I recently spoke with a few students who attended the Browne school in the late 1940's and early 1950's. These students included: Lucille Moland, the Anderson sisters: Barbara, Delores and Joyce and the Butler brothers: Lee and Paul. They attended during the years taught by Urban Conrad Munson, the grandfather of Lee and Paul Butler.
Joyce recalled other students that attended during that period included Laverne Taylor, Joanne Hart, John Gorenz, the Molands: Carol, Kathleen and Ruth, the Harris': Carol and Joan.
Paul Butler had previously been interviewed for the book, "Rural Schools Journeys: A Legacy of Learning, Histories of the One-room Schools in Dekalb County, Illinois". Mentioned in that excellent compilation was the trauma students suffered when one of their peers had passed away. Joyce Anderson confirmed that student was Joanne Hart who had died of polio. Joanne would have been in the 6th grade at the time of her passing. Her memorial can be found here.
Recalling one's earliest impressions can be very difficult for their 1st grade experience at the age of 5 or 6, particularly when only attending the Browne school for a few years. Students were often transferred to other schools due to consolidation and closure of rural schools. The Browne school students recall attending the Malta grade and high school after their time at the rural schoolhouse.
In spite of the decades since attending, misty water colored memories recalled the desks were lined into rows and students were seated according to grades (1st - 8th). In addition to the desks which were flip top, the schoolroom had a piano in the southeast corner of the room, the teacher's desk faced north, a blackboard behind the teacher's desk and the student desks faced south. There were windows on the west and east side of the schoolroom.
The one room schoolhouse had another room with a door into the furnace room which is where they would go to get a drink of water. The building had a porch or anteroom which had two doors: a boy's entrance on the left and a girl's entrance on the right. Hooks were located on the wall to hang their coats and a single door to the entrance of the schoolroom was to the left.
A coal shed was located approximately 20 feet northwest of the schoolhouse. A water pump was east of the southeast side of the schoolhouse. A makeshift baseball field was located between University Road and the west side of the building. The playground which contained a merry-go-round and a swing set were located on the property to the east side of the building. The exterior of the school building was painted white. Two out buildings, or outhouses were available: the girls's outhouse was located to the northeast of the schoolhouse and the boy's outhouse was located to the northwest.
The students learned several subjects including history, math, reading and science. One student recalls learning to diagram verbs, nouns and conjunctions and found the diagramming approach interesting. Another came to the conclusion it was a good start to an education as the students learned to be independent. The one room school provided an interesting learning experience as students were exposed to the lessons of the other grades.
When asked about their teacher, the consensus was Mr. Munson was a good teacher, though tough with authority and was aware of students that were messing around. He was strict in such situations and wouldn't think twice about using a ruler to hit a student. One student expecting to be punished fled the school and was chased by Urban Munson but he was unable to catch up to her and she escaped unscathed.
Urban Munson also had a talent that impressed the students: He was ambidextrous and could write his full name on the blackboard starting with his left hand on the left side of the board and using his right hand on the right side of the board meeting perfectly in the middle.
As school buses weren't available for the rural school students they often had to walk to school in inclement weather. When they were lucky they could catch a ride from the principal on the rare occasions he visited as he drove down University Road. Sometimes a parent would have a tractor and wagon that would take the students to school or back home.
Milan township had 9 rural schools, most students being within 2 miles of a school would have to walk no more than a mile or two to school. Milan township Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12 were the most likely areas to provide the Browne school with students.
The Anderson sisters lived on Gurler Road one mile north of the Browne school. Their home is located in Section 1 of Milan township, DeKalb county in the northwest quadrant. The Moland family lived in Section 2 of Milan township approximately 2 miles from the school.
The Butler family lived at the home located on the property owned by Mabel Applebee in the southeast corner of Section 35 in Malta township as shown in the 1947 plat map above. The rural school nearest them, the Anderson school on University Road and Fairview Drive closed in 1946. The closest option for them after the closing was to attend the Browne school a mile south.
Unfortunately I've not been able to track down photographs of either the exterior or interior of the Browne school. With the memories that the students have provided I have created the best alternative to a photograph:
Page 125 of "Rural Schools Journeys: A Legacy of Learning, Histories of the One-room Schools in Dekalb County, Illinois" has a photo of the Sheridan school. According to one of the Browne school students, the Sheridan school is a close representation of the anteroom on the south side of the Browne school entrance.
If you have any photographs of the Browne school or attended and wish to share your memories, please post a comment below.
