South Dakota

Lessons beyond the blackboard: How a tiny school built big futures for a rural community

Published

9 months ago

May 26, 2025

Lessons beyond the blackboard: How a tiny school built big futures for a rural community

PIERRE, S.D. — Old one-room schoolhouses played a fundamental role in bringing education to children in rural communities for generations.

Though the walls of this classroom north of Pierre are crumbling, the memories remain in the minds of those who spent years learning in them.

Jim Schumacher attended first through eighth grades at the Plainview School. His family built the schoolhouse in the 1920s, and it functioned as a school until the mid- to late 1980s. It is located 15 miles north of Pierre, in the Peoria Township area.

“It was built by my grandfather and his dad, and my father was probably one of the first classes that came here,” Schumacher said. “There was a school before that — that was a little further west down the road — and once the county came in and actually built roads, they moved it over here.”

Jim Schumacher and his sister Judy going to school in 1955.

Judy McLaughlin

Before the Oahe Dam was built, the Peoria township had two schoolhouses, one of which was located in the river bottom. Once the dam was built, that area was flooded.

“This [Plainview] was the only school left, and frankly, at that point, there weren’t that many families left,” Schumacher said. “There’s been some more that have moved in since that, but at the time, I think probably five or six kids at the time was probably the most that we had while I was here, for the most part.”

Students could attend from kindergarten through the eighth grade at Plainview school, and then they would go to Pierre, South Dakota, for high school.

Students could attend kindergarten through the eighth grade at Plainview, and then they would go to Pierre for high school. There was one teacher and one classroom for all grades. But that didn’t mean they had any less of an education.

“When I got to the eighth grade, there was three of us in eighth grade, and when we went into town, we all made the honor roll,” Schumacher said. “You didn’t miss out on anything by being here.”

“You were absorbing what was going on in the other classes as well,” said Colleen McCurrin, who attended Plainview from kindergarten through sixth grade. “You did tend to, you know, hear the other things that were going on, and when your particular homework was done, you might turn around and help some of the younger kids in the younger classes.”

Colleen McCurrin stands in the Plainview school near Pierre, South Dakota.

Mark Venner moved to the area when he was in third grade from Agar, South Dakota. While the Agar school was small, transferring to Plainview was still a big adjustment.

“I was overwhelmed,” Venner said. “The Agar school wasn’t very big, as you know, and I walked to school there. I just walked down the alley, and I was there. Here we drove 6 miles to school.”

Venner was in the same grade as Schumacher. There were only two other students there at the time: Schumacher’s sister Judy and his aunt Marcia.

The school was small, and it had no plumbing or running water. There was a small sink with a pump to bring water into the building, with a cistern that took water off the roof. Students would also haul in water in 5-gallon containers.

Finding teachers willing to drive out of town and work in a rustic schoolhouse could be a challenge, but they were still able to find quality educators for the school.

Teachers at Plainview school would have to drive 15 miles outside of Pierre, South Dakota, to teach small classes.

One in particular, Miss Linstedt, was an inspiration to the students she taught at Plainview. Her family lived about 60 miles from the school, so she lived in the classroom during the week and went home on the weekends. She sectioned off a small corner of the room with a sheet, set up a cot, and had a hot plate to cook on.

“There’s probably not a whole lot of teachers that you could get to do that anymore,” Schumacher said. “I’m surprised, frankly, that we had the quality of teachers that we did.”

“That was pretty awesome to me that the teacher lived in the school. I’ll never forget that,” Venner said.

Students at Plainview school sit on the steps in 1971.

In the winters, recess would be moved to the school’s basement, where there was a coal furnace. There was a grate that brought the heat upstairs to the classroom.

“We would all gather around that grate with our feet, sitting in our desks with our feet over the grate, especially on Monday mornings, because it was cold,” Venner said.

“In the later years, they put in forced air and had an actual heating system,” Schumacher said. “We always had electricity, but other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot for amenities.”

During that time, there was no internet, but there was a radio that was used as a learning tool in the Plainview classroom.

“There were radio programs that we could get that would teach like once a week. We learned German one year,” Schumacher said.

Christmas parties were always a big deal at the school.

“We always had a Christmas program. I tell people one reason I’m not afraid to get up and speak is because there weren’t enough kids that anybody got by being a plant or an animal; everybody had a speaking part,” Schumacher said.

Jim Schumacher, Bruce Venner, Bob Telford and Mark Venner outside of Plainview school in 1961.

While they may not have had access to all the things the bigger public schools had, there were also perks to having a smaller school.

“I’m sure we missed out on some of the machinery that some of the bigger schools had, but we also missed out on a lot of the politics that I have learned since my own children have gone to school. There’s a lot of things we didn’t miss at all,” Schumacher said. “It was definitely a good start.”

“I got straight A’s after my freshman year,” Venner said. “Country school is the foundation.”

Lifelong friendships were formed at that small country school on the prairie.

