Blue Mountain School      

The first Blue Mountain school was built in 1892 - 38 long years ago, on what is known as the LARSON place, Miss BLANKENSHIP being the first teacher. $35 was the wages paid in those days and $10 of it went to pay their board and lodging. Those were the days when only a trail ran thru the timber and wild animals were plentiful. Little Lettie JORGENSEN, now Mrs. STEPHENS of Acme, nearly encountered a huge cougar on her way home from school. It killed three sheep before Jokum JENSSEN, who set traps and caught the cougar, but Lettie's father, Chris. JORGENSEN, finding it in the trap shot it. This is the same little girl, who at 3 years of age, was lost all one night in the mountains. The whole neighborhood turned out to search for her and found her at break of day unharmed and fast asleep way up on the very edge of a precipice.

In 1900 the school board secured an acre of ground from Mr. GORRIE, about a mile further south and the new Blue Mountain school was built - a fine building with a cozy cottage in the rear of the school for a teacherage. A number of good teachers have taught the young hopefuls in this beauty spot of Washington; many have gone out into homes of their own, an honor to the faithful teachers; some have been laid away beneath the sod, while their souls went to meet their God. We wish we knew all the names of both teachers and pupils who have attended there, but among those graduating from the eighth grade, known to us are, Irvine MONAGHAN and George SELDEN, who graduated in 1926 under Miss Ellen WRIGHT of Bellingham. Both are fine, manly boys, the kind to be proud of. Irvin (sic) graduated this year from the Mt. Baker high school. George SELDEN had to drop out of high school on account of failing eye-sight and hearing and is now doing linotype work in Seattle. In 1927 Helen DUNCAN, Georgia MONAGHAN, Russell SELDEN and Ethel SELDEN graduated from the eighth grade and all will finish high school next May excepting Helen DUNCAN, who is now Mrs. David STONE. Ethel SELDEN is an honor student in her class we hear, and about the youngest of the class. Miss Daisy DEAHL was their teacher and is still filling the position, starting on her fifth year at Blue Mountain the 2nd of September, where she and her three adopted little girlies love to gaze on the beauties of forest, mountain and streams.

Three more joined the ranks of high school this year: Patty MONAGHAN, Frankie SELDEN and Jeanie DEAHL, and Frankie no more can fall off the log while fishing at the noon hour and then wear some of Jeanie's clothes while his dry around the heater. Happy school days, how fast they come and go; dear little boys and girls of today, men and women of tomorrow. Our prayer for them is, God keep them pure and upright men and women, of noble characters, doing their best for God and home and native land.

We might add just a word, that the programs given at Christmas time, Halloween and Thanksgiving day, are enjoyed by all, as well as the community dinners and picnics.

Dicky DEE

           Clipper School      

Clipper started its first school in a small one-room shack belonging to Mr. HOWFROT. Miss HARRISON was the first teacher and taught there in 1889. Children from Van Zandt also attended this school until 1891 or 1892 when a school was established at Van Zandt.

The present building at Clipper is a splendid frame building where two teachers are employed.

Forty children were enrolled last year, twelve of these were brought by bus from across the Nooksack river which flows through the district dividing it. Some of the twelve children just mentioned live within almost a mile from the school but because of a bridge being out of repair and therefore impassable, must be transported around through Van Zandt district and down to Clipper a distance of five or six miles.

Miss Harriet McDONALD and Miss Bernice PETERSON who taught last will teach again this term. It is expected that Clipper district will send twenty students to Mt. Baker Union High School this term.

      Columbia Valley School       

Settlers began coming into what is now known as Columbia Valley early in 1889, and it soon became necessary to have a school for the children. The COLEMAN brothers donated an acre of land on which was erected a one-room split cedar shack about 1894 or 1895. Later a deed for the land was given by COLEMAN brothers to the school board. In 1913 a better building containing one room 25x40, also a cloak room, an entrance hall and a small room for manual training, was erected on the present location and continues to be used for school purposes. One bus is used to gather up the children of the district and Mrs. Ellen R. BARBER will teach this term. About 20 to 25 children attend Columbia Valley school.

