Prairie Girls

 

Elizabeth

I am Elizabeth. My Osage name is Hoo-tha`-to-me, and I attended the school Father Schoenmakers established in 1847 in Osage Mission. Originally the school was for Osage boys only, but shortly after it opened, the Sisters of  Loretto came from Kentucky to open a school for girls, too. I missed my family while attending  the boarding school. My friendship with Anna, another Osage girl, eased my homesickness.

Anna and I often rode our horses on Sunday afternoons, but one afternoon we rode too far from the school. While we were picking wild plums, we were surprised by a bear. I knew I had to be brave if we were to be safe. We did escape, but Mother Bridget, the principal, was angry with us for riding so far from the school.

 

Campout

One of the responsibilities I had as a seventh grade teacher at my middle school was to help sponsor a day campout at our local reservoir each spring. I felt relieved I was not an eighth grade teacher because they actually did campout and spend the night. It required weeks of preparation planning for the day. Meals, activities, events, students and more had to be coordinated. Each year I was amazed to see it work and how much the kids enjoyed the day.

The park rangers were a great source of ideas and help. They led small groups of students through the resources available at the lake. Activities ranged from identification of plants and animals, a partial zoo of animals (including the favorite: snakes), and hiking trails. My job changed over the years. Sometimes I did arts and crafts using beads I collected throughout the months preceding our fieldtrip and my favorite: Indian folklore about our area of the state.

Although I can’t really say I missed it when I took a job at the high school, it was fun to see students who had never fished, paddled a canoe, shot a black powder musket or shot an arrow do so for the first time.