Island School 1940s-1940s

Island school was a one room school located amid four other schools, Petty school on the west, Petrolia school on the south, Chauncey school on the northwest, and Pinhook Schook on the east.

The first reference to Island school found was in 1892 when John W. Watson and Asa Mann held a revival in the schoolhouse. On the crest of the oil boom all schools in the oil rich areas of the county showed an increase in the school-age students as families moved into “shacks” hastily erected to house oil workers and their families. A new schoolhouse was built in 1911.  As oil production declined, so did the school population as families moved on to the next big oil field discovery.

But for one student in the 1940s and 1950s, who attended Island School, going to a one-room school was a wonderful experience because students learned so much, not only from the teacher but from listening to the other students. Carol Ann Wiswall Bousley shared her experiences with the Historical Society.

The west wall of Island school was filled with windows, and the front and back walls were covered with blackboards.  Two cloakrooms were inside the schoolhouse door, one for the boys’ coats and one for the girls.  There were two small rooms up front by the teacher’s desk—one for the library and one for the teacher’s office.  For Carol, the library was a magical room where one could sit and read between recitation and other classroom learning experiences.  The teacher seldom used the office. Many times, the teacher would ask Carol to take one of her younger sisters into his office and listen to her recite her spelling or reading lessons.  The toilets were outside.  The coal furnace was in the back of the room and during cold winter days, the students moved their desks nearer the stove. 

The teacher not only taught all eight grades but also fired the furnace and filled the drinking water tank from the well in the schoolyard.  Mrs. Irene Kimmell was Carol’s first grade teacher. Carol wanted to be a teacher like her and teach others to read about “Dick and Jane”. Her next teacher was Mr. Ash who used to tell scary ghost stories.  Mr. Lester Utterback came next, and every Friday afternoon he would read from a library book.  He kept the students spellbound with “Pecos Bill”, “Babe and the Blue Ox”, stories by Edgar Allen Poe, and other classics. Carol’s last Island teacher was Mr. Clifton Doty. Besides the regular classwork, Mr. Doty taught the students citizenship, respect, and discipline.

December was a special month with practices for the Christmas show that included songs, skits, and plays, all in addition to the regular subjects. The classroom would be decorated for Christmas and the students would be so excited when curtains were put up for use during the plays, and chairs for the families who would attend were placed in the back of the school room.

Carol stated that her saddest day at Island school was her last day of eighth grade.  Not only would she be leaving grade school, but Island school was consolidating with Petrolia that fall.  Mr. Doty told the students that when they had finished their last test, they could leave the building.  Carol worked as slowly as she could because she hated to leave.  When she finally finished, she turned in her paper, hugged Mr. Doty and slowly walked out the door. Since she lived about a mile from the school, she walked home crying all the way.

 In 1954, Island school was consolidated with Petrolia school, and the building was sold.