|
|
 |
|
Sources - Co.Supt. Ledger - Board Meetings - Teachers - Students' Families - Photo Gallery |
|
|
|
|
|
Family farms were the heart and soul of our country for many years and they were structured for survival and success. The foundation for that success was built around three basic institutions, the church, family, and school. The Mustang community was typical of many rural communities across the United States. A sad chapter was written in our nation’s history when the break up of the family farm occurred. The destruction began with school consolidation in the late 1930’s, and then came “farm flight” as children, who were raised on the farm, moved to our nation’s cities to seek their fortune. Family farms were once the backbone of this great land, but most are gone now. The heartbeat of rural communities was the rural community school. Students who attended these small rural schools played a fundamental part in changing the face of the world. These rural schools must have been doing something right through 1920’s and 1930’s because the young men and women who attended these schools went on to cure deadly and crippling diseases, they split the atom, they won wars, and their discoveries and innovations are the ones who put men on the moon. The Mustang community petitioned for their own school district in 1888. The petition was approved and the county surveyor described in his field notes the metes and bounds that would become the boundaries of Mustang School District Number 61(the district number was later changed to 21.) The Mustang School District shared boundaries with the Cove Spring School District on the northeast; Spring Creek on the northwest, Live Oak on the west and the Harmony school district shared an eastern boundary. (1) T.T. Tergerson, J.F. Camfield, and H.A. Hanson were the first Trustees of the Mustang School District No.61 who acquired the property for the school. Two acres were “purchased” for the sum of one dollar. One acre was purchased from T.L. Dunlap, and one acre from John and Maggie Camfield. (1) The original building was roughly a 20-feet by 30-feet white frame building with a steep pitched shingled roof and was located approximately northwest of the existing building. The building had four windows on each side. It had no porch. The building was built on a foundation of native limestone rock. A wood-burning stove was vented into a chimney flue at the back of the room. The school building was simple and typical for the time period. This simple one room structure provided only the bare necessities for the teacher and students. Grades one through eleven were taught in this small schoolroom that served the Mustang Community for twenty-nine years. (2) Some of the teachers were graduates of a Normal Teacher College. A few had no formal teacher certification. On occasion trustees would hire teachers who had only one or two years of college. Most were young women not much older that the students they taught. Teachers had a very strict code of conduct to follow. It was common for young teachers to marry soon after they began their teaching career. Teacher tenure in rural schools was usually short. Mustang school had only one teacher in the earlier years that taught all subjects to all grade levels, a very difficult task. Teachers encountered adversities while trying to educate their students. Not only were the weather elements sometimes a problem, but also student attendance. It was common practice for parents to keep older kids home to help with basic farm operation or to do seasonal chores. Conrad Knudson regularly missed school to help his dad. Family illnesses also kept him out from time to time. Conrad concluded his formal education after his eighth grade year. Dropping out of school to support a family was not uncommon in rural farming areas. (14) In 1917, due to the growing number of children, it was necessary to build a larger and better building. It was constructed south of the original schoolhouse. The new concrete structure would serve the community for another twenty-two years. The building was 60 feet by 30 feet. There was one window on the west side of the building, seven windows on the north side and two on the front of the building. There were two large classrooms and a 12-foot by 10-foot portico type porch. The porch led to an entranceway 15 feet long and five feet wide. Inside the entrance way were two doors that opened into the two classrooms. Each room had a cloakroom on the south side of the room. The heating system was a simple wood pot-bellied stove connected to a flue at the back of the room. There was a stage along the east wall of the east classroom. The Bosque County Superintendent’s ledger shows that Mustang had an ADA (Average Daily Attendance) of 58 students in 1921. This large enrollment prompted the trustees to build a large concrete water tank (cistern). The cistern was built by B.J.A. Grimland on the east side of the building at a cost of one hundred dollars. At various times local farmers were hired to keep a good supply of water in the cistern. (15) The outside walls of the building were one-foot thick concrete reinforced walls. After the new building was completed and occupied, the old building was razed and hauled away.
Over the school’s fifty-one year history many teachers taught at Mustang.
