Ivanhoe resident Lois Paine Widmark’s story began in Meade County, South Dakota. Her life journey brought her to Lincoln County and a career teaching kindergarten at Lake Benton Public School.

Lois and her younger siblings who grew up on their ranch in Meade County attended the same country school.

“We attended Pine Ridge School, District 92. I couldn’t go to school until my younger sister (Verna) was old enough to start. That’s why we were always together. I’m 21 months older, but we graduated together.”

She and Verna usually walked to their country school.

“We walked over two miles. One year Dad got a little, white horse. A few times we rode that horse to the cattle pass (livestock barrier) and then the horse went home. There was a big barn by the schoolhouse. If kids rode horses to school, they could put their horse in the barn.”

Lois described their one-room school and its yard.

“The schoolhouse looked pretty new. There was a neighbor next to the school. We got water for the school from that neighbor’s pump. There were outdoor toilets, boys and girls. We had a big yard where we could play. One of the games we played was Last Couple Out. We also played Red Rover and Annie, Annie Over the Barn.”

The school’s interior layout was pretty basic.

“We entered through the north door. There were windows along the east side and blackboards on the south wall. The teacher’s desk was in the southeast corner. We had a big stove with a jacket around it. We could put potatoes up on that jacket and they’d bake for lunch. There was a cloak room with our water canister. It was a crock-like thing where you pressed the little button. We each had cups on the wall by the water fountain.”

District 92 had a small enrollment during Lois’ years.

“Sometimes I was alone in my class and sometimes there were two or three students. The classes went through 8th grade. Our teacher had to know how to teach all eight grades. Our average enrollment was probably 13 or 14 students in all the grades.”

Lois had several teachers at District 92. She easily recited their names.

“We did 1st and 2nd grade in one year. Her name was Ruby Crowell. Her family lived a few miles west in the same district. So, we had Ruby Crowell in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. For 4th grade I had Loretta Young, who was not from the area. She only stayed one year and we learned a lot of poetry. I can still recite the poem, ‘Somebody’s Mother.’ Then I had Beryl Crowell for 5th grade. Beryl and Ruby were sisters.”

The school day included a few chores for selected students.

“The fresh water had to be brought in every day, usually by the oldest kids. There was little else other than we cleaned the blackboard and clapped dust from the erasers.”

Lois spent 6th grade living with her Grandma Paine near Lyons, Nebraska. Getting there was an adventure.

“The year I stayed at Grandma’s I rode there with my Uncle Howard and a hired man in a truckload of horses. A tie rod broke in South Dakota, so I sat in a filling station while they unloaded the horses. I had the summer to adjust and get ready for school. I had Blanche Weaver for 6th grade. She was very nice.”

Lois returned to the ranch and continued her education at District 92.

“Back in South Dakota I had June Bauer for 7th and 8th grade. I loved every bit of the school!”

District 92 students looked forward to their annual spring picnic.

“Our first teachers, the Crowell’s, had a nice grove. We had our picnics there. Mom’s specialties for school picnics were potato salad and toasted spice cake.”

There was another event on the spring school calendar.”

“We had May Day celebrations in Marcus where all these country schools gathered for sporting events. It was a big event! They had a maypole, but I never got chosen to wind the maypole. They had Declam contests. I was too shy to do that, but my sister, Verna, got a ribbon for doing one about a Civil War horse called Kentucky Belle.”

The Paine family grew, with Evelyn arriving in 1925; Hildreth, the first boy, arriving in 1927; and Tessa, arriving in 1929. Since Lois was the eldest, this meant she was escorting four younger siblings to and from school by the time she was in 7th grade.

“Once, I started home with my siblings and saw wild horses where I would have to walk. I recognized them as wild as they were not ours. I was afraid to take my little kids with me. So, I went back to this neighbor to the schoolhouse. Mom came to get us, but I didn’t get scolded for going back.”

The Great Depression and drought of the 1930s triggered another Paine family relocation.

“There was a lot of blowing dust. When it was hot, Mom threw water on our wood floor and that would cool it off. There were no crops. Dad tried to save people from going bankrupt until finally he did. The crops and fields dried out and he couldn’t raise horses anymore. I went (to Lyons, Nebraska) before school started in ’37. My sister and I lived with an aunt and uncle in Lyons. Mom and Dad came in October, but never discussed their problems with us.”

Lois graduated from Lyons High School in 1941.

©2025 William D. Palmer.