Ernie Hammer is a long time Kiowa County Press contributor. This story is written by Ernie’s Aunt Liz, Elizabeth Katherine (Hammer) Smith Benatti, based on her memories and family research. The story begins in Germany with Oswald Hammer and Margarethe Marie von Barsewisch, Liz’s parents. Liz passed away at the age of 104. She was living at the Kohart Home in Kit Carson at the time of her death. Part 24 can be read here.

Changing Times (continued)

When Elizabeth became older, she had a passion for teaching.  She graduated from the Colorado Teachers College in Greeley.  First she taught in a one room school filled with twenty three Russians.  She had to be very creative because they did not know how to read the English textbooks.  Next came another one room school with twenty seven students.  She earned $75 per month, $30 of which went to room and board.  For lunch she would pack one piece of apple pie, one piece of goat meat and two slices of bread.

Then she taught junior high math, English, geography, and history in Gilcrest.  There, she also coached boys’ and girls’ basketball.  Elizabeth left Gilcrest to become principal at a three room school in Hereford.  She took the school children down close to Pawnee Buttes near Keota for a picnic and to hunt arrowheads.  The boys were digging around in the dirt where a bank had caved off and found a skeleton.  They dug the bones up very carefully and took them back to the school and wrapped them up in paper. She told the superintendent at Grover and he came down and looked them over.  He said they should call the sheriff to see what they should do with the skeleton.

The sheriff came up and took the bones to Greeley.  The kids at Hereford said they would like to put the skeleton on display in the hallway.  So they gave a play to raise the money and bought a case to put in the front hallway.  Then Keota found out about it and said it was found in their district so they wanted it in their school.  So the authorities gave it to them.  The Hereford school got the display case and Keota wanted it, but they wouldn’t let Keota have the case.  The Hereford kids thought that if Keota got the skeleton they could get their own display case.  I don’t know what happened to the skeleton, because there’s nothing left at Keota but a church.  These were some of Elizabeth’s best years.

She later moved on to become the Park County superintendent which lasted eight years.  After that, she taught high school for two more years, then taught fifth grade.

Two incidents stood out my (Liz) recollection.  I really learned more about what teaching was all about in these first nine months than I had learned at college or my many days while in high school.  

My first incident happened the week of school when we gave our little program and pie social.  I had asked Mrs. Paul if I could bake the pies but she said she had already used all the ingredients necessary for a pie and had baked mine.  So we wrapped them beautifully and with people stuffed into the little room.  Many were looking in from outside the windows and doors.  

My pie, due to Mrs. Paul telling secretly to three of the young men, go bid up to $11 and the others then went for $1.00 up to $5.50.  We took in over thirty five dollars which the school board used to buy books and some new lamps and a kerosene lantern.

The second incident was the severe wind storm.  I noticed the terrible clouds and the boiling like action in the sky at twelve when we were eating our lunch outdoors.   But by 2 o’clock the wind and dust was so bad I kept everyone in.  We tried to keep the lamps lit by 3 o’clock due to darkness and the dust in the room, but had to satisfy ourselves with the one lantern.  We put it at the window knowing surely someone would come for the children.  Five o’clock came and no one came.  By now we had finished our lunch remains, if there were any.  The three small children were whimpering so we made beds for them on desks with the wraps of the older ones.  Still no one came.  At 8:30 we were hovering around the stove when the smoke all of the sudden came into the room, for the chimney had blown away (we never did find it).

At nine the two boys were still watching by dim lantern light for some sign of wind stopping or the parent’s headlights.

One yelled, “I think I see a light”.

It was only seconds until three care were loaded and taking the children home.  The headlights could only be seen when the cars turned into the school yard.

Next week – The Children’s Adult Years

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