Blackpipe District No. 8
by Blanche Kaufman
(transcribed from the Mellette County 1911-1961 book, published August 15, 1961 by the Mellette County Centennial Committee)
School history in Blackpipe District No. 8 begins with the building of a day school north of Norris on what is now the Paul Berry Ranch. This school was built about 1891, according to John Tripp, Jr., of Trenton, New Jersey. His father, John Tripp, Sr., was the first teacher at that school. Mrs. Tripp was housekeeper. They went on duty there in the fall of 1891.
In 1892 other day schools were built, one at Corn Creek and one at Red Leaf. Mr. Eaton was the first teacher at Corn Creek and Mr. Daly taught there later. There are no records on the first teacher at Red Leaf but Jelley, Tyler and Merian were some who taught there.
The first school in Norris was established in a log building north of the creek between the Issue Station and the Field Matron's cottage. That would put it on or near the road to the present Norris School. This school was opened in 1912 with Miss
Mildred Harrison of White River as teacher. It appears that the Kephart, Hanson, Reuben Quick
Bear, Larvie and possibly the Putnam children went to school there. This school was called
Blackpipe.
Since the log building was very small and over crowded, Harry Hanson, who lived a mile and a
half south and two miles east, asked for a school in his neighborhood. As he was the only one
needing it and he had only four children of school age, (five were needed to establish a school) he
borrowed a child from a neighbor farther east, who also had no school. The school was started in
a log building on the Hanson place and was taught by a young man named Roy King.
In 1913 a school house was built one-half mile south and one mile east of Norris to accommodate
the Hanson children a well as some of the children from Norris. Miss Harrison was the first teacher
in this school while Bessie Hanson from Cutmeat taught the little Blackpipe School for the next two years. There is no further record of this school and all of the Norris children went to the school east of town until 1923. Roy L. King taught this school in 1915 and 16 and Ruth Steinrneyer in 1917.
At that time the school houses were sort of community gathering places with such entertainment as programs, debates, box socials, dances, etc. In 1917 Ruth Steinmeyer had a program and box social at the school. Some young bachelors being short of funds and not wishing to miss the party, decided to fix a Bachelor Box. One of the boys was to buy the box and share it with the others. That might have worked fine except that the teacher's mother decided to buy the box and get in on the joke. The boys pooled all their funds but Mrs. Steinmeyer out bid them and bought the box. None of the boys had nerve enough to claim the box. The contents were a ring of baloney, some crackers and a bottle of beer.
In 1918 Florence Dye (who later became Mrs. V. R. Branson) taught this school. She also taught in 1920-21. In 1922 Miss Mary Waterman taught and in 1923 the school was moved to Norris and another room added.
In 1918 another school house was built three miles east and one and one-half miles south on the Daniel Schmidt land. School opened here in December 1918 with Robbie Kephert as teacher. Blanche Kaufman taught this school in 1919.
During this time this community was included in White River District No. 2 but in 1920 Blackpipe District No. 8 was organized with O. A. Hodson as treasurer, P. H. Putnam as clerk and G. Waack as chairman.
Blanche Kaufman again taught the Schmidt school in 1920. Some of the pupils were: Bertha Schmidt, Otilla and Milton Schelske; Carl, Lena, Gotfried, Oscar and Edna Schelske; Helena, Lydia and Amalia Schmidt; Albert, Herbert and Gerhardt Waack.
Henrietta Waack taught this school the next three years. In the meantime it became known as the Prairie View school.
After moving the school to Norris another room was built on and two teachers employed, Elsie Prell and May Williams. In 1924 the teachers were Dorothy Rustemeyer and Mary L. Wilson. Miss Wilson could not stand the wide open spaces so she quit in the middle of the year and T. T. Chave completed the term. Kathryn Steinmeyer taught Prairie View. The next year-1925-Nell Berry taught Prairie View and two new young women came in to teach in Norris-Lois Hodson and Annette Bjorneson. Both girls married local boys by the middle of the year. Fast work!!
For a number of years there had been a desire to have a High School in Norris. In 1927 it was decided to have two teachers and offer the ninth and tenth grades. Joseph S. Schultz was hired for the upper grades and Lucille Byrkit as lower grade teacher.
The High School was maintained until 1942 when finances and the difficulty in getting satisfactory teachers caused it to close.
