Golden Rule Days: History and Recollections of 109 Closed Kansas High Schools

The book is a history of the 109 Kansas high schools that have closed over the years. A remarkable amount of research went into compiling this book. Just the collecting of personal stories for each school and weaving them into the history must have taken years of work.Each school gets 2 to 6 pages so it’s a hefty book at almost 400 pages. There’s a map highlighting the county so you can quickly see where the high school was. The entry includes the mascot, school colors, the year it closed, and the location. A brief history of the locale is followed by notable graduates, memories of teachers, activities and events, athletics, and why the school closed.There are tidbits from yearbooks, memories from former students, and other bits of information collected by the author. There is some coverage of integration/segregation, a few school songs are featured, rivalries, and tragedies. Most of the schools have a photo of the building. The index includes the school names and names of individuals.This is a solid reference title for public libraries and makes fun browsing for students seeking memories of their school days.This book was awarded the Gail Lee Martin Kansas History Book Award in October 2019 at the Kansas Author Club annual convention.

I was raised in Kansas and remember many of these schools before they closed. I enjoyed reading the brief history, interviews with past students, most common names who attended. Stories of experiences were interesting. I appreciate the effort to save the history of these schools.