DEAR KINFOLK,

Recently I ran across the Strong City High School graduation announcement of 1916, nearly 100 years ago. The graduation class consisted of six seniors, two of these were your kinfolk, Luella and Alida Guernsey. At first I did not understand why the older sister, Luella Guernsey (Caffey) would be in the same class as my mother Alida Lena Guernsey (Anderson). Then I remembered Aunt Minnie Innes telling the story of Luella dropping out of school for a couple years to help her father, Elmer Guernsey, raise her siblings after the untimely death of their mother, Madelena May Guernsey.

As described in THE OKLAHOMAN, Sept. 7, 2014, “It is difficult to imagine how students of eight grades gathered in one room with one teacher in rural Oklahoma schools for decades starting in the 1890s. They learned reading, writing, spelling, math, history and geography in a one room school”. At that time it was common for most students in rural Oklahoma to go no further than those eight grades. Our Grandfather, Elmer James Guernsey was determined that his six children have an education beyond the eight grade. Along with his task of running a cattle ranch and being a single parent, he became president of the Strong City school board. He took it upon himself to hire and architect to design an 8 room brick school building. This allowed all of his children to graduate from high school.

All four girls, Luella, Alida, Minnie and Pauline, finished Strong City High School and went on to attend college in Weatherford, Oklahoma, each receiving their Teaching Certificates. The two boys, Mike and Curt each became engineers, Curt tacked on an additional law degree. Curt served in World War I and Mike served in World War II. Mike was in the Seabees and saw extensive battle action in the South Pacific. After the service he returned to his engineering occupation working on large projects in North and South America, including the Washington D.C. subway system and our Oklahoma Turner Turnpike. Curt developed the C.H. Guernsey Engineering Consulting Co., that still today has national recognition.

This was a remarkable achievement for six children that started in a one room schoolhouse!!! Can’t help but think that all the rules on education that come from our national
capital today might learn a lesson from the tenacity of the students in rural schoolhouses of 100 years ago. Reminds me on the saying, “tough times don’t last, tough people do”.