While watching children get on a yellow school bus, I am reminded of how different my school days were about 60 years ago and of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Johnson and Miss Kelderhouse. Growing up on a farm in northern Michigan, we walked about 2 miles to a one-room schoolhouse. The Greendale School and its surroundings form a vivid memory.  Because there was no electricity, large windows were on the front and sides of the building. During sessions, sunlight was the only form of light. Student desks, attached to the floor in rows, faced the teacher whose desk was in the left corner with a large wood-burning furnace in the right corner. A blackboard spanned the wall between the teacher's desk and the furnace. Two wooden benches, for use by students during their class recitations, were placed in the center.

Behind the school were two outhouses, one for the boys and one for the girls. A shed on the back of the building served as a woodshed. A hand pump well on the side of the building provided drinking water.  Swing and teeter-totter sets were available for use during recess. Mostly though, we played games such as hide and seek, "may I", tag, and antiover.