The Whitbeck Schoolhouse was a one-room schoolhouse between Sodus and Newark on Rt. 88. It was built in 1888 and closed in 1944 and the children in this area then went to Sodus to school.

Elliott Gardner attended this school and documented its history and his experiences in "Changing Times"

District #7

No telling of how things were when I was a boy would be complete without coverage ot the years when I attended district school. The one-room country schools were served by one teacher in almost every instance.
The school I attended was District #7 but was commonly known as the Whitbeck  district. The enrollment ran  from twenty to thirty form pupils and eight grades were covered. Some of the teachers were only eighteen years of age with high school and one year  of teacher training as educational background. Over the years we had excellent teachers and poor ones. Some could get ideas across to the children and some ot them put little effort and less brains into the instructive process. To others teaching was only a waiting period until something better came along, like matrimony. Some of our teachers could maintain discipline while others had no control over the children whatsoever. New York State furnished each teacher with a syllabus which outlined the progress to be made by each grade. The syllabus was the basis ot all country school teaching. 

On the day after Labor Day 1908, l entered first grade in our district school. l was six years old and anxious to get started. My first teacher was Miss Jeanne Whitbeck, a neighbor of ours. The schoolhouse was built in 1888 to replace one that stood on the same lot but was built of logs. l was required to take certain supplies with me on my first day. I had a green book labeled "First Grade Primer," a lead pencil, a slate pencil, a paper pad and a slate. I attended school three days, came down with whooping cough and since l could not recover until the following spring that ended the term for me. When September 1909 came around I tried again. This time I was able to stay in and went on through the grades.

ln those years quite a few Dutch people were moving in to work on the farms. The result was that the children of these people spoke Dutch when on the playground and English in the classroom. When I started there were only three of us that could not understand the Dutch language. We were forced to learn a new language or not play ball at recess. Everyone carried lunch in a metal lunch pail. A few of the families were poor and the children never had decent food so it was not uncommon for the larger ones to "trade" with the smaller children. There was nothing a small child could do except eat the scanty lunch from the other fellow's pail while watching his own good food being gulped down by a bigger boy. It was rough.

Confusion was part of the process in a one-room school. It was caused by the passing of classes from their seats to the front row to recite and the return to their permanent seats. It went on all day every day, up to Friday noon. Friday afternoons were frequently given over to other things. Most of the children left school after the sixth grade so that most of the time only two or three pupils would be on the front row reciting. The distractions were many and when the teacher lost control of the pupils through lack of discipline, it was almost impossible to learn anything. For the slow witted or slightly retarded it was hopeless. They oftimes knew little more at the end of the fifth year than they did at the beginning of the first. If a child learned to read, great, and it he didn't it was just too bad. I have seen children who at the end of six years could barely print their names and could not spell much more than "cat'.

Teachers to district schools were hired by the district trustee. The trustee was in charge of  the school building and premises saw to it that fuel was on hand for the large room heaters and gathered the taxes from the landowners of the district.

The trusteeship was passed around among the men of the district but the position was always held by a property owner. A farm hand or tenant farmer never had a chances no matter how many children they may have had in school at the time.   This was I supposes a form of discrimination.  No pay was included in the position of trustee.  It was a civic duty performed of necessity and shifted to other shoulders as soon as possible.  My father was a district trustee for three or four terms and it was his duty to prepare the building for the opening of school each fall.  He would call in a few neighbors to help clean the schoolhouse from top to bottom.  All desks were refastened to the floor, windows were washed inside and out new stove pipe was installed if needed and about once in ten years, a fresh coat of paint was “laid on”.  A few women always went along to mop the floors, wash the blackboard and dust up the place.  With several cords of wood and a ton of coal on hand all was ready for the opening of school.

On the first day of school everyone had two things in mind.  First, to meet the new teacher and try to figure out how much deviltry could be gotten away with, and second, to take a hard look at any new pupils that might have moved in to the district during the summer.  Some of our teachers started school on the first day about one minute past nine or at least as soon as she had written her name on the blackboard.  Others devoted the first day to getting acquainted, reviewing the past year’s work, and placing each pupil in the proper grade for the year.

In the one room country schools the fall and spring days were quite pleasant but the winter days were another matter.  The entire room was heated by one large stove but it was never evenly heated.  On cold days the pupils seated near the stove roasted while those along the sides or the ends of the room were half frozen.  The teachers always wore sweaters on cold days because the desk was at one end of the room.

