From its founding in 1867 until the late 1870’s Lodgepole was nothing but a railroad workers station, mostly single men and U.S. soldiers running a railroad and guarding its people and property from Indians, marauders, horse-thieves, etc. The supplies, groceries, etc. were issued from a railroad outfitting supply car on the Union Pacific Railroad.
In the late 1870’s a few ranchers and merchants began arriving in Lodgepole to set up stores and run cattle on the tables north and south of town. In 1879 James C. Wolfe born in Lucerne county, PA., arrived in town seeking relief from tuberculosis. After a short stint with Rube Lisco on the Club Ranch and Camp Clark Bridge at today’s Bridgeport, he took the position of teaching the section foreman, Mr. Harry Barrett’s, children, the only children in town. The school was a dugout located where the large statue of woman and child sets in the south park.
In 1880 the first school district was formed in Lodgepole with Harry Barrett, Asa Drake, and James Green on the Board of Education with Mr. Wolfe teacher. A new one-room frame school building was built at the SE corner of intersection of Front and McBridge streets. By 1885 with the growth of the town and influx of homesteaders the school was outgrown. The school was sold to the Johnson family and became a part of the home Mrs. Stumpff lives in today at Newman and Bordwell streets. A new two-story frame building was erected at the south end of Oberfelder on the west side, where Gene Sine later built his home, known today as George and Emma Buss’s property. In the early 1890’s a summer normal school was held in this school, and many local boys and girls after attending summer normal here went on to teach for years. rFhis school had problems with flooding from the creek and was abandoned in 1903. |
In 1904 a new two-story stone school was built at the north end of Oberfelder street. It completely covered the area at the end of the street and sat on the spot of today’s High School Gymnasium. This school had two large rooms on the top floor with the Superintendent’s office on the second floor at top of stairs, two large rooms on the first floor and a full basement. This building was too small from the word go, and in 1911 a new addition of monolithic concrete was added to the north side of the building. The basement consisted of class rooms, toilets, furnace room dressing rooms, etc. The first floor housed the high school assembly and class rooms. The top floor was the gymnasium. In 1923, the year the black rust took the wheat crop in Cheyenne County, a $70,000. bond issue for a new school was defeated 130 to 70 and I believe is the only school bond to ever he defeated in Lodgepole. At that time a building fund was set up and the present grade school, the brick school at north end of Newman was erected in 1935 from this building fund.
The stone and materials from the old stone-monolithic concrete school was used by A.C. Bale to build the Ideal Motel on west Sheldon, known today as Howard Hurst Apartments.
Once again the school reached overcrowding and in 1959 a bond was voted to build the new high school. This was the first time the grade school and high school had been separate.
From 1911 until 1922 when we enjoyed our first gym on the top floor of the old store building, the school had no hired coach. Mr. A.C. Bale a local contractor and A.G. (Lon) Miller coached the local basketball team and in the spring of 1920, Lon took the first Lodgepole team to the state tournament: The members of the team were, Glen Wise, Henry Jenik, Charlie Emanuelson, George Emanuelson, Archie Hafer and Coach Miller.
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In the fall of 1922, Mr. Lydiatt came as superintendent of schools and coached the basketball team for three years, then in 1925 a full time coach Mr. Lingle was hired and football was added to the program. The first athletic field was located north and south just west of the stone school and after about three years was turned around and lay east to west along where today’s grade school sets. In 1935 with the erection of the grade school, the field was moved south of the tracks, named Oherfelder field and lay east and west between Oherfelder and McBride streets just north of Gentry’s Body Shop. In the early 1950’s night games were becoming the popular thing, so the Lions Club headed a drive to raise funds for a new field to have electrics lights, grass and all modern conveniences. The present field was purchased, established and named “Lydiatt Field” in honor of Laban and Helen Lydiatt who had spent so many years in our school system.
Over the 106 years and through the doors of the six school houses, many Lodgepole children have received their education and gone out to find their place in the world. In 1949 an Alumni Association was formed, and each three years on Labor Day weekend to coincide with Old Settler’s Reunion, a Lodgepole Alumni Reunion is held and the old grad’s come from far and wide to mingle with classmate and re-live many memories of days in Lodgepole schools.
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