A day in the life in the year 1885

School children explore the past of education

By MARTHA KRIENKE

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Elementary children filled the old schoolhouse on the fairgrounds on Tuesday, to experience a day in the life in the year 1885.

The smell of chalk dust drifted in the air, as 22 children sat at their desks ready for the lessons to begin.

Dressed in bonnets, suspenders and aprons, the students filed into the schoolhouse at 9:30 a.m. and received new names fit for the time period. Soon "Alyssa," "Taylor" and "Samantha" turned into "Lillie," "Matilda" and "Josephine."

Chalkboards surrounded the classroom and listed the rules and chore duties. Pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln decorated the walls, and a dunce cap sat in the corner.

The day of activities included lessons on penmanship, reading, math, music and a spelling bee.

Students who have finished first through sixth grade were welcome to participate.

One student came from Mankato, and another has participated in the class four times.

Fifth-grader Anne Giesen said it was strange for all the different grades to be in one classroom.

Fourth-grader Mitch Egert was the only boy in the class. He said he enjoyed writing with a quill pen but would only want to use it "today but not tomorrow."

The teacher's assistant, Laura Schwarz, a junior in high school, has helped for five years. "I was going to it when I was younger," she said, "and I didn't want to give it up."

A short recess break gave the students time to play with old-fashioned toys as well. Egert learned how to use the hoop and stick, and others played with a cat's cradle string.

For lunch, the children brought something to eat in a pail or basket that would have been common in the late 1800s. Pop cans were exchanged for jars of lemonade and apples replaced fruitsnacks.

Darlene Filzen agreed to teach the class after the historical society asked her. Filzen is the biology teacher at New Ulm Public High School.

"This is my way of playing out the Laura Ingalls Wilder role," she laughed. "I loved Little House on the Prairie when I was a kid. I think that helped me want to become a teacher."

"It's good, but it's different," she said, talking about going back in history and working with younger children.