Sara Ann Croy, always known as Sally, was a retired elementary school teacher never really retired. She loved children and although formally retired, found many ways to interact with them. She had been an active member of the Waterville Historical Society, serving as a former board member, a museum docent and leading walking tours through the historic district. Her favorite tour group was of course the Waterville third grade class annual visit to the museums. She loved to explain how children of our pioneer and early days lived, played and went to school. Sally passed away on September 15, 2020.

In January of 1998 Sally took it on herself to put together a traveling or “suitcase” museum of early school artifacts. She attended a workshop at the Wood County Historical Society and started collecting articles from the 1800s to put in her “suitcase.” When the students came to the museums she had to tell them not to touch anything and she wanted a way for the students to feel what the earlier students would have felt and done. Her mini-museum contained old fashion toys like jacks, marbles, as well as McGuffey readers, slates, quill pens. After her talk she would let her suitcase for a week so each class could handle and use the items. Sally took her suitcase to Whitehouse 4th grade where she had taught 14 years as a third grade teacher and 4 years as a second grade teacher. She also took the suitcase to each of the Waterville 3rd grade classes.

Sally told them how the teacher would ring the bell at 8:00 am to start the school day, boys on one side, girls on the other side. Students were taught “reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic,” and good manners. Students wrote on slates. They brought a tin bucket or basket for lunch pails, played with hand crafted items. Games were “Red Rover,” “Fox and Geese,” Drop the Hankerchief,” etc. Memorization of Bible passages, poems and common sayings, along with arithmetic facts were important. Spelling bees or “spelldowns” were a regular activity. Discipline was strict and often physical. Sally had a dunce cap in her suitcase but no hickory stick.

Sally Croy and Her Suitcase Museum