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PIX #1 - Amsden (Jackson Township) Centralized School in background and the Reo bus that transported them. Front row, left to right, including the four boys in front at left of bus door: Claren Soles, Wilbur Wyant, Erlin Hem- minger, Maxwell Radcliff, Earl Byers, Gladys Wyant, Gertrude Gaunt, Geraldine Peeler, Geraldine Kissling, Rowena Wyant, George Peeler, Willis Wyant, Alver- dia Peeler, Bernice Radcliff. Back row, including boys at left of bus door: Billy Byers (bus driver), Justin Harrison, Earl Wyant, Berton Huff, Floyd Doll, Thelma Hemminger, Wayne McAlevy, Stern Bockey, Rosemary Pankhurst, Mar- garet Sheltz, Ruth Pankhurst, Lulu Stein, Floyd byers, Helen Snyder. Photo taken during 1922-1923 school year.

PIX #2 - Kinsey School: Located on County Road 36, it was transformed into a residence many years ago. The Mark Coffman family owns it and resides there.

PIX #3 - Pankhurst School: Clara Pankhurst lives in the converted school building which once carried her family name. It is located at 11960 W. CR 25.

PIX #4 - Ecker School: Located on Township Road 47, the old school was trans- formed into a residence, and currently Florian Rinehart Jr. owns it and lives there.

PIX #5 - Craun School: The old Craun School, at the corner of township roads 5 and 36, is owned by Clifford Hartline, Amsden. It is used as a farm storage building.

PIX #6 - Amsden (two-room): This old school at 6014 CR5 became a residence years ago. Currently, John Cochie owns it and lives there. Others who re- sided there were Frank Young and George Firth.

PIX #7 - Iler School: This old school building on Township Road 592 was made a residence many years ago. It is owned by the Ferguson family.

(Author's note: This is the fourth in a series of articles about Seneca County. Logically, schools should be presented with other information about the villages. However, it was more convenient to combine the schools into one article. Today's article pertains to schools in Jackson Township only. Those schools in other areas of the county will be covered later. Achknow- ledgement for the photos goes to Willis Wyant of South Street who was born and raised in the Kansas-Amsden area.)

When the early settlers moved into Ohio and settled Seneca County, the first and most important task facing them was the building of log houses to live in. Schools held a high priority on their list with churches following close behind.

SIMPLE LIFE!
BASIC EDUCATION

Life was much simple then. The early settlers carved their livelyhood out of the land and all it provided--good soil to grow crops for food for themselves and livestock, fish from the streams, wildlife to bolster their meat supplies, clay, stone and sand from underground for building products.

When the early settlers needed something they couldn't produce themselves, they bought or bartered.

It was that simple lifestyle which caused those early settlers to establish the three "Rs"--readin', ritin' and 'rithmatic as the basic subjects in their schools with study of the Bible also.

Back then, the boys learned about tools, and making and repairing things from their fathers while the girls learned to cook and sew from their mothers.

Of course, some of the sons and daughters went on to gain more education after their eighth grade of school, but many of them became proficient enough with their three-R training to get jobs in stores, offices, banks, schools, etc. to make their own way in the world--that is if they didn't stay in the farming business.

Teaching certificates were earned from summer school training. Short but specialized business courses prepared both men and women to get jobs in stores and offices and to work their way to the top of chosen professions.

In Jackson Township, there were many one-room country schools dating back to as early as 1864. The earliest schools, built of logs, were later replaced by brick schools, some of which still stand on their original locations, now used for a variety of purposes, including homes and farm storage buildings.

The accompanying map of Jackson Township shows the location of those schools, and the photos illustrate those which are still standing, five converted to homes and one used as a farm building.

Willis Wyant, provider of the photos and also much interested in the history of the area, collected interesting data about each of the schools. He admits not being able to recall all of the first names of people, but many readers may and will remember other things about the schools and the pupils.

AMSDEN SCHOOL

(Two-room building located north of Ohio 12 on Amsden-Kansas Road.) Teachers: William Wyant, Jacob Hartline, Clarence Latshaw, Fred Weeks, Louis Broyles, Edith Kaltenback, Gladys (Yoder) Snyder and Mary Hammer. Students: William, Charles, Harmon, Homer and Elizabeth Wyant; Earl, Carman, and Herbert Ash; Howard Dyer; Anna, Walter, Erval, May and Lesley Dye; Mona, Pearl, Elmer and Ella Copsey; Basil Heller; Robert and Gene Watson; Donald Good; Leland and Rolla Sour; Clyde Shawll; Elmer and Hazel Shaw; Ralph Hartline; Wilmer Kunkel- man; Frank and Harold Thompson; and Charles Warner. Also the following which are only last names: Hall, Whalen, Smart, Padgham, Kissling, Hartlery, Fred- erick, Pankhurst, Lee, Kreinke, Kinsey, Gates, Wormwood, Rymer, Vickery, Stahl, Shiley, Pence, McLaughlin, Hoffman, Hull, Cook, Null, Stockwell, Mosier, Dye, Harding, Flack, Ammaugher, Massie, Dicken and Craun.

