DROKE SCHOOL DISTRICT N0. 42
It is said that when the famous Will Rogers was courting his future wife, Betty Blake of Rogers, he landed his place at least once in the Droke Schoolyard upon arriving from Oklahoma.

The Droke School District No. 42 is tied historically to a Droke family, which had come to Benton County in 1856 from Morgan County, Ind. The family was headed by George and Diana Droke, who settled three miles south and a bit east of Bentonville. At that time, there were no public schools in that part of the state.

This is known from an autobiographical article by one who was there at the time, the Drokes' son, George Wesley Droke. He said that any existing private schools were inferior, as a general rule.

In 1867, though, just two years after the Civil War ended, the first public school was established in the Droke Community, where George and Diana had settled. Here, 13-year old George Wesley Droke, known as Wesley, attended his first school. He was to go on eventually to obtain degrees at the University of Arkansas and to serve as a professor and dean there for over 40 years.

In preparing the story of Droke School, the writer was benefitted by Ethel Faye Bottens (Mrs. Walter Reins) of Rogers, who wrote many of her recollections down. It had been her understanding that the school and community had been named for Dr. Wesley Droke. Possibly so, although he was the third generation of his family there. His grandfather, a veteran of the War of 1812, was living in the home of George and Diana Droke when the 1860 census was taken. And, too, George and Diana had other children.

Certainly Droke Community had a building for its school as early as 1869, two years after its establishment, for history recorded by Mrs. Evelyn Chamberlin says,

"The old Droke Schoolhouse was in the vicinity of Horse Barn Rd. and Moberly Lane. An earlier congregation for a church was organized in 1869. It is believed that this congregation joined in with Oakley Chapel in 1872 when David Sturdy took over the pastorale (of Oakley Chapel)."

Moberly Lane, now largely within Bentonville's limits, once was within the Droke School District. Mrs. Heins mentioned that a nephew of Dr. Droke named Hugh Britt and his wife, Stella, lived on that road that then was known as Britt Road. They had no children of their own, she said, but were quite active in support of the school.

"He was a nurseryman," she recalled, "and one year offered a prize of a year's subscription to "The Flower Grower" to the one who made the highest grades. My sister, Lorene Bottens, won it."

The first schoolhouse, built in the late 1860s, no doubt was a log structure. In time, it apparently needed replacing. Or, again, a deed to the school in 1875 may simply have legalized the land given informally earlier. That deed said 7/8 of an acre was given by George and Diana Droke "for the interest that we have and feel in the general education of the children in our naborhood and for the interest we feel in the religions of the Lord Jesus Christ..."

That deed was donated to "the community at large for school purposes and for the use of the following denominations for preaching purposes: Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and the denomination generally known as Cambelite." Three years later, in order for the land to be legally owned by School District No. 42, itself, the Drokes re-deeded the tract, this time to George Droke, J. H. Hamilton and S. H. Lewis, school directors of District No. 42 "for school purposes and church purposes when not occupied by common schools."

Mrs. Heins pointed out the location of two different sites of Droke School this way: "The school had originally been on the north side of Highway 71, where Johnson's TV had been. I don't know when the new building was built, but it was there in the early 20s. It was across the road on the south side. It was one of the few country schools in the county that had two rooms. There also was a very small side room and a wide hall where we hung our coats and put our lunch buckets on shelves."

That last building may have been erected on property obtained by Droke School on Aug. 23, 1920. Deed records show that Walter and Mabel Bottens sold a tract that day to "J. B. Higginbotham, D. F. Heverly, R. D. German, H. D. Britt, C. H. Mayberry, and J. A. Drummond, directors of School District No. 42 and their successors in office."

"We moved here in 1919," Mrs. Heins pointed out. "Droke School had 80 students that year. It was taught by 'Eddie' Drummond. Two of my sisters and a brother attended. Several of the older girls, including my sisters, Crystal and Bernice Bottens, taught some of the younger children half a day and had their own classes the other half."

