District #22 – Orion

By Caitlin Basgall

My school is the Orion School. It was located 11 miles south and 4 miles west of Grinnell. The school was organized on July 30, 1895. I don’t know when the Orion School closed because I didn’t see it in my packet in the Gove County Register of Deeds office, but I do know that the Orion School combined with the Union School, 4 ½ miles west, in 1954. (1980 Warrior Yearbook) The Heritage and History of Gove County book states the first Orion school was in a dugout. It later moved to a sod building before it was relocated in Orion in a frame building.

In 1899 the age range of the students was 5 to 20 years of age. The treasurer in that year was David Demnia. The treasurer of a school pays all the bills and different things of the school. The teacher was Mums Mabel, and her wages per month was $30.00.

In 1900 the age range was the same. The teacher was John R. Parsons. (History and Heritage of Gove County, Kansas) Another teacher I found was B.B. Bacon. (See more about him on the main page.) His wages per month was $40.00. My other classmates said that they saw B.B. Bacon’s name at the other schools so he must have taught at them. In 1909 the teacher was Lincoln Lewis and his wages per month were $55.00. In 1912 the teacher was Edna Beougher and her wages were $50.00 per month. In 1915 Anna Stanley was paid $55.00 monthly, and in 1916 Anna Miller was paid $50.00 a month. (Gove County Register of Deeds Office) Bob Abell’s mother Virigie Scott Abell was a teacher in Orion in 1920. (Bob Abell Interview) In 1924 the teacher was Carrie B. McCahnant and her wages per month was $85.00. (Gove County Register of Deeds Office)

I was unable to get clear through the packet during our research trip, but there is a lot more information in Gove.

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