An effort was made in 1928 to move the Prairie View school to another location to accommodate more children but it was voted down, so the school was closed and a building rented about a mile south of Kary and Mildred Beard was hired to teach the school. The Prairie View pupils were assigned to this school. In 1929 L. L. Jensen taught that school and Prairie View was again opened with Gertrude Oesch as teacher. A school was also opened north of Norris for the Hafner and Harris families. This school was used until 1938 or 39, when it was no longer needed. The first teacher there was Ethel Dale.
In 1930 the patrons of Prairie View again asked to have the school relocated. This time the proposition carried so the school was moved one-half mile north and one and one quarter miles east to its present location. Dora Keever was the teacher. Nathalie Ayers and Helen Adams taught the Norris school in 1929.
In 1930 an addition was built on the Norris school which doubled its size and gave them three rooms. Dorothy Stobe, Winifred Turner and Laura Ebbesen were employed at Norris, Helen Adams at Kaufman, Mildred Merchen at Hafner and L. L. Jensen at a little school over south called Kaiser.
In 1915 the Blackpipe Day School was moved from its location two miles north of Norris. It was moved to a location east of the present teacher's cottage at the public school.
It was moved by block and tackle on rollers and planks. It took all summer and was quite an accomplishment considering what they had to work with. This building was torn down about five years ago.
After this building was moved to Norris the Red Leaf school was closed and the pupils put in the Blackpipe School. The Corn Creek School closed in 1920 or thereabouts.
Some of the Day School teachers whose names I learned were: At Red Leaf - Jelley, Tyler and Merian. At Corn Creek - Mr. Eaton was the first and Mr. Daly the last.
Day School teachers at Blackpipe: the first, John Tripp, Sr., King, Warner, Manion, Ross, Tuell, Paine, Ward and Erling Anderson, the last.
While Mr. Ward was teaching, the government decided to build a new day school. They decided it would be better if the school was away from town so they built a new modern structure six miles north of Norris, near the Harris Dam, to replace the old Corn Creek school and the Blackpipe school.
By 1953 the government decided it would be better policy to do away with the day schools and have one school system under South Dakota State law. In 1954 an agreement was reached between the Indian Department and Blackpipe School district to take over the education of the Indian children along with the other children.
Blackpipe Day School was again picked up and headed for Norris. It seems that it was more of a problem to move this new modern building with all the modern equipment they had than it was to move the original building with block and tackle, rollers and plank forty years before. It took several months and nearly broke the contractor but by the fall of 1954 the school opened with Hugh Snell and Emily Delaney as teachers and Mrs. Snell as cook.
Mrs. Delaney did not finish the year so Joyce Starkjohann was hired in her place. Wilmina Tarr did the cooking the next year.
There were about sixty children enrolled, about two thirds of whom were Indian children. After several years of change and adjustments by every one concerned the school is now progressing nicely under the able management of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Curry and Mr. William Vick as teachers and Mrs. Robert Totton as cook. Ansel Wooden Knife has been driving the
bus for the last five years and this year the district furnished him a new bus.
Some teachers I recall besides those named were: Joseph Schultz, Dorothy Stobe, Wayne Eichelberger, Thomas O'Dell, Abbie Conklin, Miss Oppen, Zona Rajewich, B. B. Bruce, Lois and Nellie Curry, the Larson sisters, Marguerite Anderson , May Hammond, Alma Fish, Mrs. Leila May Collins, Betty Lou Starkjohn, Gladys Vielmette, "Tiny" Bjornested, Irene Gillen, Esther Feurst, Esther Marousek, O. Nachtigal, Nell Berry, Iris Addison, Mrs. Hayes, Mattie Van Orman, Mrs. Helmberger, Mrs. Way, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Larson, Ruth Hanson and Ed Hanton.
The present school board members are: Mabel Case, clerk; B. D. Letellier, chairman; Blanche C. Kaufman, treasurer.
by Blanche Kaufman
(transcribed from the Mellette County 1911-1961 book, published August 15, 1961 by the Mellette County Centennial Committee)
School history in Blackpipe District No. 8 begins with the building of a day school north of Norris on what is now the Paul Berry Ranch. This school was built about 1891, according to John Tripp, Jr., of Trenton, New Jersey. His father, John Tripp, Sr., was the first teacher at that school. Mrs. Tripp was housekeeper. They went on duty there in the fall of 1891.
