The Brush #8 reunion was held July 24 in Pleasant Hill Methodist Church, Joetown, with approximately 50 people in attendance. After a pot-luck dinner served under the shade trees, the program was moved inside the church. We had just as well stayed outside as it was just as hot inside as it was outside. It was a very hot, but nice day.

The program consisted of many people telling stories about things that happened when we were part of Brush. Marlene Leichty started things off with stories about her adventures in cheerleading at the Kid-Tournament held in Kalona each spring. The Kid-Tournament was a boys basketball tournament held by the Kalona High School for all the rural schools in the area. It was always a big event for the country boys and girls. Leichty’s stories brought back memories of the softball games we used to have with the neighboring schools. Of course, Brush always won.

Three former teachers were present, L. Glen Guengerich, Lois Gugel and Henry Miller. L. Glen related how the fame of one of the Brush softball teams spread all the way to Kalona. Kalona heard about the unbeaten Brush team and their 7th and 8th grades challenged them to a game. He said Kalona came out in full force, including cheerleaders. Cheerleaders at a country softball game were unheard of in those days. Glen couldn’t remember the score, except that the Kalona crowd got very quiet after the first couple of innings and that Brush whipped them rather soundly. Wally Brenneman, Dan Miller, Rex Gingerich, John Lewis Miller, John and Harold Troyer, Ray and Gordon Marner were some of the main players that year.

After the program many of the people went to visit the school which is now being used as a feed mill in Joetown. The hole in the slate board is still there. The large hole in the floor for the heat register is boarded shut. The register used to serve as a hot water heater if someone carried water in from the outside pump, and provided there was a fire in the furnace. The warm water was used to wash hands at lunch time.

Many other things, including the cloak rooms, brought back many memories. Needless to say, the school building seemed much smaller than it was 50 years ago.

The school closed after the 1962-63 school year. After that, the students attended the newly constructed Washington Township school. It is not known for certain when Brush opened. According to some research, it may have started around 1860. The school was noted on an 1875 atlas.

Our-of-state visitors included Lorna Yoder, Boulder, Colorado; Glenn Miller, Stockton, Illinois; Dan and Edna Kauffman, Hutchinson, Kansas; Irene Nisly Peachy, Marshfield, Wisconsin, and Jim Yoder, Baxter, Tennessee.

Wava, Wally and Eddie served as hosts.