KINSEY SCHOOL

Teachers: Elmer Feasel, Allie Walters, Fred Feasel, Glenn Rhiems, Dora Den- nis, Ola Doll and Mildred Bender. Students: Zenith Nederhouser; Lyle and Dee Snyder; Ruth Pankhurst; Cora Feasel; Vivian and Harold Burk. Also the following which are only last names: Gangwer, Krouse, Soule, Reiter, Smith, Baker, Smith, Harrison, Walston, Kissling, Shultz, Kempher, Higley, Mertz, Gaunt and Hemminger.

CRAUN SCHOOL

Teachers: Marion Feasel, William Wyant, Blanche, McHaffey, Carol McCuley, Lucille Beirly, Albert Rowe, Elmer Shaw, Luther Flack, Eulalie Lehman, Loretta Morrison, Hazel Shaw and Gladys Mathias. Students: Orland Ash; Ethel, Troas, Ruth, Lee and Paul Boyd; Earl and Floyd Byers, Herbert Craun; Floyd Doll; Rowena Reasel; Marion and Herschel Flack; Clyde, Edna, Bessie and Hazel Gee; Robert and Justin Harrison; Austin Hull; Blague Nichols; Geraldine, Alberta and George Peeler; Willard, Donald, Bernice and Maxwell Radcliff; Walter Shultz; Gladys, Earl, Wilbur and Rowena Wyant. Also the following which are last names only: Keefer and Massey.

PANKHURST SCHOOL

Teachers: Lucille Bierly, Gladys Ward and Nell Yoder. Students: Only last names recalled: Kinn, Steward, Miller, Waltermeier, Flack, Dicken, Shupe, Myers, Pelton, Grove and Cunningham.

REHOBOTH SCHOOL

Teachers: Hazel Storts, Nell Yoder, Gladys Yoder, Vera Stahl, Bernice Cramer, Fanny Sellers, Virgie Feasel and Maud Sheets. Students: Weldon and Gert Ropp. Those remembered by last names only: Strawman, Henderson, Good, Po- dach, Heiserman and Russell.

ILER SCHOOL

Teachers: Grace Pugh, Ralph Weaver, Nelson Keller, Edna Longacker and Pearl Keller. Students: Helen and Anna Iris; Mary Omwake, Robert Keller, Ted and Kenneth Bingham; Glenn Hill, Olen, Clyde, Geraldine and Alberta Peeler; Edith Depinet, Edna Dillon, Philomena and Louella Hammer; Leroy, David, Paul, Emma and Norman Grove; Ronald and Robert Dicken. Also some remembered last names only: Gwiner, Dinglested and Shaver.

ECKER SCHOOL

Teachers: Oscar Byerly, Rachel Carpenter, Virgie Leonard, Lulu Lanning, Alwilda Kiser, Virgil Mathias, Jacob Krabill, Nora Bigham, Gladys Day, Ruth Hershberger, John Q. Callin and Lois Hollenbaugh. Students: All remembered by last names only: Ryman, Flack, Miller, Cook, Gwiner, St. Clair, Kassing, Kisabeth, Chilcote, Weaver, Yochum, McBride, Stein, Jacobs, Heiserman, Smith, Byers, Ecker, Depinet, Stahl and Kempher.

CENTER SCHOOL

Teachers: Albert Rowe, Fred Rowe, Fred Feasel, Margaret Mathers, May Broyles, Leta Showman and Ethel Pugh. Students: Remembered by last names only: Ard- ner, Feasel, Shultz, Vrooman, Snyder, Klinker, Rouser, Jacobs, Trumbo, Saum, Mansfield, Dicken, Cross, Durst and Mosier.

COCHARD SCHOOL

Teachers: Gladys Herchberger, Alberta Sheffler, Gladys Yoder and Alma Martin. Source had no student information except that Mrs. Gilbert Rouser, now an Ams- den resident, attended the school.

AMSDEN CENTRALIZED SCHOOL

The early one-room schools served their purpose nobly and effectively, but the time arrived when the County commissioners and the educators saw the need of for centralized schools.

In 1922, the centralized school was built in Amsden. Up to that time when students had completed their education through the eighth grade they had to go elsewhere for high school courses. Many of them in Jackson and Loudon Townships came to Fostoria because of the availability of transportation via railroad or electric interurban.

The Amsden centralized school, for many years, schooled students from the first grade through four years of high school. When the new Lakota High School was built, the school in Amsden discontinued the high school training.