When everyone played in the snow during lunch hour, there were great quantities of wet clothing to be dried during the afternoon.  Most of the boys wore felt boots during the cold weather.  These boots were made up of a low rubber overshoe inside of which was worn a heavy, knee length felt stocking.  This arrangement allowed small amounts of snow to fall between the felt stocking and the boot thus causing wet feet.  One wintry day when I had been out in the snow, I had collected a pair of sopping wet feet.  When the first bell rang, I rushed into the school room and placed one foot on the stove railing to dry out my legs a bit before school started.  After a few minutes, steam formed inside my boot and started to scald my foot.  I screamed in pain and hopped about on my good foot.  Some of the older boys removed my boot and felt sock to reveal a large blister along the side of my foot.  The teacher sent me home at once.  I had to walk the entire distance with a blistered foot in a wet felt boot.  At home I found that the blister had broken and peeled off leaving a red, raw sore.  Mother gave my wound a liberal dose of sweet oil, bandaged my foot, and the next day I was back in school.  I had a sore foot for days. I was the most careful boy in school when it came to wet feet and hot stoves.

Despite the confusion and distraction inherent in the district school system of education, most of the pupils acquired a fair knowledge of the three R’s plus spelling and history.  Some time and effort was given to broader things from time to time.  Some teachers would lay aside the regular school work on Friday afternoons and devote the time to reading to the pupils, a discussion of current events, or a spelldown.

I learned to read and spell rather easily and remembered that I spelled down the entire school at a fairly early age.  I never did well in arithmetic and this fact has plagued me all my life.  I now know that I needed special attention in this department but there was never time for individual help for anyone.  In the District #7 school, we had a bookcase in one corner of the room near the blackboard.  It held forty of fifty books and these I read from cover to cover.  We also had the use of a twelve volume set of books called “The Book of Knowledge”.  Children with a grain of curiosity red these books but the rest never took a look.  The teachers did not urge us to read the books.  They were there and if we happened to enjoy reading it was all to the good and if we didn’t it was overlooked.

Each Monday morning two boys would be appointed water carriers for the week.  After morning recess, they took the big blue enameled water pail and went to the nearest farm for a pail of water.  The pail was placed on a bench in the hallway.  Over the bench hung a long handled tin dipper which was used by everyone.  No one ever thought about germs.  Colds mumps, measles, and head lice were passed along from pupil to pupil without much fuss being made about it.  These ailments were accepted and overcome as best they could be. Two wooden structures marked “Boys” and “Girls” stood behind the schoolhouse to care for natures needs.  By mid May the flies were much thicker than the flowers round about.  

Wintertime noon hours in the country schools presented problems when it was too stormy to be outdoors.  We had some teachers who went to their boarding places for lunch and left the pupils unattended.  This was a poor practice because the absence of the teacher led to a great deal of deviltry.  On some stormy days after we had eaten our lunch we played a game of sorts called “Clap In and Clap Out”.  It worked this way.  A boy would leave the room.  Those who remained chose a girl with whom the boy was supposed to sit when he was called back from the icy outer hall. To recall the lad everyone clapped hands.  Thus he was “clapped in “.  When he reentered the room the shivering lad looked everything over carefully and sat down beside a girl.  Usually of course, it was one he liked especially well anyway.  If it was the girl who had been choosing the boy was supposed to kiss her.  If it was not the proper girl everyone clapped  again and he had to leave and try once more.  In this way he was “clapped out”.  So it went turn and turn about.  Soon enough it was time to resume classes.  At times the older pupils played “Post Office”.  Personal experience indicates that this game was much more fun than “Clap In and Clap Out”. 

During the late winter of 1914 a series of revival meetings was held in a tabernacle erected for the occasion in Sodus.  The pupils in District #7 adopted the revival meeting plan and held a revival meeting every noon.  By general consensus of opinions a preacher and a gospel singer was selected.  I was the gospel singer.  I became Mr. Mosher and the preacher was Mr. Crabill and we were so addressed by one and all.  Just as our counterparts had wives so did we.  A mock religious service, complete in every detail, was held.  I started the meeting off by leading my choir and the congregation in a few revival hymns.  After everyone sat downs the reverend gentleman announced that it was prayer time.  The Lord’s Prayer was always used because it was the only one he knew.  After the prayers it was collection time.   All were admonished to give and give and give.  Buttons were accepted as a suitable tithe for the Lord.   After the buttons were in a safe place it was sermon time.  It was a short sermon because our preacher had very little imagination and he wanted to hurry things up and get into the real action.  As soon as the sermon ended our preacher settle down to serious business.  He implored the sinners on bended knee and with arms stretched heavenward to come “forward” on the threat of an eternity worse than death itself.  He also pointed out that if no converts showed up at our makeshift altar they would be dragged thither by main force.  It worked every time.  As soon as my choir started to sing “Just As I Am” the same group of scared small children would come forward to be converted.  They were prayed over, instructed on their future deportment and finally were told to be sure to show up next day for further salvation.  Sacrilegious? I doubt it.  Our hearts were really in it.

