This past Saturday LC and I stopped by the Wapiti School out in the Northfork to help celebrate the school's 100th anniversary. We were given a small sheet of paper containing this:
The story of the early history of the Norfolk school was written by its first teacher, the late Mrs Ben Brundage. The school was located at Wapiti, near the old Northfork bridge, about 1/4 mile below the present bridge. The story was written in 1940 from a diary Mrs Brundage had kept 30 years before:
When the Shoshone Dam was completed and the reservoir filled for the first time in 1909-1910 the one old school house which had served the North and South forkers for many years had to be moved.
It was decided to split the district and make a new one for the Northfork, making one school for the Southfork at the Burch Ranch now and one at the old Logan place on the Northfork. These were to be temporary until the school houses could be built.
As there were more pupils on the Southfork their school started at once and as soon as the Northfork could count eight children of school age their school was started.
They were allowed a three month term providing the patrons furnish the building and the old school fixtures were divided to be used until a new school house and board were decided upon.
On March 6 1911 the first school was opened on the Northfork. The board was composed of the late Eugene Wilder of Poverty Flat, Jack Murray, H.K. Barbee and Lee Barron now of Hay Springs Nebraska. Miss Jessie Hitchcock was county superintendent of schools and Miss June Hole of Mt Carroll Illinois was selected as teacher.
With a team and buggy we drove to Logan place to open school. The old log bunk house was the building. It was about ten by twelve feet, and had a low dirt roof, and a tiny peep hole window. The Lawrence Wagner family on this ranch with their three children Don, Vera and Carl. Two of them were school age. In the school room I found one small piece of chipped black board about 3 1/2 by 5 feet, nailed to the front wall, an old chair and table with a drawer, two battle scarred old desks and seat, the old fashioned double seat kind which bore the hand carved initials of the Holman, Brundage and Snyder boys, and all their pet brands.
A heap of old books were piled in one corner, which contained a reader, arithmetic, language and I remember best an old Geography which had been so well autographed by all the users one could scarcely read it. It looked rather hopeless to one who was very new in the west.
The scholars which appeared the first day were Leonard Morris and Bill Lebold whose mother was the Morris ranch cook from Philadelphia, and Don and Vera Wagner with the promise of several more when the school house would move up the river in a few weeks.
As there were no books and no one who seemed to care whether there were or not, I decided to make my own. I took blank composition books and from my old text book would make scripts each nite two or three lessons ahead for the older pupils. For the primary I had the blackboard and my old chart kindly donated by the first grade teacher in Cody.
Everyone seemed eager to learn and at this time I had two primary and two third graders.
In three weeks the Wagners moved to the Pat Kelly ranch on Whit Creek and so it was necessary to move the school.
Mr Fred Morris donated a school house this time which was an 8 x 10 foot tent house board sides and tent roof. Moving it across the old Kelly iron bridge set down on the sand and boulders a few feet above the high water line along the river on the old road.
The old furnishings were moved in with a new cupboard for supplies which was a box with shelves and a curtain nailed to the wall. A round hot air heater with a coal oil can on the pipe as a fire prevention and a pile of cedar stumps with an axe were the heating system and we were all ready to carry on again on Monday, the moving having taken place over the weekend. Everyone delighted over the change and we started again. Herschel Green, son of Billy Green with John and David Graves also Sammy Miller from Trout Creek ranch were enrolled. The Graves boys and Sammy did not attend regularly, having governesses and schools at home but attended enough to keep enrolled and help the cause along. This brought our number up to eight was required legally to make a new district.
Don Wagner, Bill Lebold and the Graves boys were third and fourth grades while Herschel Green and Vera Wagner were beginners. Leonard Murray had attended a private school in Philadelphia and had kindergarten and primary work so was more advanced than the other small ones.
As the number increased we added a bench with some soap boxes with shelves for desks to accommodate them. The school bell was a hand ringer the dinner type bell, our drinking fountain a ten pound lard pail. The school clock a dollar Ingirsol watch with a good loud ticker hung on the wall.
nite. When four o'clock came while the older boys saddled the horse, it was neatly placed on the spot and buttoned in place for the return trip. This was a daily happening and I think Mrs Morris still has the pillow.
At noon we always shared a picnic lunch the contents of the dinner pails placed on the table and the goodies shared by all with an occasional pail of hot chocolate sent in by Mrs Wagner by small Carl, who was not yet of school age, but did the work with the rest on his numerous visits.
Our mascot was Beans Wagner the black shepard dog who never missed a session, sleeping all day in the sun when the weather permitted and inside when cold. We had an occasional visitor but we were so crowded it was hard to accommodate more than one at a time.
The janitor job was small as we had no windows, our door was never locked and many times we were pleasantly surprised by treats left within by persons who had made the long trip to town by wagon or pack horse. Northfork had but one car which belonged to the Hollister ranch and later one on Trout Creek ranch. The next fastest mode of travel was Pat Kelly's old grey team and hack which really made good time.
Things ran on very smoothly as we got on into the month of May it got pretty warm in the small tent. The river was rising which made a rather dangerous play ground so school wound up the last of May with a delightful picnic at Elk Fork with a program by youngsters as we never had room to do this at school.
After a day of fun with treats for all school was dismissed to await the new school house in the fall.
We had served our purpose the new Wapiti school was assured, a new school board elected and that summer Fred Gail built the new school house.
I was offered the school for coming year but refused and Mrs Anna Sweeney a sister of the Thurmond brothers was chosen as teacher. This position she held for a couple of years.
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