To today’s kids, raised on quaint television shows like “Little House On the Prairie” and granddad’s stories, a variation on the old Abe Lincoln tale about trudging endless miles to school, the concept of a one room school house ruled by a teacher with a wicked stick seem slightly unreal- like an adult fable made up so that kids will stop griping about another day at boring old school.

Yet back in 1868, when the first school in Suwannee County was created, there were three teachers who “had nervous temperaments and had to trash at least one boy to start the day’s business right off.”

Kids had to walk up to four miles to attend the school and “a ride on a dusty wagon was a lucky event.”

Live Oak and the other communities that made up Suwannee County then were pioneer places populated by dirt farmers, convicts from a state work farm and northerners who came down to take the waters. And the education of children was a low priority, much less a requirement as it now is under law.

The first school house on record was built in 1868 by John Parshley for a Baptist church.

Before that, a man identified in the Democrat only as Professor Jones traveled from house to house and church to church teaching children for fees and gifts.

Parshley’s school opened a year before the Florida Legislature made the bold move of establishing the Department of Education which, in turn, authorized the establishment of local school boards and superintendents.

The first meeting of the Suwannee County School board occurred on July 9, 1869, with John L. Taylor as superintendent. Presumably everyone got along fairly well at that time as there were no reports of bickering and fighting, though current Superintendent Frank Stankunas might cringe to note that Taylor was paid $5 a day.

By that time, there were six teachers in the county, who were paid $40 per month for three months’ work.

Some students today might consider kids of that generation lucky for having to endure school for only three months a year. But when not in school, youngsters of that time spent their days stooped over in the fields, performing aching work that today’s farmers– with their combines, tractors and other equipment- are spared.

The first school board had a budget of $720 for teachers and $200 for books and the superintendent’s salary. The funds were earned through taxes of one-fourth cent per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Once the DOE and local school government were established, enrollment and the construction of new schools picked up quickly.

By 1870, schools in the official system numbered seven. By 1875 there were 26 and by 1887, 44. The all time high for schools in Suwannee County was in 1889 when an unimaginable 75 were operating.

While there was one governing school board, many areas of the community had separate school districts which had the power to tax for the operation of their schools. Nearly all of the schools at that time were of the one-house, log cabin variety and, from the very start of formal public education in the county, there were separate schools for blacks.

The school teachers generally boarded in a nearby house and were given practically a free rein to teach and discipline the students as they wished.

Judging from Democrat stories, the rod was definitely not spared and corporal punishment– lashings in front of the whole class for example setting, not like in the principal’s office nowadays- was the norm.

But gradually, with the construction of bigger roads and bigger farms– which led to the extinction of many small communities in the county– the school system slowly began consolidating.

As travel was much easier and it became clearer that children could receive a better education in larger schools with more facilities, the old one room school houses began disappearing as the 20th century arrived.

By the 1920s, schools began operating on an eight-month schedule and the number of schools shrank to about 30.

As transportation improved and buses were used, the number of schools dwindled and education in the county improved considerably.

In 1945, there were 17 white schools with the smallest being in the community of Ethel, which boasted 13 students.

While the number of schools diminished, the remaining schools grew considerably thanks to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Public Works Administration. Through WPA funds and workers, additions at most schools were built and facilities were expanded.

The Branford School was the first to be accredited by the newly formed Southern Association of Colleges and Schools during that era.

With Future Farmers of America Chapters at Live Oak and Branford, much of the emphasis in the school was on agriculture. The agriculture programs were recognized then as some of the finest in the sate and one of the greatest honors ever bestowed on Live Oak was when Live Oak FFA member Bill Gunter- now state insurance commissioner– was named National FFA president.

By the beginnings of 1960, education in the county had become big business. There were 250 employees including 176 teachers to instruct 3,757 students on a budget of more than $1.3 million. By now, there were only seven schools- five white and two black.

But deadly weather and the rising civil rights movement cast the education system into turmoil during the 60s.

Hurricane Dora destroyed Suwannee High School while SACS found that most of the county schools were inadequate and either withdrew accreditation or placed the schools on probation.

Suwannee County had held fast to a program, of segregation and only relented when forced to by the federal government.

With the district badly in need of funds to bring the schools back to life and the federal government threatening to withhold money because of its segregation policies, the school board agreed to integrate in 1965.

Despite rousing words against integration by then Democrat publisher Louie Wadsworth- who also fought any politician who ever hinted at integration- blacks and whites were mixing with relatively few problems by the end of the decade.

With the help of the community, which endorsed a large bond sale to finance extensive construction in the county school systems, education eventually got back on track in the 1970s.

Today, while enrollment is about the same as it was in the 1959, the district has a total budget of about $12 million and about 500 employees– keeping it one of the biggest businesses in the county.

Perhaps the only remnant of the old system is Branford. The first school in the county to be accredited is still a kindergarten through 12th grade facility, although it is considerably larger than one room. It is believed to be one of the only two existing K-12 schools in the state.

Editors Note: Schools in Suwannee County have made many strides during the past 22 years. Branford is no longer a K-12, there is a beautiful new K-5 school located on Highway 247. This year, 2005-2006 school year BES was the only school in Suwannee County to achieve an ‘A’, and was in the top 100 schools in the state of Florida. They will be honored this Thursday night for student achievement and adequate yearly progress by the Suwannee County School Board. The board will meet at 6 p.m. at BES and a reception will follow. Students, teachers, parents and the community are cordially invited to attend.