Dublin Core
Title
Maple Grove School, A One Room School - Remembering 1926 Newspaper Article
Subject
Rural Schools
One-Room Schools
Description
A copy of a newspaper article by Tahree Lane, detailing the memories of Aubrey Park, the 1926 Maple Grove School janitor. The article also contains a photo of the students in 1926.
Creator
Peninsula Community Library, Traverse City (Mich.)
Publisher
Peninsula Community Library
Date
1982
Contributor
Mary T Morgan
Rights
This document is protected by copyright law. Contact the Peninsula Community Library for permission to reproduce, display, or transmit this document.
Format
PDF
Language
English
Identifier
LHC 002
Coverage
Traverse City, Peninsula Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan
PDF Text
Text
-
Sqtbmer photo/Tabree I.abe
Maple Grove School on Old Mlsslon PeDlnBula first appears on area maps
in 1895. It still stands, in the dildst Of cherry orchards, on the corner of
C€nterandCanollroads.YoungAubreyPark,then22year8old,beganhiB
teaching career here ln 1926. Then, the btilldlng was equi|)pod with a large
wood-bumlng stove, ed lamps and adjacent outbou8e. Now retired and 78
years old, Park and his wife Jemy nve across East Bay from the county
School house. which ls presently used as an art studio.
A one room school:
Remembering 1926
y TAunEE LANE
umber edito+
Potato digging vacation, October
|926, was especially important to the
lew teacher at the one-room school on
ilfo#:Lorneypfff22:.,heannualfro
t=skedhiia:ESs¥#i%ufg:sEu¥erfthT=
lamily garden, allowed time for his
Leedffio:oe##xinBgcea:sg=:nlig:;
seven.milesoutcenterRoidatcarroll
Road. It was Park's first assignment
after his graduation from Grand
Traverse County Normal in Traverse
(
City.
ii.had an enrollment of 354o Stu-. 4ct<< &,
dents from first to eighth grade, in
eluding children from such long-time
I r6 T`--` ckdr eut
;:---.i:-==.T
peninsula families as MCManus, War-
re^n^,.9.¥€¥T +¥Ad^P:C|anL ®P^¥[[S*®d.. a I 4oJ d=ri<
Operating the one-room school was a i I }'
challenge to young Park, who added. G^ 4 r'L~
ter, cleaning, and doing the mainti
nance himself.
"Ittookquiteabittorunacountr¥
:fi:.:
I Maple Grove School, surrounded by
therry orchards and shady maples, is
1
I_
%£¥"c:
in##atcyh944L Q4-Z
stolingthelargewoodstoveinthewiin
seasonschangeonthepeninsula
their hem.e across East `Bay in
CLuule
:epnal::#5erst:oy#¥S8Lfa#:'nrhhL; sa££e# 8,
bydoingLtheschool'sjanitorialchores,
school," Park said.
He debunks romantic notions that
£J`#pLtrfu.rfu~
:T:d::fsr:getst¥:,a:¥:::o¥8£re,i
(Please ton to page 4)
QL q{ a 'i
-J4- 4wl
T- ..5JL-+
Lri-54rty
•/-.
•;f'.=14-¢
!t_'r__tt_,a,,J+5,:1,_=-I__±i`ff
OJ~ Q-Jut
cck )7c.ha~
`ffi-
yhl-AV, „„Ji.iba+,'l"
Maple Grove students, 1926. Most children came from peninsula cherry.
fa~ famille8.
. . .One .room of challenge
Continued from page 3
available in today's public §chcols,
"It'snotasgoodasystem.Oneofthe
most difficult things .... is teaching all
subjects - reading, writing, arithmetic, penmanship, grammar - to all
c|t3s not Crs
tern. YOU
88#to#u8;
?;8ea°c8utE§e:n:%fm°t%#3t§8h#bg.
those grades. You don't have enough
time in the day to spend on teaching
each of those subjects to each of those
all day long . . . mostly novels," she
grades," he` said.
Theteacherwouldcalleachgradeto said.
The house, like the school, had oil
benchsubject.
in frontPuijils
of his or
her desk
for
~ -I, a-eteh
would
be asked
lamps, an outl]duse and a water pump
__I..somereviewquestiousandbegivenan that inevitably froze in the winter.
assignment. Then, they returned to
Once a week, they would drive intor
their desks and worked at their lessons Traverse City to replenish the week's
untiltheywerecalledtocomeuptothe stock of books, buy groceries and
bench again for the next subject. Five sometimestakeinamovieforl0cents.
minutes might be the total teaching
Becoming a teacher required one
time spend daily on each subject, he year of study and practice teaching at I
the County Normal, now the Traverse I
add.
