School Days, 1911-1912
Oral History Tape #3, Part 2
Interviewed by Janet Granger
Janet Granger:
This is Janet Granger and I'm making a tape of Mrs. Vernon Miller, who lived in the Lowell area in the early days. Sylvia Miller, will you please tell me what your maiden name was?
Sylvia Miller:
My maiden name was Sylvia Rudolph.
Janet Granger:
And what year were you born?
Sylvia Miller:
I was born November 13, 1904.
Janet Granger:
And what year did you start going to school?
Sylvia Miller:
I started going to school in 1911.
Janet Granger:
Sylvia Miller:
I think that you forgot to ask me where I was born. I was born just across the state line in Will County, Illinois. That was just about due west of Lowell, and then we came to West Creek Township in March 1905 to the Rudolph homestead that was three miles northwest of Lowell on 173rd Avenue.
Janet Granger:
Fine. Then where did you go to school and what year did you start going to school?
Sylvia Miller:
I started school in 1911 and I went to the Bruce School, which is at the corner of Parrish and 181st Avenue. And Father hitched the team to the milk wagon, or cracker wagon as we called it, and he picked me up and put me on the high seat and took me to school.
Janet Granger:
Do you remember how you were dressed the first day of school?
Sylvia Miller:
Yes, I remember. Of course, we in those days wore long white stockings and we had button shoes and in the cold weather we had long legged underwear, woolen dresses, and homemade mittens and caps, and our heavy clothing of course. And this school we went to, the Bruce School, we had to walk in the good weather and it was a one room school. And water was carried from the Bruce farm which was close by and the toilet and all those things were outside. There was no electricity, and we had one big stove, and Rena Dahl was a teacher.
And we went to school from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. And I remember I guess I thought the ABC's weren't very essential; anyhow I apparently didn't learn them. And one day Miss Dahl said, "I'm going along home with you tonight and talk to your mother."
And, believe it or not, the next morning when I went to school, I knew the ABC's.
So, then the next year, which was 1912, the schools were consolidated into Schneider, Oakland, Lake Prairie, and Sheridan. I went to the Sheridan School in the horse driven bus. And we had a coal stove that was mounted under the bus for heat in the winter. And if the roads got too full of snow and snow banks, why, they would take a wagon box and put it on a sled and cover it and put straw in and we kids would all pile in and maybe they would cut a fence or two and we'd go to school. We didn't miss too many days. And then we had room for about twenty or so pupils in this bus. And the seats faced each other. And it was about ten or twelve miles that we had to go. And often our lunches were nearly gone by the time that school started.
Janet Granger:
About how long would it take you to go that ten or twelve miles?
Sylvia Miller:
Oh, it would, I imagine, take about an hour and a half, something like that. And even in this newer school which was a brick building -- two room brick building -- we had a basement that we could play in, but still all the plumbing was outside. But we did have a pump. And there was no furnace or electricity. And then towards the later years before I got off, they used the water coolers and we had our own drinking cups.
Janet Granger:
All right. And what did you do at recess periods? Would you go down in this basement? Did this basement also have a stove in it to heat it?
Sylvia Miller:
No, we just had to wear our wraps and it had rings mounted on the ceiling that we could swing on. Of course we played Pussy in the Corner and all that sort of thing.
Janet Granger:
So it was sort of like a miniature gym really.
Sylvia Miller:
Yes, it was. It was a great improvement to what we had been accustomed to.
Janet Granger:
All right. And what types of games did you play at recess? If you went outside, what did you play?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, we had a lot of games that, ah, were played. It was Red Light, London Bridge, Pom Pom Polloway, Run Sheep Run, Ante Over, Hide and Seek, Drop the Handkerchief and Ring Around the Mulberry Bush, Fox and Goose, Crack the Whip and baseball. We had quite a lot of games that we played.
Janet Granger:
Now what form of discipline was used in the school?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, I don't know. I think they shook them up.
Janet Granger:
Did your ever get shook up, Sylvia?
Sylvia Miller:
No. I don't remember that I did. Although I wasn't an angel either. And I think one of the biggest things that they did was to keep them in at recess. You were denied the privilege of playing.
Janet Granger:
I see. And what kind of textbooks did you have? Do you remember anything about them?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, we had reading, arithmetic, spelling, history, geography, physiology, and we did have some art. We had music and home economics. I remember sewing quite a large apron by hand 'cause we didn't have sewing machines at that time and that was just for the seventh or eighth graders.
Janet Granger:
Pardon me, but weren't there sewing machines at that time?
