Marjorie Schutte Martin graduated from Eckley High School in May of 1955.
Eckley was a small Country School located in Webster County, north of Guide Rock,
and south of Blue Hill, Nebraska. Marge went on to attend Kearney State Teachers
College that summer. In the fall of 1955 she began teaching at District 60 in Rosemont,
Nebraska, in a one-room school, with Kindergarten through eighth grade. As
Rosemont was seven miles from Marge’s family home, she stayed with her Great Aunt
during the week, so as to not to have to drive such a distance.
There were 18 students that fall and each one had a job to do; from dusting erasers,
to sweeping the floor, to making sure there was toilet paper in the outdoor facility. They
became a tight little group and the younger children learned a lot by observing the lessons
being taught to the older students in the same class room. In Rosemont, as well as in other
one-room schools, some of the best learning transpired. If you missed the concept in one
grade, by the time you heard it repeated by each class until you graduated from the eighth grade, it became part of you. It was a “hands
on” learning experience that sticks with kids very well. It was a “learning” experience for the teacher as well, as it helped them learn
how to teach!
Marge taught three years at Rosemont, until the fall of 1958 when she moved to California and taught at Northridge for one year. She married Jerry Martin on December 27, 1958 and they moved back to Nebraska at the end of the school year. Marge took a couple of years off to have her two children, Lori and Dani. During this time she and her husband ran a café in Guide Rock, Nebraska.
Marge then taught at Hansen and Hastings, Nebraska for a total of 20 years, before giving up teaching and pursuing other interests.
Marge continued to attend college through the summers and by correspondence classes, for many years, always trying to improve on
her natural teaching abilities. She eventually received her Teaching Degree, and graduated from Kearney State Teacher’s College in 1972.
Not a bad feat, considering that she never attended one semester of classes at the college. The doors of the Rosemont School closed
forever in 1960 and the remaining students were transferred to Blue Hill School. The building was moved to Blue Hill, where it was
used as the concession stand at the football field.
Marge still sees some of “her” students once in a while and enjoys each of them, and they all think a lot of “their” teacher. Men who
served on the school boards of the schools she taught in give her high praise as well.
Eckley was a small Country School located in Webster County, north of Guide Rock,
and south of Blue Hill, Nebraska. Marge went on to attend Kearney State Teachers
College that summer. In the fall of 1955 she began teaching at District 60 in Rosemont,
Nebraska, in a one-room school, with Kindergarten through eighth grade. As
Rosemont was seven miles from Marge’s family home, she stayed with her Great Aunt
during the week, so as to not to have to drive such a distance.
There were 18 students that fall and each one had a job to do; from dusting erasers,
to sweeping the floor, to making sure there was toilet paper in the outdoor facility. They
became a tight little group and the younger children learned a lot by observing the lessons
being taught to the older students in the same class room. In Rosemont, as well as in other
one-room schools, some of the best learning transpired. If you missed the concept in one
grade, by the time you heard it repeated by each class until you graduated from the eighth grade, it became part of you. It was a “hands
on” learning experience that sticks with kids very well. It was a “learning” experience for the teacher as well, as it helped them learn
how to teach!
Marge taught three years at Rosemont, until the fall of 1958 when she moved to California and taught at Northridge for one year. She married Jerry Martin on December 27, 1958 and they moved back to Nebraska at the end of the school year. Marge took a couple of years off to have her two children, Lori and Dani. During this time she and her husband ran a café in Guide Rock, Nebraska.
Marge then taught at Hansen and Hastings, Nebraska for a total of 20 years, before giving up teaching and pursuing other interests.
Marge continued to attend college through the summers and by correspondence classes, for many years, always trying to improve on
her natural teaching abilities. She eventually received her Teaching Degree, and graduated from Kearney State Teacher’s College in 1972.
Not a bad feat, considering that she never attended one semester of classes at the college. The doors of the Rosemont School closed
forever in 1960 and the remaining students were transferred to Blue Hill School. The building was moved to Blue Hill, where it was
used as the concession stand at the football field.
Marge still sees some of “her” students once in a while and enjoys each of them, and they all think a lot of “their” teacher. Men who
served on the school boards of the schools she taught in give her high praise as well.