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Nov. 01, 2006
By MARY BALDASANO'Button' Ford recalls the early days of schooling in PahrumpSpecial to the PVT
Harry 'Button' Ford came to Pahrump with his father at the age of 10, in the 1940s. In those days, light came from lamps and groceries came from a store located on the Binion Ranch that was only open when the owner wanted it open. But the real challenge came with attending school. Ford recalled that the one-room school house was also located on the Binion Ranch and had dirt on the roof for insulation. It was not without its luxuries: not one but two outhouses ' one for boys and one for girls. Ford's boyhood friends included last names such as Hafen and Warner, and while there are universal truths about active young people, having time to get into trouble was out of the question. There was not only strict discipline at school, but it was the rule of thumb at home as well. Discipline at school was essential when all grades, one through eight, were in one room. The largest class was 20-25 students, but they generally averaged 12-14. Recess was equivalent to breaks in today's work-a-day world: 15 minutes in the morning, an hour for lunch (consisting of a sandwich and a piece of cake or pie), and another 15 minutes in the afternoon. Graduation came at the end of the eighth grade; Ford graduated in 1950. In 1944, Ford said, flush toilets and running water came to the school house. A water storage tank was placed on a small hill near the school, and a pipe carried water from the tank to the building ' fresh drinking water was a luxury. There were only eight artesian wells (as is the case today) to provide water to the area. The driving age at that time was well below what people today might imagine. It was rare to have a teacher who drove, so a young man named Freddie Sharp took on the task ' he was 12 at the time. Whereas the school house was located in one place, school could take place at one of three locations depending on the number of students. Ford said Sharp would pick up the kids and drive them to wherever classes were being held. Teachers were hard to find in 1946, not only due to the number of women working outside the home after the war, but also because not many wanted to come to such a desolate place. Teachers were only paid $125 a month, which was less than in other areas of the country. Providing an education where there were no lights and heat came from oil stoves was not easy. The schools in Pahrump, Amaragosa and the Johnnie Camp were in the Rose School District and not part of Nye County, so little funds were available to help provide better amenities. Of today's Pahrump, Ford stated, 'I like it the way it is and would like it to stay this way, but it's not. Water conservation is an issue and one day the valley will run out -- but not in our lifetimes.' The museum was Ford's vision, and he has donated land and time to seeing that it became an important part of Pahrump. 'It's your museum,' he said, and Pahrump residents as well as visitors should visit and enjoy the rich taste of history from those who came before. The museum is located on Basin Avenue between Highway 160 and Blagg Boulevard. For information, call 775-751-1970. |
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