Sylvia Miller:
Oh yes, but our school couldn't afford them. And in those times, too, we got our report cards every month. They were in figures and not letters like they came out later.
Janet Granger:
I see. Your parents . . . .would they be mailed to your parents or would you take them home?
Sylvia Miller:
Oh, no, we took them home with us.
Janet Granger:
What kind of writing was taught?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, we had our regular practice books and I would suspect that it was the Palmer Method. And of course we had to write in ink in those. And we had wooden handled pens that had little metal points on. And they would be replaced.
Janet Granger:
And you had, I imagine, a little felt ink wiper or something to wipe your points on.
Sylvia Miller:
Yes we did but they often went where they shouldn't.
Janet Granger:
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
I see. The dress took the place of the ink wiper. And what type of school activities did you have during the school year? What were some of the parties and things that you had?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, one of the things as far as the parties was concerned, our school teacher was Ernie Gregg and he would like to take us to his home of an evening, and we had just lovely parties there. He played a mandolin, and that stands out in my mind as something I especially liked -- to hear him play the mandolin.
Then, of course, we had in school, we had our Christmas parties, our Halloween parties, box socials, spelling bees, and all that sort of thing. One thing I remember about the box socials, they always put up several girls' names for the most popular girl or the prettiest girl whatever you wanted to have. And I remember my name got put up, and Vernon was determined that I was to have the box of candy and he ran out of money and he had to borrow money and he like to never live that down that he didn't have enough money to buy the candy for his girl. But I got the box of candy anyway.
Janet Granger:
Good. And you got to date Vernon, I imagine.
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
Was Vernon in school with you?
Sylvia Miller:
No. This was after we went to a community meeting at the time. And so that was after I was out of school when we went back there.
Janet Granger:
About how old were you then?
Sylvia Miller:
Oh, I must have been in high school.
Janet Granger:
What about your Christmas parties? Do you remember anything special about those?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, yes, everyone got gifts off of the tree. We had a program and everybody had to say a piece. I was supposed to say "The Night before Christmas," and I was just scared to death. I just knew that I couldn't do that. And I was saved from doing it. They asked another boy to give it, and I didn't have to, and I think I was the happiest girl in the Christmas party that night.
Janet Granger:
Did you ever make any speech at all?
Sylvia Miller:
Oh not particularly. I never was much for that. I wasn't very good at it either.
Janet Granger:
I'm sure you would have. There's no problem there.
Sylvia Miller:
Well I was much shyer then than I am now.
Janet Granger:
Who was your favorite teacher in your school days?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, this Mr. Gregg was the favorite teacher because he liked art and he taught us the fundamentals of art and he would take us on field trips out in -- we had a woods adjoining Sheridan School -- and we learned a great deal about flowers and plants and the natural things around us, and that always appealed to me. And even to this day I recall the art work, and it did have a marked effect on me because I don't think I would have gotten acquainted with it if it hadn't been for him.
Janet Granger:
They all did a good job then.
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
And what about music? Did you have a special teacher for music?
Sylvia Miller:
Yes we had a music teacher that came around -- would drive horse and buggy.
Janet Granger:
Sylvia Miller:
Yes. And went from one school to the other. I don't know -- I can't remember if they came once a week or if it was every two weeks. Something like that. We used to have real cute little songs.
Janet Granger:
Do you remember any special song that you especially enjoyed singing?
Sylvia Miller:
I don't remember singing it but we had to, ah, had a song that went along with making tulips. And we'd draw the parts of the tulips and then sing with that. And another one was about the wise old owl. When we got our song done, why, we had the picture of the owl or tulip completed. We all loved those little songs. They were good.
Janet Granger:
They were sort of games and songs together.
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
Did you have any special kind of a library? Was there a library in the school?
Sylvia Miller:
Yes, we had a small room that had a quite a few books in it, and they were the standard books. And I remember our maps were just like in the older schools. They were mounted in a case over the blackboard. And we did have good maps, and we did have quite a few books.
Janet Granger:
What was your favorite story? Do you remember a favorite one?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, I think the one I read most as a girl was Grimm's Fairytales because it had a series of them in, and I just loved every one.
Janet Granger:
Did you have any sort of a form of graduation ceremony?
Sylvia Miller:
Yes. Our school burned and we had a Gleaners hall that was an adjoining lot and we finished the last part of school from this Gleaners hall.
And for the last of school our examination was made -- our examination papers, rather -- were made out by the County Superintendent Frank Heighway. And we all went to a central school and took this examination.