In 1892 other day schools were built, one at Corn Creek and one at Red Leaf. Mr. Eaton was the first teacher at Corn Creek and Mr. Daly taught there later. There are no records on the first teacher at Red Leaf but Jelley, Tyler and Merian were some who taught there.
The first school in Norris was established in a log building north of the creek between the Issue Station and the Field Matron's cottage. That would put it on or near the road to the present Norris School. This school was opened in 1912 with Miss
Mildred Harrison of White River as teacher. It appears that the Kephart, Hanson, Reuben Quick
Bear, Larvie and possibly the Putnam children went to school there. This school was called
Blackpipe.
Since the log building was very small and over crowded, Harry Hanson, who lived a mile and a
half south and two miles east, asked for a school in his neighborhood. As he was the only one
needing it and he had only four children of school age, (five were needed to establish a school) he
borrowed a child from a neighbor farther east, who also had no school. The school was started in
a log building on the Hanson place and was taught by a young man named Roy King.
In 1913 a school house was built one-half mile south and one mile east of Norris to accommodate
the Hanson children a well as some of the children from Norris. Miss Harrison was the first teacher
in this school while Bessie Hanson from Cutmeat taught the little Blackpipe School for the next two years. There is no further record of this school and all of the Norris children went to the school east of town until 1923. Roy L. King taught this school in 1915 and 16 and Ruth Steinrneyer in 1917.
At that time the school houses were sort of community gathering places with such entertainment as programs, debates, box socials, dances, etc. In 1917 Ruth Steinmeyer had a program and box social at the school. Some young bachelors being short of funds and not wishing to miss the party, decided to fix a Bachelor Box. One of the boys was to buy the box and share it with the others. That might have worked fine except that the teacher's mother decided to buy the box and get in on the joke. The boys pooled all their funds but Mrs. Steinmeyer out bid them and bought the box. None of the boys had nerve enough to claim the box. The contents were a ring of baloney, some crackers and a bottle of beer.
In 1918 Florence Dye (who later became Mrs. V. R. Branson) taught this school. She also taught in 1920-21. In 1922 Miss Mary Waterman taught and in 1923 the school was moved to Norris and another room added.
In 1918 another school house was built three miles east and one and one-half miles south on the Daniel Schmidt land. School opened here in December 1918 with Robbie Kephert as teacher. Blanche Kaufman taught this school in 1919.
During this time this community was included in White River District No. 2 but in 1920 Blackpipe District No. 8 was organized with O. A. Hodson as treasurer, P. H. Putnam as clerk and G. Waack as chairman.
Blanche Kaufman again taught the Schmidt school in 1920. Some of the pupils were: Bertha Schmidt, Otilla and Milton Schelske; Carl, Lena, Gotfried, Oscar and Edna Schelske; Helena, Lydia and Amalia Schmidt; Albert, Herbert and Gerhardt Waack.
Henrietta Waack taught this school the next three years. In the meantime it became known as the Prairie View school.
After moving the school to Norris another room was built on and two teachers employed, Elsie Prell and May Williams. In 1924 the teachers were Dorothy Rustemeyer and Mary L. Wilson. Miss Wilson could not stand the wide open spaces so she quit in the middle of the year and T. T. Chave completed the term. Kathryn Steinmeyer taught Prairie View. The next year-1925-Nell Berry taught Prairie View and two new young women came in to teach in Norris-Lois Hodson and Annette Bjorneson. Both girls married local boys by the middle of the year. Fast work!!
For a number of years there had been a desire to have a High School in Norris. In 1927 it was decided to have two teachers and offer the ninth and tenth grades. Joseph S. Schultz was hired for the upper grades and Lucille Byrkit as lower grade teacher.
The High School was maintained until 1942 when finances and the difficulty in getting satisfactory teachers caused it to close.
An effort was made in 1928 to move the Prairie View school to another location to accommodate more children but it was voted down, so the school was closed and a building rented about a mile south of Kary and Mildred Beard was hired to teach the school. The Prairie View pupils were assigned to this school. In 1929 L. L. Jensen taught that school and Prairie View was again opened with Gertrude Oesch as teacher. A school was also opened north of Norris for the Hafner and Harris families. This school was used until 1938 or 39, when it was no longer needed. The first teacher there was Ethel Dale.
In 1930 the patrons of Prairie View again asked to have the school relocated. This time the proposition carried so the school was moved one-half mile north and one and one quarter miles east to its present location. Dora Keever was the teacher. Nathalie Ayers and Helen Adams taught the Norris school in 1929.
