Kinmundy Historical Society

 

 

 

 

      ALLMON SCHOOL

   Tonti Township, Marion County, Illinois

 

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                     Allmon school was located in Tonti Township on Alma Hatchery Road.  The building is no longer standing.

 

 

        We are looking for photos of people and/or places from around Kinmundy & Alma.  Can you help?

Or maybe you have stories or memories from the "Good Old Days"?  What do YOU remember?

        The Kinmundy Historical Society would be honored to preserve your memories and stories.  We also have the

equipment to scan (or copy) your photos so that they may be enjoyed now as well as for generations yet to come!

        We would love to hear from you!  For more information, please contact: 

       

   Dolores (Ford) Mobley – Dolores@ford-mobley.com

                       208 Joan Dr.; Divernon, IL  62530; (217) 625-7527

            or

 

            Gladys (Corrie) See – gsee49@yahoo.com

                                         408 S. Washington St.; Kinmundy, IL 62854; (618) 547-7731

 

 

Teachers from ALLMON SCHOOL – District  #65 (Tonti twp.)

 

(1875-76)  Silvester S. Hawley

(1887-88)  Miss Mary Nelms

(1892-93)  Miss Kittie Nelm

(1897-98)  Miss Laura Neal

(1905-06)  Nora Myers

(1914-15)  Miss Grace Johnson

(1915-16)  J.C. Kell

(1918-19)  Elizabeth Purcell

 

(1920-21)  Elizabeth Purcell

(1921-22)

(1922-23)  Mildred Chapman

(1923-24)  Miss Jessie Long

(1924-25)

 

(1926-27)  Verna Seiber

(1927-28)

(1928-29)  Verna Seiber

(1929-30)

 

(1930-31)  Tot Donohue

(1931-32)  no school

(1932-33)  Mrs. Susie Malone

(1933-34)  Virgil Wilson

(1934-35)  Wilma Geibe

(1935-36)  Lois Winegarner

(1936-37)  Merle W. Baker

(1937-38)  Merle W. Baker

(1938-39)  Grace R. Jackson

(1939-40)  Alice Readnour

(1940-41)  Vera Jackson

(1941-42)  Wilma G. Williams

(1942-43)  Wilma G. Williams

(1943-44)  Verna Black

(1944-45)  Verna Black

(1945-46)  Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1946-47)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1947-48)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1948-49)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1949-50)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1949-50)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1950-51)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1951-52)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens 

(1952-53)  Mrs. Jane (Walker) Stevens

(1953-54)  No school

  

(The above information was gathered from "The Kinmundy Express" articles, school photos, Marion County School Directories, and information from those who had attended school there.)

 

 

Allmon School – District 65; Tonti Township

(One Room School Memorial – Archives - Salem, IL)

 

Allmon School, district no. 65, was located in Section 14 of Tonti township.  Some of the early families of the neighborhood were Tom Jackson, Ira Humes, Pearl Rose, Herman Waggoner, George Black, John Hays, Tom Boring, Harve Smith, Jessie Hoyt (his daughter, Mattie, later married Andy Allmon), Jesse Rhoads, Barkley Thurman, Cults Donoho, W.L. Duncan, Andy Allmon, Elmer Black, Willie Long.

Some that served as school board members were Harry Maxey, Elmer Black, Ernest Stephens, Paul Stephens, and many others.

                                    (This information was given by E.L. Black)

 

Teachers from 1911 until the close of the one-room schools, when Allmon consolidated with Salem Elementary District #111.

            T.W. French

            Alvin Chandler

            Grace Jackson

            J.C. Kell (3 terms)

            Elizabeth Purcell (3 years)

            Rosa Thurman

            Mildred Chapman

            Jessie Long

            Roy Mulvaney

            Lucia Purcell

            Verna Seiber (3 years)

            Mabel Foster

            Tot Donoho

            No School

            Susie Malone

            Virgil Wilson

            Wilma Geibe

            Lois Winegarner

            Merle W. Baker (2 years)

            Grace R. Jackson

            Alice Readnour

            Vera Jackson

            Wilma G. Williams (2 years)

            Verna Black (2 years)

            Jane W. Stephens (9 years)

 

 

“Allmon School” - by Lex Shuler;  "Marion County Observer" - March 1, 2012

 

            I went to a one room country school all eight years of grade school.  The school was on a one acre tract of land donated by the Allmon family who were early settlers in the area.  The school was about two and a half miles from our home.  We most often walked or rode our bicycles to school.