And then, for our exercises, we came to Lowell to the old opera house that was just north of the Lowell Tribune office. Later that was torn down and the Nazarene Church built a church there, and now I guess it's intended for an office building, something like that. And all of the schools were on the program. The whole township schools came in and each one had a part on the program. Then, of course, we had our white dresses, and those days we wore our hair in braids -- long braids -- either crossed the top of our head with a big bow on either side or we had a long two braids hanging down the back or maybe one braid. And, 'course, the white dresses were really something. That was a big event, to graduate. Then of course, by then we were big kids.
Janet Granger:
Was there any special event that stands out? What was the outstanding thing that happened in your school days?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, I think the last day of school was always special because of the picnics that we had. All the families came together and it was a potluck affair. And then the other thing that stands out in my mind, even today yet. Of course, that was at the end of World War I. And when the news came that the war was over, we all got in our regular school bus and we came to Lowell. And on the corner by the monument . . . those four corners right in the middle of the street they had hung an effigy of the Kaiser. And that Kaiser was burned there and we all had a tremendous time that day. That was something that you just don't forget.
Janet Granger:
Did you have some brothers, Sylvia, in World War I?
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
Of course, your father wasn't in it either.
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
So you had no immediate family member in World War I. But you were certainly glad . . . tell me about some of the things did to take part in the World War I effort? Did you, like, knit squares or anything in your school days?
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
Do you remember doing anything like that? I just wondered. I thought maybe you might have. Do you remember any sacrifices you made?
Sylvia Miller:
No, I don't remember particularly. I do remember that some of them were knitting sweaters and knitting things like that, but it didn't get into the school.
Janet Granger:
All right. Is there anything else that you want to tell us?
Sylvia Miller:
Yes. I think there would be something about our vacation time.
Janet Granger:
Sylvia Miller:
Well, there were so many things that happened during vacation time, and even during the rest of the year, because our home life was our total life. We didn't have 4 H Club and we didn't have softball and all these sort of things that children have, swimming and all that sort of thing. If we wanted to swim we went to the crick and made a dam and jumped in.
And one of the biggest things I remember was to go to town on Saturday night. That was the crowning event of the week. And we didn't go to town in between. I guess all we did was walk the streets, but it was a lot of fun anyway.
And other things during vacation time was we had to watch the cows along the road, and we lived very close to the New York Central Railroad, and it was always a matter of not letting them go on that or go the other way and get on the cross roads and get away. So that was something we had to do. And then we had to help in the garden because my folks sold fruits and vegetables and things like that from house to house here in Lowell. And then, of course, had to drive the horses on the hay wagon and on the hay fork. And I hated that. And I remember once I hid under the current bush and thought I just wasn't going to do that that day. But, you know, they found me, and I did it anyway.
So then I remember seeing a neighbor drive his cattle and there would be quite a number of them -- ten, twelve or maybe even more -- drive them past our house, and they would drive them either to the fair at Crown Point or to the station at North Hayden to be sent to the market. And along that line, we vealed our calves and tagged them and sent them by train to Chicago and chickens were crated and shipped and we dressed poultry and barreled it and sent that to Chicago.
Janet Granger:
Pardon me. When you said that you barreled it, how did you get it to stay preserved until you got it to Chicago?
Sylvia Miller:
They were, of course, thoroughly cooled after they had been dressed. I don't know how we did it, but anyhow, they were packed into a large wooden barrel. Well that's the way it was.
Janet Granger:
There wasn't any salt or anything put in it was there? Like a brine -- there wasn't a brine?
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
They were just put in and then they were sent. Do you know how long it would take them to get from Lowell to Chicago?
Sylvia Miller:
Well, they would leave there in the morning and I would suspect by noon they would be in Chicago and they would go to the south Water Street market.
Janet Granger:
Did you have ice boxes in those days?
Sylvia Miller:
Janet Granger:
Sylvia Miller:
But we always did have a large flock of ducks and geese on the place and we saved, and either used or sold, the feathers from these and made pillows and feather beds. As a kid I remember it was my job to corral the geese and the ducks. Mother would then carefully pluck the right feathers from the live ducks and geese. And I remember their loud protests and the funny looks they had when they were just mostly down and a few big feathers running around in the yard.
Janet Granger:
It didn't hurt these ducks or geese?
Sylvia Miller:
No. If you did it right, it didn't hurt them.
Janet Granger:
And they would raise another small feathers?
Sylvia Miller:
Right. Much the same as once a year your chickens will shed their feathers and they'll grow a new set. And that's what mother would keep -- the choicest ones -- and sell those. And they used to sell for a dollar a pound. And just try to buy a pair of pillows today.
