this page was updated
August 12, 2008
this page was updated
August 12, 2008
|
 The little white school house on Swede
Ridge, replaced in 1930 after having served since 1859. |
New Swede Ridge School Building in 1931
A new $4,000 brick school house on Swede Ridge
near McGregor, is replacing the Pioneer little white schoolhouse
which was from 1859. ...
The Christmas candles were lit in the Swede Ridge school as far
back as 1859. There was a pulpit in it at first, so the
Scandinavian immigrants who had settled Swede Ridge and built it
could have a house of worship as well as a place where their
children could learn English and the three Rs.
A real old-country-customs Christmas was celebrated in the Swede
Ridge school in 1859 and for several years afterwards. It began
with services and the singing of carols at 3 o’clock
Christmas morning, and was followed by religious and festival
uses for 17 days after Christmas. On the seventeenth day the
people gathered for the last rite – the taking down of the
Christmas tree.
"The school was so crowded in the early days of big
families", said Mrs. J. Trygg, who has the facts from old
residents on the Ridge, that sometimes there would be two and
three scholars to a seat. "Great occasions were those
afternoons when suddenly sleighbells and voices would be heard
outside and the door would burst open to admit the scholars and
teacher from another school, shouting “Surprise!” and a
challenge to a spelling down match."
"Then there was the singing school which was held in the
school every winter for years and the literary and debating
society.” said Mrs. Trygg. “What good times everybody
had! Folks could sing in those days. And the literary society at
one time had 80 members.”
~Excerpt from an article in the North Iowa Times,
January 8, 1931
~Contributed by Michelle Pettit, Director, McGregor Public
Library. Michelle can be emailed from the McGregor Public Library
website.
~*~*~*~*~
"My husband's grandmother, Nettie Schultz, passed away in 2006. This class photo is the front of a postcard found among Nettie's personal things. The teachers name is Amelia A. Trygg. Nettie would have been about 10 in this photo. We believe she is in the second row standing behind the girl in the white dress OR the little girl with the face scratched out. (I wish she was here to tell us that story!) We don't know much about Nettie's childhood other than she was the youngest of 13 children and was raised on a farm near Pikes Peak in McGregor." ~Jennifer Pazour
Back of the photo-postcard
"Nettie Schultz from your teacher
Amelia A. Grigg 1919"
~*~*~*~*~
School Souvenir Booklet, School District No. 5 Mendon
Twp., Clayton County, Iowa
Amelia A. Trygg, Teacher
Pupils
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Adam Erbe, President
Eva R. Jordan, Secretary
Joe Ramage, Treasurer
~*~*~*~*~
~Scans of original postcard and
souvenir booklet by Jenifer Pazour
~Contributed by Jennifer Pazour. Jennifer's email
contact can be found for 'Schultz' in
the Surname Registry.
~Jennifer's notes: "I'd like more information to go
along with the pictures. The notes under each item are all
I know. My husband's grandmother, Nettie Schultz, passed away in
2006 and we are slowly going through things and found these
items." Anyone recognizing these school children, and
can put a name with a face, or give additional information ....
please email the Clayton co. Coordinator or Jennifer so
it can be added to this page. "I have been told the school
building in the photo is still standing but is now a house.
I believe I know where it is but haven't had a chance to take any
pictures. And it is near the original site of the school,
which is up near Pikes Peak as well. But I haven’t really
found any information to back that."
"The School Souvenir picture is a booklet that was found
near the postcard photo. It is a booklet with well wishes
from Nettie's teacher. The list of students is inside the
booklet. Margaret, Alta and Emma Schultz were Nettie's
sisters but I'm not sure where they are in the photo. Very
neat piece of history I think!"