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Play - Inside and Out in a Rural School

At recesses and noontime we played outside whenever the weather permitted. I suppose the teachers were glad to have some time free of children but often she joined in the games or taught us new ones. Our level schoolyard was an ideal place for recreation. It was large enough so that we did not have a closed‑in feeling, sometimes two games could go on simultaneously. In winter, even after a blizzard, the snow was never deep except for drifts on the north sides of the schoolhouse and barn. In spring after the thaws began water collected in puddles near the schoolhouse where the ground had been worn down by the children's feet. Water also collected in the northeast corner of the yard which was a foot or two lower than the rest and in the ditch along the road. If there was a hard freeze after the thaw the ice was ideal for "sliding." None of us had ice skates but we played on the ice by running and then sliding with stiff legs until we tumbled over. Sliding was difficult with our rubber soled overshoes so these were always removed. In some years the slight depression in Peterson's field just south of the schoolyard collected melting snow water and we had a somewhat larger area of ice for sliding. Often the ice firm enough in the morning to support us softened in the bright sunshine by noon so that it cracked under our weights and was unsafe. The worst that could happen was to break through and get soaked to the knees.

For a number of years the schoolyard was not our only playground. The Heringer half section had 20 acre strip of virgin prairie just to the southeast of the school. A crop of hay was taken from it every summer but the land still harbored many of the native flora. The west end had a slight rise which sloped to a slough hole almost a quarter of a mile to the east. Crocuses (Pasque flowers), buttercups, red torch flowers and violets flourished in the grass. Wild strawberries grew in abundance in late June after school was out. Gophers, both the gray (Richardson's ground squirrel) and the thirteen striped, dug their holes here and there in the prairie sod. They preferred the higher ground near the road. Badger holes sometimes appeared but I do not remember ever catching a glimpse of this carnivore. The prairie was a delightful place to run about on the spring days. Sometimes the boys tried to snare or trap the gophers. They had little success. About 1920 or possibly a little earlier the Heringers broke up the prairie and we could no longer play on this fascinating piece of land.

Hide‑and‑go‑seek was a favorite game. The south wall of the entry was home base. "It" hides his face against the base and counts by fives, "Five, ten, fifteen . . . ninety‑five, ONE HUNDRED!" in a loud voice. While he is counting the children scatter and hide behind the barn, outhouses and the far side of the schoolhouse. "It" then turns about and yells, "Anyone 15 feet from the base is caught." This announcement prevents anyone from sneaking around the corner to reach the safety of home base. He then goes to hunt for the children who peek out to see where he is. If he gets far enough away from the base the hider "Joe" can make a dash for the base. There is a race, if "It" gets there first he pounds the base, "One, two, three for me, " and is safe. While "It" is occupied the others try to streak to the base to declare themselves safe. If "It" can see the whole figure of a hider he can declare them "out" by running to the base and banging the wall as before. So it goes until all are caught. The first player caught is "It" for the next game. Hide‑and‑go‑seek was usually a recess game, it lacked variety for there were only four places to hide.

Pom‑pom‑pullaway was a tag type of game. An "It" is chosen and the rest of the children divide into two equal groups. One side lines up along the south side of the schoolhouse and the other at the south edge of the grounds about 75 feet away. "It" stands halfway between the two groups and when all are in position he shouts, "Pom‑pom‑pullaway, if you don't come I'll pull you away." At the signal all the children run across to change sides while "it" tries to tag (touch with his hand) anyone he can. For a second go around "it" and those tagged stand between the two sides and yell, "pom‑pom‑pullaway" again. "It" and his companions catch some more and so on until all have been tagged.

Fox and Geese could be played only on mornings when an inch or two of snow had fallen the night before. At recess the game starts by everyone following the leader in file to make a circular path in the snow about 40 feet across with two diameters at right angles to each other to make a figure in the snow like a wheel with four spokes. When the figure is complete "It" stands in the center while the rest of the players walk or run around the outer circle as they wish but always in the same direction between the spokes. "It" darts out along one of the spokes hoping to trap and tag one of the children in the place where he cannot change direction. If he is tagged he becomes "It." The child can avoid capture only by going into one of the spokes which are "safe" territory. Usually by noon the light snow had melted and no more fox and geese could be played until some new snow had fallen.

Cross Tag played only occasionally, was rather disorganized. With the children standing around in no set position "It" starts to chase one of them trying to tag him. If the chased can run so that another player is between him and the chaser this child becomes the new quarry. The person finally tagged becomes the new "It."

