Selena Hataye was not really having fun.

Fernando Garcia liked seeing the old trains up close, but wasn't thrilled about what was to come in art class.

Meanwhile, Sarah Belden was having the time of her life. She even dressed the part and could have passed for the one and only Laura Ingalls Wilder or a sister.

So it went in another exercise in walking through history.

Banfield Elementary School third graders and their teachers spent a day (May 20-24) attending classes in a one-room country school house.

Not just any old school house, but the 132-year-old District No. 12 school house preserved in its pristine condition at the Mower County Historical Center.

Shirley DeYoung, administrator for the Mower County Historical Center, and Edna Hill, her assistant, relished the visits last week to the Mower County fairgrounds in southwest Austin.

"They have a great time here," said Mrs. DeYoung. "They tour the buildings with Edna explaining things to them and they hold actual classes in the old country school."

The students spent an entire school day in the one-room school house setting.

The boys and girls dress the part with girls wearing long dresses and bonnets and boys in pants held up with suspenders.

Many bring their own lunches and several parents attempt to recreate the school lunch of a century ago.

Each child is equipped with a chalk board. No personal computer or even Spiral notebook and pen for them.

Several grandparents helped their grandchildren with old-fashioned baskets to carry their lunches or today's equivalent of the "lard bucket."

Recesses were spent recreating games from bygone days.

One of the Banfield Elementary School third grade teachers, Cindy Roberts, said the teachers

prepare their students for the week in a country school setting with a unit on education in American history's prairie days.

In the form of Edna Hill, the students have the equivalent of a genuine "school marm."

As Mrs. Hill guides the students and their teacher through the

multitude of historical buildings on the fairgrounds, she regales them with historical fact and personal accounts.

The English woman told stories of how she endured

days of the

Nazi bombing of London during World War Ii, when the city was "blacked out" from detection. the Historical Center's railroad museum becomes the highlight of the day for Mrs. Roberts and her students. After visiting the former Rose Creek depot building, they walk over to the Milwaukee Junction displays and board Milwaukee Road Engine No. 1004, where Mrs. Hill lets them ring the train engine's bell to announce their presence.

When their are finished, it is time for lunch. Sarah Belden says she has read all of the Little house on the Prairie books about the

life of Laurta Ingalls Wilder. "I like going to a one-room school," she says.

However, Selena Hataye admits she does not like having to bring her own lunch to eat and Fernando Garcia still can't get over how big the old trains were.

Their teacher, Mrs. Roberts, says the "first-hand knowledge" the students gain by visiting the Historical Center is

invaluable to their studies. "This is the first time many of them have been here and they're discovering what they are studying about in the classroom is read." she said.

And, the Mower County Historical Society can't wait for next spring's visit of young historians.

"It's really a popular idea," said Mrs. DeYoung. "Next year, two other schools have indicated they are interested in doing something like this."

(Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at

lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com)