Second Allamakee County Rural School Reunion to be held May 26-28 in Waukon ...

The Allamakee County Historical Society is hosting its second Allamakee County Rural School Reunion during a three-day event scheduled to be held during the Memorial Day weekend next week. The reunion will be held in an open house format, including Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, and Sunday, May 28 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the newly remodeled Genealogy Research Center located in the lower level of the new Allamakee County Veterans Museum at 105 Allamakee Street in Waukon. Those attending the reunion are asked to use the back parking lot entrance to the former Vet’s Club building which accesses the building’s lower level. Signs will be posted, and that back entrance provides handicap accessibility to the reunion location.

The Veterans Museum in the upper level of the same building will be open the same hours as the Rural School Reunion. In the program room on that upper level, videos of interviews done with Don Meiners, Rose Zoll and Nona Hansmeier regarding rural schools will be played. Everyone is invited to attend, whether they attended a school in Allamakee County or not.

The Historical Society hosted a “Rural One-Room School Reunion” a few years ago and felt that the attendance was great. One Sunday afternoon in April about 350 people came through the reunion that year. This year’s reunion will feature a lot of information added to each of the books that each township has collected since the last reunion. The township books have pictures of students and teachers (such as the submitted photo pictured above from the Smithfield School in Franklin Township of Allamakee County with students playing ball during the last day of school in 1947), certificates for perfect attendance and spelling contests. Each book is different, with some being very full and gathered in larger binders.

Exhibits for each township have also been made, including a map with the rural schools listed and marked on the map. The exhibit also includes pictures of each school, although there are still some schools that do not have photos available for the exhibits. After the reunion, all of the school information will be housed and more easily accessed in the newly renovated Genealogy Research Center of the Veterans Museum building.

Technology is available through the Research Center, and will be usable during the Rural School Reunion, to scan and copy items that are brought in to share with the rural school exhibits, so that those who brought in the item may retain the original if they wish. Those who cannot attend the Rural School Reunion and have things to share may contact members of the Allamakee County Historical Society to make arrangements to meet. General contact may be made with the Allamakee County Historical Society at 563-568-2954 or by email at info@allamakeehistory.org, or contact may also be made with Historical Society members Marcia Rush, at 563-880-3014 or by email at mrush@acegroup.cc, or Carolyn Clark, at 563-568-3807 or by email at forestmillsquilts@gmail.com.