History for Chron

Sept. 1, 2022 Updated Thu., Sept. 1, 2022 at 4:13 p.m.

Orchard Prairie School Superintendent Bob MacMillan, wearing jeans and a baseball hat, threatened to use his screwdriver to tickle any students not smiling for a photo on the first day of school.

MacMillan doubled as principal and handyman for the district, which had 31 students in a school tucked into the trees north of Bigelow Gulch.

“It’s a community school,” MacMillan said. “If you need anything in the world, just holler, and it’s here.”

The district was founded in 1894 in a building that cost $700. That first year the school had 24 students, who got water from dipping it from a neighbor’s well.

Some 6,000 teachers in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Montana stayed off the job. The labor dispute affected about 150,000 students.“The children are the ones who will profit the most,” said John Murray, the leader Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

His comments followed the ratification of an agreement for his 21,000-member union to return to school.

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