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While describing school life in west central Minnesota during the 1950s and '60s, narrators noted the influence of religion in classrooms, the prevalence of physical bullying, and involvement in extra-curricular activities.

Vern Brown

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Vern: "Well, usually as I recall, the first thing, we usually had the pledge of allegiance and that got it going. Then quite oftentimes, I can remember the teacher reading some book that she thought educational and so on, and reading that aloud to the whole work, the whole group. And then it started out with the order that people went up to the front of the class, went up to the front of the room, and now this class is in session and so on and out through the day."

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Ward: "You mentioned the bullying going on. What form was that, was it just words or was it physical?"

Vern: "Oh, it was physical. This spot right here was this bullseye."

Ward: "Really?"

Vern: "I guess my arms were so sore. I suppose I should have, could have reported to the school. If that goes bad on you, you're worse off you were before."

Dawn Benson

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Dawn: "In sixth grade, after we'd said the flag pledge in my public school, we said the Lord's Prayer, the Catholic stopped and the rest of us said the last few words that are part of the Protestant Lord's Prayer."

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Dawn: "...my school being so many Catholics in it always observed no meat on Friday, even after that wasn't the rule."

LeAnn Dean

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LeAnn: "Well, when I was old enough and got my license, I would drive a car myself. School bus would come at 10 to 8:00. I think classes started at 8:20. Seven periods. Combination of teachers I really respected and others that I didn't disrespect, but they just didn't make learning fun and what others did. I'd rarely have a study hall because I'd be in activities, and band, and volunteered in the school library from ninth grade on."

Thomas Harren

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Seth: "Okay. So, what was it like going to a parochial Catholic school?"

Thomas: "You know, I never felt that I got a real good education. And I didn't really know I wasn't getting a very good education until I left there and went to high school. And I particularly realized what was going on, and once I got into college that I was never taught some basic things that, you know, there was a lot of religion involved and we were taught by nuns. And I don't know how well trained they were. I'm somewhat critical of the education I got at the elementary school. I must have had a decent math teacher because my math skills weren't that bad. But I couldn't read very well. My grammar was terrible. Spelling is still awful. And so I think the public school provided a better education."

Annegine Vipond

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Jodi: "Okay. Yeah. But back in high school, did you have—I mean, were you pushed towards business classes because you were female, or did you take STEM classes just like Math and Biology and Chemistry and Physics?"
Annegine: "Pretty much everybody took your Biology and your Chemistry and stuff. The only difference would be they had typing and they had shorthand classes for secretarial stuff in high school. That was more of a picked—that was pretty much all girls that took that if you were interested in that area.
Jodi: "Otherwise, there was home economics as well and that sort of thing."
Annegine: "Yes. Yeah. Later on, then they did start bringing the boys in to do home ec in our freshman year, about freshman. Yeah. So they got an idea of how to make some food and stuff. They didn't do any sewing like nowadays. I mean, kids, boys sew and everything. It wasn't the sewing, but more the cooking part they did. Had them come in and got a taste of it."

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