North Star

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="011c8de3.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFCC80" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >North Star<B>   </B></FONT><A HREF="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>   </B><B> </B><A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Neighboring County Schools"><U><B>Jasper County Neighbors</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Barton County, Missouri"><U><B>Barton County</B></U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0b5bce70.jpg" border=0 width="700" height="487" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> 1937-38</div> <div> <I>Front row: </I>Charles Bolton, Billy Dixon, Bobby Knudsen, Don Bolton, Dale Knapp, Bob Dixon,</div> <div> Delmar Pugh, Glenn Ray Knapp.</div> <div> <I>Middle row: </I>Celia Letton, Rachel Wallace, Idell Metscher, Peggy Dixon, Lorrena Flaker,</div> <div> Jack Dixon, Alice Wallace, Clara Pugh, Dorothy Jean Metscher.</div> <div> <I>Back row: </I>Arthur Pennington, Julia Woods-teacher, Lavon Pennington, James Bolton.</div> <div> <I>Photo contributed by June Thomazin with identifications by Celia Letton Good.</I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0b8bc790.jpg" border=0 width="700" height="633" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Photo of the original North Star schoolhouse.  </div> <div> <I>Image is from "Four R's of Barton County</I></div> <div> <I>Courtesy of Pauletta Orahood, President of the Barton County Historical Society.</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Old North Star Schoolhouse Burns To The Ground</B></div> <bR> <div> One of southwest Barton county's oldest landmarks, the old North Star schoolhouse, located four miles north of </div> <div> Nashville, was destroyed by fire shortly after 3 o'clock Friday afternoon.  Don Glaze, service man for the Barton County</div> <div> REA, who first saw the blaze, warned the men at the Runnell's filling station in time for them to notify the teacher and</div> <div> save all of the contents of the building.</div> <bR> <div> Don was driving toward Nashville when he noticed a heavy smoke coming from the flu which ran outside of the north</div> <div> end of the schoolhouse.  He thought it was a bit peculiar that anyone should be firing a stove in such a manner when it</div> <div> was so mild and only a few minutes until school was out.</div> <bR> <div> As Don passed the building he glanced in the rearview mirror and for the first time he saw the flames shooting up through</div> <div> the roof.  Don whipped the car into the Runnells station and told the attendant that the schoohouse was on fire.</div> <bR> <div> The man rushed ahead of Don, who had on his climbers, and told the teacher, Miss Julie Woods.  The 18 school children</div> <div> got their books and marched to safety.  By this time several neighbors were there.  They carried out the desks, the piano,</div> <div> the Library, and other equipment.</div> <bR> <div> Don detached the electric meter and attempted to get the base but the building was too hot.</div> <bR> <div> Though the building was actually burning over their heads, Miss Woods and the children were unaware of anything out of</div> <div> the ordinary.  One of the children told Don later that he noticed a roaring but he thought it was only thunder.</div> <bR> <div> As the walls of the schoolhouse crumpled it began to sprinkle rain.</div> <bR> <div> Oddly enought Len Bright and Cap Joyce, insurance inspectors for the Barton County Mutual, checked the building not more</div> <div> than an hour before it was razed.  The found everything all right.  The building was insured for $700 and the contents for $500.</div> <div> The contents were damaged to the extent of perhaps $100.</div> <bR> <div> The origin of the fire has not been determined.  In all probability it was caused from either a defective flue or a spark alighting </div> <div> on the roof.</div> <bR> <div> Arrangements for a temporary school building have already been made.  School will be held in a newly constructed residence of </div> <div> the Runnels directly across from the station.</div> <bR> <div> North Star schoolhouse had stood for seventy years.  It was built somewhere in the late sixties.  It was the first schoolhouse</div> <div> built in Nashville township.  The first teacher, we are quite sure, was the late Alec Pettinger, who died thirty years ago, and who</div> <div> was for many years a Nashville merchant after he retired from the schoolroom.