By Gari Voss
Miss Julie Milbocker took her place behind the teacher’s desk in the Jewett School in the John Pahl Historical Village just as she did when she spent time teaching special education students at Jewett School before continuing on to what became Hillside School from which she retired in 1996. Milbocker began teaching in 1954 at the Horseshoe School. (Picture courtesy of Bette Thompson.)
Students from Julie Milbocker’s first class at Horseshoe School stopped at the Allegan County Fair to take their seats and share pictures and stories from their days in the one-room schoolhouse in Horseshoe. In attendance were( by maiden names) Diane Chiba, Janice Chiba, Miss Milbocker, Onalee Ellis, Marilyn Ellis, and Mike Atherton. (Picture courtesy of Bette Thompson)
Visitors to Jewett School in the John Pahl Historic Village on the Allegan County Fairgrounds received a treat on Tuesday, September 13, and Thursday, September 15, 2022, when they were able to meet with Julie Milbocker. Milbocker had taught special needs students in the Jewett School before it was moved to the Fairgrounds, and truly knows what it was like to teach in a one-room schoolhouse.
Julie was born to Sylvester (Syl) and Margaret Milbocker when they resided in Gaylord, MI. Because Sly worked for Harry Pickett building roads, the family traveled to and lived in numerous places around Michigan. They settled in Allegan close to Pickett’s business.
While growing up, Julie remembers attending Ferris School on 46th Street near 106th Avenue for kindergarten then the old Blackman School for her primary grades. From there, the family moved to a farm at the end of 108th Avenue on 46th Street. While in the Chicora area, she attended Noble School not far from her home.
Because of the location of the family farm, students had a choice of attending Allegan or Bloomingdale High School. Some neighbors attended Bloomingdale, while Julia’s family decided on Allegan. She graduated from Allegan High School in 1953.
Milbocker remembered, “As a child, I wanted to be a teacher or a secretary. The secretary sounded more glamorous, but I ended up becoming a teacher.”
During the 1953-54 school year, Julie attended Allegan County Normal which was at the old Dawson School.
To put pieces in perspective, at that time teachers generally received two years of post-secondary education before they began teaching then they continued taking classes to renew their certification. Many who completed the program through a “Normal” institution went into one-room, rural schoolhouses.
In Julie’s case, she was hired right out of the County Normal system and began teaching in 1954 at Horseshoe School. The average student size of 30 kindergarten through 7th-grade students. She remained at Horseshoe until 1959.
While she taught, she attended Western Michigan College of Education classes that allowed her to teach for 4 years rather than the normal three before renewing her certificate.
Still needing additional courses for recertification, Milbocker began working at Hiatt’s Ladies’ Ready to Wear next to McGowen’s Men’s Store. The classes were offered at various schools in Allegan.
In October 1960, Milbocker was approached by the leadership of Fairview School to complete the year for a teacher. She was responsible for 12 children, grades K-7. This was a definite difference from having 30 students in a classroom.
Fairview was near Hopkins, which was a 20-mile trip one way each day from Chicora. This led Julie to accept a position at Moon School near Merson where she was responsible for 1st through 8th graders for two years.
(Some may know that Moon School is now a section of the Cheshire Hills Golf Course Clubhouse.)
“This was my first opportunity to teach 8th graders,” Milbocker explained.
During this time, schools were beginning to consolidate. Without another school assignment, Milbocker went back to Hiatt’s.
“It was 1968 or 69 when people came to the store and spoke with me to return to teaching. The Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) school with educatable students at Hudson Corners was looking for aides. The plan was to open a classroom for severely impaired students at another location,” Milbocker remembers.
Julie entered the special education profession at Jewett School with the more severely handicapped children. A teacher/nurse came from the Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinic to assist Betty Phillips and now Milbocker. Each aide could be responsible for 6 students. When Julie arrived, there were already 8 students which grew to 12 in just a couple of months.
Jewett School was just one stop on Milbocker’s special education journey. From Jewett, she moved to Blessed Sacrament Church’s classrooms. Then it was on to the new Blackman School before Allegan Intermediate built the current Hillside School. She remained at Hillside until her retirement in 1996.
“I would rather work as a teacher aide than a teacher. No big bucks but it was more fun. I could spend more time with students,” Milbocker stated.
When reminiscing about her time in the one-room schools, she remembered the importance in managing the students. Sometimes, she could work with a small group of children at a table while other times she needed to work with them at their desks, which was the case when she had 30 students in a room. 30 students were difficult to manage.
The most memorable times were the programs and holidays. The schools were the hubs of the rural areas. A school program or picnic brought the community together.
“In addition to the programs and picnics, there were the ball games. We would play against teams from other schools. This brought out families plus others like older people who no longer had children to watch the games,” Milbocker shared.
Along with memorable events, there have been memorable students.
“I always wanted to instill in the children to choose a career they enjoy and to have fun in what they choose to do because life is too short,” Julie stated.
“Teaching in the one-room school, many children went on to be medical and educational professionals, also leaders in banking and farming. One student worked for the US government in the Virgin Islands.”
Milbocker’s first recollection was of a young girl who had physical needs that were a challenge. The child had a speech impediment and lacked facial muscles which prevented her from displaying expressions.
“She looked like a little China doll,” Julie remembers. “But this child was intelligent and determined, and left the Blessed Sacrament classroom for regular education where her first teacher was Margo Rolfe. Penny really made a wonderful life for herself.”
Julie continued, “The family moved to Moab, Colorado where Penny was a state-level Spelling Bee champion and in the choir. She attended Logan University in Salt Lake City where she began taking care of a lawyer’s handicap son. Before going to class, she would get the child ready for school and on the bus.”
Milbocker kept in touch with the student and her family. “Later, she began working with high-needs students in a residence school. Everyone loved her because she never complained about the many obstacles she had to overcome. It was at this school that she met her husband. Many friends and even her students attended the wedding.”
The little girl with so many difficulties grew into a wonderful woman who Milbocker admired.
During time away from the classroom, Julie remembers traveling with a dear friend. She does not travel as much now but loved seeing much of Michigan during her teaching years and visiting places across the country after retirement.
“I taught in special ed for many years. After retirement, I continued to sub for many years in special ed,” Julie added.
Those who find Julie Milbocker at Jewett School during the Allegan County Fair are delighted to learn about life in the one-room schoolhouses. “Someday, I should take my notes and write a book,” Julie quipped. “I started my career on the grounds of the High School and ended my career in the Special Education building on the same grounds.”
For those familiar with Allegan’s history, Allegan High School sat on the same piece of property as Hillside School sits today.
If Julie Milbocker does publish that book, lovers of Allegan County history and beyond will be able to take a step back in time.
We love Julie, she is like family
We are Penny’s family and are greatful she was part of our lives, she helped penny become the wonderful woman she was