Then we had other events that kids always were very much interested in. And that was butchering time when we took care of all of our own meat: sugar cured it -- fried it down. Salted it and smoked it and all that sort of thing. We made all of our own sausages, and they were really good.
And then there were the times when we had silo filling, hay pressing, and thrashing was always a big time. Even some of the neighbor women would come in and help us cook. Sometimes we had as many cooks as we had thrashers, and kids, too. But it was fun and it was good. And those days we shocked corn and shredded it for winter feed. And I remember as a girl going out in the field and helping husk corn in the fall. And those are things that are all gone, but those were really the days, and that was our life.
Janet Granger:
Well it certainly sounds like you had an interesting childhood. Thank you, Mrs. Sylvia Rudolph Miller.
WEDDING BELLS
The wedding of Sylvia L. Rudolph, daughter of Mrs. Charles Rudolph, to Vernon H. Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Miller, was solemnized at the M. E. church in this city on October 12, 1927, at ten o'clock in the forenoon by Rev. Jones.
The bride wore a dress of white silk crepe with a corsage of gardena blossoms. The bridesmaid was the sister of the groom, Miss Louise Miller. The groom was accompanied by the bride's cousin, John Bruce, and little Jean Hoevet, a niece of the bride, acted as ring bearer. Other attendants were Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hoevet. After the services the wedding party drove to Lowell, where a three-course dinner was served by the bride's mother. The dining room was beautiful in festoonings of pink and white and white wedding bells. On the table was a center piece of hothouse roses. About thirty near relatives were present.
Miss Rudolph is one of Lowell's best loved young girls, a high school graduate and librarian in the school for two years. Mr. Miller is one of West Creek township's prosperous young farmers and he and his wife will take up their residence on his father's farm. The young couples are spending their honeymoon in Chicago.
In 1904 on a little farm across the Indiana/ Illinois state line in Will County was born the youngest child of Lousia Darger Rudolph and Charles Rudolph. She was Sylvia Rudolph. Known to us all today as Sylvia Rudolph Miller.
When Sylvia was 4 months old, her family moved to the Lewis Rudolph homestead about three miles northwest. of Lowell in West Creek Township. The farm is presently owned by Mr. Robert Robison of W. 173rd Ave.
In 1911 she started school at the Bruce School located on the Wm. Bruce farm at the corner of Parrish and W. 181st Ave. It is interesting to note, that Mr. Kenneth Hirata presently has his place of business on this location. There was no transportation in those days and the children had to walk to their little one room school which housed eight grades. Her teacher, Mrs. Rena Dahl*, presently resides here in our community. This little school still exists as it was moved to Lowell and is now the residence of the Mr. Michael Hufnagel family at 255 N. Liberty St., Lowell, Indiana.
The next year the schools had been consolidated and Miss Sylvia Rudolph went the remaining seven years to the Sheridan School in the northwest corner of West Creek Twp. The other schools formed that year were Schneider, Oakland, and Lake Prairie. The children no longer had to walk as now they had a horse drawn school bus.
She belonged to the Campfire Girls in Lowell before graduating from Lowell High School in 1923. She attended business college in South Bend prior to her new position as bookkeeper and cashier at Lynch's Dept. Store in Lowell. She worked 6 days a week from 8 to 6 and 9 to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and has a salary of $60 per month. She also served as the librarian for 2 years at Lowell High School.
In 1927* Sylvia became the bride of Mr. Vernon Miller. Mr. Miller has been deceased since 1970. They had one daughter, Phyllis, who is married to Mr. Martin Kroll, a postal clerk at the post office here in Lowell. She has three grandchildren, David, Charlene, and Fred.
She has lived on the Miller homestead for 47 years. The Martin Kroll's also have their residence on this farm. All of her life she has lived in West Creek Twp. with the exception of about seven years when she lived in Lowell.
She is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lowell, has 12 years of service to the Lowell Public Library Board, Member of the Questers Club, a 45 year member with the Oakland Woman's Club, West Creek Twp., and 6 years with the staff of the Lowell Public Library, where she is currently employed part time.
This lady has been a real inspiration throughout her many years of dedicated service to our community. She said "I thank God for the good life and one of the finest areas to live in."
The Lowell Junior Woman's Club feels very honored to have had the opportunity to review Mrs. Sylvia Miller's life as the first in a series of interesting profile studies of Senior Citizens in Our Community.
-- The marriage year for Sylvia Rudolph and Vernon Miller is given here as 1927. In her obituary (below) it is given as 1928.
This obituary from an unidentified source can be found in the Local History Files at the Lowell Public Library, Lowell Indiana (LH -- Vital Statistics, vol. 2, page 52):