Some teachers boarded with local families, which gave them insight The school’s physical facilities included stalls for horses, outdoor privy (one for boys and another for girls), outdoor basketball court, and a softball field. The school did not participate in baseball, but the community had a baseball team that played across the road in Minnie Jermstad’s pasture. Students participated in basketball, track and field, tennis, and softball. And, of course, there were spelling bees, plays, declamation, and other literary events. (4) In 1926, it became necessary to enlarge the school building. A room was constructed adjacent to the existing building at the southwest corner. The new addition was 33 feet long and 27 feet wide with red brick exterior walls one-foot thick. This large room had a 10-foot performance stage at the south end. This room was often used as an additional classroom, but it was used as an auditorium as well. (13) This room was also used for the summer parochial school. (4) The maintenance and operation of the school was funded primarily by state appropriations. Local people were paid for repairs, painting and general maintenance to the facilities. A.C. Grimland at times was paid to repair and tune the school’s piano. Different people received a modest fee to haul firewood and drinking water to the school’s cistern. (20) Mustang alumni have memories (both good and bad) of their school days. It is sometimes difficult to get former students to commit their memories to writing, but some have been very cooperative. Homer Bronstad, a teacher from 1932 until 1936 may have provided the most valuable information concerning school activities and life in general in the Mustang community during the 1930s. |
|
|
I was born 7-17-07 in Cranfills Gap where my father, G.O. Bronstad opened a general merchandizing business twenty years earlier. I grew up in Cranfills Gap and lived there and called it my home through my two years at Clifton College; my two years as principal at Boggy School; my year as principal at Cayote School and my first year at Mustang. During the summer following my graduation from Clifton College I was a student at the University of Texas. Travis Knudson and I were married September 18, 1932. Our first home was the front bedrooms of the of the Barton Pederson home across the road from his store. I usually walked to the Mustang School around the road or when the fields were dry I walked through the field or along the fencerow. We had a car and gasoline was 10 to 15 cents a gallon, but we had to be very thrifty. As best I can recall we paid $8 a month rent. We hand-pumped our water from the well behind the store. We took our baths in a tin tub. We moved to the Gap at the beginning of my third year at Mustang. My salary was $125 per month but the funds were so short that I was paid only 7 ˝ months during the last two years. Most of the schools were forced to follow a similar pay plan during some of the depression years. As I look back I have a feeling that my happiest days and busiest ones during my 39 years as an educator were at Boggy and Mustang. I remember so well how pupils were so willing and eager to do their classroom work as well as to be most cooperative in playground activities. During the four years I was principal at Mustang the students won at County Meet the Silver Loving Cup each year by having earned the most points in the literary and athletic events. By winning four years in a row the school was awarded the Cup for keeps. Some of the literary contests were: Spelling; declamation; art appreciation; ready writing; arithmetic and extemporaneous speaking. Athletic events were basketball; tennis; playground ball; volleyball and some track and field events. In the fall of the year a Halloween Carnival was held at the school. School children opened the event with a stage show consisting of student short skits and the like. Various booths opened after the stage show. The usual booths were the fishpond, spooky house, apple bobbing and the like. A near tragedy occurred at one of these carnivals. Temporary bleacher type seats were constructed in the rear of the building to accommodate the visitors and home folks. The crowd was larger than usual this year so the bleachers were taxed to past capacity, and the seats came tumbling down. Although no one was injured seriously several were hurt. Two other community wide events were held each year at Mustang. A group assisted by a few of the older students and teachers presented a three- act play. A favorite with the audience was “Here Comes Charlie.” The other events were the closing of School in the spring. The program usually opened with a baseball game with players from some nearby school playing the local team. The game was followed by free supper provided by the mothers of the community. People came from nearby schools to enjoy the meal and stay for the evening entertainment. There was always plenty of food for all who came. The entertainment was presented on a temporary stage on the north side of the school building. Desks and temporary seats were available to members of the audience. Some also drove their cars on the back and on the sides. The program usually consisted of short