Hello, Crawford County Listers, I am posting a newspaper article which appeared in the Pittsburg Sun sometime between Sep 1954 and Aug 1955. The article is about my great-grandmother, Anna (HUSTON) JAMESON who, at the time of the article, at the age of 86, was actively campaigning for a new school building in the Lone Star district of Crawford county, KS. I thought that the article would be of general interest, because it includes some of her recollections of life in the area when she was a child attending the Lone Star school in the 1870s and 1880s. I left in the portion about the bond issue because it contains names of the teachers and school board members in 1954/1955. Biographical data about Anna and the JAMESON & HUSTON families, and history of the Lone Star school, begins the article and continues after the discussion of the bond issue. Does anyone on the list know if the Lone Star school still exists? Anna Caroline HUSTON was born in Crawford county, 3 Sep 1868, daughter of David and Mary Caroline (FRAME) HUSTON, and she was married in Girard, Crawford, KS, 27 Apr 1887, to Archibald "Arch" JAMESON. Arch JAMESON died in Pittsburg, Crawford, KS, 22 Nov 1943, and Anna JAMESON died in Pittsburg, 14 Mar 1963. I am descended through their son John Hook JAMESON and his wife Ethel Leona CHAPPELL, and my parents, John & Ethel's son John Elmer JAMESON and wife, Katharine Kuechmann DENNEY. I will post more about my Crawford county families soon. WEAR OUT TWO SCHOOLS IN 80 YEARS Lone Star Has Fourth Generation of JAMESONs Enrolled By Harold O. TAYLOR They've just got to build a new Lone Star school building. The JAMESONs keep on wearing them out. This present one -- which is actually a combination of the original more than 80 years old and a "new" addition -- is all shot and there are still some JAMESONs who haven't even started to school yet. Actually though, the JAMESONs have been in the minority all along -- right now there are 50 students besides the JAMESONs enrolled. But the JAMESONs have been mighty steady patrons. This JAMESON chain started when 86 year old "Grandma" Anna JAMESON was a tiny slip of a girl and went to school with long braids of her hair falling down over her gingham dress, trudging from her log cabin home to school. The home was some three-quarters of a mile north of the present Lone Star school. Her father did some farming in that area but was well known for his herd of sheep. At that time the school consisted of part of the present building, but it was located some 100 yards west of the HULL & DILLON plant. Through dust created by horse-drawn outfits in dry weather and through knee deep snow in winter, students found their way to the 1-room building by day and went with their parents by night to spelling bees, pre suppers and the all-important literaries. "Grandma" JAMESON recalls well with her active mind the times she stood before fellow students and school patrons and "recited." At times it was awfully wet around the school. There were days when classes could not be held because of high water from Cow Creek. Floods didn't bother the students. They enjoyed a vacation, particularly when they could gather duck eggs. Just south of the school was a farm family with "hundreds" of ducks, it seemed to the young students. These ducks would steal out (of) their nests and when Cow Creek flooded, the eggs (line at bottom is missing) ......scattered even if green hued eggs. This wasn't exactly a choice site for a school either. To the north was Coney Island, and in "Coney Island" was the municipal "pest house." When epidemics broke out, such as smallpox, rather than run a risk of further spread, patients were taken to the pest house. There have been beliefs expressed that being taken to the pest house was virtually finis for the patients. But "Grandma" JAMESON says as she recalls it, that wasn't the case. Many persons taken there recovered, as she recalls talks among folks at home. "Grandma" JAMESON wasn't finished with her formal learning when some 75 years ago the school was moved out of what patrons generally called "Frog Hollow." The building, which is the west section of the second building, was moved to the present location in preparation for the new addition, which made a modern -- at the time -- 2-room school, complete with two teachers. Then "Grandma" JAMESON grew into a young woman and married, but still living a few miles from where she was born, right in the Lone Star vicinity. That's when she got the name of JAMESON, by marrying Arch JAMESON. Mr. JAMESON was a miner, working in a shaft of the Western Coal & Mining Company. In that particular era, there were many Kansas & (next line is missing)....the highway between the Pittsburg city limits and the Lone Star corner, a section that today houses several modern ranch type homes. It would hardly be expected that getting married would sever connections of this alumnus with Lone Star school, so naturally her entire brood of ten youngsters attended Lone Star district No. 50 school. But the continued affiliation didn't end there. Mr. JAMESON was elected to the school board and served many years. The second generation JAMESONs in the school did the natural thing too. They led to a third generation JAMESON tribe in the school. In the second generation JAMESON clan was Dave who followed in his dad's footsteps. He was elected to the board, but resigned when his work as a pipefitter on construction projects kept him away from home much of the time. He served on the board more than fifteen years. (this stands alone as a paragraph; obviously something was accidentally cut out). In the third generation JAMESONs was Charles JAMESON, employeed at TAYLOR's wallpaper and paint store, and from him comes a current fourth generation now learning readin' and writin', Steven, eight, and Edward, six. And Charles has three more JAMESONs at home who will enter the school later. Naturally, through more than 80 years of educating JAMESONs and others, the old Lone Star school has taken quite a beating. In the past several years there has been necessary a lot of "patching" and "boarding up." Consequently there has been a move to build a new modern building to replace the veteran structure. On next Saturday there will be a special election to the school district to vote on a proposed $57,000 bond issue. As proposed, a 3-room building would replace the 2-room structure. Obviously this would call for a third teacher. Building a new structure, school officials have pointed out, will mean some $2,800 in state aid, among other benefits. And the real pay-off, the board members point out, is that over a period of time, building an entirely new building wll mean lower taxes to patrons who currently are assessed for the continual repairs. And despite a good heating system, on cold days it is difficult to keep the aged building warm. There is comparatively new equipment in the two room, taught by Mrs. Guy COOPER and Mrs. Francis SLAVINS. This can be salvaged for a new structure. Board members, including George SMITH, director; Charles TROXEL, clerk, and Lindley HORN, treasurer, are proud of the school's operating record. This term the school opened with 53 students. A comparison of school costs show that at Lone Star the cost has been $171.18 per pupil where in some instances in the count costs go as high as $900 per student. Also, they point out, with a new 3-room and 3-teacher school, a larger enrollment is likely. As discussions have been held concerning the new school, no one has shown more interest than Alumnus Anna JAMESON. While she likes to recall the days of more than 80 years ago when every Thursday night was a night that just had to be set aside for the literaries in the original building on Cow Creek, she's interested in progress. In addition, she has been out campaigning for the new school. When she presents her arguments, you'd never think she was 86 past. But then she came from hardy stock. Her father, David HUSTON, homesteaded in the Lone Star area and even cut logs for the native log home. There was a time in her life when she came close to becoming an Arkansayer. After residence here, her father decided to go to Arkansas, and he took the family along. He became ill and died while the family was there. An 8-year old sister of "Grandma" JAMESON died about the same time. And her mother was expecting another youngster. When the double deaths hit the family, Mrs. JAMESON recalls, her mother had her brood, two top wagons and $80 in cash. Yet she managed to hold the clan together and get them back to the Lone Star neighborhood. The other day they counted up as best they could and discovered a listing of 140 grandchildren and great-grandchildren of "Grandma" JAMESON. To which she added, "They're scattered all over the world, and there may be more. There are some we haven't heard from lately." Along with the article there are two pictures, one of the schoolhouse, and one of Anna (HUSTON) JAMESON, with son Dave, grandson Charles and great-grandson Steven. Joann Jameson, [email protected] San Leandro, CA