</div> <bR> <div> A good many generations had attended school in the old building, which despite its three score and ten years, was yet, before the</div> <div> fire, in excellent repair.</div> <div> <I>The Lamar Democrat, Tuesday, December 6, 1938.  </I><I>Courtesy of the Barton County Historical Society and June Thomazin.</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Barton Rural School Burns</B></div> <bR> <div> The North Star school in Nashville township, Barton County, was destroyed by fire last Friday afternoon.  Don Glaze, a lineman for </div> <div> the REA, who was passing on his way to Nashville, saw the blaze and notified the teacher, Miss Julia Woods.  </div> <bR> <div> The desks and other contents of the building were removed from the burning structure.  Eighteen students are enrolled in the school. </div> <div> The fire is believed to have started from a defective flue. The building was insured.</div> <div> <I>The Sarcoxie Record</I><I>, Thursday, December 8, 1938.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I><IMG SRC="0b7ef240.jpg" border=0 width="751" height="548" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> New North Star schoolhouse.</div> <div> <I>Image is from the scrapbook of Idell Metscher Thomazin-Walls, courtesy of June Thomazin.</I></div> <bR> <div> The North Star school was  located two miles north of Nashville on Hwy 43 where it intersects with Hwy 126.  It was on the northwest corner, </div> <div> and on the opposite side of Highway 43 was a filling station- grocery store-residence owned by Albert & Minney Runnels.  According to </div> <div> J. D. and JoAnn (Runnels) Kirby, the school is no longer there.  </div> <div> <I>Information courtesy of Lon Couch and June Thomazin.</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>People Of North Star Dedicate New School Building</B></div> <bR> <div> Two hundred people attended the dedication for the North Star schoolhouse two miles north of Nashville, Monday evening.  The old</div> <div> schoolhouse was the first to be built in Nashville district, erected nearly seventy years ago, and burned last winter.</div> <bR> <div> The new building meets every requirement for a number one rural school.  The light enters from the rear and from the left.  It is capable</div> <div> of seating 38 pupils, much larger than the regular attendance.  It has fifteen cubic feet of space each for as many as thirty-eight pupils.</div> <div> It has electric lights.  The walls are painted buff and the ceiling a light buff.  It has a hard wood floor.  There is a platform six inches high</div> <div> at the rear end provided with a curtain.  It has two doors with a stoop over each.  Under each stoop is a cement floor.  In one corner of the </div> <div> room is a modern circulating heater.</div> <bR> <div> The building cost $1080, the circulating heater $140.  Equipment and building did not cost to exceed $1250.  Most of the furniture in the</div> <div> old building was saved from the flames.  </div> <bR> <div> Mrs. Anna Knudson made a very interesting talk to the crowd.  She attended school in the building which burned down last summer,</div> <div> sixty-seven years ago.  The late Alec Pittenger was teacher.  He had an attendance of seventy-five.  At that time we believe it was the only</div> <div> school in Nashville township.  Mrs. Knudson recalled many incidents of her old school days at North Star.</div> <bR> <div> The youngest pupil who had attend school in the old school house was also present.  He was Harvey, six year old son of Mr. and Mrs. </div> <div> Russell Letton.</div> <bR> <div> The local community organization at North Star sold ice cream, hot dog and buns to the big crowd.</div> <bR> <div> County Superintendent Elgin Dermott was present and delivered a very much appreciated address to the large gathering.</div> <bR> <div> Russell Letton, Henry Melcher [sic]* and Albert Reynolds [sic]* are the directors, who had charge of erecting the new building.  Mrs. Bernice Shaw</div> <div> is clerk.  Miss Julia Woods will teach the first school in the new building.</div> <bR> <div> There is something of a coincidence in this connection.  The Irwin school house burned down last winter and a brand new building </div> <div> much to the order of the one at North Star is ready for use.  Miss Julia Wood's sister, Mrs. Lanta Lee Woods Needham is the teacher</div> <div> at Irwin.</div> <bR> <div> *Henry Melcher is Henry Metscher and Albert Reynolds is Albert Runnels.</div> <bR> <div> <I>The Lamar Democrat, September 1, 1939.  Courtesy of the Barton County Historical Society and June Thomazin.</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>