John B. Salazar at the old vacant schoolhouse (circa 1974).
CHAPTER 14 in our book "Life in Los Sauces" deals with
school as my mother remembered it during the Twenties and
Early Thirties.
The following is an
excerpt
from the chapter.
. . ."La escuela (the school) was a well built three-room
frame building with white siding and plenty of windows for
light, as there was no electricity. We considered our
school to be one of the best compared to some other
elementary schools in Conejos County. This was because many
of the other schools were only one room with eight grades
and one teacher. Ours had three classrooms and three
teachers.
The school was equipped with school desks. We would have to
lift the lids of our desks to place or remove things
inside. We had no library and very few books to use. We
tore off paper from tablets and wrote as needed with yellow
lead pencils.
The teacher's main teaching tool was the blackboard, from
which we copied our assignments. She used a willow as a
pointer. (This same willow was also used to maintain
discipline in the classroom. The teachers were not rough
with the use of the willow, but I do remember that students
were struck with it from time to time as needed.)
We had no maps on the wall or a globe in the schoolroom.
There was one común (outdoor toilet) for all of us to use
including the teachers. . . ."
The Los Sauces School District had been organized in 1888
by Juan Naranjo, a man who had moved from Northern New
Mexico to Los Sauces. Eventually, the school closed.
Students now attend school in nearby Sanford, Colorado.