.

I just noticed the other day that some things were missing from school yard. I haven't traveled down that road in a long, long time. In the middle of all that green grass, there used to be an enormous swing set that someone at some point in time had fashioned out of pipes. Sounds strange but it was really sturdy. There were 4 swings and a tire swing and on either side of the swings were bars you could climb on....the low bars and the high bars. Just past the swing set were two teeter totters. It was always our goal to get ourselves to balance on them and see how long we could stay perfectly still. We also had a flag pole that we flew the flag from each and every day and one of us would go out and get everyday at 3:25. We always took great care to fold it into a triangle with stars on the outside. The flag pole was also our base when we played hide and seek. Not only did we play endless games of Hide and Seek, but also Tag, Andy Over, Red Rover, kick ball and softball.
Just on the other side of these trees we built a small fort by picking up sticks and carefully stacking them on top of one another making the walls. The minute we were let out for recess....we would head to the fort. So many memories. As I sit here and type, a flood of memories come back......things I haven't thought of since I walked out the door of the school for the last time in 1983.

There used to be several country schools in the area. Dist. 1, 2, 13, 18, and 81. I remember when Dist. 18 closed. I was only 7 or 8 at the time. An auction was held to sell off the property and I remember how sad everyone was. It was the beginning of the end of an era. We used to do several activities with Dist. 1 as they were only a couple miles away. We had a soft ball game with Dist. 81 once and several country schools got together for a few years and sponsored a track meet. My little country school and Dist. 81 are the last ones standing. All the others are gone.

I wouldn't trade any of my elementary experiences for the world. So many wonderful childhood memories happened at Giles School Dist. 2 and are great stories to share with my children.

S