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FRUITA SCHOOLHOUSE
 READIN',
RITIN', & 'RITHMETIC
The sound echos off the sheer, red Wingate sandstone walls that
crowd the narrow Fremont River Valley as 14-year old Nettie Behunin
rings the old bell to start school The echo is answered by the
shouts and laughter of the children as they run toward the new
one-room Fruita School. Early morning
chores need to be done before school starts. Two children dip
the old barrel in Sulfur Creek to collect the day's drinking water.
Other children bring in fruit wood for the old potbellied stove
and another child raises the 44-star flag. The year is 1900.
Classes had been going on for two years before this building was
constructed as the community wasted little time getting a school
started. Nettie, the daughter of Elijah Cutlar Behunin, one of
the first settlers, had previously taught the children in the
Behunin home.
In 1896, Elijah donated land for a school building that he
and other early Junction settlers built. Even though only eight
families lived in Junction, these farmers had large families.
The Behunins raised 13 children. Nettie's first class had 22
students, three of whom were her siblings: two brothers, 7 and
12, and a sister, 10.
In 1880, Nels Johnson became the first homesteader in the
lush Fremont River valley. He built his home near the confluence
of Sulphur Creek and the Fremont River. Soon, other Mormon settlers
followed, establishing small farms and orchards
near the confluence, creating the village of Junction, Utah.
The name was changed to Fruita in 1902, and the site is now
part of Capitol Reef National Park.
A REFINING EDUCATION WITHIN ROUGH-HEWN LOGS
Originally, there was a flat, dirt covered roof on the school.
A peaked, shingled roof was added in 1912 or 1913. The interior
walls, originally bare and chinked logs, were plastered in 1935.
The first desks were homemade, constructed of pine, and seated
two students each. These were sometimes used to quiet unruly
students. The teacher would seat a troublesome boy with a girl,
and the resulting blow to his ego would often bring him under
control.
Teachers taught the "three-Rs" to the eight grades at the
school. If the teachers felt qualified and had enough textbooks,
other subjects such as geography, were added.
The students were full of pranks. To delay the start of class,
they often hid the teacher's alarm clock in the woodpile. Kerosene
for lanterns used during night meetings were stored in the school,
and a few enterprising students found that dropping a small
piece of calcium carbide, taken from a lantern, into an inkwell
would cause it to overflow. If the inkwell was tightly capped,
it would explode and spatter ink all over the room.
The log building also served as a community meeting house
and church. Desks were not bolted to the floor, so the room
could be cleared for different needs. As late as 1924, the building
was also used for dances, town meetings, elections, church youth
activities, box suppers, and celebrations.
A DYING ERA REMEMBERED
In 1900, the building was loaned to the Wayne County School District
for the first county approved classes. Nettie, then 22, was the
first authorized teacher. She was paid $70 a month while her male
counterparts received $80 per month. Classes, of varying sizes,
continued until 1941 when the school was discontinued for lack
of students.
In 1964, the National Park Service nominated the school to
the National Register of Historic Places and subsequently restored
the structure to the 1930s period. Today, the school stands
alongside Utah Hwy 24. Visitors can hear a recorded message
by one of the teachers at the old school. They may also peer
through the windows into the furnished structure and imagine
what school was like, so long ago. Those with a good imagination
can still hear that old school bell ring.
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