The Paynesville fifth grade class spent last week attending a country school. Rick Houske, fifth grade history teacher, has been taking kids to the country school the last couple of years.The kids attend the school for a full day, which includes a tour of the Historical Society, given by LeRoy Hillbrand and Rosemary Koshiol.
After the tour the students get to pick out their favorite item on the tour and draw a picture of it, complete with a description of what it does.
During the rest of the day classes were conducted at the country school. Usually a spelling bee was held, also a math game called Bizz/Buzz was played.
The school rules were also gone over so the kids would realize just how tough a country school was to attend.
After a break for noon lunch, the kids learned about the history of the Great Sioux Uprising and the history of Paynesville.
At the close of the day the kids learned about Paynesville's two unsolved mysteries.
One class got to listen to three guest speakers. One of the speakers was Juanita Moser, grandmother of Paynesville fifth grader Sidney Moser. She spoke about attending the very same country school when she was a child.
Another speaker was Gary Reeck, father of Paynesville fifth grader Megan Reeck. He spoke about what attending country school was like during the 1960s.
And the third speaker was Ann Krupke, who spoke about one of the unsolved mysteries: the disappearance of her brother, Jackie Theel.
Houske would like to thank the Paynesville Area Historical Society for making this possible, the three guest speakers for their time, the Paynesville Motor & Transfer Company for providing transportation, to Rosemary Koshiol and LeRoy Hillbrand for giving the guided tours, making everyone feel welcome, and starting the fires.