Park innovated by grouping a few City Area Public Schools Central Ad- ;
grades of students together. That gave ministration Building, 4ra webster. I
him more time to spend teaching lessons and worked well, he said.
eL:[£Eri::r€ide]rcaed6;°j:ethq¥]teecatripc#y-(
Children lcoked forward to coming and a gymnasium," Park said.
to school, partly because they would
Sqmmel. photo /Greg Jot)u8tone
Aubrey Park stands on the fitep.s Of Maple Grove School where he taught 56
years ago. A country schoolteacher was also an administl.ator and §ome-
tlmes, like park, the.E€FQLo_lJanitor.
_.._
~~
qq, c) mt v t)ul
-;-i:::-::iii-::-::i_i:-:-:i-::ii::-:::---==3
yeHarest=udg::.oadeT£'eeag.rf%e|sfii:rt#:I
%eih##h=ath=#e¥#y§:°Efi: nextsixyears.ButduringtheDepressment.
"We would open school everyday
with a reading from a book - "Black
Beauty" or something they'd all
understand. It took 15 minutes or so.
The kids came to look forward to hearing the next day's part of the story,"
ionhecouldnolongeraffordtuitionfor'
teacher certification classes so he quit I
teaching.
He took a job in a bakery for several
years, drove a Traverse City cab and :
worked as an attendant nurse for 18 t
years at Traverse City Regional
Psychiatric Hospital.
The Parks raised three children.
One son, Thomas, 37, is a kindergarten
teacher for Forest Area Schools. "Youwerealmostlikeafinily.You
Maple Grove School, empty for
had closer contact with the kids and several years, js once again a spawngot to know them better. You knew
what to expect from each one: the gE:Eefy#s:L°rcnfuwidweaisinEtethrthe%iH:
troublemaker or the one who needed Inc„ it is used by East Lansing artists
extra help," he said,
Karen and Owen Brainard,
By eigivth grade, pupils had heard
park said. I '
%¥peaF##T#to%£¥i
FeerirThea:eH:a:arcecE:#,:yei8rg!
gests, for the reputation of good lean-
ing attributed to cormtry schools.
Jermy, his wife, walked through the
fields every day at noon to bring Park
sandwiches or something hot for
lunch.Livingoutonthesparselypopulated peninsula without nearby neighbors was not a lonely experience for
theyoungbride.Shehadplentyoftime
to indulge in one of her great loves:
reading.
"The house was so small there
wasn'.t.mh`ch.tQaosolpracticallyr.Cad
scLfc.hd
rc>uj
i:tsDtt:Thnitc:"thDL:sn,},:`,`\Vdc,es±CC-Qhadrer#„
thircl
y c'-ul
f rah~ &cL`yc,\l , uh*„ nth,
&#:v£#rou+`o`\he&haau:.c¥fio.:{\ct,I
E\5ic &dr`vol\ , unv:noutl
Sqtbmer photo/Tabree I.abe
Maple Grove School on Old Mlsslon PeDlnBula first appears on area maps
in 1895. It still stands, in the dildst Of cherry orchards, on the corner of
C€nterandCanollroads.YoungAubreyPark,then22year8old,beganhiB
teaching career here ln 1926. Then, the btilldlng was equi|)pod with a large
wood-bumlng stove, ed lamps and adjacent outbou8e. Now retired and 78
years old, Park and his wife Jemy nve across East Bay from the county
School house. which ls presently used as an art studio.
A one room school:
Remembering 1926
y TAunEE LANE
umber edito+
Potato digging vacation, October
|926, was especially important to the
lew teacher at the one-room school on
ilfo#:Lorneypfff22:.,heannualfro
t=skedhiia:ESs¥#i%ufg:sEu¥erfthT=
lamily garden, allowed time for his
Leedffio:oe##xinBgcea:sg=:nlig:;
seven.milesoutcenterRoidatcarroll
Road. It was Park's first assignment
after his graduation from Grand
Traverse County Normal in Traverse
(
City.
ii.had an enrollment of 354o Stu-. 4ct<< &,
dents from first to eighth grade, in
eluding children from such long-time
I r6 T`--` ckdr eut
;:---.i:-==.T
peninsula families as MCManus, War-
re^n^,.9.¥€¥T +¥Ad^P:C|anL ®P^¥[[S*®d.. a I 4oJ d=ri<
Operating the one-room school was a i I }'
challenge to young Park, who added. G^ 4 r'L~
ter, cleaning, and doing the mainti
nance himself.
"Ittookquiteabittorunacountr¥
:fi:.:
I Maple Grove School, surrounded by
therry orchards and shady maples, is
1
I_
%£¥"c:
in##atcyh944L Q4-Z
stolingthelargewoodstoveinthewiin
seasonschangeonthepeninsula
their hem.e across East `Bay in
CLuule
:epnal::#5erst:oy#¥S8Lfa#:'nrhhL; sa££e# 8,
bydoingLtheschool'sjanitorialchores,
school," Park said.
