September News from

Heartland Museum

"Farm to Town, Life Retold"

An Awesome Summer

We have been very blessed to have over 4,000 visitors this summer!  A lot of people came to see Big Bud before he left, but they discovered a "gem of a museum".  As you can see from the picture, we had a full front lot plus parking by the Red Shed was at a minimum some days!  The couple on the motorcycle drove a ways to see Heartland, and their bike was so stunning we had to take a picture.

 

What's next at Heartland?  We have a couple of ideas to fill Big Bud's space (something unusual, we promise!)  We were fortunate to receive two grants, one from Wright County Charitable giving and the other from Bayer to put up an outdoor education center.  That building will have space to hold demonstrations.  We may have a tack stall there.  We have lots of ideas for weekend presentations!

 

In the meantime, we are visiting with a donor to have a DVD of a horse that does tricks!  

 

LIFE RETOLD

Early Schools

 

Imagine having 7 high schools in Wright County (1916)!  Early schools in Wright County consisted of a log structure, perhaps with a dirt floor.  These soon made way to the frame structures – some of which still exist today.  The schools continued to grow and flourish as the county grew.  By 1891, 117 schools were in session.  They employed 179 women and 42 men teachers.  Cost of tuition per month was $2.28.

 

A visitor in 1869 commented on how the children not only were taught arithmetic, grammar and geography, but also how to plow, blacksmithing, sewing and cooking.  It is obvious from the books that reading, writing, and history were also critical learning.  In the early 1900’s, the Iowa drainage law took many men from teaching, leaving women to be 98% of the teachers by 1915.

 

Schoolhouses were built where population was the highest.  As times went on and population shifted, there were times when neighbors hitched up their horses and moved the school to a new location.  An 1884 book of Iowa school laws and decisions included such items as barbed wire had to be removed from school grounds, the Bible would not be excluded from any school, but no pupil was required to read it.  While schools were required to teach in English, German or other foreign language could be taught.

 

Superintendent O.H. Benson, credited with the 4-H emblem, also promoted the adaption of the school work to the home life of boys and girls.  He promoted school picnics, increasing the territory of the picnics to include the entire township.  Games, graduation exercises and public dinners were held.  By 1915 one township (which may have included other townships) had 10,000 to 15,000 people in attendance!  Annually, 250-300 children graduated from the 8th grade across the county.

 

By 1915 there were 130 rural schools and 10 high schools.  A library report for 1916 indicates Wright County purchased 1,391 books that year.  Wright County also had two private schools – St. John’s school which was founded in 1913 and Sacred Heart school, founded 1901.  The number of students was 4, 859 in all of the schools.

 

Interested in learning more?  The Library at the Heartland Museum has a book edited by William L. Sherman, “Iowa’s Country Schools Landmarks of Learning”.

(information from Birdsall’s Wright County, a 1916 School report and 1884 Iowa School Laws and Decisions, located in Wright Co. Historical Library at Heartland Museum.)

BACK IN THE DAY

“Ice House”, “Ice Plant”, “Ice harvest”, “ice box”.  All describe something that isn’t too well known any more.  Before refrigeration, one of the ways to keep meat and milk cool was to have an ice box.  The ice box held a block of ice, which of course melted down.  So – having a lot of ice handy was a necessity.  Households had a hard time keeping ice, so the “ice house” and “ice plant” were born.  The ice plants were responsible for harvesting ice from rivers and lakes.  This took special equipment, unless you wanted to spend all day chipping out one or two blocks!  The photo above shows an ice plow at work.

 

Our ice harvest display contains many of the tools used.  During the winter months, the plant workers went out and harvested the ice, and hauled it back into towns with horse drawn sleds.  Once in town, the ice was stored in ice houses.  An 1896 map of Clarion shows several ice houses – two were located approximately behind what is now the Clarion Theatre, another located somewhere behind the Rainbow Cleaners, one down on south main close to the railroad tracks; there may have been others across town. 

 

The 1879 Wright Co. Monitor reported a new ice house going up – 12 feet square and could hold 12-15 tons of ice!  The ice was insulated with straw or sawdust, which helped keep the ice from melting.Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, men would deliver blocks of ice from the horse drawn wagons.  This continued until the 1930’s-40’s, at which time the new refrigerators became the norm.

 

Also at Heartland Museum is the “iceless ice box”, in the Depression room.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

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Keep tuned - we are making plans for a book sale and a craft sale.

 

Thank you to our Donors! 

2019-2020 Giving Campaign

Legacy $1,000+

Murray and Valerie Wise

Lowell Hill
Stewart Johnson

Dr. Sandra Sellers-Hanson

Warren & Julie Clausen

Carolilne Lund

Terry & Kathy Hilpipre

 

 

Champion $500+

Maurice and Gladys Riley

Kim Clausen

Maasdam Construction

Robert Stevens

 

Advocate $250+

 

Allan and Mary Tesdahl

Rose Marie Draheim

Bob & Donna Bartholomaus

Bill & Jane Dettman

Jim & Marcia Borel

Wright Co. Historical Society

 

In Memory of:

 

Marie Sheffield

 

In Honor of:

 

 

Patron $100+

 Ahrendsen Family Donor Advised Fund

Larry & Marilyn Anderson

Arlen Urness

Duane & Louise Asbe
Ted & Linda Brigger
Randall Burt

Ruth Cline

Roger & Normajene Collier
James & TerriLynn Elsey
    FIRST STATE  BANK
Ardith  Frohling
Kevin & Betty  Hadley
Steve & Shirley Hill
Ann Hines
Marlin & Linda Klehm
Melody Lager

Ryan Maasdam
James Miller
Sherry and Pat O'Brien
Robert & Jo Anne Olson
Patricia and Robert Perry

Travis Peterson 
Linda Powgnas Rollis
Vernon & Viola Ratcliff
Susan & James Sebby
Frank & Ellen Siemens

Tom & Janet Turk

Arlyn Urness

Kevin & Julie VanWyk
Eric & Emma Van Wyngarden
Karen Weld
Centrum Valley Farms    
 

Friends of the Museum

Dianne Lindt

Bud & Bonnie Young

Ron & Deloris McKeag

 

 

Open Saturdays in Sept., 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Last Admission 2:00 pm

Open by appointment other days

Call (515) 602-6000

Time travel is possible - go back with us!

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"We don't want to live in the past, we want the past to live in us."-unknown

119 9th St SW, Clarion, IA, United States
515-602-6000

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