Busey School Was in the News in the 1920s

Yesterday (12 Feb 2017) I posted a photo of the students at Busey School in 1923. Busey School, District 44, was located about three miles north of Harrisburg, Oregon. Because Harrisburg is located between the cities of Eugene and Albany, I was able to find some mentions of the school in both Eugene and Albany newspapers.

In February 1923, eight months before the photo, Busey dedicated a new school building with a community supper and some outside speakers, including Mrs. Edna Geer, the Linn County School Superintendent. It had cost more than $2000, covered by interest-bearing warrants. The article concluded with a new fact for me. My grandfather, J. A. Falk, was a member of the school board. A month after the photo was taken, in November of 1923, a newspaper reported that the pupils "enjoyed a Hallowe'én frolic that evening. The ghost, witch and jack o'lantern featured."

The papers usually noted who the teachers were at the school:

1922-23 -- Miss Bess Jones

1923-24 -- Miss Jennie Reed

1924-25 -- Miss Mildred or Margaret Martin

1928-29 -- Mrs. Vernita Cooley

It was in May 1925 when the results of the Linn County Dental Essay Contest were announced. The winner of the division for 5th & 6th grades in rural districts was my aunt, Lois Falk, a sixth grader. The paper announced in June 1925 that District 44 had one student who had passed the 8th grade examination on the first try and so graduated: my mother, Wilma Falk.

The next spring in April of 1926, Busey School children entertained their parents with an Easter program. They also enjoyed the new volleyball and flag there, which they had earned by selling pencils. At the last day of school in May of 1926 the Lake Creek and Busey schools celebrated together at the Busey school grounds.

In June of 1927, four of the students from the photo graduated from the 8th grade: Lois Falk, Samuel Brock, Merle Cook and Ralph Wilbert. June of 1929 reported that two students from Busey had passed the 8th grade exam: Helen Cook and George Hargett. So together with the newspapers and the photo you can put faces with some of the names.