In 1930 an addition was built on the Norris school which doubled its size and gave them three rooms. Dorothy Stobe, Winifred Turner and Laura Ebbesen were employed at Norris, Helen Adams at Kaufman, Mildred Merchen at Hafner and L. L. Jensen at a little school over south called Kaiser.
In 1915 the Blackpipe Day School was moved from its location two miles north of Norris. It was moved to a location east of the present teacher's cottage at the public school.
It was moved by block and tackle on rollers and planks. It took all summer and was quite an accomplishment considering what they had to work with. This building was torn down about five years ago.
After this building was moved to Norris the Red Leaf school was closed and the pupils put in the Blackpipe School. The Corn Creek School closed in 1920 or thereabouts.
Some of the Day School teachers whose names I learned were: At Red Leaf - Jelley, Tyler and Merian. At Corn Creek - Mr. Eaton was the first and Mr. Daly the last.
Day School teachers at Blackpipe: the first, John Tripp, Sr., King, Warner, Manion, Ross, Tuell, Paine, Ward and Erling Anderson, the last.
While Mr. Ward was teaching, the government decided to build a new day school. They decided it would be better if the school was away from town so they built a new modern structure six miles north of Norris, near the Harris Dam, to replace the old Corn Creek school and the Blackpipe school.
By 1953 the government decided it would be better policy to do away with the day schools and have one school system under South Dakota State law. In 1954 an agreement was reached between the Indian Department and Blackpipe School district to take over the education of the Indian children along with the other children.
Blackpipe Day School was again picked up and headed for Norris. It seems that it was more of a problem to move this new modern building with all the modern equipment they had than it was to move the original building with block and tackle, rollers and plank forty years before. It took several months and nearly broke the contractor but by the fall of 1954 the school opened with Hugh Snell and Emily Delaney as teachers and Mrs. Snell as cook.
Mrs. Delaney did not finish the year so Joyce Starkjohann was hired in her place. Wilmina Tarr did the cooking the next year.
There were about sixty children enrolled, about two thirds of whom were Indian children. After several years of change and adjustments by every one concerned the school is now progressing nicely under the able management of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Curry and Mr. William Vick as teachers and Mrs. Robert Totton as cook. Ansel Wooden Knife has been driving the
bus for the last five years and this year the district furnished him a new bus.
Some teachers I recall besides those named were: Joseph Schultz, Dorothy Stobe, Wayne Eichelberger, Thomas O'Dell, Abbie Conklin, Miss Oppen, Zona Rajewich, B. B. Bruce, Lois and Nellie Curry, the Larson sisters, Marguerite Anderson , May Hammond, Alma Fish, Mrs. Leila May Collins, Betty Lou Starkjohn, Gladys Vielmette, "Tiny" Bjornested, Irene Gillen, Esther Feurst, Esther Marousek, O. Nachtigal, Nell Berry, Iris Addison, Mrs. Hayes, Mattie Van Orman, Mrs. Helmberger, Mrs. Way, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Larson, Ruth Hanson and Ed Hanton.
The present school board members are: Mabel Case, clerk; B. D. Letellier, chairman; Blanche C. Kaufman, treasurer.
Mellette County, South Dakota
County & Town History - Blackpipe School District
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Norris High School
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Boys attending Norris High School in 1935-36 were Sylvan Bales, Reuben Reister, Robert O'Bryan, Roy Ozanne, Philip HoIcomb, Russel Allard, Norman Totton, Elwood Hedrick, Franklin Van Laer, and Francis Van Verth.
Girls attending Norris High School in 1935-36 were Mary Louise Johnson, Suneva Hafner, Charity Kaufman, Eleanor Washburn, Mildred Bales, Naomi Johns, Helen Van Verth, Frances Oveturf, Madeline Letellier, and Irene Briggs.
Kaufman School - Blackpipe Community
(transcribed from the Mellette County 1911-1961 book published August 15, 1961 by the Mellette County Centennial Committee)
When the school from east of town was moved to Norris in 1923 it left some twenty children in the Kaufman neighborhood without a school. For two years these children were hauled to Norris but it proved to be so unsatisfactory that an effort was made to provide a school in their own neighborhood. This effort was defeated for two years since the people in town wanted all the school buildings to be erected in Norris.
