Rose Hill

A few weeks ago, Kate's 4th grade class took a field trip to Rose Hill school in Perry, OK.  Bill was able to take off part of the day and take care of Will and Claire so that I could go with her.  What a fun experience.  The kids all dressed in authentic clothing, appropriate for that time period and were required to bring lunches in pails or baskets, packaged only in materials available during 1910...parchment paper/butcher paper and string, etc.  They were also asked to pack lunches similar to what kids would have eaten back then....biscuits, cold chicken, fruit, beef jerky...in other words, no goldfish, Lunchables, or fruit roll ups! 

They spent the day having lessons with the Rose Hill school marm who required yes mam's and no mam's out of all of the kids every time they answered questions and I do mean every single time.  Loved that.  They practiced handwriting on slates, learned to use a pen and nib, had recitation lessons and participated in a spelling bee.  When lunchtime arrived, they all took turns washing up at the basin in the "cloakroom".   It was such a great experience for those kids.  There were many memories made that day, the ones that really stick with you. 

The parents who attended were required to sit quietly in the back of the room.  I had lots of time to think.  As I watched the day unfold, I was reminded of how labor intensive and difficult some things were back then, yet also how unbelievably simple.  The days did not race forward at warp speed.  The main agenda items were the basics - work, providing/preparing food, education (if you were lucky), worship, and housekeeping.   Those were the things most families focused on each day and they were done together, as a family.  The busyness of today is something I could easily turn my back on and never miss.  I have often tried to figure out how to do just that and get back to the basics.  I still don't have the answer.  I still race to and from Tulsa to get the kids from school, to and from basketball practices (4 nights a week), to and from gymnastics (2 nights/week), to and from different school functions, church functions, girl scout meetings, birthday parties, etc.  And, oh yeah, we still have the basics of food, education, and housekeeping!  It's a busy life for most families in 2013.  Some call it "full" and thrive in the rat race.  Not me.  I will die trying to simplify things.   

Now, I am thankful that I didn't have to walk 4 miles each way in the snow to and from school, kill my own dinner, or live through the Great Depression, but in the midst of all of the hard times and hard labor, there was something really nice about those days - the sheer simplicity of it.  Not to mention, the kids looked pretty cute!  Here are some pics of our day spent traveling back to 1910 at Rose Hill.