Ranchester High School - Rustler Yearbook (Ranchester, WY)

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THE FACULTY JOHN S. McCORMICK 7th and 8th Grades MRS. PAULINE MOORE Intermediate Primary “During these years when good teachers have been at a premium, you have been truly fortunate to have been able to obtain a staff of such qualified teachers.”—Oscar C. Schweiring, Dean, College of Education, University of Wyoming. “If I could take you to some of the schools we see on our visits throughout the state you would be even more proud of your school and you would be especially grate- ful for your teachers. You are favored to have the excellent teachers who are yours in Ranchester School.”—Ray E. Robertson, Commissioner of Education, State Department of Education. .... Excerpts from talks to the student body. January 13, 1948. n

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Junior High School This year has been a very successful one for the seventh and eighth graders. We have had three teachers: Mr. McCormick, our home room teacher, who taught social sci- ence and spelling; Mr. Lyman, who taught arithmetic; and Mrs. Belding, who taught English and reading. At the beginning of the year we organized a club which we called ‘“The Ran- chester Junior Rustlers” and w'hich we nicknamed “R. J. R.” We elected officers twice during the year and had two parties from the dues we collected. The girls organized a Junior Pep Club and elected the following officers: Dorothy Zawicki, president; Jeanette Kawulok, vice president; Barbara Fleming, secretary; Joan Johnson, treasurer; and Beverly Barbula and Joan Feidor, cheer leaders. They bought pep club hats that added a great deal to the appearance of the pep club at the games. The hats were yellow with purple lettering. We had some nice field trips last fall. We visited the places of historical interest near Story—the site of old Ft. Phil Kearney, the Wagon Box Fight, Fetterman’s Mas- sacre Monument and the fish hatchery. This spring we made a trip to Custer’s Battle Field in Montana. We saw Reno’s Battle Field, the National Cemetery and the old guns and uniforms in the museum. We also enjoyed a picnic dinner enroute. We have made a good rock collection from this neighborhood. In February we visited the Big Horn Coal mine. This spring we lost our friends, the Seders, who moved to Leiter. At the first of the year Tony Pelesky joined our eighth grade from Sheridan and everyone was glad to have him. Although Marian Seder had the highest spelling average before she mov- ed, Dorothy Zawicki and Barbara Fleming were nearly as high and represented us at the county spelling contest. We also took in the county choir and the track meet. Last fall we all went to see the stage play “Hans Brinker.” For our stunt on “Stunt Night” we put on a negro minstrel; “Lady Minstrel from Dixie” with Donald Graham as Molly Apple. We have had many nice times and have enjoyed both the studies and our teachers. —David Halowell, Don Kramer THE OUTSTANDING COMPOSITION FROM THE GRADE SCHOOL FOR THE YEAR: “WASHINGTON, THE FARMER AT MOUNT VERNON” We so often think of Washington as a great gen- eral and president that we almost forget he was one of the best progressive farmers in his day and, in many ways, the “Father of American Agricul- ture. We know that though Washington was call- ed away from his home during most of his life, he always longed to return to his “beloved Mount Vernon to live as a farmer. Washington was truly a “dirt farmer. Though he could afford servants, he enjoyed planting and harvesting with his own strength and he even mixed fertilizers with his own hands. He kept detailed ac- counts of all his many experiments. He was always looking for better methods and he imported new machines from England and even invented a plow of his own. He believed farming was the most im- portant industry in America. He wrote letters to other progressive farmers everywhere and toured New England looking for methods that he could take back to Mount Vernon. Long before his neighbors realized erosion was a serious problem. Washington was practicing soil conservation and studying the importance of grasses and pasture. Washington also worked out a plan for rotation of crops. His care of Mount Vernon showed his belief in keeping the wealth of the land that our nation today might inherit good soil. Washington’s love of agriculture was not limited to crops. He grafted his own fruit trees and vines and experimented with foreign fruits. He and his neighbors exchanged grafts and cuttings and the beautifying of Mount Vernon with all kinds of shrubs and flowers always delighted him. (Continued on Page 28) 13