At age 106, Margaret still has fond memories of the many students and their families from her earliest years of teaching. Judi & Al Messner, Cheryl Kutcher and Betty Coerber recently visited her at the Francis Home. We all chatted about our teaching experiences. She recalls only good times in her classroom although later in this article are recollections of a few unusual events.
Margaret was interviewed 8 years ago by Karl McCarty- Oakfield High School’s History Teacher and Contributor to “The Campbellsport News”. Following are excerpts from Karl’s article:
Margaret Kelroy grew up in the Town of Byron, attending Byron Village School, which is now the Byron Town Hall. Then onto Fond du Lac’s Roosevelt Junior High and Goodrich High School.
She attended Oshkosh Normal School to attain her teaching degree and was the first in her class to be hired. Bringing her Father to the interview at the home of one the three school board members, who were all farmers, may have had a positive influence.
Margaret taught at Woodside School in rural Eden from 1937 to 1942. During her tenure, future educators from Oshkosh Normal School and area schools came to observe her expertise.
Margaret’s father and brother purchased a five passenger, two door sedan just in time for her to drive herself to school. This was not common as most teachers couldn’t afford a car.
As the weather cooled and snow with slippery roads was eminent, Margaret began boarding at the home of Frank & Blanche Smith located “Right next door” to Woodside School. Rent was a dollar a day and she shared the bathroom with the Smiths.
While teaching students as they progressed through the grade levels, Margaret really got to know her charges and their parents. On the first day a younger student didn’t want his mother to leave, so she stayed the whole day.
The only true infraction Margaret witnessed was a student testing out the sharpness of his new scissors. The bib overall strap of the student in front of young Mr. Scissorhands was no match. In the end the offender lost recess time and the mother of the bib wearer just chalked it up to “boys will be boys”!
Making the most of technology Margaret purchased a Philco transistor radio to provided supplemental education through “WHA School of the Air”. Instruction included singing, nature and story telling. A program called; “Let’s Draw” provided art lessons. The host of the show described what the kids were to create along with tips of art techniques. The best art work was sent to Madison for judging. One girl in her class had wonderful art skills and won several awards. Margaret was thankful for this student as she also volunteered to be the morning mouse trap checker.
Warmth was provided by a coal-burning heater which was also used to heat an oven. Students brought scrubbed potatoes into which they carved their initials and by lunch time they were ready to eat.
Because Margaret had access to a car she was able to supplement the set of encyclopedias and text books used in the classroom by driving to the Fond du Lac Public Library to borrow books for her students.
Creature comforts included electricity (which wasn’t the norm), two outhouses and a make-shift sink with a pail of clean water from the neighbor’s well poured as needed through the sink and then into another pail underneath. Baseball and Red Rover took the place of playground equipment. Winter fun included a sledding hill and time to build a snowmen.
The attack on Pearl Harbor took place during Margaret’s last year at Woodside. Classes were held on five Saturdays in the Spring of 1942 to allow students an extra week to help with spring planting on the farm.
Margaret met her future husband watching baseball in the Village of Byron with her girlfriends. They were married in May of 1942. Teachers at the time couldn’t be married while teaching! Herbert and Margaret Schmitz raised their family on River Road in the Town of Byron. Margaret later attended Marian University to update her teaching license and taught 10 years at Oakfield’s Belle Reynolds School.
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