plays and good old fiddle music led usually by Otto Johnson. I remember a rather humorous argument I had with Burton Anderson. I was holding a small class in agriculture, a subject that I knew little about. We were discussing weed seeds when Burton told that cocklebur seeds can sprout for three or four years before they quit. I questioned this statement, but he didn’t give up. I don’t know yet who was right. Emmett Orbeck’s father reprimanded him for his poor handwriting. Emmett replied, “Noah Webster and Homer Bronstad both had poor handwriting and you can see where they are.” (An ego builder) (7) Pupils arrived at school about 8:30. Some walked, some rode horses, some came in buggies, and only a few, and then not often, were driven to school by parents in cars. Classes began at 9:00 after being called to their rooms by a hand bell. There were three grades in each room and while one class was reciting and discussing the day’s assignment the other pupils were preparing for their recitation period. A small collection of books in each room served as a library for students who had time, or who wished to take them home for study or recreational reading. The hand bell rang at about 10:00 for a 15-minute recess. The recess provided time for getting a drink, playing a little, just talking or using the restroom. The toilets were pit type located up against the north fence at some distance from each other. The lunch hour from 12:00 to 1:00 was used for relaxation, eating lunch and practicing for athletic contests. Students brought their lunches in gallon buckets, lunch baskets, in paper bags, or just wrapped in newspaper. Only a few brought something to drink. A water fountain was available. After school most of the pupils left for home, but some usually remained to help the teacher get the room tidied up for the next day. There were no janitors. I remember William Tergerson usually remained to help. Some students remained during good weather to practice games; some to improve their ability to participate in the County Meet events and some remained for help with lesson material. Tennis was a very popular after-school game with the older pupils.(**) Subjects taught were the typical three “R’s” with some additions. The complete high school years in Texas began with the eighth grade and concluded with the eleventh grade. Eighth grade students studied algebra, World History, English, Civics, and Agriculture. There were no provisions for laboratory experimentation in science class. (7) |
|
|
|
|
From the Mustang School have come good farmers, patient wives, diligent professors, teachers, doctors, carpenters, artists, soldiers and business people. There was unity in the community! The many good times included covered-dish suppers, the big black pot of soup made of ingredients contributed from each farm; and Interscholastic League contests that included academic and sports events. The last day of school was a big fun day with a covered-dish dinner, children’s programs, baseball and other games, and at night –“ the dramatic community play.” (10) A former student said he remembered very well playing out in front of the school when he was chasing another boy and just horsing around when he fell or ran into the other boy and broke off his front teeth. He had them fixed properly several years later after he became a naval aviator. He also said he dreaded going to the privy at school because the older boys liked to pick on the younger kids. (12) |
|
|
We had an awful lot of free time because we didn’t have enough teachers to go around for everybody. There was a lot of athletics, ball, horseback riding, etc…and getting to go out to the outhouse…you had to get special permission …I remember one boy (I won’t mention his name) was sitting in class and needed to go to the restroom. The teacher was rather strict about letting us go. He asked a couple of times and the next thing you knew he was getting up out of his desk and he had a couple of sheets of paper trying to put on top of the “water” under his desk. Everybody knew what his problem was and he was trying to be secretive about what had happened. Many times we were afraid to go out to the outhouse… because the big boys could go to a ditch by the road and smoke (because they couldn’t smoke on school grounds), and where they smoked was near the boy’s toilet. They would many times interfere with our desire of going to the toilet. (13) Homer Bronstad was the principal and teacher and he also had to clean the room. When he would catch someone messing up he’d give kids a choice, either get a spanking or clean and straighten up the room. Dad always said if we got a spanking at school we would get a harder one when we got home. I was careful but Cecil Tergerson liked to pick on me and we’d fight. Homer would come by and say, “OK, Wade, what will it be, a spanking or keep up the room? I‘d been on steady janitor work for about six weeks and finally got through with it. I decided I would try hard to keep from messing up so I tried my best to stay out of trouble. One day I was playing tic-tac-toe on the blackboard with Archie (Cecil’s twin) when Cecil came up behind me with an eraser just loaded with powder and unloaded it on me. I turned