Country School Picnic by Dorothy Behringer When our country school was over for the year we always had a big picnic day. We really planned that day. We decided a week or more in advance who should bring what to eat. Everyone brought something different. We had "cleanup day" on the last day of school. We always cleaned everything up, inside and out, so it would be ready next fall when school resumed. The blackboards were wiped clean with a damp cloth, and the floor was swept clean with smelly green sweeping compound. Everything was checked out and straightened up. When the inside was done, we went outside and tidied the whole school yard, teacher and kids alike. That day she was one of us. Every bit of scrap paper or junk was picked up. We raked with rakes we had brought from home. By the time we were done, all that was left were the stones and green grass. We never had to have janitors at our school. We kept it clean. When we left school in the spring it was always in order for the fall classes. Then the picnic day came. Most of the mothers would come. Usually we headed for the coulee (woods). Most times we walked down into the coulee, as it was a short mile or so from the school. We'd find a shady place down under some big trees, spread a blanket or two on the ground, and spread out all the food we'd brought. Once that was done, kids ran every which way. The best place was the little creek that ran all summer long. All of us had to dip our feet in that. When we tired of wading, we played lots of games, ran lots of races and even played softball. When noontime came the mothers called and kids showed up from all directions and down from tree branches. It was time to eat. We built a small bonfire and roasted wieners and marshmallows. They tasted so good along with all the other food. We had every kind of food one could want. Later, someone would drive into town in their Model-A Ford and come back with a canvas bag that held cans of ice cream. It stayed good and cold in that canvas bag until we could eat it. We ate ice cream until it was all gone. We very seldom had ice cream at our house, so it was a wonderful treat! Other years when we had our picnic, one of the fathers would come to the school with his cattle truck. Most of the food was put into the cab, and we'd all climb into the truck box. Then off we'd go, yelling like crazy. He would drive us off to someplace farther away than usual, and what a time we had! We would go for miles--food, hollering kids, bugs and all in a stinky cattle truck. We yelled at everything along the way. When we passed another car or person on the road, all of us kids yelled and waved. They must have thought we had "lost it"! Why, we even yelled at telephone poles, cattle and horses! Can you imagine a truckload of kids yelling and waving at telephone poles and animals in the pastures? Oh, we were noisy! I can sure remember how I felt that last day of school when I carried my papers and things home. And how good I felt when we all had cleaned up the mess we had made that whole year, inside and outside our school. Everything was left "shipshape"! Close your eyes and think of your last day of school. See it, feel it, remember it.