This
winter I have been working on a project for the Kossuth County Genealogical
Society organizing all of the information the society has on country
schools. Kossuth County used to be
dotted with country schools that were located every two miles or so and quite
often we receive inquiries about locations of schools, teachers who taught at
them, and students who attended them. It
was time to get all of the information that we have organized into one
location.
As
a part of that project, I kept running across the name of William Shirley who
served as County School Superintendent from 1912 to 1940. I thought it would be interesting to take a
closer look at his life to both share with you and to include with the country
school information.
SHIRLEY COMES TO SWEA CITY
Shirley
first came to Kossuth County in 1906 to serve as superintendent of the new Swea
City High School which had been built in 1903.
Born near Springfield, Illinois, Shirley had moved with his family to
Minburn, Iowa, when he was 14 and he completed his high school education
there. After teaching for a year, he
sought a civil engineering degree at the college in Ames. He then taught for four years before
accepting a position as principal at Waukee where he served until taking the
job in Swea City.
Shirley
was popular with the area citizens and well-suited for the position. During the next six years, he worked
tirelessly for the students under his care, always striving to increase the
scholastic standards to provide a top-notch education. In 1912 when then-serving Superintendent Sid
Backus announced that he would not seek reelection, William Shirley decided to
run for the position of Kossuth County School Superintendent.
 |
| William Shirley Campaign Postcard |
 |
| Handwritten message on each postcard |
THE CAMPAIGN AND ELECTION
Both
Shirley and Frank Sarchet, a teacher, announced their intention to run on the
Republican ticket, necessitating a primary runoff. Mr. Shirley hit the ground running and was
often seen riding a motorcycle while campaigning. He had the advantage of being the “candidate
of north Kossuth” where he was well known.
His political advertising boldly stated that he represented a part of
the county that was entitled to a county office. He pointed out that the county attorney was
from Whittemore, the Clerk resided in LuVerne, Wesley was the home of the
Treasurer, the current superintendent was from Bancroft, and the auditor,
recorder and sheriff lived in Algona. Using
print ads, letters, and postcards, Shirley outspent his opponent 2 to 1. The spending paid off as he defeated Sarchet
quite soundly – 1300 votes to 649.
 |
Upper Des Moines-Republican, June 5, 1912 |
The
Democratic candidate for the election was a teacher from the Fenton area, Margaret
Dorweiler. Shirley kept a steady pace of
canvassing the county throughout the summer while Miss Dorweiler was on a
European trip. Once she returned in
September, she conducted a remarkable campaign while still teaching full time. The election results were actually closer
than expected. Shirley received 2207 to
Dorweiler’s 1994 – a difference of 213 votes.
Keep in mind that in 1912 women did not have the right to vote so Margaret
could not cast a vote in her own favor. However,
given the support received, she obviously was able to convince the Democratic
male voters in the county that she was worthy of the position.
 |
Portion of 1912 ballot showing Candidates Shirley and Dorweiler |
THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT
The county superintendent’s office was located in a cramped office in the Kossuth County Courthouse. The new superintendent settled quickly into his office and began his duties. One of the first things he did was purchase a Kodak camera with which to take photos of every school building and yard in Kossuth County with the intention of leaving his successor a pictorial record of the conditions of the schools when Shirley took office. What a prize that would be to have today!
He
also hired a deputy superintendent who just happened to be his wife, Grace (Barger)
Shirley. The two had married in 1900 and
had three children – Hale, Pearl and John.
Grace became an integral part of the superintendent’s office. Her husband was often out of the office
inspecting schools, conducting examinations and attending meetings leaving her
to deal with much of the paperwork as well as unexpected callers who had
business to conduct with the superintendent.
She managed the office with a pleasant and cheerful attitude.
Although
he was quite loyal to the north part of the county it became apparent very
quickly after the election that it would be necessary to move to Algona. The family purchased a home on South Dodge
Street and took possession April 1, 1913.
They would soon become active in many community activities and the
Methodist Church. Mr. Shirley served on
many local committees including the one formed to assist with the placement of
orphan train children who arrived in 1916.
CONDUCTING BUSINESS
Superintendent
Shirley made it a policy to regularly visit the schools under his charge. With over 150 schools in the county, that was
quite an undertaking. He was also in
charge of hiring and monitoring all teachers, administering teacher and eighth
grade student exams, and conducting graduation ceremonies and spelling bees,
among many other duties.
Mr.
Shirley was an imaginative educator. One
of the first things he did when he took office was order seeds from Washington,
D.C. which he distributed to students to raise their own gardens. When the war years arrived, the
Superintendent organized a bean growing club to help raise navy beans for the
troops. He sent out postcards to every
boy in the county asking them to commit to raising a certain number of
acres. He assisted them by providing the
seed.
The
influenza outbreak of 1918 brought some challenges. Approximately half of the schools in the
county were closed due to the epidemic. In
November he contracted influenza and was absent for some time. When he returned, he found that he was short
ten teachers. Some had left to find
other employment and others were gone due to illness or death – Ethel Bailey,
who taught in the Fenton area, died of influenza on December 11, 1918. The teacher shortage continued throughout the
war.
Every
year the Kossuth County Teachers Association hosted an institute which the
Shirleys helped to organize. Teachers from
across the county attended and were encouraged to socialize at the reception
held as part of the event. Local
well-known educators such as Minnie Coate and J.F. Overmyer guided participants
in workshops for each level – primary, elementary and high school – and speakers
on various aspects of child development and educational methods made it an
important event each year.
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| Plum Creek School #7 Located in Section 34, Plum Creek Township |
Visiting
schools was one of Shirley’s favorite duties.
He was often accompanied by a district director and would drop by a
school to observe the teacher and students as they went through their day. He took a personal interest in the children
at each school and would often take some time to talk with them or quiz them on
spelling words or arithmetic problems.
THE PASSING OF AN ERA
Outside
of school, Shirley enjoyed hunting with friends, especially in Eagle Township near
Swea City where he first settled in the county.
He and Grace also enjoyed traveling to visit their children. Their oldest, Hale, became a doctor and settled
in California; daughter Pearl married and lived near Washington, D.C.; and youngest
son, John, was employed as an instructor at Michigan State University.
 |
| Grace and William Shirley in 1938 Pictured on steps of Kossuth County Courthouse |
On
the evening of Sunday, May 18, 1940, William Shirley sat down in his favorite
chair and turned on the radio to listen to the news. A massive heart attack took his life moments
later. His death sent a shock wave
through the county where he had served over 27 years. It was a double blow to his wife who not only
lost her husband but also her job as deputy superintendent.
During
his tenure many changes took place in education which included the
superintendent position going from an elected position to one appointed by the
supervisors and saw the consolidation of school districts. William Shirley took them all in stride and
did his best to provide Kossuth County children with the best education
possible.
CAN YOU HELP?
If
any of you have photos of any of the country schools that once stood in Kossuth
County, the genealogy society would be most grateful to have a copy to add to its collection. A digital copy can be
emailed to kossgensoc@gmail.com. We would be happy to scan and return any photo
if you are unable to scan them yourself.
It would also be wonderful to obtain copies of other materials
concerning students or teachers at country schools such as report cards,
attendance records, lesson plans, or other data that you may be willing to
share. All materials will be returned to you after copying/scanning unless you wish to donate them. Please feel free to contact us at
the above noted email address if you have any information to share.
Until
next time,
Jean
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