Show THE OGDEN (UTAH) 16B V 4 3‘ ''4 ' By CLIFF THOMPSON Nestled near the bend of a f y ' y vi j nar- row gravel road the Boothe Valley School with its white paint outdoor toilets and one teacher is from outward appearances a page from an era that passed half a century ago An old rail fence frames the half acre yard of this sleepy litOutside appearances are de- school house in the tle one-roohowever ’ for even in this northern end of a green41oored crying place civilization valley in western Box Elder its is enlightened ten- stretching County where time has neglected acles to hurry Inside this little school house In this nostalgic setting remi- " niscent ' of the boyhood of a with the low rolling Promontory a America pretty Mountains for a backdrop 15 grownup gchoolmarm is teaching the three youngsters are offered a program of diversified progressive educa- R s to a handful of youngsters -- out-of-the-w- rwwaspeewsss yyf4 1 f 9 i Ki k r y Vy Y JJ I taken to Penrose where they catch the bus to Bear River High School in Tremonton Then the bus returns to Boothe Valley and starts collecting the student body for Boothe Valley School’s eight grades Shortly after 7 Billy (The Kid) Flint tosses a little water on the of freckles across his modern handful second only in equipment to the school programs the state’s largest cities One of the most deceiving things about the Boothe Valley Schooi js jts name It is located n in ®00the yaUcJ but the eastern half of Promontory a school was once valley There in Boothe Valley several miles south of the present school and one farther north Several years ago the two consolidated and schools between located about half-wa- y the two The new school kept the name of its Boothe Valley prede- - tion J we Preparations for the school day at Boothe Valley start early At 6 am either Jay or Helen Brown startup the new jeep station wagon which will put more than 100 miles on its speedometer be- fore the children are home again UAY!2 1953 SUNDAY 'MORNING STANDARD-EXAMINE- R XZ if Jvi4rv-P-"- ‘ k o JS - v v r i -4 nose buckles on his x ' rt i t 4 hogleg and chmbs aboard- - At 8 V he and his fellow students file i t '' - ' y v into the small cloak room where s$& such things as hats coats frogs V ' r ' 4 a Ste'' £ x x on strings and Billy’s sixshooter - MV £ y are checked jt C" JC jr yf JTv x Billy whose real name is Wil- —' liam F1’oydi and his sijkiCk Ron- - COME AND GET IT — Mrs Wanda Larsen tinkles the little brass bell signaling the start of the school day at Boothe Valley Although ald Wells being the smallest and conveniences such as fluorescent lights have been added the little bell remains symbolic of a halcyon yesteryear several modern comprising the entire first grade tliey 6et the two seats nearest the fathers and Mrs Larsen the PTA do°r-Thother seven grades fill attracts 100 per cent attendance °ne °£ ‘he remamng at practically every meeting 14 l'bUt well-oile- d X - A j? A ’ h "Nftfc e See Downi Q?lcky They settle down pretty quick-cesso- r ly and it’s only a few minutes be- 9re rs- Wanda Larsen has the heater adjusted all the fluo- rescent lights working and t h e flower pots arranged like she wajjts them on the window sill There are many many teachers in tbe state "bo bave an easier - weather they face They have just elected a new PTA president Maxine Toombs r one o£ the few women presidents H! m the history of the valley t Uta r schools She was elevated from K assignment than this country secretary-treasure- r to replace De- at night' The Brown’s front yard adjoins schoolmarm who rides herd on 15 I0e! the school yard They are new exuberant youngsters of the most impressive Mrs Larsen versatility perthere having bought their place last year Jay is a rancher and sonified had the proper train- - classes is the singing period just V y'-when his ranch duties prevent his lnS f°r her job She started teach- before lunch Like the outdoor rr SCh00‘ bUS’ Hde” re their singing i toUtafSd !3£°'i?1 two-rooschool at Elwood from about Danl Boone and cattle When Helen isn’t driving the herding school bus or keeping house for 1946 until last year This is her first year at Boothe walls Resound ‘ Jerald she is Jay and ill r cooking the food that gives the Valley She married one of the As around the they gather 'j- Boothe Valley School one of the valley ranchers last year and 1 t 4 ' hav- - piano (Mrs Larsen plays it too) when school was the board the in lunch finest programs ing difficulty finding a replace- - the walls resound as every student 'FULL OF LEAD— With a head full of fanciful ideas Billy (The state ment for her predecessor she joins in at the top of his lusty The jeep travels a little more JCid) Flint shoots them rustlers daid during afternoon recess at volunteered She has already voice ' Booths Valley He has to check his hat and gun at the door but the than eight miles south picking Then they knock off for lunch to to the classroom return be to agreed c teacher lets him bring his freckles inside up high school students v i-wars again next year They race across the dusty yard ‘hc ew hundred feet to Mrs Serious Business Browns door wash their face The first hour and a half of and hands and then sit aroumi a the school day is serious busi- - long table with attached bench ness Most of the tougher classes seats a e ere held first thing in the morn- j The lunch the day this rep()rt ing when the minds of the and photographer were there con- - WELL FED— Those smiles are not faked as the youngsters wait for a platter of hot biscuits Helen has baked for their lunch The food that makes the Boothe Valley school lunch program youngsters are more alert sisted 0f generous helpings of Brown of one turns working mashed potatoes the best in the state is prepared and served in Mrs Brown’s kitchen She also is a substitute and creamed on the blackboard