EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES

The earliest settlers and founders were vitally interested in providing the best in the way of education for the community. The Pomona district school was organized in 1870. Two of the first board members were W. W. Waite and Charles Curtis. The first school was held in the house on the south side of Franklin Street near the east edge of town where Figgins live. The first church services were also held there. The school was run as a subscription school with sessions in the summer only.

The first school building was constructed in 1871. It was the north half of what we know as the "old grade school building". It was a two-story structure of native limestone with room to accommodate 200 scholars. This building cost $5,000. John Arnett hauled the stone. Mr. William Quay did the masonry work with John Baldwin as assistant. D. H. Starkey held a paid academy was abandoned in 1877 at his death. Miss Mary Holmes was the first primary teacher in the new building. Music was added in 1877 with Miss Jessie Whetstone as the teacher.

In 1885, two more rooms were added to the 1871 building on the south side. This served as the public school for all grades until the rural high school district was formed and the seperate high school building was built. It continued to be used for the grade school for Pomona district 69 until 1959. It is located on East A street at the corner of Fifth Street.

The first class graduated from the high school in 1889. The members were: Ethel Glenn, Florence Hughes, Lida Lawrence, and H. B. Johnson. Erwin Stimmel was the teacher of that class. Luther Newcomb, Abel Hensley, and Amos Parkinson were the board members. There were no graduates from 1906 until 1912. a second teacher, Miss Jacobus, was added in the school year 1911-12, and at that time it became a 4-year high school. The first graduates in 1912 of a 4-year school were Ruth Kraus, Nina Hudelson, and Frances Bean. A third teacher was added in 1914, a fourth in 1922, and a fifth in 1928. A music teacher was hired for both schools in 1930. Miss Ruth Barnes was the first combined music teacher.

There have been a total of about 636 graduates since 1889. The smallest class occurred in 1913 with just two- Florence Nelson, now Mrs. Ralph Connors, a principal of a school in Shawnee Mission, and Ralph Hudelson. The largest class so far was graduated in 1956 with a class of 25. The first class of the new Rural High School graduated in 1921. The graduates were Wilma Hutchinson (Mrs. Lynn Bryan), Elizabeth Kuebler (Mrs. Vernon Parks), Lucile Haney, Laura Miller, and Emory Crow.

The new Rural High School district was formed and bonds voted for the high school building in 1919. On July 12, 1919, the following men were elected to serve as a board: Frank Miller, Director; Ed. Cain, Clerk; Joe Sturn, treasurer, Mr. Miller resigned in the fall and J. A. Hudelson was appointed to take his place on November 10, 1919. Mr. Sturn moved away and Ross Bower was appointed on March 18, 1920 to take his place. Then at the regular election time in April, 1920, J. A. Hudelson was elected as director and Fred Baldwin as treasurer. Mr. Cain continued to serve his term as originally elected. Previous to the consolidation, the last board of Pomona High School was J. A. Hudelson, H. B. Johnson, and W. F. Hutchinson. These names are mentioned for the record and because all worked very hard to bring about the new district and build the new high school building. Many others served untiringly to help bring about this improvement in the facilities for the education of the boys and girls in the community.

Ten acres of ground at the east edge of town were purchased by the board on October 19,1919, from Miss Esther A. Lawrence for $1970. Washburn & Son of Ottawa were the architects and Dillenbeck & McGlade the contractors. A two-story brick building was completed at a cost of $36,664. The building was 90 feet long and 60 feet deep. It contained 13 rooms with an auditorium 30 by 80 feet and a gymnasium 30 by 60 feets.

The school grounds were beautifully landscaped with hedges and shrubbery. At one time, cedar trees were planted at a special ceremony to honor the First World War casualties, John Vigor and Parkinson. These trees are still growing on the front lawn as a reminder to all of the supreme sacrifice of Pomona youth and the things the school has stood for.

Improved facilities have been added to the Rural High School. In 1951, the Rural High School District voted to build a new gym. The board members working on this project were Walter Johnson, Vernon Parks, and Nicholas Hudelson. Before it was finished, William Cain was elected to replace Walter Johnson. This building was needed very much. It contained an up-to-date basketball court, dressing rooms, rest rooms, office, concession room, and maintenance and furnace room. This space has been used for all the school parties and other gatherings, particularly the alumni meetings. The old gym in the basement of the main building was remodeled into a fine shop room with the latest equipment and classroom facilities. The new gym building cost around $50,000. If you compare costs down through the years, you will see how times change.

In line with the continued advancement in the community in the way of educational facilities, the grade school board was petitioned for the construction of a new grade school building in the spring of 1957. The board chose a citizens committee to work with the board on the type and size of building, etc. The members on this committee were J. D. R. Dennis, Leonard Humphrey, Charles Cain, Jim Parks, Roy Reed, Lionel Shaw, Mrs. Jack Nelson, Mrs. Everett Kingsborough, and Al Grosdidier.

This committee reported back, recommending a new building because the old one was expensive to keep in repair, insurance rates too high because of the fire hazards, limited teaching facilities affected State accreditation, no indoor recreation area, and transportation problems.

The building was constructed of light-weight aggregate with brick exterior veneer. It contained six class rooms of 900 square feet each as recommended by the State Department of Education, a multi-purpose room, stage facilities, a modern kitchen for hot lunches with ample food storage areas, an office and teachers' work room, modern toilet facilities, ample natural lighting, and a modern heating plant.

The cost of this program was $170,000 which was to be paid by a bond issue maturing over a 20-year period. This sum cost the individual taxpayer an average levy of only 5.7 mills per $1,000 assessed valuation. The thinking behind this endeavor was that good schools don't cost-they pay. One cannot measure a child's education in dollars and cents.

This new grade school building was dedicated on November 2, 1959. The speaker was Mr. W. C. Kampschroeder, Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The school board who did the improvement were James Lindsey, Floyd Flager, and Albert Swallow. The architects were

Anderson, Srack, and Johnson of Salina. The contractors were: Bollinger Construction, general contract; Norris Bros., electrical and heating. This is a most modern building, all on one floor, located on land north of hte Rural High School. The Grade School District has an active Parent Teachers organization. In the fall of 1960, it became affiliated with the National organization.