White Oak School 1840-1910

There were nine schools in Lukin township: Buckhorn, Cleveland, Frogeye, Grant, Prairie, West Liberty, West Point, White Hall and White Oak.  This is the story of White Oak. Located about in the center of Lukin Township, and near the Bethlehem church, it was a typical one-room school. (Some of the readers may remember that it was located east of the Saben/ Sabine White Corner, seven miles south of Sumner and a mile east of the Sumner Lancaster Road. If you have a plat map, it’s in Sec 10, T2N, R13W.)

The students in that area probably attended a school as early as 1840, but no record of that school has been found.  However, Samuel H. and Martha E. Brown sold one-half acre of land to the School Trustees of T2N-R13W for $12.00 on July 22, 1871. A schoolhouse was built shortly thereafter. Carl Busse gave his first speech for the Democratic cause at the newly named White Oak School during the campaign of 1872.

The first teacher that the researchers have been able to identify was A. A. Perkins who taught 27 days in the spring term beginning in April 1880. There were 33 students, and Mr. Perkins was paid $24. The school then closed because of a measles epidemic.  James Morgan taught the winter term of 1888.

Information is scarce about the teachers or the students who attended from then until June 7,1894, when the first mention of White Oak School was found in the Sumner Press. “Miss Hattie Foster would teach at White Oak in the winter.”  Then on March 29,1900, that same paper announced that the teacher for the summer session would be Miss Kate Prout.

E. C. Cunningham, County Superintendent of Schools in the 1930s, noted that J. E. Diver was his teacher two years in the early beginning of the twentieth century at White Oak and he was the man who inspired Cunningham toward success.  Mr. Diver had the ability to get girls and boys to do “some straight thinking”. 

Cunningham described his school days in an article published in the Daily Record March 15, 1930.  The boys played games, such as prisoner’s base, draw base, bare base and baseball. During recess, they wrestled, jumped, ran and often fought together, then when in the schoolroom, they would compete to see “who could make the biggest paper wad to swat some more studious guy who was diligently trying to learn the southernmost Cape of South America or some other place.  Hard lessons were learned there in that school, not only lessons from books but the lessons of life which could not be learned in any other way other than by a fellow who had trials and tribulations.” 

F. M. Ridgely was paid $40 to teach the 1903-1904 term and Miss Mattie Woods taught 1906-07. Like most schools of the time, pie suppers were held to raise funds for school supplies.  At least two occurrences were found advertised in local newspapers. The earliest was October 19, 1907, and a latter was held on November 5, 1924.

Miss Esther Cunningham of White Oak School won the cake for being the most popular girl at the pie supper held at neighboring Prairie School in 1939. Readers may know Miss Esther as Mrs. Esther Brumley. When asked about this pie supper during an interview in preparation for this blog post, Miss Esther said she didn’t remember that at all. She did remember that her mother baked the pie that she took and that she was afraid that no gentleman would bid on it.  In those days, a normal bid was about 50 cents with the gentleman in the dark, so to speak, about which young lady had brought which pie.  The proceeds were used to support the school, and the winning bidder got to sit with the “young lady baker” for the rest of the evening. Of course, there seemed to be a lot of hints given by the young ladies to assure that the right gentleman bid on the right pie. 

White Oak School, 1909 

This photo was probably taken during the spring term, when the older boys and girls would be helping with the planting. Historically young women teachers were hired to “babysit’ the younger children. (This photo was later dated in a newspaper as 1910-1911.) Grace Daily is identified as the teacher.

White Oak School January 24, 1910 

The teacher is listed as Leavitt Kimmell. He was 22, his oldest student was 21.

Front Row L to R: Elsie White Evaline Heath, Earl Turner, Ray Traylor, Dudley Fiscus, Hubert Brunson, Kate Cunningham, Sylba Moore, Douglas Corrie.

Second Row: Roy Moore, unknown girl, Geneive Fiscus, Nellie Keuhling, two unknown girls, Dolis Corrie, Grace Cunningham and Vernie Keuhling.

Third row: Elmer Heath, Zed Lewis, Dewey Moore, Willis Moore, Ralph Traylor, unknown girl, Lillie Fiscus, unknown girl, Edith White, unknown girl, and Rena Heath

Fourth row: Mitchell Lewis, two unknown boys, Ernest Lewis, Ray Youngling, four unknown girls, Mae Mizer, and Bessie Heath

Back row: Ina Lent, Daisy Peters, Leavitt Kimmell (teacher) Ethel Peters, Orval Wright, Inez Moore, Edna Moore, Delia Peters, Omar Cunningham, Mae Peters and Effie Lent.