"When I started to school," she continued, "my first teacher was Marie Campbell. The school averaged about 50 students for several years' 30 in the 'little' room (grades 1-4) and 20 in the 'big' room (grades 5-8). There were folding doors between the two rooms. These were opened for programs and speclal occasions. The next teachers were were Vina and Bulah Russell. Bulah R. Oilman lived in Carthage, Mo. several years, but has now returned to Rogers. My next teacher was Susie Castor (Lyons). She played piano and organized a 'kiddie band.' We had real, but very small instruments. I remember giving several programs, among them one at a men's organization in Bentonville and one in a church, as well as at school. I felt it a privilege that I was allowed to play a cornet solo a few times. Esther Mayberry was the teacher my last years at Droke."

Then, there was the PTA at Droke: "Mothers and other women were the ParentTeachers Association. They later became the Home Demonst s tion Club, still directly associated with the school. Once they got enough money together to buy a pressure cooker, which was put in the 'kitchen.' The kitchen boasted a kerosene stove and a table. The lady who lived the closest prepared one hot dish a day through the cold months to add to the lunch we took from home. We each had a soup bowl.

"The one story about this project that survived through the years was about Ruby Mae Leib, who was in the first g s de. The food one day was candied sweet potatoes. When the teacher asked her if she wanted some, she said she would take the candy but she didn't believe she wanted the sweet potatoes."

Opal Beck of Rogers recalled when she and the late Bethel Hammontree taught at Droke School, Mrs. Beck teaching the upper four g s des of the two room school. Another one time teacher there, Esta Smith, participated recently in the OB1 History Project being conducted by the Rogers Historical Museum, and a synopsis of the interview was published in the Northwest Arkansas Morning News. She taught there in 1916 when all eight g B des were in one room.

As with all of the rural schools, though, the day came for consolidation. On Dec. 21, 1948, a majority of the qualified electors of Droke School District presented to the county board, a petition requesting dissolution of their district and annexation to Rogers School District No. 30. The request was g B nted. The Droke Schoolhouse was still in use as late as 1950, then a few years later, it burned.

Said Mrs. Heins: "There was an old saying that if you take the school out of the community, you don't have a community. This certainly happened at Droke. Monthly parties in the home soon ceased, the club dwindled and finally stopped altogether. There is no Droke community anymore and to most people the name has no meaning."

Some of the eighth grade graduates at Droke School are as follows: 1918-19 - Crystal Bottens and Thelma Clark 1921-22 - Dorothy German, Goldie Stouse, Jim Huff, Floyd Foulk, Irene Berry and Goldie Hudspeth 1922-23 - Ruby Lawson, Sylvester Leib, Gladys Stouse, Margaret Jackson, Charles Mayberry and Roy Rakes 1923-24 - Glenn Daniels and Hubert Dodson 1924-25 - John Rakes, Paul Bottens and Alta Langston 1925-26 - Mary Jack, Lucille Lee and Minnie Hunter 1926-27 - Pauline Wardlaw and Della German 1927-28 - Leland Powell 1928-29 - Geraldine Murphy, Glaneva Dixon, Marie Rakes, Vera Ansley and Tom Rakes 1929-30 - Maxine Murphy, William Kerr, Velma Sims, Ruth Ford, Marie Langston, Janell Patterson, Lenor Hurr and Arthur Langston 1930-31 - Dorothy Langston, Crystal Patterson, G B ce German and Lorene Bottens 1938-39 - Lucille Corley, Mary Ann Murphy and Dennis Bazzar 1940-41 - Gerald Staples, Don Horton Rakes, Don Earl Shelton, Doris Ellen Rominger and Wanda Lee Rakes 1941-42 - Harvey Bruce Hildreth, Albert Jackson Shelton, Barbara Marie Murphy and Elzie Lamb 1942-43 - Dorris Rakes and Elbert Plyler