Country School Kids — Karen Drury Rafson — Attending the District 28 School in Clifton Township
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We have been learning about Karen (Drury) Rafson, who was born to Bertha (Weidauer) and Edwin A. Drury as the youngest of five children.Karen's oldest brother, George, bought a farm in Clifton Township in 1949 when the family lost their lease on their first, rented farm. The entire family moved there with him, excepting his next older brother, Ed and his spouse, Rose, who moved into a home in Marshall. The family's move to Clifton Township meant Karen would be attending a different country school, District 28, which was located a couple miles southwest of their new farm.
She explained that her transition to the new school came with an unexpected advancement.
"I would have been in the 4th grade, but when I went to school, they didn't have a 4th grader, so they moved me up to 5th grade. So, I only went to 5th and 6th grade in that school."
Karen found that she was well-prepared for her 5th grade studies.
"I remember (learning) Roman numerals and stuff like that. The Voss girls couldn't get them at all, but I could. When we got into 7th grade in the Marshall school, a lot of the subjects that we had there were what I had in the country school. Social studies and history was never my favorite, but I made it. And when you got into high school, that was all different."
Her elevation to 5th grade also ensured she had peers at school, unlike her experience at District 75 in Stanley Township.
"I think there was one of the Voss girls. Myrna Furhman was younger, she would have been two years behind me. There was Margie DeMaier and Janet Maronde -- she graduated with me, too."
But the girls who went through the upper grades at District 28 together were not immune from "girl drama."
"I remember there would always be three of us that would be together. I think Myrna was one of them and it could have been Jan Maronde and one of the Voss girls. But one time one of them got mad or something, so they went off and I wasn't with them. I was excluded. Well, then the next time it would be another one that would be excluded. It was so dumb!"
Karen remembered her teacher was Mrs. Rankin, but she did not seem to leave a strong impression on Karen one way or another.
Karen described their school and some of the rhythms of the school day.
"It was pretty much set up like District 75. (An entryway for jackets and lunch pails and an open classroom with desks in rows and a blackboard at the front) That's the one where I remember sitting back by the big heater and putting our potatoes on top (to cook for lunch). At that one we had more chores that you'd do. (Karen chuckled) It was just cleaning the blackboard and pounding the erasers. I remember playing ball outside there many times and there was an outhouse."
Her most distinct memory from her two years at District 28 relates to a severe blizzard that struck the area when school was in session. The storm left some students, including Karen, trapped at the school with their teacher.
"I think it was the Voss girls and other kids of people who couldn't come and get you from school. We had a really bad blizzard, so the teacher decided that we needed to get out of the schoolhouse. There was a farm across the road and just a little way down. It would have been a little bit south. So, we got out and went for that farm place."
The kids bundled up and their teacher had the kids hold hands as they ventured out into the blizzard. Karen clearly recalled that scary event.
"You could not see a thing! We had waited way too long! If we ever got loose from one another, we'd have been frozen in a snowbank. We were lucky that we made it because I remember being in the ditch walking and thinking, 'Are we ever going to find the farm?' But we did find it. That was kind of scary."
Karen shared how they spent the next couple days.
"I think we stayed there at least a couple of days. I remember sleeping in the bed together. There were either three or four of us that slept together in the bed. But we were warm and we were safe."
She explained why they were at that neighboring farm place so long.
"I don't know how we even got ahold of George. They must have had an old, party-line phone with two longs and short ring or whatever. Of course, George couldn't come and get me until the highway was cleared; their yard was clear; and this road was cleared."
Karen recalled that she did not attend the District 28 school very long.
"It was just through the 5th and 6th grades and then I went into 7th grade in Marshall High School, in Public School. There, I was in the old school, the one on Lyon Street they later tore down."
She managed yet another school transition, this time into a much larger school setting.
©2026 William D. Palmer.