On a sunny autumn day in 1936, 18 year old Doris Rupert donned her coat and hat, tucked her purse under her arm, and headed out the door of her parents’ farmhouse to launch her career as a one room country school teacher. The little schoolhouse stood unadorned on the desolate prairie of Cheyenne County on the edge of what became known as the dust bowl, but Doris was determined to be the best teacher she could be. On the occasion of Doris’ 80th birthday, one of her pupils from her first school commented that Miss Rupert taught her many things among which was that it was alright for the teacher to play with the students. Indeed, a farmer noted as he drove by the schoolhouse during recess that he could not tell who was the teacher and who were the pupils playing kick the can in the school yard. Doris did her normal training at Sidney High School and attended summer school at Nebraska State Normal School. She taught until 1941 when she married and started her family of five daughters. Doris returned to teaching in the one room schoolhouses of Cheyenne County in 1960 when she unexpectedly found herself full support of her children. She continued to teach and faithfully attended Kearney State College every summer until she retired in 1972.
As a one room school teacher, Doris did not just teach the formal academic subjects, she was also the track coach, drama coach, music director, art critic, event planner, and janitor. Doris was dedicated to her students and their learning. Realizing that like every teacher she had her strengths and weaknesses, she never wanted to stay too long at any one school lest her pupils share the weakness that she perceived she had in certain subjects. Consequently, during her tenure as a teacher she taught in six school districts in Cheyenne County. Doris was proud to be a one room school teacher and reveled in the accomplishment of her students as well as others students from the rural schools. She had a habit of noting the large number of Sidney High School honor roll students and valedictorians who had come from the rural schools.
She was a strong advocate for education, particularly for women. Realizing that it was her own education that helped her provide for her family, she made sure each of her five daughters had a college education even amidst the skepticism about educating women prevalent in western Nebraska in the early 1960s.
It is with great gratitude and pride that we honor our mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.
As a one room school teacher, Doris did not just teach the formal academic subjects, she was also the track coach, drama coach, music director, art critic, event planner, and janitor. Doris was dedicated to her students and their learning. Realizing that like every teacher she had her strengths and weaknesses, she never wanted to stay too long at any one school lest her pupils share the weakness that she perceived she had in certain subjects. Consequently, during her tenure as a teacher she taught in six school districts in Cheyenne County. Doris was proud to be a one room school teacher and reveled in the accomplishment of her students as well as others students from the rural schools. She had a habit of noting the large number of Sidney High School honor roll students and valedictorians who had come from the rural schools.
She was a strong advocate for education, particularly for women. Realizing that it was her own education that helped her provide for her family, she made sure each of her five daughters had a college education even amidst the skepticism about educating women prevalent in western Nebraska in the early 1960s.
It is with great gratitude and pride that we honor our mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.