Pickle City School
Pickle City is the territory in the northwest corner of Sherman Township and covers an area of approximately ten square miles before the Missouri River engulfed so much land, probably fifteen square miles. It centered around the country school house where many happy memories remain. Possibility, it was called Pickle City, because the soil was so suitable for cucumbers.
The school house was built west of where the Blencoe City Dump is now (The dump was about 1 mile straight west past the Blencoe I-29 Overhead, which is now closed.) and much land extended out into where the Missouri Channel now runs so swiftly. Families of the area include Bryan's, Hime's, McIntyre's, Swesey's, Marley's, Glenn's, Jester's, Hogeboom's, Steven's, Barcus's, Karsch's, Grapes, Phliegger's, Anderson's, Lawrence's, Sears, Pilus's, Lindley's, Jeffrey's, Houpe's, Johnstons and Emery Skull.
In 1913, the school house was moved south along the high bank to stand like a fortress through its' final years. It was moved because that was the year of the fatal tornado, laying flat the huge cottonwood, willow and elm.
In 1921 a ferry was built in the school yard. The Blencoe Elevator instigated the building of it to operate off Gumbo Point west of the school house.
The school enrollment at one time was ninety-six pupils with the kindergarten through the third grads in the basement and though the eight grade upstairs. The school was heated by a large coal furnace that could really jump, shaking the whole building on a zero cold morning. The children in the basement came out at the end of the day looking like coal miners from the flying dust. Sledding was the winter past time. The children would slide down off the top of the cellar, down the hill, under the board fence and out into the field. The parents of the community were very active, formed a Parent-Teacher Association, earned money by plays, entertainment, parties, etc. and contributed much to the school and community. They even scheduled and sponsored an aerial acrobatic show to everyone's delight. The annual “Last day of school picnic” was always held in the timber pasture just one-fourth mile west of the school house on the north side of the road on the Isaac Walker place.
The flood of 1942 uprooted most families, there were only three children left to attend school, so it was closed at this time with the children being bussed to Blencoe.
~Source: The Blencoe Centennial History Book, Submitted by Mary Stanislav