around and busted him one right in the nose. I was feeling so good about myself for staying out of trouble, and there I was cleaning rooms for two more weeks. (13) I won’t mention a name but there was one guy who continued to make in the high nineties in spelling. Spelling was my hardest subject and I was just barely passing. So I asked him how in the world can you make such good grades. He said he wrote the words down on the desk and when the word was called out he’d just write it down. So I decided I’d do that and I felt so guilty and Homer just walked right straight to me, looked down on my desk and gave me a zero. (13) I remember when there was a big movement about students taking exercises and playing more in PE. I remember one time we were playing baseball and the teacher (Homer Bronstad) put Carroll Nelson out in right field and he wasn’t the athletic type. William Tergerson was a powerful guy and he hit a fly ball and I mean it was really high and out to the field where Carroll was and he had his hands up on each side like someone was trying to rob him or something. The ball came down and hit him right on the head, and boy! I mean he was out and like to scared the teacher to death. That ended that program. We still practiced, but he didn’t force anyone to play. (13) I started school at Mustang in 1931. Jerry Ammons and I were the only kids in the first grade. Our teacher was Hazel Hanson. The next year when I started second grade they held back five-second graders so there were seven in my grade. Mrs. Hanson was my teacher during the first, second and third grade years. Our classroom was in the new addition where we had a stage along the south wall. We would walk to school most of the time. We were walking home one day when Burton Anderson, who really liked to pick on Ray Hasting and me, started giving us a hard time. We got tired of his picking on us so I tackled him and Ray sat on his head. He was older and bigger but we really got him good. Ray sat on his head and bounced his rear end on his head while I held him down. Burton yelled “get your rump roast off my head”. From that day on we called him “Rumpy.” Later on Bernard Whitney was the principal and taught the older kids. He was the last teacher I had at Mustang before we consolidated with the Gap. I went one year at the Gap and then I went to Hico to play football and finish high school. (23) |
|
|
At the April 26, 1938 school board meeting the Commissioner’s Court reported that a majority vote consolidated Boggy, Mt. View (Hamilton Co.), and Mustang with the Cranfills Gap District No. 6. (19) Students would start school at the Gap with the beginning of the 1938-1939 school year. Former teacher-principal Homer Bronstad was the superintendent at Cranfills Gap when Mustang consolidated with the Gap. That was the year a great number of Texas rural schools closed their doors. The children from Mustang now had to make the five-mile trek to the Gap. Students would soon be introduced to the world of the yellow school bus that would bring about a whole new “set of experiences”. There were several advantages to school consolidation, but it was also the beginning of the end for the rural community as we once knew it. The schoolhouse sat vacant for many years, deteriorating with each passing year. The property reverted back to the original owners as stipulated in the original deed. With the passage of time new uses for the building came into existence. A few years after the school closed the brick addition was torn down and the brick hauled away. In the 1950s, Bruce Lindsey purchased the property. He made repairs, renovations and converted the building to his needs - beekeeping. Lindsey’s honey business did well for a few years, but later quit the business. The building sat idle again for a number of years until Milford and Betty Carlson purchased the property and school building from Lindsey in 1967. The Carlson’s made several interior and exterior changes to the building so it would be suitable to occupy. They lived in the schoolhouse until they built a new brick house south of the school in 1971.(21) The building has since been used for storage for the Carlson family. After Milford passed away, his son, Owen currently uses the brick house for his business office and the schoolhouse as inventory storage for his business. When I drive by the old Mustang school today I remember the older folks of the community because they are the ones who knew what really went on here many years ago. They remembered the many teachers who came and went during their school years. They remembered the long walks or rides to and from school on cold winter days as they fought the cold north wind. They remembered the demands of the teachers, as well as the basketball games and County Meets. They had both good and bad memories of their school days here. They are the ones who actually wrote the history of Mustang School District 21. What is the future of the old school house? No one really knows, but maybe the Carlson family will preserve this important part of Mustang’s history. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sources - Co.Supt. Ledger - Board Meetings - Teachers - Students' Families - Photo Gallery |
|