At the back of our schoolhouse was an excellent hill for wintertime coasting.  The north end of the sledding area was quite steep while the south end had an easier slope and was always used by the younger children.  I always had a good sled but was never allowed to take it to school because it would only have been snatched away by an older boy who had no sled of his own.  So during the early years I, along with other small children, was a bystander only.

When I grew older I had a lot of wintertime fun on that hill. Not satisfied with a fast run down the hill we borrowed the school coal shovel and dug out the snow to form a dip that would cause our sleds to leave the ground when we flew through it.  This was a great thrill. After a rain followed by a cold snaps the snow would crust over and provide a fine coasting surface.  Coasting on the crusted snow, however, was dangerous and sometimes small accidents occurred. One time one of the smaller boys who had not learned how to handle a sled wanted to coast on the steeper part of the hill.  The snow crust was thick that day and the sleds flew down the hill at top speed.  Before anyone realized it our small friend was at the top of the hill on our steepest run.  He jumped on his sled and started down.  We all knew that he would be in trouble the instant his sled gained speed. Sure enough, about half way down he lost control of his sled, fell off, and started to slide on the thick hard crust.   Before he came to a stop a lot of the skin on one side of his face and an ear was scraped off.  Within moments a beautiful black eye was forming.  In short, he was a bloody mess. Another boy and I hustled him to the school house.  The teacher tied a clean cloth around his head and told us to take him home to his mother.  He lived out on the edge of the district, and it took us a long time.  We didn’t walk too fast.  It is a wonder that more accidents didn’t happen on that hill because we were a reckless lot.

The last day of school was, and I guess it still is, a special day.  I recall one of the last days of the school year while I was going to district school.  That particular day must have required considerable planning on the part of my parents.  Everything had to work just right. Timing was most important.  My father was district trustee  in 1912 so it was necessary for him to be on hand for the last days events.  No classes were held and everyone who could  helped put up picnic tables carry benches and chairs, get fresh water, and clean up the grounds.

By mid-morning all parents and pupils were seated in the school room and ready for the last day exercises.  Grade promotions were announced, merit awards for good deportment and attendance were dispensed, and books were removed from desks and carried to buggies and wagons to be taken home for summer vacation.

Outdoors again there was great activity around picnic tables.  Food was hauled forth from picnic baskets and placed on the tables.  The men and boys played ball or pitched horseshoes until all was ready.  My parents prodded things along as much as they possibly could because they had other irons in the fire for that day.  I remember that we Gardners hurried through the picnic dinner as rapidly as was polite and left for home.  Once there I had a fast bath in a galvanized wash tub and clean clothes for, like all boys, even a half day outdoors did it, I was dirty.

Our road horse had been fed, watered and curried before we left for the picnic.  We used one of the work horses that forenoon so as to have a fresh horse for the trip to Lyons later in the day.  At last all was ready and we started for Lyons on a warm sunny late May afternoon.  We were to be in Lyons Methodist Church for a church supper and meeting that my parents wished to attend.  I had gone to Sunday School in Lyons and I knew quite a few Lyons boys so it was old home day for me too.

After the church meeting, we drove out to Grandma Gardner’s to stay until Sunday afternoon.   It was a Friday through Sunday weekend and I describe it only to show the amount of planning and effort that was needed to arrange for a simple trip from Sodus to Lyons in the horse and buggy days.  

District #7 Whitbeck
Was just south of 5695 Rt. 88
Sodus, NY

Teachers

1813-date school opened
1834-1835 Caroline Almy
1869-1870 Emma Crandall
1875-1876 Helen E. Whitbeck
1876-1877 Helen E. Whitbeck
1883-1884 Duane B. Tuttle and Nellie M. Lund
1884-1885 Nellie M. Lund
1885-1886 Clara Tuttle
1886-1887 Lizzie A. Tinklepaugh
1891-1892 Bertha Vandy
1895-1896 Lulu Ward
1898-1899 Floyd E. Norris
1899-1900 Elizabeth DuFloo and May Jeffers
1900-1901 Maria Karp
1901-1902 Bertha Kansier
1908-1909 Jeanne Whitbeck
1911-1912 Marion Whitbeck
1914-1915 Karolyn Johnson
1925-1926 Leon R. Lonsdale
1927-1928 Carrie Oakleaf
1928-1929 Carrie Oakleaf
1931-1932 Carrie Oakleaf
1936-1937 Ava M. Ward
1938-1939 Thelma Scott
1940-1941 Mrs. Thelma Scott
1941-1942 Thelma Scott
1942-1943 Thelma Scott
1943-1944 contract with Sodus High School