Souvenir Booklet, Claremore, Oklahoma, 1910 – 1915. p. 8. By Photographer L. Ida Lawley. Courtesy the Rogers County Historical Society.
The Claremore Progress states “At first thought one might not suppose the question of a kindergarten would have much bearing on the subject of town improvement, but a close study of the kindergarten and its mission will convince one that it has a vital place in the life of any community… The kindergarten derives its great value from the fact that the first few years of a child’s life constitute the period in which the groundwork of character is laid.”[i]
With this in mind, it was of vital importance to the Claremore community that as early as October 5th, 1903, a “Kindergarten School” opened at the old Opera House on Third Street (aka Will Rogers Boulevard), a rock building on the south side of the street between Cherokee and Muskogee avenues (where the Claremore Progress building now resides). Its hours were 1 to 4 o’clock. Tuition was “50 cents per week, everything furnished. No visitors” were “allowed except the last Friday in each month.” Mrs. L.H. Eddy served as this kindergarten’s teacher.[ii]
Three years later, in February 1906, it was announced that “Miss Wyletta Lyons, of Muskogee, (was) organizing a kindergarten at Claremore.”[iii] Miss Lyons “rented the frame building, vacated by the public school when the new addition was built.” It was here that she planned to open her kindergarten.[iv]
A further announcement was made in March. “Miss Wiletta Lyons wishes to announce to her patrons that her kindergarten will open Monday, March 5th, at 1 p.m., in (the) frame school building.”[v]
As incentive to make a visit, Miss Lyons “issued unique invitations, in the shape of cardboard lads and lassies done in water colors, for a taffy pull at her kindergarten room… A number of her friends responded and were delightfully entertained.”[vi]
But Miss Lyons’ kindergarten was not without competition. Also that March, 1906, in the Report of Claremore Public Schools, “A class for beginners who have just passed their sixth birthday is now being organized by Mrs. Hayman. Pupils will be admitted to this class for the next week. Parents who have children between the age of five and six are recommended to send them to the kindergarten.”[vii]
Having taken special training in kindergarten instruction, Mrs. J.W. Hayman Claremore’s kindergarten teacher was “considered one of the best teachers in the new state (of Oklahoma) in that department.”[viii]
A great push was presented by the school district regarding the importance of this academic endeavor. “The parents who are interested in the kindergarten work of Claremore are invited to visit the school and see some of its workings. The spirit for real kindergarten growth should be stronger. It is the small children we want from 3 to 6. Then is the formative period, and every true mother feels the need of right training. Perhaps the tuition is keeping some away, and as it is the children we want to reach and help, the tuition will be reduced to three dollars a month. The worth of the work is not paid for with money. The kindergarten training is regarded by some as mere play. This is a mistaken idea as there are real lessons to be learned, and those who have the true understanding of the work know this. Let us hope that the people of Claremore are not to be last in realizing the benefit derived from the kindergarten.”[ix]
J.W. Hayman, Superintendent of Claremore Schools, reported in 1907, “To those persons who have taken notice of the growth of our schools, it is plainly evident that Claremore must provide increased facilities for the education of her children. In my opinion, a public kindergarten ought to be established, or at least a sufficient amount of money appropriated for such a department that the patrons thereof need not pay more than $2.00 per month for each pupil sent.”[x]
Jumping forward in time to September 1911, there were more kindergarten options available to parents. “Attention. Those desiring to send their smaller children to a kindergarten will do well to consult Miss Fyrne Price of Tulsa, who on the 18th of September will begin a school in the Sunday school room of the M.E. church. The terms are 50c a week or $2 per month. Miss Price comes to our city well recommended, having the very best of references from patrons in Tulsa, where she successfully conducted a school there.” Miss Price, “opened her kindergarten school Monday morning at 9 o’clock with a very good attendance. There was some delay in the shipment of some of her supplies, but she is getting along all right without them.”[xi]
In January 1912, The Claremore Progress reported that “Miss Walkley’s and Miss Murphy’s Kindergarten school (was) progressing nicely. Four new pupils were enrolled” at that time.[xii] Claremore’s census of school children in 1912 showed there were 134 kindergarten pupils between 4 and 6 years old.[xiii] That May, “Misses Alyce Walkley and Byna Murphy closed their kindergarten school… after having conducted sixteen successful weeks in this city.” These dedicated teachers planned to “attend a training school during the summer so that they may be able to carry their work into further detail during the next term.”[xiv] Miss Price also ended her kindergarten at Claremore for the summer.[xv]
The 1912-1913 school term at Claremore public schools commenced Monday, September 2, 1912. All students in grades lower than 4th would meet at the Hiawatha building. Others would meet at the Claremont building. “All pupils between 4 and 6 years of age may enroll in the kindergarten” according to P.C. Smith, Superintendent of the City Schools.[xvi]
August 30 it was announced that “All children under the age of 6 and above the age of 4 years” would “report to Miss Hamilton at the Hiawatha building for the Kindergarten.”[xvii] At the year’s conclusion that May, “An Excellent Program” was reported. “The program rendered by the children of the Kindergarten on the Hiawatha school lawn Wednesday evening at 6:30, was excellent, each participant showing that he or she had received fine training at the hands of the teacher, Miss Hamilton. A large number witnessed the exercises and all were more than favorably impressed with the work done by the children.”[xviii]
Claremore’s kindergartens over those ten years were a great success not only because of the enthusiasm of the schools’ superintendents but because of the fine qualities of their stellar teachers. The Claremore Progress states, “The qualifications for a successful kindergarten teacher are rare. Few people possess them. One must not only love children and be possessed of unlimited patience. One must also be able to put oneself in harmony with child life and be able to see clearly the child’s point of view. The successful teacher must be able to enter wholeheartedly into all the interests that go to make up the child’s world, as in no other way can the confidence and love of the child be gained, and without these the teacher’s efforts are worse than wasted.”[xix]
The names of Mrs. Eddy, Miss Lyons, Miss Walkley, Miss Murphy, Miss Price, and Miss Hamilton and the Claremore kindergartens they established may have long been forgotten, but the foundation they laid for the young school children under their care continues to flourish and is of vital importance in Claremore’s educational system today.
By Christa Rice, Claremore History Explorer
Enjoy the Journey.
[i] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Thursday October 4, 1917. P. 4. Newspapers.com.
[ii] The Claremore Messenger (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, October 2, 1903. P. 12. Newspapers.com.
[iii] The Claremore Messenger (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, February 16, 1906. P. 6. Newspapers.com.
[iv] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Saturday, February 17, 1906. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[v] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Saturday, March 3, 1906. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[vi] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Saturday, March 17, 1906. P. 6. Newspapers.com.
[vii] The Claremore Messenger (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, March 16, 1906. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[viii] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Saturday, May 25, 1907. P. 7. Newspapers.com.
[ix] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Saturday, October 6, 1906. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[x] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Saturday, May 25, 1907. P. 10. Newspapers.com.
[xi] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, September 1 and 22, 1911. P. 4. Newspapers.com.
[xii] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, January 26, 1912. P. 1. Newspapers.com.
[xiii] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, March 29, 1912. P. 8. Newspapers.com.
[xiv] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, May 10, 1912. P. 2. Newspapers.com.
[xv] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, June 12, 1912. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[xvi] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, August 23, 1912. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[xvii] The Claremore Messenger (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday August 30, 1912. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[xviii] Claremore Progress and Rogers County Democrat (Claremore, Oklahoma). Friday, May 16, 1913. P. 5. Newspapers.com.
[xix] The Claremore Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Thursday October 4, 1917. P. 4. Newspapers.com.
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