Wausau: History Speaks: One Room Schools

The Marathon County Historical Society is proud to welcome author Susan R. Apps-Bodilly, as a guest speaker for the History Speaks series presenting on one-room schools. This presentation returns you to a time when Wisconsin’s rural children attended a one-room school with all eight grades in one room with one teacher. This interactive talk will celebrate the days when brothers and sisters went to school together; children put a jar of soup in a pot on the wood stove to warm for lunch, played recess games like anti-over, and practiced saying their “piece” for the annual Christmas program. Susan will talk about her research process and how she gathered stories for her book. Susan is a retired educator and author of “One Room Schools: Stories from the Days of 1 Room, 1 Teacher, 8 Grades.” She taught elementary and middle school students for 34 years. She holds a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction.

Directly following the presentation, the Little Red Schoolhouse in Marathon Park will be open for tours from 3:30-4:30 pm. This one-room schoolhouse from 1895 (formally Spooner School) was moved to Marathon Park in 1963 and hosts 4th grade classes every year to experience a typical school day in the early 1900’s.

This event is free and open to the public—no registration required—and is presented in partnership with the Marathon County Public Library and sponsored by Janke Bookstore. For more information, please call 715-842-5750.