      Deming Grade School       

In the summer of 1888 Mr. MARSHALL erected a one-room log cabin on his place to serve as a home for his mother, who did occupy it for a while.

In order to get a school district organized, she gathered a handful of children, nine in all, of which three were her own and she taught them for a term of six months.

Then Prof. SHELTON taught them for another six months. Mr. SHELTON was a very large man and the school house was so small that is was often jokingly remarked that it was necessary for him to go out of doors when he wanted to turn around. The children attending this school all came from the families of squatters who had settled in the section before any surveying had been done.

A little later it was found necessary to change the location of the school in order to have it more centrally placed. It was decided that half way between MARSHALL's and the MACAULAY place would be about right.

School was therefore held for six months in a tent and was taught by Miss JOHNSON.

About that time the surveyors came in and after their work was accomplished they left an old cook house just across from where the Deming depot now stands.

Twelve children attended here and were taught by Miss Nellie HOPKINS, who now lives in Bellingham. These children were three from the MARSHALL family, three SPEES children, four GRIFFENs, one SIVIT and one TINKER child.

A school building being a real necessity the district voted bonds of $1,000 on which 10% interest was paid, to build a frame building where the Deming grade school now stands. Mr. MITCHELL have an acre of land to be used for school  purposes.

Between 1897 and 1899 the fame building just mentioned was split and spread apart and more was added in the center, thus enlarging the building.

In 1910 the present brick building was erected. About 65 children attend the present grade school.

Teachers for this year are, Miss Lois PEBLEY, Sophia ANDERSON and Lizziellen BELCHER.

      Glacier School       

The first school in Glacier stood where Earl McLAUG[H]LIN's house now stands. Its first term was taught in a small shack 10x12 feet and only 7 children attended.

Logging operations and prospecting soon made Glacier a large settlement and a town hall was erected. School was then held in the town hall for two or three terms. Mr. BROOKS was one of the early teachers and taught as high as the fifth reader.

In 1910 a one-room building was built where the present school now stands and 13/18 children attended there. Then as population increased a large play shed was built and the school was divided and two teachers were employed.

About 1927 the school house was remodeled and an addition was made to accommodate two teachers. As hight as 30 pupils were attending at that time.

Another school was organized in the district about 15 years ago and school has been taught at the power plant since that time, to accommodate the children of the employees there.

When the logging camps removed it relieved the necessity of employing two teachers, and only one, Miss Doris BEATTY, will teach this year. The higher grade pupils will be transported to Maple Falls and it is planned to discontinue the school at the power plant and the children from there will be brought to Glacier this term.

Miss Eleanor BOURN was the first pupil to graduate from the Glacier school and she graduated alone in 1914.

      Kendall School       

About 1890 when there were only a half dozen families in the territory around about where Kendall is now, a school was needed to accommodate the 10 or 11 children of those families.

J. B. HARDEMAN had built a store building on his property. As it had not yet been used for its original purpose it was decided to use it for a school house, and it was so used for several months while a building was being erected for a school.

Two young women, Miss Helen GLEASON and Miss UNDERWOOD had previously come into the neighborhood and had taken up a homestead across the river. Miss GLEASON being qualified, taught the children who attended that first school.

The men of the community got together and spent several days hewing out cedar logs, and the fall of that same year they built a one-room school house down on Kendall creek.

That school was used for many years. Later the road was moved further away from the creek and in 1900 a new frame building of two rooms was built about a quarter of a mile from the site of the log cabin school house. Here school was held until 1921 when the present school house was erected.

This building consists of two large rooms and two ante-rooms. Two buses bring in the children from the surrounding neighborhood. Two high school pupils will be sent to Maple Falls this term and about a dozen or more will be sent to Mt. Baker High at Deming.

Leonard KEPPLER and Miss Afra BLOOMINGROTH, who taught at Kendall last year will teach again this term.