Opal Irene (Beavers) Brodine was 19 years old when she first taught in a one room
schoolhouse. After obtaining her teaching certificate from Kearney State Teachers
College, Opal was hired at a rural school south of Elm Creek in Phelps County.
With 19 students her first year and 23 students during her second, Opal taught every
single subject to every single student from Kindergarten to 8th grade.
During her time teaching, Opal boarded with a family who lived a mile from the
school. After walking to school each morning, aside from those special times when someone
would drive by in a car and offer a ride, her day was filled with many responsibilities.
Each morning she would do all of the necessary maintenance work, bring coal inside
to start the day’s fire, and pump water from a well outside the school to fill a cooler for the
students. If it had snowed the night before, Opal was the one to scoop the snow to allow
the kids in the school. When asked about snow day cancellations, she could not recall one ever happening.
The outside of the schoolhouse also fell under Opal’s jurisdiction of responsibilities, which unfortunately included the outhouses. There were two on the school property, one each for the boys and girls. Opal had to keep the outhouses clean and make sure there was always enough toilet paper for the children. Instead of regular toilet paper, the children used catalogs and old phone books, most of which were collected by Opal herself. When the bathroom holes were full, they would simply lift up the outhouse and move it over a new hole.
Every Wednesday and Saturday night, Opal would travel to Elm Creek on dates with her future husband, Ivan Brodine. There were
several restaurants and four filling stations in the town, and there were always plenty of things to do. After teaching her first year at
the rural school, Opal married Ivan, and their marriage lasted almost 60 years until Ivan’s passing in 2004.
schoolhouse. After obtaining her teaching certificate from Kearney State Teachers
College, Opal was hired at a rural school south of Elm Creek in Phelps County.
With 19 students her first year and 23 students during her second, Opal taught every
single subject to every single student from Kindergarten to 8th grade.
During her time teaching, Opal boarded with a family who lived a mile from the
school. After walking to school each morning, aside from those special times when someone
would drive by in a car and offer a ride, her day was filled with many responsibilities.
Each morning she would do all of the necessary maintenance work, bring coal inside
to start the day’s fire, and pump water from a well outside the school to fill a cooler for the
students. If it had snowed the night before, Opal was the one to scoop the snow to allow
the kids in the school. When asked about snow day cancellations, she could not recall one ever happening.
The outside of the schoolhouse also fell under Opal’s jurisdiction of responsibilities, which unfortunately included the outhouses. There were two on the school property, one each for the boys and girls. Opal had to keep the outhouses clean and make sure there was always enough toilet paper for the children. Instead of regular toilet paper, the children used catalogs and old phone books, most of which were collected by Opal herself. When the bathroom holes were full, they would simply lift up the outhouse and move it over a new hole.
Every Wednesday and Saturday night, Opal would travel to Elm Creek on dates with her future husband, Ivan Brodine. There were
several restaurants and four filling stations in the town, and there were always plenty of things to do. After teaching her first year at
the rural school, Opal married Ivan, and their marriage lasted almost 60 years until Ivan’s passing in 2004.