Danevang
School Days |
| As the community of Danevang
prospered, the need for a school became increasingly apparent. The
first classes were held in the community center. There was only one
teacher. Soon, a curtain was put up to divide it into two rooms, and
another teacher was hired. However, this school was too far for many
many of the children to walk to, so more schools were built to accomodate
this need. Schools were built in the west, east, and in the center
of town. The central school was built across the street from the Petersen's
homeplace. This system lasted several years until the main school
was built close to the site of the Dane's Country Store.
The students studied the typical courses of reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, some families chose to send their children to El Campo for their schooling. Ms. Lillian Hansen-Roberts remembers living in El Campo during the week and going to school. On the weekends, her father would come to El Campo and pick her up and take her back to Danevang. Lack of space was a problem. Sometimes two grades were taught in the same room. Classes were even taught in the school library because there wasn't enough room for everyone. The schoolhouses had four large rooms and a large hallway. Outside of the schools is where the horse stalls were located. These were for the children who rode their horses to school. Ms. Robert's father hauled in hay to the school so the children could feed their horses. Extra-curricular activities included choral singing, basketball, gymnastics, and baseball. The school colors were red and white, and the Teams were called the Danevang Vikings Classes have not been held in Danevang since 1951, when the schools in Danevang consolidated with those in El Campo. |
