Untouched, unerased school blackboards from 1917 discovered

This is pretty cool. Contractors removing blackboards from an Oklahoma school found another set of blackboards under them. The blackboards still have markings from 1917 that weren’t erased before being covered.

Haunting chalkboard drawings, frozen in time for 100 years, discovered in Oklahoma school

That’s awesome! I wonder if the new (old) blackboards had gone up around Thanksgiving, since there’s the one turkey in there. I’d love to see those firsthand.

Those are awesome. I hope they can find a way to preserve them.

I once helped clean out an old HS science lab room and we found all kinds of stuff like mercury sitting out in the open and believe it or not, a dead human fetus in a glass jar.

The nuns still used that “wheel” to teach us multiplication when I was in elementary school in the 1960s.

I don’t understand how it works. :confused:

Thread about the wheel (which I hadn’t seen before I started this thread).

I wonder what’s up with the Stars of David at the top of the board, above the multiplication wheel? Wondering if it was related to the time of year (Chanukah) or the year itself (1917, Israel formed) or if some kids just liked drawing stars that way with colored chalk.

Whats the deal with the weird spelling on the calendar?
DELEMAER

wonderful penmanship. I miss seeing that style of writing. Reminds me of my childhood. Letters from relatives had similar cursive writing.

FYI: That link locked up my computer. :frowning:

It’s DECEMBER, written in block letters with the top of the C and the bottom of the B blending in to the box outline.

:o I haven’t seen block letters in ages. I had even forgotten they ever existed. Now, I can make out December. thanks

block letters were for really young kids? before they learned to print, then they learned cursive?

printed letters
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/alpha.jpg

The handwriting was all but unreadable.

These are very cool to see. My daughter has been having issues with multiplication, I may pepper her with some wheels over the summer to see if it helps.

Also, on the penmanship, very good point. You don’t see that stressed much in modern curriculum, likely since computers are so much more likely, but having the ability to communicate through handwritten notes and forms is still important. I once was told “I think this is the neatest application we have ever received” from a potential employer (I got the job).

One other thing I noticed, when practicing penmanship, they seem to have used positive life lessons like “I need to wash my clothes” instead of over-analyzed nonsense like “The cat and big dog need a fast zebra and a ghastly quail.” simply because it uses all the letters.

Interesting. Chalk on blackboard appears to be more archival than 5.5" floppies, 3.5" floppies, tape or Zip drives. Hang on, I’m going to head over to the art supply store and pick up some chalk so I can back up my hard drive.

Better get two boxes. Just in case you need to write a lot.

We had a dead fetus in a jar in my High School biology room. I can’t imagine that they still have it for display anymore.

Nah, just gonna write a bit.

If I’d found them I’d have to look back behind them, because of the ending of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

HA!!

Really? How old are you? I find the writing completely legible, but I grew up using cursive.