Drop the handkerchief was really a kindergarten game but we all enjoyed it occasionally. An "It" was chosen and the rest of the children joined hands to form a circle. Everyone faces toward the center and dropped his hands while "It" carrying the handkerchief circles behind the children's backs. Then quietly he drops or places the cloth behind someone's feet hoping that it will not be noticed.  He then keeps circling. As soon as the child becomes aware that the handkerchief is behind him he runs around the circle trying to catch "It". If "It" reaches the child's place the child now lacking a space in the circle is the new "It". If the child tags "It" he regains his place in the ring and "It" tries again. To maintain interest the children try to divert the child from noticing that the handkerchief has been placed behind him.

Skip‑to‑my‑Lou introduced by Miss Loomis in 1920 was somewhat similar to drop the handkerchief. The children stand in a circle singing the old folk song:

"It" skips around the circle finally choosing one of the children, then the two side by side, skip the whole way around the ring and "It" takes the vacant place. The new "It" skips around and chooses himself a new partner. This game was the only one which has even the slightest sexual implications. It was easy for a participant to feel left out if he is never or rarely chosen to make the circle with a partner.

Can played only by the boys was quite different from the other games. The equipment needed was an empty tin can and a stick or board sturdy enough to bat the can around. Each player except "It" has a shallow hole just large enough to hold the can arranged in a circle 10 or so feet in diameter with an additional hole in the center. Each player keeps his stick in his hole unless he is hitting the can. "It" tries to hit or push the can into the center hole while the other players try to prevent him from doing so. When he gets the can into the center hole he holds it here and says, "Upset the fruit basket." All the players are forced to exchange holes and "It" tries to get his stick into one of the holes during the exchange. If he is successful the player without a hole is the new "It". I do not know who invented the game, I have never encountered it elsewhere. "Can" would be a good game if the rules were a little more definite and stricter. Two or more players could gang up against "It" and it would be virtually impossible for him to ever gain an advantage.

London Bridge was a game for the primary children, those in the upper grades never played it. Two children who are to be the bridge each choose a world for the caught children to make a choice. For example, one chooses oranges and the other bananas. The two children then form a bridge by facing each other joining their outstretched hands. The rest of the players go round and round under the bridge one by one stooping low as the children sing:

As the last word is sung the child under the bridge is caught between the outstretched arms of the bridge. He is led a little distance away and quietly asked to which he prefers, "Oranges or bananas". The child chooses one or the other and stands aside while the game goes on until all are caught. The final step is a tug of war between the two members of the bridge and those who have made the corresponding choices. As they pull they all fall in a heap. Then other children form a bridge anew and the game starts over again.

Statues was also played by the younger children. "It" takes each child by the hand and whirls him about and releases him to fly away. He is supposed to stay in the position he has when he stops and remain as a "statue". After all have been turned into statues "It" chooses the one he likes best to be "It" for the next game. Sometimes the statues are unstable and allowed to topple over before the end of the game.

In bad weather when it was impossible to play outside we played in the schoolroom at our desks or at the blackboard. I am sure the teacher would have preferred not to have the children underfoot during recesses and noon time break. I do recall one damp morning when we were asked to go outside. We all went to the old barn where we played school! That was not really a successful way to pass the time.

Cat, really tic‑tac‑toe, was played on the blackboard. We called it "cat" because we said the cat got it when the game turned into a draw. Many of us became adept at the game and the recess was over in no time at all when a game of cat got started.

Dots was another two person game. To start a square or oblong field of dots, say 5 up and 6 across or even larger, was marked on the blackboard. The first player drew a line connecting two of the dots and then the other alternated until it was to make a complete square between four dots somewhere in the field. The player writes his initial in the square and is allowed to draw one more connecting line. The game goes on until all the possible square are complete. Each player counts his initials and the one with the most wins.

Hangman was a letter and word game for two players. The first thinks of a word and puts as many dashes on the blackboard as there are letters in the word. The other player tries to guess the letter and then the word. If he guesses the correct letter it is written on the proper dash. If not a circle is drawn on the board as the start of the figure of a man. He guesses again, and when the guesses are incorrect his opponent draw in succession the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, neck, body, buttons, two arms, and two legs and a rope around the neck. If the rope gets drawn before all the correct letters have been guessed he loses. The game had an educational value although we did not consider it as such when we were playing it. The trick was to choose a word that had an unusual combination of letters.

Snapping Apples, not a game, but a lunch time pasttime, was introduced by one of the teachers. If one had an apple in the lunch pail you asked a friend to snap the apple and at the same time think of the name of someone of the opposite sex. After the apple has been eaten the seeds are counted. Each number of seeds had a significance:

There was plenty of room for kidding when the snapper revealed the name. If four seeds were found in the core "I love Johnny with all my heart" might or might not be an acceptable fortune. I do not know the source of the rhyme and have never seen the whole sequence elsewhere.

Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 412