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Pioneer Living Conditions
Early homes were crude log style structures, often with dirt floors. Heat was provided by the fireplace or cook stove, and light was furnished by homemade candles or kerosene lanterns. Furnishings were very simple.
Food was plain and wholesome. Vegetables were grown on the farm’s garden. Fish were caught from the area lakes and streams and then dried so they would keep for winter consumption. Animals were raised or hunted for food.
The early pioneers produced virtually no garbage, as everything was recycled. Dishes were soaked in water, which was later given to the livestock for nutrition. Animal fat was used in making soap and candles.
Clothing was made at home out of cotton and worn until it could be patched no more or cut down in size to fit younger children. Shoes were made of leather and very simple. Many went barefoot in the summer. Old clothing was cut up to make rugs or quilts.
Education was important in the early days. Even though their homes might be built of logs or prairie sod, the pioneers tried to make their schools of lumber. The classroom was heated was by a single wood stove. Those who sat near it would sweat while those across the room shivered. School supplies were very limited. Children often wrote on slates that could be erased or on the blackboard. A lot of learning was done by oral recitation.
Teachers were often not much older than the students who ranged in age from 4 to 18, and they usually stayed in one of the homes of their students. They often had to walk to school, and were expected to be the school janitor in addition to their teaching duties. In the morning they had to carry in water from the school pump and start the wood stove. At night they cleaned the classroom before they left. Teachers were also expected to serve as a good example for their students, and the school board often presented a new teacher with a list of those specific rules.
Rules for a 1915 Douglas County School Teacher
1. You will not marry during the term of your contract.
2. You are not to keep company with men.
3. You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function
4. You may not loiter downtown in any of the ice cream parlors.
5. You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have permission of the chairman of the school board.
6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or your brother.
7. You may not dress in bright colors.
8. You may not smoke cigarettes.
9. You may not under any circumstances dye your hair.
10. Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches above your ankle.
11. You must wear at least two petticoats.
12. To keep the schoolroom neat and clean, you must sweep the floor at least once a day, scrub the floor at lest once a week with hot, soapy water, clean the blackboard at least once a day, and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m.
For all that, the 1915 schoolteacher was paid $35 a month!