Leetonia School Early 1900's

Leetonia School House that sat on Boneyard( currently Bonitz's Camp)

This is a picture which hangs on the wall inside the Bonitz camp. It doesn't have a date on it but I am guessing it is early 1900's. If any of you know the people in this picture we could nail it down closer. I know from my grandfather that the school closed in the early 1940's. The remains of the school were torn down in 1958 when the current Bonitz camp was built. Jack thinks they might still have the school bell somewhere. Not as many people seem to know about this school as the one near the graveyard was in more of the old pictures.

The school was divided into two pupil groups Primary and Intermediate.  According to a historical account Intermediate schools were for children who could write and speak English. Primary generally ages 4-7 for children just learning these skills. Although, some older immigrant children would end up in primary classes until they reached proficiency. 

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I have a list of students at Leetonia that were in each of those categories during the 1905-6 school year.  I know there are a few of you whose relatives are in this list and I would be happy to hear from you.

LEETONIA GRADE SCHOOL  NO. 5

Elk Township

Tioga County, Pennsylvania

1905 -1906

James Bailey Pres., Gustave Gross Secr’y, W.T. Schanbacher, Teas., J. F. Grimm, Lesslie Lockwood, William Kelly, W.R. Longstreet County Superintendent

Names of Pupils

Primary Department

Nellie Bailey

Bessie Bailey

Prudence Bailey

Anna Borden

Dessie Borden

Rupert Borden

Fred Cole Harold Daniels

Talbert Davis

Ora Fritchel

Danniel Goodwin

Owindlin Gilbert

Madge Gilbert

Barton Gilbert

Susie Gubbins

Joseph Hartman

Ella Hartman

Helen Husted

Floyd Johnson

Ruth Kelley

Willie Klinegardner

Eddie Klinegardner

George Lloyd

Harry Lloyd

Pearl Loucks

Rosa Loucks

Nellie Louchs

Richard Kuttner

Gladys Morse

Velma Morse

Robert Mattison

Mary Marzo

Pearl Meeker

Ludwig Nissler

Elsie Nissler

Eddie Naegely

Frances Pepper

Freida Rief

Freida Schwab

Mildred Schramm

Joe Sereno

Victor Sereno

Mildred Schramm

Mildred Warren

Intermediate Department

Vern Anderson

Catherine Bailey

Leo Bailey

Eddie Bailey

Florence Bordon

Warden Casbeer

Leon Campbell

Max Crumm

Earl Dobbs

Robert Dobbs

Blair Daniels

Mary Daniels

Adelia Davis

Florence Davis

Maisy Furman

Daisy Furman

Frank Kelley

Mary Kennedy

Bennie Loucks

Plamos Loucks

Jason Loucks

Bert Lockwood

Helen Low

Earl Morse

Fannie Morse

Nora Mattison

Jessie Misner

Yerson Misner

Henry Nissler

Marie Nissler

Cleon Goodwin

Colin Goodwin

Ursel Gorton

Delilah Gorton

George Husted

Wilbur Husted

John Huggler

Walther Huggler

Willie Huggler

Charlie Hartman

Earl Hartman

Albert Johnson

Alma Johnson

Albert Kuttner

Ida Kline

Chauncy  Klinegardner

Tina Klinegardner

Ada Klinegardner

Clark Kelly

Frank Naegely

Pauline Naegely

Harry Pepper

Ernest Robinson

Mable Robinson

Ervin Rief

Herman Schwab

Sophie Schwab

Lottie Schwab

Emma Schwab

Bertha Schwab

Otto Schramm

Edith Schramm

Clair Stickley

Wilmot Stickley

Wildah Stickley

William Starner

Walter Starner

Stella Starner

Mary Sereno

Olive Shegog

Thanks to the Bonitz family for letting me scan their photo and recreate the old list. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Life Flight comes to Leetonia

Lifeflight

Landing

 It started out like any other Labor day weekend full of fun at the Bonitz camp. Abby Creamer jumped on her dad's 4-wheeler and in less than 10 seconds changed everything.

