School

The caption on the front of this postcard reads "We are happy! Ten score and ten of us Fulda boys and girls." (210 children). The text on back of the postcard is

                Confirmation Souvenir
                Nov. 14th, 1911
                Rt. Rev. James Joseph Hartley, D. D.
                Minister of the Sacrament
                Rev. John Bernard Oeinck
                Pastor

The postcard was addressed to Miss Verona Miller, Dexter City, Ohio; but there is no evidence that it was ever mailed. It had no stamp or cancellation mark. The postcard was provided by Verona (a.k.a. Marie Veronica) Miller Nau's granddaughter, Mary Ann Schumacher Miller.

Education in Fulda --

An editorial in The Caldwell Citizen Press (16 Dec 1880) stated in part:

... Ninety pupils attend [the German] school and with more room, [we] would have a greater number. The English department is attended by about thirty pupils.

The enumeration of the district is 150 youths. As the law requires at least six months school each year, and as the number is too great for our school, our district is entitled to twelve months school vis: six months to each department. As to the senior or English department, many can attend but six months as they have to assist their parents on the farms, the junior [or German] department is entitled to ask instruction for nine months.

In general, a child's education began relatively late and ended early. In 1900, few children in Fulda under the age of 8 has started school, and not many over 15 attended class during the previous year. It was not unusual for a child of 9 or 10 to be unable to read or write English.

The length of the school year varied for each child in a family, depending on whether or not they were needed to help out at home. For example, in 1900, five of Joseph and Rachel (Weisent) Heppner's children were in school: Laura (9) and Fred (11) went for 8 months, their brother Roman (14) attended school for 4 months, while older brothers John (16) and Cornelius (18) went for only 2 months.

Many children in the parish attended St. Mary's school, where lessons were taught in German for several decades. Other children attended a one-room schoolhouse in Rado, several miles away from the church. John Maurice Hohman (1871-1940) was the schoolteacher there for some time. Children who attended the Rado school went to Catechism classes at St. Mary's school, which was an all day affair. They rode to church with the family, carried their lunches, and after Mass until about 3 o'clock had Catechism classes. Then they walked the miles home in all kinds of weather.