Peering at the Past Carrying lunch pails, they traveled by buggy, bus or train – even on foot

It was a black covered wagon, with curtains on the sides, that was pulled by a horse. For seating, there were benches on each side of the wagon. Small passengers entered by way of two steps leading to the back door. It was the first school bus for the Houston public school – maybe the first such education transportation in Minnesota, surmised Ingrid Julsrud, who was one of 15 to 18 daily passengers during her school days as a child.

The curtains could be raised for light and air on warmer days in the spring and autumn. When the dirt roads were covered with snow, the wheels were removed and replaced by runners to make it a school-days sleigh. The side curtains would be unrolled and lowered for protection from the elements.

These horse-drawn wagons served students near Houston from 1904 until 1925, when the first motor bus was purchased. The motor bus was in operation when Julsrud taught school in Houston from 1926 to 1928. Other buses came later, including an early one that transported high school-aged students from Hokah. At age 93 in 1993, she published a book of remembrances, entitled Remembering Old Times, Houston During the Post Card Era.

In 1904, transportation into Houston, especially for younger students, was needed when District 16, west of Houston (known as the red school house) consolidated with District 15 in town. Julsrud noted the newspaper presented the possibility that it might have been the first consolidated school in the state.

Some older students provided their own transportation to school. From 1914 to 1918, Oliver Holmes from Money Creek drove a horse and two-wheeled cart into Houston. Arvid and Rodney Benson were among those arriving by buggy from Swede Bottom. Kendall and Edna Halverson were among several horse-and-buggy students from Sheldon. Regardless of the weather or road conditions, they were known to never miss a day of school.

Dedication was also attributed to those hardy hikers, including the Olson girls and the Mason girls, who walked to Houston from Lower Looney Valley. They came on foot by way of the road that crossed the river near Lower Town, where they then followed the railroad tracks to school. These striding students carried their books and dinner pails through rain, snow and temperatures below zero. While having faced a “stiff west wind,” they would arrive with red cheeks and noses.

Rev. Williams would keep his Model T Ford going all winter to bring in his two daughters and as many other Money Creek kids he could cram in. Most people did not keep an automobile “going” all winter, often removing the battery and keeping it warm indoors. Proper winter care for the tires involved placing the car on blocks. It was considered bad for tires to support a car without moving all winter.

Students, who did not have transportation and lived too far away to walk, would find boarding rooms in town with kitchen privileges. In the 1920s, high school students came from Hokah by train on Sunday evening, bringing their supplies for the week, and would return home on the Friday afternoon train. They were dismissed early on Friday to catch the train. However, the trains were frequently late in winter when they were delayed by or stuck in snow drifts or had their brakes freeze up. The depot would notify the school when the train would be late and suggest what time the students should leave school.

Julsrud recalled the older school rooms were quiet, compared to newer modern buildings. The students may have been just as noisy, but the wood floors, windows, door frames and plastered walls absorbed more noise than more modern cement and steel. No one banged locker doors, because there were no lockers and therefore less traffic and noise in the halls. There was a large assembly room where each student had a desk and seat where books and supplies were kept. No one bothered anyone else’s desk. There was almost no theft. Few students carried money or needed any. They either went home for lunch or carried a lunch pail, which would be placed beneath one’s coat in the cloakroom.