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John Werner, Scarsdale, NY, is the winner!

Harmony Heights Public School is the answer for Clearwater History Trivia #571, a special feature to celebrate the history and heritage of Clearwater Country.

Join in the discovery!

Monday: Donated

Tuesday: Aretha Chilton

Wednesday: The name changed over the years.

Thursday: E.W. Blake

Friday: Wood stove that had to be stoked

Saturday: Boys took turns carrying water from a neighbor's.

Monday: Many children of vatious ages

Tuesday: Learning went on there.

Wednesday: Charles W. Graves

Thursday: Children's feet were bound when they left.

Friday: A long way from town in those days

Saturday: Not very warm quarters when the wind blew

Monday: Teachers

Tuesday: Started before 1903

Wednesday: Joined other districts

Thursday: Its last name reflected its location

Edwin Washington Blake homesteaded the property in about 1895 and a few years later donated the property of school to accommodate the many children that lived in that area of Harmony Heights. Blake and his wife, Minnie, had eight children and their neighbor George Washington Snyder and his wife also had eight. There also other families in the vicinity that needed schooling for their children since it was about six miles out of town.

The school was originally named the Blake School and later Harmony Heights School. It was a part of several districts over the years.

The building had a stage area where the teacher lived. It could be sectioned off, but was not very warm when the wind blew because it was high off the ground and not boarded up. One of the teachers, Aretha Harvey Chilton, wrote that she had to weight the carpet to keep it down when the wind blew. Charles W. Graves was one of the earlier teachers. It was heated by an airtight stove and the teacher had to split and haul wood for the stove. Boys in the class took turns carrying water from a neighbor.

Some of the children did not have proper footwear and their feet had to be wrapped before they started for home in the winter. They arrived in the morning with the same bindings on their feet.

Chilton wrote that she was always out with the children during recess and noon. They had no playground equipment. They played games and practiced for county grade school track meet in the spring. They brought back the first-place banner in spring 1937.

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