Our family came to Barber County in 1911. In the fall of 1912 Ann and 
     Tillie began their elementary education in District 66, known now as the
     Blackmore School, with Delilah Martin as teacher with approximately 30
     students in nine grades. We spoke German at home, so learning English
     was a new experience. We walked 2 1/2 miles to school and getting an
     occasional ride was welcomed.
       Some of the teachers at District 66 through our sojourn were Iva 
     Spangler, Gladys Kemp, Martha Cushenberry, Prosper Lake, and Marguerite
     Stone. Famliy names on the school roster were Landwehr, Schreiner, Ricke,
     Fisher, Dohm, Kingsolover, Evans, Carter, Busch, Reed, Lake, Blackmore,
     Baker, and Sleeper.
       Another rural school we atteneded was "Tadpole School" or Central View,
     one mile south of the Hrencher place on Highway 160. Just across the road
     was the "Church of God." Family names on this school roster in our time
     were Hrencher, Porter, Schreiner, McGuire, McKee, McDaniel, Kelly, Stone,
     and Schiff. Teachers during this eara were Thelma Hartley and Mr. Carlisle.
       Discipline was strict and no student questioned the teacher's authority.
     Silence ws maintained to the highest degree during class hours. Two County
     Superintendents during this time were Lola Lichlyter and Margaret Kernohan.
       School equipment consisted of double desks, a recitation bench, chalk
     boards, teacher's deak on an elevated platform, a coal stove, an organ, and
     a globe.
       With the opening of St. Boniface School in Sharon our last one-half of
     elementary education was initiated there in the fall of 1917. In order to
     graduate from common school, a two-day written examination (County Exam)
     was required. Some students who feared this test became "drop outs."
       Dad bought a horse (Ribbon) and buggy when St. Boniface school opened.
     We drove four and one-fourth miles with our faithful Ribbon taking us
     safely back and forth. One day, December 4, she took us home in a raging
     blizzard.
       We carried our noon lunches in syrup pails, later commercial dinner buckets
     were used. At Christmas and Easter the teacher provided a treat which was
     looked forward to. The last day of school was a celebration - parents brought
     basket lunches, and we had a feast. Children helped with chores before goin
     to school and after returning home.
       Games played were baseball, andy-over, pussy wants a corner, fox and geese,
     I spy, tin can, blackman, darebase, New York and Boston, horseshoe, croquet,
     jump the rope, and hide and seek.
       Sharon was a neat little village during the teens and decades later. It
     boasted four denominational churches. The town's parking area as well as the
     church grounds had hitching racks for parking rigs. The town had a pump with
     a long watering trough for watering horses and circus animals. We saw our
     first live elephant at the town pump.
       Some of the establishments the town boasted of wree livery stable, harness
     shop, hardware store, hotel, Blackmore's Creamery, Opera House, theater, 
     Warren's drug store, library, barber shop, shoe repair shop, telephone office,
     elevators, and its own printed newpaper, "The Sharon Valley Times."
       The first radio in Sharon was installed in the office of the Farmer's
     Elevator. By eavesdropping ont he line, one could hear the first sounds of
     radio. We wre also intrigued by the "Sound of Music" over the air.
       Vacations were unheard of. Families and neighbors exchanged visits on
     Sundays and some holidays. Church picnics, county fairs, harvest festivals,
     and weddings were celebrated in high fashion.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 405 
     Submitted by: Sisters Alberta, Alfonsa, Frances and Damian Schreiner