“My lifelong friend Theresa is still one of my best memories,” McCurrin said. “You spent more time together, and you also had, you know, again, the rural community, you had that in common as well as just being … classmates. Theresa and I have stayed together through thick and thin all the way through high school, and I get to see her here in a couple of weeks.”

Lu Heibel, Colleen McCurrin and Theresa Schmitz in 1978.

Schumacher and Venner have also remained close friends.

“He was in my wedding, and I was not home when he got married to Charlene, so I didn’t make the wedding,” Venner said. “But, you know, we’ve stayed in touch.”

Several Plainview students moved away from the area, but for Schumacher, McCurrin and Venner, the Peoria Township area is still their home.

Since graduating from high school in Pierre, Schumacher has remained on the family farm, where he and his wife raised their two children and now have several grandchildren.

“I’ve lived within one mile of where I started my entire life,” Schumacher said.

McCurrin stayed in the area and worked, was very involved with

FFA

, and was able to do some work experience abroad with FFA.

Venner went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in ag engineering and master’s degree in education, and taught high school math in Rapid City for a while. He moved to Florida to continue to work for the Air Force and earned another master’s degree in industrial engineering before returning to the family’s organic farming operation.

A class of Plainview students in the 1950s.

But no matter where they ended up in life, these Plainview students credit their country school for being the foundation of their education.

“That shaped me, it really did. It turned me into a fighter,” Venner said.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles on one-room schoolhouses: their history and their

present status

in rural communities. In this installment, Ariana Schumacher recounts the history of Plainview School, which her family members, including her uncle, Jim Schumacher, who is quoted in the story, attended. If you have a story about attending a one-room schoolhouse or about current uses of former one-room schoolhouses, email it to jschlecht@agweek.com for possible inclusion in a future issue of Agweek.

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South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota

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10 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for Feb. 26, 2026

Published

22 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 26, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 26 drawing

03-14-22-50-57, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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South Dakota

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

SNAP soda ban headed to desk of South Dakota governor, who’s concerned about costs

State Sen. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank, speaks in the South Dakota Senate at the Capitol in Pierre on Feb. 10, 2026. Davis is sponsoring a bill that would ban the use of SNAP benefits for soda purchases. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

By: John Hult

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The question of whether South Dakota moves to ban the use of government food assistance for sugary drinks is in the hands of Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who has signaled his opposition to the bill all through the 2026 legislative session.

The state Senate voted 27-6 on Wednesday to endorse House Bill 1056, after the House passed it earlier 58-11. Assuming the same levels of support, both margins are wide enough to overcome a Rhoden veto, should he choose to issue one.

The bill directs the Department of Social Services to ask for a federal waiver to allow the state to bar the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of soft drinks.

SNAP is a federal program, managed by the state, through which people with low incomes get a monthly allowance for food through a debit-like card that can be used at most stores to buy nearly any consumable grocery item save alcohol and prepared foods.

Representatives from Rhoden’s office testified against the bill in House and Senate committees, arguing that the administrative costs would be too high. A fiscal note attached to the bill between its passage in the House and its appearance on the Senate’s Wednesday calendar estimated that implementation would cost $310,000 through the first two years. Those costs would come from hiring an extra employee and contracting for software to track sales, file reports and help retailers determine which drinks are banned.

Backers see long-term savings to the state, though. A high percentage of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, a taxpayer-funded health insurance program open to disabled and income-eligible people.

On Wednesday, Burbank Republican Sen. Sydney Davis noted the connection between excess soda consumption and health problems like obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Medicaid dental costs alone add up $51 million a year, she said.

Mitchell Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins, a retired dentist, told the body he once counted 32 cavities and seven abscesses in the mouths of 2-year-old twin boys who were covered by Medicaid.

He attributed the tooth decay to sugary beverages.

“I don’t know if that first visit was more traumatic on the boys or on my dental staff and myself,” said Miskimins.

Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, was the lone senator to speak in opposition on the Senate floor. She argued that some stores might stop accepting SNAP payments due to the administrative burden of sorting barred products from the rest of their inventories, and pointed out that the bill wouldn’t do a thing to prevent SNAP recipients from loading up on sugary foods like ice cream or snack cakes.

“It gives this look as if there’s going to be this big, huge change in the way that people buy products, but it’s really not going to be,” Grove said.

Some surrounding states, including Nebraska, have moved to ask for a waiver to ban soda sales through SNAP. Such waivers are now an option, as President Donald Trump’s administration is willing to consider granting them. Former President Joe Biden’s administration was not.

Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the South Dakota bill’s prime sponsor, got a letter last week from Trump administration officials expressing support for her proposal.

In response, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight that the governor “has always been supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again,” using a reference to the policy agenda branding used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We have met directly with his Administration on this issue, and at no point has our opposition been directed at President Trump or his efforts to reform SNAP,” Harms said. “Our focus has always been on ensuring the implementation of SNAP reform works effectively for our state.”

Harms said Wednesday that Rhoden would answer questions about the bill at a Thursday press conference.

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