            The school building was a frame structure consisting of the main room, a coal room, and two cloak rooms.  One was a small room where the boys hung their coats and a shelf for lunch buckets.  The other a girl’s cloak room was a little larger and had a couple of steel cabinets that held the “library” and a table.  The table was actually a sand box where kids could construct mythical villages when it was rainy.  The main room had large windows on the north side; a real slate black board all across one wall, a jacketed coal furnace was in one corner closest to the coal room and in another corner a crockery water fountain.  The fountain was filled by carrying water from the well near the corner of the front porch.  There were two outdoor toilets spaced as distant as the one acre would allow.  There were cinder paths leading to each of the outhouses.  Both of the out houses had a board fence screen for privacy and two seats.  A Sears and Roebuck catalog was provided for sanitary purposes.  I remember that the index pages printed on pulp were always used first.

            The main room of the school had a teacher’s desk just in front of the black boards that faced the room and just in front of the desk was the recitation bench, a long wooden bench, which faced the teacher’s desk.  The rest of the room was filled with desks that were in rows facing the teacher’s desk.  All eight grades were in the same room if there were enough kids to fill all the classes.  The smallest group attending school was about seven and the most was sixteen.  I don’t remember there being all eight grades at one time.

            My teacher for ALL of those years was Jane Walker Stephens, a wonderful teacher who taught me more than anyone else ever did or was able to.  She was a stately woman with rimless glasses and a mild demeanor but stern in her gaze when someone misbehaved.  I noticed a lot of times when her humorous side made her blush although she tried not to show any emotion.

            Outside there was a well with a hand pump and a flagpole stood in front of the school near the road.  Upon arriving at the school the children would busy themselves with playful activities, one of the older boys would hoist the flag up the flagpole, and Mrs. Stevens would ring her hand bell which was the signal for all to take their seats at their desks and thus began the school day.  My brother, Jack, has the brass hand bell today.  He was the only student of Allmon School to become a teacher and Mrs. Stevens gave it to him when he started teaching.   The daily routine started by calling each class to the recitation bench facing the teacher’s desk with the usual “turn, stand, pass” call from each grade and subject.  The other students would be studying, reading, fidgeting and sometimes napping or gazing out the windows wishing they were outside.  The only thing that was not allowed was interrupting the class that was in session.  Now, Mrs. Stevens would call down someone with a snap of her finger and a stern look.  The “look” could turn you into stone, or worse and the snap of her finger was akin to thunder and lightning.  We all avoided both if at all possible.

            Mid morning was the first recess, a fifteen minute respite from boredom, study, or day dreaming.  Everyone went outside if weather permitted.  We would play tag, Red Rover, boys would tease the girls and vice versa.  It was a welcome time that was ended by Mrs. Stevens ringing her brass bell.

            Classes would resume until lunch time.  Then everyone grabbed their lunch and either stayed inside or went out on the porch and devoured homemade sandwiches, cookies, apples and oranges.  As I look back all of the lunches, none contained any of the fattening things that kids eat today.  After everyone finished their lunches it was time to play again.  At the beginning of the school year there were new jump ropes, a new softball, a couple of new sponge rubber balls.  The school had a homemade baseball bat that was used all eight of my years at the school.  It was a club more than a bat.  I was in the third grade before I could even lift it.  The girls played jacks both inside and out.

            On rainy days, Mrs. Stevens would conduct games for all.  One of the games was called “Clap in, Clap out.”  Either the girls or boys would go into the cloak room and close the door.  Names were drawn assigning a boy’s name to each of the girls.  The girls were seated at desks and they would draw a boys’ name and announce it by clapping and calling the name.  The one called would go and sit by one of the girls and if he picked the right one he remained seated, but if not, the girls would start clapping their hand to indicate that he had to return to the cloak room.  This continued until all the boys were seated beside the girl that had his name.  The name was fun and served as our introduction to social behavior.

