This file part of www.dodgejeffgen.com website

One-Room School Houses of Dodge County. An online eBook

Columbia School

District # 6

Clyman Township

Year	Teacher	Students	Notes
1910
1911
1912
1913	Lou Della Dehne	16
1914-1920	?
1921	Helen Casey	26
1922	“	21
1923	“
1924	“	24
1925	Anna Simon	35	$855.00/Yr
1926	“	33
1927	Loretta Winkleman
1928	Mildred Owen
1929	“	38
1930	Alice Gallagher	34
1931	Alice Nesbitt	26
1932	Margaret Rupnow	32
1933	“	32
1934	“	35
1935	Mrs. Dan J. Barry	30
1936	“	30
1937	Viola Kreger	31
1938	“	23
1939	Adeline Zastrow	24
1940	“	24
1941	“	27
1942	Adeline Zastrow Kregmar	28
1943	Mrs. Kenneth Bornitzke	29
1944	Marion Rhodes	30
1945	Marion Schmeling	29
1946	Bernice E. Haase	38
1947	“	22
1948	“	30
1949	George J. McCray	31
1950	Bernice Haase	42
1951	Mrs. Irene Ulrich	30
1952	Nellie Rettschlag	14 (?)
1953	“	34
1954	“	42
1955	Closed

Remembers Life at the Columbia School

By Catherine Lentz

Dodge County Independent News

November 23, 1983

A part of Clyman’s history went up in smoke Saturday, Nov. 12, when the old Columbia School building was burned down. Oh, but so many wonderful memories will always remain with those of us who were fortunate enough to have attended the school some 30 years ago.

There were 30-40 students in grades one to eight, all in one room, with only one teacher. Discipline never seemed to be a problem. You sat at your desk and kept busy until it was your turn to go up to the front of the room and sit around the big table with the teacher and review your new assignment.

When the older students were done with their work, they would help the younger children with flash cards for math or listen to them learning to read about “Dick and Jane”.

The ones living in Clyman walked

There was no bus transportation for anyone. Students from the country were driven to and from school by their parents, and the ones living in Clyman walked. Very rarely was school cancelled because of bad weather. When the roads were closed, the teacher walked to school, and the students arrived whenever they could get through.

After school activities consisted of small duties for everyone. The younger children dusted the furniture and cleared the chalk erasers, while others cleaned the floors, emptied waste baskets, cleaned the bathroom sinks and any other small tasks to keep the school shining clean.

Every week, two different students had the honor of raising the flag in the morning and lowering it after school and one never let the flag touch the ground. It was then properly folded in a triangle and placed in the cupboard until the next day.

About once a month, the teacher would exchange library books at the court house in Juneau, and a few students could go along to help select some new reading material for the next month.

The hot lunch program meant bringing your own soup from home and heating in on the electric plate. No one went home at noon, everyone brought his or her lunch in metal lunch boxes.

All students had recess at the same time, and there was no need for a playground supervisor. The older children taught the younger ones how to play baseball or gave them rides on the playground equipment. In the winter, snow houses and tunnels were built and even a few snowball fights took place.

When one had to stay in at recess and miss the fun, one didn’t throw many snowballs.

Christmas was a special time for all of us at that school. There was a big tall tree set up in the front of the room, all decorated with lights and ornaments what just seemed to appear overnight. No one would every say that Santa didn’t bring it, but I’m sure some knew that the teacher bought the biggest tree she could find and decorated it herself.

There were always presents for everyone under the tree, pretty hankies for the girls and white handkerchiefs with initials on for the boys and also pencils with your name and small colored note pads.

Mrs. Nellie Rettschlag

Perhaps these memories are so dear to me because 30 years ago, my mother, Mrs. Nellie Rettschlag, was a teacher in that school. Like we so often hear “Those were the good ole days”.

After closing in 1953, the building was later used by the Dodgeland School District for special education classes for a few years, and then vacated.

The building may have been burned down, but our memories will always remain.