Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

ode a buckskin pony to Anamosa to school. We kept
the horse and buggy in Jim McMurrin's barn. then
located ‘kitty-corner’ from the Anamosa Public
Library. where the Leo Recker and Ray Purcell homes
are now.
The wages we received. as teachers. were quite small.
I received $70 per month the first year. The Depression
years came along and we were cut to $47.50 per month.
When I retired. I was receiving $300 per month.
My memories of teaching days are priceless. No
matter where I go. I usually see one of my former
pupils. I drive by the old high school building on S.
Garnaviilo St.. now known as the middle school. and
look up at the rooms where our classes were held. The
old auditorium. which was our study hall. held about
200 students and was occupied by the freshmen,
sophomores. juniors. and seniors. in that order. On the
stage, uphigh. sat our principal. Miss Kennon.
Anamosa has always had an outstanding school
system. and I'm sure it will always be so.
The Famous Clapper Caper
“Who Stole the Clapper from the School House Bell?"
The children mostly all were there
And school took up at nine
But where the whole town asked itself
Was the school bell clear and fine.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL!
A small town isn't quite the place
To try big city ways:
And this the Superintendent found
Before so many days.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL‘?
Since days of old. we'd listened for
Its ringing call. Oh yes
It served to bring back bright and true
Our days at A.H.S.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL?
Sentiments are Horse and Buggy.
We like a ringing bell-
We like the message loud and clear
Our school bell has to tell.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL!
We do not like a substitute.
We want its peal each morn.
We have no time for modern things.
Especially not a horn.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL‘?
And if you get right down to facts
A buzzer's really that.
Their tone is always bound to be
Rasping. harsh and flat.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL!
The well loved bell was in good shape
But its clapper was not there.
The Junk Yards all reported. ‘No‘
The town cried. ‘Where. Oh Where!‘
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL?
The following was published in the Town Crier
shopper‘s guide by publisher. Sid Blair, exactly 40
years later. delightfully entitled, CUNNING CLAPPER
CAPER CONFESSION.
The poem published in the local paper May 21. 1942.
after the clapper mysteriously disappeared from the
school bell at the Anamosa Elementary School [near
the then Anamosa High School) bell tower. Now. 40
years later. the old school building has been
demolished and the answer to the poem began to
But the time wore on and patience thin.
The clapper was not found
In righteous indignation they
Demanded it be found.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL?
At last the feeling grew so strong
And this and that was said
The claper had to reappear
Like Lazarus from the dead.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL?
Now buzzers have a definite use.
But not in a small place.
We might as well build subway routes
To quicken up the place.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL?
We're glad to know our bell is back
The clapper safe and sound.
But where was it and who hid it
The question won't be downed.
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER.
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL?
If you don't know and cannot guess.
Just ask a friend or two.
They'll tell you all that you should know
And that this time. will do
WHO STOLE THE CLAPPER
FROM THE SCHOOL HOUSE BELL‘?
unfold.
Back in the ‘Good Old Days‘ I can vaguely remember
the school bell ringing in the morning before school
started. Seems like it rang at 8:30. again at 8:55 as a
warning bell. and again at 9:00 when classes began. I
lived across from the reformatory and started walking
to school about 8:30 when the bell first rang. If I
dawdled around along the way and heard the bell ring a
second time. I'd really high-tail it. because it meant I
had only 5 minutes to get there. If it rang a third time
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