            The school day always began with music.  We used the Golden Songbook, a volume of favorite songs with words and music.  Mrs. Stevens would play the old upright piano and everyone gathered around and sang three or four songs.  This was one of my favorite activities at school and I have one of those old song books in my collection.

            Another of my favorite times at the school was Christmas.  The week before Christmas, classes were suspended and we practiced our Christmas program.  There was a curtain of paisley print material that was suspended with safety pins from a wire that went across on end of the class room.  Desks were moved to clear the stage area behind the curtain.  The program consisted of group singing, solos and trios, individuals doing recitations and small groups doing skits.  We practiced the program for four days and then in the evening before Christmas, our parents and friends came to see our show.

            Everyone participated, some performing and some moving furniture and drawing the curtain.  Everyone had a part.  After the performance Santa Clause would come in and pass out presents, oranges and candy.  The first three or four years that I was a part of this program, the school had no electricity and the lighting was four large mantle lamps that were hung from the ceiling.  This was a striking sight and I was actually disappointed when the electricity became available.

            I will always relish the eight years I spent at Allmon School, Mrs. Stevens is still my favorite teacher of all time.  My experience there was the better part of my education and I am thankful for that.

 

 

 

Year

Names of Trustees (Town 3, Range 2)

Names of Directors at Allmon School (#65)

1915-1916

C.E. Hopkins, R.V. McCarty, J.H. Kretzer

Charles Crippen, E.L. Stevens, Elmer Black

1918-1919

W.J. Baker – President; T.H. Boring – Clerk;

J.M. Sanders, W.L. Cope – Treasurer

T.D. Nelson, F.D. Holstlaw, E.L. Stevens

1920-1921

W.J. Baker – President; John Sanders – Clerk;

T.H. Boring, W.L. Cope – Treasurer

G.W. Black, E.L. Stevens, T.D. Nelson

1922-1923

W.J. Baker – President; J.H. Kretzer – Clerk;

J.M. Sanders; W.L. Cope - Treasurer

G.W. Black, E.L. Stevens, H.H. Maxey

1923-1924

J.M. Sanders – President; W.J. Baker – Clerk;

John Kretzer; W.L. Cope – Treasurer

H.T. Maxey, E.L. Stevens, A.E. Stipp

1926-1927

W.J. Baker – President; J.H. Kretzer – Clerk;

C.E. Cavins; W.L. Cope – Treasurer

S.E. Black, E.L. Stevens, G.W. Black

1928-1929

H.C. Davidson – President; J.H. Kretzer;

Ottis Davidson; W.L. Cope – Treasurer

S.E. Black, W.B. Thurman, Cecil Shreffler

1930-1931

Otis Davidson – President; J.H. Kretzer; W.M. Campbell;

W.L. Cope – Treasurer

C.A. Speer, S.E. Black, Cecil Shreffler

1931-1932

W.M. Campbell; J.H. Kretzer; W.L. Cope – Treasurer

C.A. Speer, S.E. Black, H.H. Maxey

1932-1933

Otis Davidson, J.H. Kretzer, Lauren Carter;

Walter L. Cope – Treasurer

Dave Hawkins, H.H. Maxey, Charlie Jackson

1933-1934

Otis Davidson, Lauren Carter, J.H. Kretzer;

Walter L. Cope – Treas.

Charley Jackson, H.H. Maxey

1934-1935

Otis Davidson, J.H. Kretzer, Laurn Carter;

Walter L. Cope – Treas.

L.P. Stevens, H.H. Maxey, Chas. R. Jackson

1935-1936

Laurn Carter – President; Otis C. Davidson; J.H. Kretzer;

W.L. Cope – Twp. Treas.

Alva Krutchfield – President; H.H. Maxey – Clerk;

Paul Stevens

1936-1937

Laurn Carter – President; Otis Davidson; J.H. Kretzer;

W.L. Cope – Twp. Treas.

S.E. Black – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

H.H. Maxey

1937-1938

Otis Davidson – President; J.H. Kretzer;

Mel Shreffler; W.L. Cope – Twp. Treas.

S.E. Black – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

H.H. Maxey

1938-1939

Otis Davidson – President; J.H. Kretzer;

Mel Shreffler; W.L. Cope – Twp. Treas.