He debunks romantic notions that
£J`#pLtrfu.rfu~
:T:d::fsr:getst¥:,a:¥:::o¥8£re,i
(Please ton to page 4)
QL q{ a 'i
-J4- 4wl
T- ..5JL-+
Lri-54rty
•/-.
•;f'.=14-¢
!t_'r__tt_,a,,J+5,:1,_=-I__±i`ff
OJ~ Q-Jut
cck )7c.ha~
`ffi-
yhl-AV, „„Ji.iba+,'l"
Maple Grove students, 1926. Most children came from peninsula cherry.
fa~ famille8.
. . .One .room of challenge
Continued from page 3
available in today's public §chcols,
"It'snotasgoodasystem.Oneofthe
most difficult things .... is teaching all
subjects - reading, writing, arithmetic, penmanship, grammar - to all
c|t3s not Crs
tern. YOU
88#to#u8;
?;8ea°c8utE§e:n:%fm°t%#3t§8h#bg.
those grades. You don't have enough
time in the day to spend on teaching
each of those subjects to each of those
all day long . . . mostly novels," she
grades," he` said.
Theteacherwouldcalleachgradeto said.
The house, like the school, had oil
benchsubject.
in frontPuijils
of his or
her desk
for
~ -I, a-eteh
would
be asked
lamps, an outl]duse and a water pump
__I..somereviewquestiousandbegivenan that inevitably froze in the winter.
assignment. Then, they returned to
Once a week, they would drive intor
their desks and worked at their lessons Traverse City to replenish the week's
untiltheywerecalledtocomeuptothe stock of books, buy groceries and
bench again for the next subject. Five sometimestakeinamovieforl0cents.
minutes might be the total teaching
Becoming a teacher required one
time spend daily on each subject, he year of study and practice teaching at I
the County Normal, now the Traverse I
add.
Park innovated by grouping a few City Area Public Schools Central Ad- ;
grades of students together. That gave ministration Building, 4ra webster. I
him more time to spend teaching lessons and worked well, he said.
eL:[£Eri::r€ide]rcaed6;°j:ethq¥]teecatripc#y-(
Children lcoked forward to coming and a gymnasium," Park said.
to school, partly because they would
Sqmmel. photo /Greg Jot)u8tone
Aubrey Park stands on the fitep.s Of Maple Grove School where he taught 56
years ago. A country schoolteacher was also an administl.ator and §ome-
tlmes, like park, the.E€FQLo_lJanitor.
_.._
~~
qq, c) mt v t)ul
-;-i:::-::iii-::-::i_i:-:-:i-::ii::-:::---==3
yeHarest=udg::.oadeT£'eeag.rf%e|sfii:rt#:I
%eih##h=ath=#e¥#y§:°Efi: nextsixyears.ButduringtheDepressment.
"We would open school everyday
with a reading from a book - "Black
Beauty" or something they'd all
understand. It took 15 minutes or so.
The kids came to look forward to hearing the next day's part of the story,"
ionhecouldnolongeraffordtuitionfor'
teacher certification classes so he quit I
teaching.
He took a job in a bakery for several
years, drove a Traverse City cab and :
worked as an attendant nurse for 18 t
years at Traverse City Regional
Psychiatric Hospital.
The Parks raised three children.
One son, Thomas, 37, is a kindergarten
teacher for Forest Area Schools. "Youwerealmostlikeafinily.You
Maple Grove School, empty for
had closer contact with the kids and several years, js once again a spawngot to know them better. You knew
what to expect from each one: the gE:Eefy#s:L°rcnfuwidweaisinEtethrthe%iH:
troublemaker or the one who needed Inc„ it is used by East Lansing artists
extra help," he said,
Karen and Owen Brainard,
By eigivth grade, pupils had heard
park said. I '
%¥peaF##T#to%£¥i
FeerirThea:eH:a:arcecE:#,:yei8rg!
gests, for the reputation of good lean-
ing attributed to cormtry schools.
Jermy, his wife, walked through the
fields every day at noon to bring Park
sandwiches or something hot for
lunch.Livingoutonthesparselypopulated peninsula without nearby neighbors was not a lonely experience for
theyoungbride.Shehadplentyoftime
to indulge in one of her great loves:
reading.
"The house was so small there
wasn'.t.mh`ch.tQaosolpracticallyr.Cad
scLfc.hd
rc>uj
i:tsDtt:Thnitc:"thDL:sn,},:`,`\Vdc,es±CC-Qhadrer#„
thircl
y c'-ul
f rah~ &cL`yc,\l , uh*„ nth,
&#:v£#rou+`o`\he&haau:.c¥fio.:{\ct,I
E\5ic &dr`vol\ , unv:noutl