Elizabeth Doherty was born and raised on her family's farm in west central Minnesota, second in a family of seven children. She has fond memories of growing up in Tara township and attending District 20, the one-room country school, her inspiration for this book. Elizabeth graduated from high school in Benson, Minnesota. She attended the University of Minnesota, eventually earning a master's degree in social work. She began her career as a county social worker, but mid-career transitioned to a mental health therapist ...
Read More
Elizabeth Doherty was born and raised on her family's farm in west central Minnesota, second in a family of seven children. She has fond memories of growing up in Tara township and attending District 20, the one-room country school, her inspiration for this book. Elizabeth graduated from high school in Benson, Minnesota. She attended the University of Minnesota, eventually earning a master's degree in social work. She began her career as a county social worker, but mid-career transitioned to a mental health therapist focused on helping people with issues of grief and loss. She loved her co-workers and had many favorite memories of tall tales shared during lunch time. Currently, Elizabeth lives in Fridley, Minnesota with Joyce and their cat Schuster. She enjoys playing cards with her grandchildren Lucy and Zoe, her niece Kelly, and her four sisters. She loves smart talk and laughter with friends, walking in her park by the Mississippi River accompanied by her favorite blue heron. Elizabeth always thought she would write someday, but never imagined it would be at 75 and about her childhood years.
Read Less
Add this copy of In One Room to cart. $15.07, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2023 by Amazon Publishing Agency.
Add this copy of In One Room to cart. $20.12, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2023 by Amazon Publishing Agency.
They are mostly gone, but occasionally you will see a one room prairie schoolhouse sitting alone and abandoned as you drive thru the rural countryside. The number of one-room schools decreased nationally from 190,000 in 1919 to fewer than 400 today, with only one, the Angle Inlet School, near Warroad still existing in Minnesota.
In her debut memoir, actually a collective memoir, Elizabeth Doherty skillfully narrates an amazing collection of individual personal stories from the teachers, students, parents and community members who participated in the success of her one-room schoolhouse near Clontarf, Minnesota.
This delightful, easy to read book is captivating, heartwarming, and full of adventure as it highlights the everyday struggles, incredible strength, endurance and resilience needed to make one room schools successful. Teachers were young unmarried women, who had completed 9 months training at St. Cloud Normal School (more than 100 miles away) and then moved to rooms rented from farm families near the school. Most employment contracts stated they would lose their teaching job If they got engaged. Doherty tells the stories of these remarkable women and their daily responsibilities for opening and closing the school, starting the daily fire and handling all custodial tasks while also teaching 8 grades of students. She also shares the student experiences of outdoor restrooms, student responsibilities, Christmas performances, teamwork and challenges. DohertyÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s style is descriptive, visual, comical and empathetic. Photography and original illustrations by artist Della Conroy complement the narratives.
The book begins with a brief history of the land originally inhabited by the Dakota nation becoming the home of Irish immigrants and the establishment of the first one room school in 1877 thru the end of May 1959 when the school was permanently closed. The setting is the Minnesota prairie, but the stories are universal for rural students who attended one room schoolhouses everywhere.
I highly recommend this book. Thank you, Elizabeth for helping the next generation understand the experiences of their parents and grandparents in the one room prairie schoolhouse
