Garden County Nebraska

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Oshkosh, Lewellen, Lisco

During the early days, the school advantages were the same as in all new settlements. Very few schools and often none for many miles.

The first school building in the county was in what is now Joint district No. 2, known as the Wendt School on the south table west of Ash Hollow. It was built of sod in 1887.

Mrs. Robert Dailey, near Lisco, had no school near at hand. In order to get the children to school, she took them to Lodgepole, often fording the river to do so. Once she placed the children on a cake of ice to serve as a raft. She waded the river; her struggle to keep the raft from carrying the children down stream in spite of her would be a lesson in courage and determination.

The first county superintendent was T. C. McKee, elected in 1910. His health failed and he was obliged to resign in October 1913, when Nellie Olson (now Mrs. Ed. Stroud) was appointed to fill the vacancy. Then having been elected and re-elected, she remained in that office until March 1, 1918, when she resigned. Miss Esther Johnson was appointed to fill the vacancy and has since been elected to the office.

Lewellen had the first village school in 1890. A frame building was put up and used until 1908, when it was sold. They had expected to have a new building ready for the next year, but there was some trouble about the bonds, leaving the community without a school building for three years. During this time school was held in the Hall, L. H. Warner and Lyle Mewhirter were two of the teachers who taught in the Hall. In 1911 a good frame building was completed. In 1918 the 11th and 12th grades were added, making a high school course complete. A large brick building is being erected this year for its accommodation. It will be a needed improvement.

As early as 1890 a small small school was carried on in the sod house on John Robinson's pre-emption on Lost Creek, one mile north of Oshkosh.

That old sod house was used until 1896, when a new sod building was put up in the north edge of town near where the old stone building now stands. The stone building consisting of two rooms was erected in 1905. It was quite a pretentious building at that time, but soon became too small. In the fall of 1910 the primary grades were moved into a small frame building on Fish street, just north of the railroad track. Here Bonnie Twiford taught. During the summer of 1911, a small frame building was built in the yard with the stone one.

Oshkosh school soon had outgrown its quarters. The eleven grades needed more room so a commodious brick building was erected in 1914, giving ample space to accommodate the school for some years to come. But now, 1920, that building is filled to its full capacity, employing seven teachers for the pupils of the first eight grades.

The first school in Lisco was held in a room over the Lisco Mercantile Company store, during the year 1909-10. It was a private school supported by the few residents of Lisco. There were fourteen pupils enrolled with Jessie Lee Colyer teacher. It was made a public school the following year with Miss Williams as teacher. The room over the store was used until 1911 when the present frame building was put up with two rooms and two teachers, Miss Goodmanson and Miss Davis. Last year, 1918, they were obliged to fit up a room over the Lisco Mercantile Company store again. In 1919, two rooms over the store were needed as the tenth and eleventh grades were added to the course.

Garden County High School

June 26, 1915, a Garden county high school was organized under the control of a Board of Regents.

The first graduates were Walter Olson, Bess Blair, Beulah Blair, Marguerite Day, Bernice Miller and Fern Bentz.

In 1918 the grades, needing the entire building, a new high school building was built in the west part of town on a five acre tract under irrigation.