S.E. Black – President; H.H. Maxey – Clerk;

L.P. Stevens

1939-1940

Chas. Lynch, J.H. Kretzer, Mel Shreffler;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treas.

L.P. Stevens – President; H.H. Maxey – Clerk;

S.E. Black

1940-1941

J.H. Kretzer – President; Charles Lynch; M. Shreffler;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treas.

Paul Stevens – President; H.H. Maxey – Clerk;

Elmer Black

1941-1942

Charlie Lynch – President; John Kretzer, R.R. Rhodes;

Otis Davidson – Treas.

H.H. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

S.E. Black

1942-1943

John Kretzer – President; Charles Lynch – Clerk;

R.R. Rhoades; Otis Davidson – Twp. Treas.

H.H. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

S.E. Black

1943-1944

Charlie Lynch – President; John Kretzer; R.R. Rhoades;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treasurer

H.H. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

S.E. Black

1944-1945

Charlie Lynch – President; John Kretzer; R.R. Rhodes;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treasurer

H.H. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

S.E. Black

1945-1946

Charlie Lynch – President; R.R. Rhoads; Lorin Cope;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treasurer

H.H. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

S.E. Black

1946-1947

Chas. Lynch – President; R.R. Rhoads; L.V. Cope;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treasurer

S.E. Black – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

1947-1948

Charles Lynch – President; Rubin Rhoads, Lorin Cope;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treas.

B.E. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

1948-1949

Charlie Lynch – President; R.B. Rhoads; Lorin Cope;

Otis Davidson – Twp. Treasurer

B.E. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

1949-1950

Loren V. Cope – President; R.B. Rhodes – Clerk;

B.E. Duncan; Otis Davidson – Treasurer

B.E. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

1950-1951

Loren Cope – President; R.B. Rhodes – Clerk;

B.E. Duncan; Otis Davidson – Treasurer

B.E. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

1951-1952

Loren Cope – President; R.B. Rhodes – Clerk;

Bert Duncan; Otis Davidson – Treasurer

B.E. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

1952-1953

Loren Cope – President; R.B. Rhodes, Bert Duncan;

Otis Davidson - Treasurer

B.E. Maxey – President; L.P. Stevens – Clerk;

Albert Meyer

 

(The above information was gathered from Marion County School Directories.)

 

Allmon School; Tonti twp., Marion Co., IL; October 1912

 

Allmon School; Tonti Twp; Marion Co., IL; Rosa Thurman – teacher; 1922-23

Back row: Claude Rose, Howard Thurman, Oran Black, Charles Nelson, Emma Stevens, Nellie Black, Mrs. Rosa Thurman – teacher,

    Harold Beard, Perry Smith, Duard Nelson

First row: Donald Donoho, Louis Black, Hazel (Rose) Kell, Marie Murphy, Bernice Beard, Bessie Black, Thelma Nelson, Dorothy Nelson,

    Dessie Donoho, Beulah (Rose) See, Gladys (Rose) Hiestand, Robert Murphy, Roswell Spencer

 

 

Howard Thurman and Louis Black – 1923

 at Allmon School; Tonti Township, Marion Co, IL

 

 

 

Allmon School; Tonti Twp; Marion Co., IL; Mrs. Jane Stevens – teacher; 1948-49

Back row: Mrs. Jane Stevens – teacher, Dorothy Hays, Clara Doty, Curt Smith

Middle row: Freda Hays, Janice Barbee, Helen Doty, Wanda Brown, Lexie Shuler, Albert Carter, Jerry Brown

Front row: Darrell Hays, Carroll Hays, Lovell Brown, Berniece (Maxey) Noe, Dwight Yates, Marvin Carter, Jack Shuler, Billy Carter

 

 

 

Allmon School; Tonti Twp; Marion Co., IL; Mrs. Jane Stevens – teacher; 1949-50

Back row: Raymond Bullard, Lexie Shuler, Curtis Smith, Dorthey Hays, Helen Doty, Albert Carter, Wanda Brown

Middle row: Jerry Brown, Marvin Carter, _________, Freda Hays, Janice Barbee, Bernice (Maxey) Noe

Front row: Jack Shuler, Carol Hays, Darrel Hays, Dwight Yates, Lovell Brown, Mary Sue Bullard, Patty Barbee, Billy Carter

 

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