In early days coal was taken from the bed of the Vermillion river. When
the water was low they would get the coal by scraping the mud away and shoveling
it into their wagons. Sometimes the vein of coal ran into the bank of the river.
The miners would then have to dig into the side of the bank to get the coal.
Afterwards they dug from the top instead of the side.
Mr. John Myers, of
Ransom, had a thrilling experience in one of these old coal mines. He was then a
small lad of about eleven years of age. An old miner invited him to go into the
mine with him, to which he readily agreed. The miner led the way with the
lantern, while Mr. Myers tried to follow, but soon became lost, for he could not
walk as fast as the miner. He could not see, because of the darkness and so
bumped into the sides and skinned his knees when he fell over the rails. He was
just ready to cry when he saw the light ahead, which was a very welcome sight.
He never went into a mine again.
The first school Mr. Myers attended was
on his father's land. It had been there a few years before he started school. It
was the first school of Dist. 67. It was a rude building, with the boards
running up and down. It was never painted and became very black. The floor was
full of slivers. They used to have benches along the walls which were made of
rough pine boards. They were not fastened down, which made them easy to knock
over. In this old school there were no blackboards. The children owned slates
and slate pencils, which served for the same purpose. The county superintendent
visited the school just once a year. Some of the pupils were twenty years old
before they graduated. Most of the boys had to stay home through the spring and
summer months to work. No boy who could drive a team of horses ever thought of
going to school from May 1st through corn husking. The largest number of pupils
was fifty-four, the largest in the school's history. The boys' favorite games
were baseball and boxing.
The teacher always kept plenty of switches by
his desk, which he often used. One of the teachers did not do this but pulled
the pupils' ears. Once when the teacher did this to John Myers he ran out to the
little shack where wood was kept. The teacher saw where he went and came after
him. He jumped in a large barrel, which tipped over. He found himself standing
on his head with the barrel over him. The teacher gave the barrel and kick and
out he rolled. He got quietly up and went into the schoolhouse to have his ears
pulled again.
Another incident he had when just starting school was. he
could not understand English very well, but spoke German. On his way to school
he fell and got his face dirty. The teacher told him to wash his face, but he
went out and washed his feet, for feet means "feese" in German, which sounds
just like face. When he came in with a dirty face again the teacher asked him
why he didn't do what she told him to. He said, "I did," and held up one of his
feet. The teacher laughed, and so did the pupils, but he didn't know what it was
all about.
A few years later a new school was built on the Denaple land.
This school was later moved to where it now stands, on the Conard land, which
was willingly donated as long as it would be used for school purposes. A few
years after the school was moved, a hall was built on, which was and still is
used as a cloak room. This is the school, Dist. 67, to which I now go.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 88.
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
| Bureau |
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Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
