Barb Owen

I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but my imagination dwelt in the country. A summer spent on a farm at age 10, my mother's tales of my Norwegian grandfather homesteading in a sod house on the Dakota prairie and the stories of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) left images that have intrigued me throughout my life.

A university degree in 1953 followed by two semesters of education credits in 1961 led to a teaching certificate. From 1965 to 1970 I taught first grade at Denmark School six miles east of Ellensburg in rural Kittitas County. When that school closed I taught in the town of Kittitas, retiring in 1991.

Denmark was a four room school with one room for each grade, first through fourth. It was a lovely old brick building with a gym and a huge playground surrounded by farmers' fields. We held Christmas and springtime programs and an end of school picnic, events which were entirely new experiences for a city girl like me.

In 1998 I began collecting accounts from teachers, describing their experiences in the old country schools. Now, thanks to the talented and dedicated staff at Washington State University Press, these wonderful stories of a bygone era can be read and enjoyed by people everywhere.

Please visit my webpage at http://www.fairpoint.net/~barbowen