or reciting at beef carrots and school bus driver peas lettuce and Mrs Larsen s desk There isn t lemon hot biscuits pnn‘!wwwswmiinim but-too and real much recitation though Mrs ter Larsen likes to have the pupils And for Ronald Wells the pea-d- o their lessons on paper then nut butter kid a big bowl full of she goes from desk to desk check- - his favorite dessert "' Ing them Rrown didn’t know until jrs before morning recess at the last few minutes that she was 10 the dancing class starts The guests for dinner The entire enrollment participates as having board of education sends her the a group in the dancing as well as and caloric requirements the art singing and social de- - protein £or the youngsters but she thinks velopment classes Boothe Valley up ber own menus A representa-i- s A probably the only school m the tive of the school board makes - ' state where you can see a young periodic visits to sample her budding ranchhand like Darrell Bessigger doing dips and turns in The ‘students o Boothe Valley a pair of overgrown boots rJ —J -- j as ambitious as their valley is are v ' ' i The recesses last for 15 min- - bjg Jerald Brown is to J utes There is one m the morning be an eye doct0r Heplanning G 'V has been and one in the afternoon During bothered with eye trouble for w V v the winter when the weather is severai years and wears glasses too cold to play outside the mom- 1 Ambitions ing recess will sometimes be cut 'aried Steven Larsen the teacher’s i to five minutes k V IJ A 'A ‘ tThen in the afternoon they have stepson is going to be a school IA ‘I an extra long recess so they can teacher Deloy Richman is consid-pla- y "1 his into brother i v games inside or go for sleigh ering following F4 4 rides There is a hill next to the the study of law David Bessinger school that can get mighty slip- - thinks maybe he’ll be a mechanic like bis father pery the boys report 1 NEIGHBORLY? —Steven Larsen fifth grader who travels 16 miles to and from school each day de- "of Wu A 4 quite HRonald of his lessons In this type fourth grade neighbor Ellen Toombs with her neighborliness Compares Favorably helps but then he is only 6 “T Steven doesn’t need much encouragement Although the Boothe Valleyno doubt about his gun- V School does not have the appearpard Billy He’s gonna be : V vf-:ance of its big city cousins it toting i a cowboy and shoot all the rust- a all but in compares favorably jers few ways One of these is its ath- 1 iV-r-- t others all have sound plans i acl 1 iesr( yC t for the future too Besides Billy li JL e can t offer the sports pro- and Ronald in the irst J4 4 grade gram or music and arts classes- there are Gayle Richman Vicki A LITTLE HELP— Mrs Larsen assists Vicki Woodland over a rough passage in her reading lesson that the bigger schools can ad- woodwatd Dianna Wells and Unlike some of the specialists in larger schools Mrs Larsen must know “a lot about a lot” She mits Mrs Larsen but we sure sharon stokes in the second Tes-hav- e teaches everything from art to algebra to geography to you name it fun with what we have sa pjint and Darrell Bessigger in They don’t lack for play area the third but it is ali out of doors The ’1 Elle0 ‘Toombs is the fourth basketball team plays on an open grajet Steven Larsen the fifth dirt court Until last winter they guckiey peddarsen in the sixth had never played on a wood floor j)avjd gessiger Jerald Brown The coach Mrs Larsen wrangled and jerome Richman in the sev--a game with the Bothwell team on entb and ggiy Richman the r y Tt w j rx J ve"f “ Sove?6 m ji ld vC’A Ol ' xrv 4 J - -V VJf r jes ‘ 4 ‘ £- - - t "L v' if - -- - y 7A fv 1 1 9 1- - the latter’s court The team they scraped up five eighth s some day you are gQ and one substitute made £ng Box western Elder County the trip accompanied by the en- - and £0r0W a narrow gravel road tire student body as a rooting sec- snakes through the sagebrush and June rangeland The boys were a little shaky before it climbs over a little hill being m new surroundings and to d down into this green-no- t wood floor floored being used to the valley stop at the litUe coach Larsen said ‘ and we kmda white school h0use took a bfating especially for the are enougb to recall jj yQU first part of the game a quarter-centuror so ago and n5U weyJv ?n2Sie?hS5 lucfcy enough to have been a part by of that vanishing Americana the aont0St travel-starter- grass-dotte- d y i twJ incuinr thatthP three were two or days youngsters didn’t get there until 10 am Mrs Larsen said Attendance Is Good She reported a good attendance “We are consistently in the top 5 per cent in attendance for the county” And as the youngsters outdo their city colleagues in attendance READING 'RUING ahd ’RITIIMETIC —Thqre’s no hickory stick here Mrs Larsen picks out a tune on the piano as the students fill the little school with their voices during a daily singing lesson Their favorite song— but don’t tell Mr Disney —is Danl Boone so does the PTA (sure they have one) outshine many city PTA groups in its activity Composed of 15 mothers and N house you’ll hOS Off and 1)6 K kid again as you romp through the hot sand and “skin one-roo- m school Want to Pul1 J’0ur chained If sy u angwer thc call of the little brass bell and go inside you will see the character of the lives of its students reflected in the remains of their spelling 'and writing lessons on the blackboard Prominent among the words they use are cattle Indian thou- And maybe sand and lonesome the young student in this treeless valley will be writing another es-i say about the woods I OOOOOOII — AHH—Recess time and youngsters make a dash for the little white building off in one schools comer of the school yard that links Boothe Valley with the Americana of rural be to are facilities instated next-yeamodern inside r The landmark is doomed however for one-roo- m I |