Date: Tue, 07 Jun 2016 12:52:00 -0500 From: Sara Steele <smsteele@wisc.edu> Subject: Re: Fw: Looking for groups that have published on local schools - from Bayfield County Message-id: <31c23c43-d72e-06ba-856d-9ef5b033e89c@wisc.edu>
Hi Marian,
I've compiled three photo and text reports for the Cottage Grove Area
Historical Society and have others in the planning stage. Our reports
are kept to about 52 (8 1/2 by 11) pages, professionally printed with
staples in the center. Our main goal, with all our special topic
reports, is to get bits of information and photos connected under one
cover and to put complementary copies in school IMCs and libraries where
the public can access it as needed. The donor who covers the printing
cost also makes 20 or so copies available of each one for the Society to
sell.
They are much simpler than what you are doing and cover only one
township rather than a whole county. I chose this route, rather than one
book equivalent to a hard cover library book, for several reasons. One
is that it permits more depth on a specific school or school related
subject. Two, it can be read in one or two periods by most people.
Three, it is easy to include a lot of photos.
/The Transitioning of a School /tells the story of the "village" school
from when it was a one-room rural school, through when it had two years
of high school, until now when it is part of a Monona Cottage Grove
District and the building at the former location only hosts three or
four lower grades. Another report, tells of the students, faculty, and
activities of that school during the 1930s, The third tells the story
of one CG rural school that is now a Coffee house and arts and crafts
gallery.
I am hoping to soon start a report that introduces the history of our 8
former rural schools and shares the several photos we have of the
buildings and the students. Perhaps we will do another report on work as
a rural school teacher and introduce some of the men and women who
taught rural school.. Unfortunately, there are very few folks still
around who attended a rural school, but one of our members did a neat
article on her memories which is included in a publication about the
neighborhood the school was in.
The purpose of our reports is equally to share photos and to provide
information. We have photos and should be doing reports on the graded
school in the 1940s and 1959s, but ......
The hardest questions, but the basic ones, are 1. what story is it most
important to tell and 2. what will make it interesting and attractive
enough to get it read.. Sometimes the basic information needs to be cut
back in order to achieve the second goal.. A third very realistic one,
is what will attract enough purchasers for you to recoup costs. Names
and faces in he book may be of more help with sales than dates and facts.
I mention the topics we have touched on to illustrate some of the foci
you may be thinking of including in your book and how divergent those
foci may be.. If you find you have too much--too much information, too
many views of the focus should be, too many photos, you might want to
consider dividing it into several publications, or a publication
supplemented with information and photos on a Facebook page, web site,
or power point packaged on disks. In other words, rather than your
History Society trying to box the subject into a book, think about how
you can focus attention on the history of your county's schools for a
period of time in a variety of ways.
Think also about involving present or past teachers and school personnel
in preparing the material and as reviewers, editors, sales personnel.
Most of all, relax and take pride in their work and your work in
capturing this part of your county's history.
Sara Steele
Cottage Grove Area Historical Society
On 6/7/2016 11:54 AM, Seymour, Janet I - WHS wrote:
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Marian Schraufnagel <marschrauf@gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 7, 2016 11:25 AM
> *To:* Seymour, Janet I - WHS
> *Subject:* Schools book
> The Bayfield County Historical Society is working on a book about all
> the schools that were part of Bayfield County. We are gathering lots
> of information and getting ready to put it in a book for.
>
> We are wondering if any other counties in Wisconsin have done this.
> If so, could you get us contact information so we can see how they
> handled some of the logistics? We'd appreciate your help with this.
> It's a big task.
>
> Marian Schraufnagel
> BCHS Secretary