These stories can also be heard on Sunday mornings around 10 am on WILD 102’s “Look Back in Time” program. Each week’s radio story will be posted here on our website.
Weekly radio stories are researched, compiled, and read by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member.
September 21, 2025
In 1975, Hazel Wahlberg wrote “The North Land, A History of Roseau County”, with a copyright
by Roseau County Historical Society, Commemorating the American Revolution Bicentennial.
One of the stories included tells about the old school system. I’ll read from that story today.
The little old red school house, scene of nostalgic memories for many of our older Roseau
County citizens, has passed from the educational picture, but never to be forgotten are the
educational experiences that bring a twinkle of merriment or even a tear to the eyes of the
teachers and students of those days.
Mrs. Jens Jenson (Anna Torfin, daughter of Iver Torfin) was a pioneer school teacher in 1916. A
typical school day in Mrs. Jenson’s career went like this” She had to arise early, around five
o’clock in order to get to her school (which was district No. 44 first and then district No. 62) to get
the pot-bellied stove going so that the school children could be warm when they arrived around
nine o’clock. The wood was always cut and plentiful, thanks to the fathers or the big boys in the
classroom. The school was not fortunate enough to have a caboose over a wagon to transport
the students as some schools had, so Miss Torfin’s students arrived cold and sometimes frost
bitten from their long walks to school. Each student carried his books from which he had done his
assigned homework, and a syrup pail which contained his lunch. Each one said a cheery, “Good
morning, Miss Torfin.” If they were early they helped with the preparations for the day – to sweep
the floor and to carry water for drinking and washing. (They had a common drinking pail and
dipper, and a wash bason into which they poured water warmed on the stove.) The coats and
sweaters hung on pegs in the “cloak room”, and at nine o’clock they sang the opening song,
“America,” and said the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Then they settled down for the routine
lessons of the day. Miss Torfin heard at least 32 groups recite while the others were studying.
They sat at home made desks and tables, wrote on a blackened board, and assiduously learned
their ABCs and language and sums.
Then it was lunch time – a welcome break after a long hike and a morning of lessons. By rows
the children were ordered to stand, turn, and pass to wash their hands for the noon lunch. It was
interesting for the youngsters to peer into the pails of fellow students for exchange of food, or just
to share. None went hungry.
After lunch, lessons were resumed. It seemed as if the children could concentrate in spite of the
loud recitations of older or younger school mates, for each was absorbed in his own studying
unless there was a good joke to be shared. The children had heard about the time when instead
of a lamb that came to school with Mary, a ram came with Sam when Lydia Hetteen (Mrs. P. A.
Larson) was the teacher and held school in a church building. The ram had been teased by the
boys, and when he butted his way into the school the naughty boys scurried on top of the desks
and the teacher had to catch the ram by the horns and hold him until they came to the rescue
and pushed him out the door.
Baseball and king of the mountain were some of the favorite games of the children during recess
and at noon hour.
A few older boys had taken to chewing “snus” and the parents asked Miss Torfin to use her
influence to make them stop this practice. “I promised I would do this in school,” said Miss Torfin
“but since the boys are bigger than I, I am afraid that I will not have much success at recess.”
Once when Miss Torfin came to school at the beginning of the term and was busy getting things
in order at her desk she was confronted by five gangly youths, one of them a year older than
herself, who were going to enroll. A shiver of fear ran down her spine at the thought of ordering
these older boys to do lessons, and she confessed that had the school house had a back door
she might have run through it, but the boys respected her and all went well. It seems the same
then as now – the students respond to a sympathetic teacher.
How the students crammed for the State Board Examination! This was the final test of the year
and it meant passing or failing so it was in fact, “the moment of truth.”
At this time the requirements for the schools were that each one be held for one month. Each
pupil must attend at least one day per term. This was the basis for state aid. The age of the
students ranged from five to twenty-one years, and each district was required to have a definite
enrollment to be financed. It was not surprising then that often the mothers of pupils would enroll
to enable the school to be established. But sometimes the parent enrolled in order to learn
English.
Thank you to 
for letting us share our county’s history with your listeners by donating air time, studio time, and production staff every week.