Finally the school board agreed to establish a school if a suitable building could be secured. In 1926 Henry Kaufman gave an acre of ground in the northeast corner of his land as a site and Mrs. E. R. Putnam put up a building and contracted to rent it to the district with the understanding that when the rent equaled the cost of the building it was to become the property of the district.
School opened in September 1926 with Laura Ebbesen (Laura Patnoe Kirsch) as teacher and twenty-four children in attendance. Before the building was put up the men in the neighborhood dug a full basement and a furnace was installed. During the year Miss Ebbesen had a program and box supper and raised enough money to put a cement floor in the basement. The local men donated the labor.
During the thirties the PTA was very active in both the Norris and the Kaufman Schools. In 1935 several people attended the National PTA Convention in Rapid City.
YCL has always been active and the school has won many honors especially in declamation contests. Several Kaufman School pupils have been valedictorians, salutatorians in nearby high schools.
Some teachers who have taught in the Kaufman School are: Zona Rajewich, Marguerite Anderson, Alma Fish, Mrs. Strain, Mrs. Bruce, Gladys Parks, Luella Littau, Leila May Collins, Esther Marousek, Ruth Hanson, Charity Epperly, Edward Hanton, Annette Cannon, Mrs. Van Orman, Betty Lou Starkjohann. Helen Adams and Edward Chamberlain.
(transcribed from the Mellette County 1911-1961 book published August 15, 1961 by the Mellette County Centennial Committee)
When the school from east of town was moved to Norris in 1923 it left some twenty children in the Kaufman neighborhood without a school. For two years these children were hauled to Norris but it proved to be so unsatisfactory that an effort was made to provide a school in their own neighborhood. This effort was defeated for two years since the people in town wanted all the school buildings to be erected in Norris.
Finally the school board agreed to establish a school if a suitable building could be secured. In 1926 Henry Kaufman gave an acre of ground in the northeast corner of his land as a site and Mrs. E. R. Putnam put up a building and contracted to rent it to the district with the understanding that when the rent equaled the cost of the building it was to become the property of the district.
School opened in September 1926 with Laura Ebbesen (Laura Patnoe Kirsch) as teacher and twenty-four children in attendance. Before the building was put up the men in the neighborhood dug a full basement and a furnace was installed. During the year Miss Ebbesen had a program and box supper and raised enough money to put a cement floor in the basement. The local men donated the labor.
During the thirties the PTA was very active in both the Norris and the Kaufman Schools. In 1935 several people attended the National PTA Convention in Rapid City.
YCL has always been active and the school has won many honors especially in declamation contests. Several Kaufman School pupils have been valedictorians, salutatorians in nearby high schools.
Some teachers who have taught in the Kaufman School are: Zona Rajewich, Marguerite Anderson, Alma Fish, Mrs. Strain, Mrs. Bruce, Gladys Parks, Luella Littau, Leila May Collins, Esther Marousek, Ruth Hanson, Charity Epperly, Edward Hanton, Annette Cannon, Mrs. Van Orman, Betty Lou Starkjohann. Helen Adams and Edward Chamberlain.
Blackpipe Day School
(transcribed from the Mellette County 1911-1961 book published August 15, 1961 by the Mellette County Centennial Committee)
Blackpipe Day School is on the Blackpipe Creek north of the Paul Berry place a few miles north of Norris. Henry Eagle Bear attended this school in 1894. J. B. Tripp was the teacher from 1898 to 1905. Anna Skunks Father and Reuben Quick Bear were pupils at this time. The children were taught the subjects through the third grade. At that time the girls were taught sewing, cooking and general housework, while the boys were taught manual training and helped with chores.
Beaming at the camera are pupils of the
Kaufman School. Standing (left to right) are
Dick Ring, Leo Tarr, Janet Belle Tam, Betty
Kaufman, Anna Lee O'Bryan in the back row.
Students in the second row (left to right) are Lyle Tarr, Lawrence Ring, Tommy O'Bryan, Alberta Kaufman, Erna Ring, Helen O'Bryan. Robert Ring is standing in front.
Kaufman School. Standing (left to right) are
Dick Ring, Leo Tarr, Janet Belle Tam, Betty
Kaufman, Anna Lee O'Bryan in the back row.
Students in the second row (left to right) are Lyle Tarr, Lawrence Ring, Tommy O'Bryan, Alberta Kaufman, Erna Ring, Helen O'Bryan. Robert Ring is standing in front.