On occasion with the almost complete loss of information, this series of articles is written with two district schools of a particular township. Such is the case this week, but perhaps all is well that ends well as the majority of the population is occupied with holiday preparations.
The map which shows with this article gives us a location of the school site in the 1875 Atlas of Chenango County. Bear in mind that County Route 35 and New York State Route 8 have been upgraded and changed since this was first published. This early schoolhouse when the first one was built was near the covered bridge which crosses the Unadilla River at East Guilford (New Berlin Junction). Misfortune was the fate of the first schoolhouse as it burned and a new was built down on the four corners. We will assume that the covered bridge was up river a short distance from the one now crossing the river.
After the closing of this District #17 and it was probably due to lack of attendance the building was empty for a number of years. In 1969 the Presbyterian Church was either given this building, or purchased it and moved it to be attached to the rear of the Church edifice and to be used as Sunday school rooms and most likely meeting rooms. The how, when, where and what concerning this building is, at this time a mystery to this writer. However, with Tom Gray’s (Guilford historian) new book relevant to the school a district in the Guilford Township is published, perhaps these mysteries will be solved.
Continuing with our documentation we arrive at District #19 - Puckerville, it is regrettable that no photo exists that at present is known of. This writer will quote verbatim what Walter Ubele documented in his writings of Gullford churches and schools. “Just down the hill, going East on Rockdale Road toward Route 8, there is a small meadow, with trees in the background. A sign states this is “The Guilford Road & Gun Club.” This level meadow was the site of the Puckerville School District #19. Although the little schoolhouse is no longer there students were still attending as late as 1931.
The Puckerville School was a small school by numbers, and the origin of the name is not known. There was only an average of eight to ten students in the school before consolidation. It was still in existence at the time of the old Union School, located in Guilford hamlet. The students’ names were listed in the 1921 (first) issue of “The Pinnacle.” Their ages ranged from 5 years old in Grade 1, through 15 years old in Grade 7.
This Puckerville School was not only a place of learning, but also a place where children and adults gathered for community activities. It was said that the smaller the District the more insignificant the school, the greater the importance of the schoolhouse to the community.
This story has been handed down of an object lesson in Biology that took place in this schoolhouse. A Field Mouse wandered into the classroom and built herself a nest in the corner, near the cloakroom. The teacher, a Miss Ruth Cummings, was quick enough to see the value of the timid little creature. The children, under her direction, took care of the house and fed it scraps from their lunch. They made a pet of it! It became quite tame! In the spring, the little creature presented the children with a small litter of baby mice. Miss Cummings used this in her teaching of biology, and developed several lessons around the incident.
A Halloween’s party in October, a Christmas Party in December, and even a St. Patrick’s Day party helped to make the school and enjoyable place to learn. Easter time was a time for bunnies, homemade candies and the traditional Easter Egg Hunt.
By the time 1935 arrived on the calendar, there were just three families represented in the school student body. There were Alvin Mainwaring, aged 5, Geraldine Mainwaring; his sister aged 7, Kenneth, Mildred, Ernest and Robert Kingsley, aged 7,10,12 and 15 respectively. Fenton Shapley aged 10 and Kermit Shapley, aged 15 rounded out the entire school body. Small in numbers of students, but of great importance in the community. Too bad it is no longer there.
Thus another chapter of school history is closed and if anyone is able to shed more light on these two school districts, it would be appreciated if information was forwarded to this writer at: pfscott@fontier.com. If information is forwarded it will be duly incorporated in future articles with provenance documented.
Finally this writer would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and sincere thank you to everyone who has complimented me relevant to this series of articles.