According to her mom LeAnn Creamer, " She got on my husbands atv and in 10 seconds she hit a weird bump and fell off. She is so lucky. She is okay. They are keeping her at geisinger till Wednesday for observation. She has bruised lungs a small laceration on her liver, a broken pinky that needs surgery and a concussion. Morris Fire dept were so awesome. They landed the helicopter right in the yard. It was so scary."

Morris Fireman Packing Abby for flight

Loading Abby in Helicopter

 When you get hurt up here you aren't 10 minutes from a hospital or help. It will be a minimum of an hour to see any emergency help. It is then another hour to a local hospital or if they call Life Flight about thirty minutes to get them and another 30 to fly you to Geisinger. I can tell you from personal experience, you want to be at a Trauma 1 center like Geisinger if you are hurt bad.

According to Bob Paul who took all these nice pictures and contacted me, Abby was knocked out by her accident. It looks like from the list of her injuries was indeed lucky not to have a more serious head injury.

From personal experience I can tell you, flying in the helicopter as a patient is a bit wierd. They put you in the belly of the beast with just enough room for you. Your head comes up between a nurse's legs. Stuff is within about 18" of the top of you and there is a small but not enjoyable window to your side. You really have no idea of what is happening or where you are going. In my case drugs they gave me helped a lot with that issue. No one else can come with you. So you take off leaving them about a 2 hour drive behind you.

When you land at Geisinger you are wheeled in and looked at by everyone in the hospital(or at least it feels that way).  They poke and prod at you and put you through machines. You feel very alone until your family arrives. I thought a lot about how scared Abby must have felt being alone in the ER until her family came.

Then the family worried sick, imagining the worst, drives the longest drive of their life. That two hours to Geisinger seems like eight.

Flying away to Geisinger

After it is over and a few days have passed. You realize how quickly life can change and if you and your loved one made it through the accident, how lucky you are. You never see a Life Flight helicopter again the same way. And you deeply appreciate all the care and concern conveyed to you by the medical people.

Leetonia is a wonderful place to live, but now and then it reminds us all just how isolated and dangerous it can be. Even with all this the last picture says it all.

A bear showed up during all the action. With all the firefighters, ambulance, helicopters and people, she just strode up to see what was happening. Maybe she went back to her cubs and told them,

Local Bear making sure rescue goes well

"Those humans have the strangest parties. You better stay away, cause a big bird came down and hauled one of them off into the sky."

Another day in Leetonia. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

The Bonitz Camp

The Bonitz camp sits atop a hill called the "Boneyard". It was dubbed the boneyard in the early
1900's after all the bones buried there from the slaughter house. The camp was built in the 1950's on the site of the old school house. The school house was the second school in Leetonia. The first one was over on Francis Leetonia road in front of the graveyard.

Jack Bonitz who I interviewed for this story claims to have saved the bell from the school house. The Bonitz camp has been the stomping ground for many a hunter and fisherman.

One of the most interesting things about the camp is all of the stuffed a
animals inside. The bobcat, the dualing grouse, deer, bear, trout and a wall of squirrels that surpasses all others.

Jack says he has one of every kind of squirrel ever seen in Leetonia and I believe it. He also has two palomino trout his mother caught back in the 70's in Cedar Run.
Last but not least is the bear hanging from the wall. This bear attacked Lee last year while she was cleaning(as reenacted in the picture). It left a hefty cut on her head when she came up under it. Just goes to show you bears are dangerous even when stuffed.

Well the big storm has not materialized into anything so far but a little snow and some wind. It always seems the storms that get the most talk produce the least and its the ones you don't see coming that leave you buried. I am not too upset to see the low snow amounts. Now if the cold would just leave we can get back to having Spring.

It would be nice to do a little something about each of the camps when people come up to camp let me know and I will come and write up a little post for you. Mountain Girl, Paula, logging out.