Teacher Henrietta Thompson and students of Miller School in Clay Township gather for a photograph during the 1912-13 school year. The school was located on Mahood Road just east of Route 308.

Joe Neff can recall many childhood escapades in the 1940s at a one-room schoolhouse.

"I used to be a little bit devilish," said Neff, 78, of Donegal Township.

Neff's memories include scraping mud from his boots, then using a ruler to fling it at the blackboard. Chicken manure was smuggled in via a shoe polish bottle, then used to terrorize girls.

These and other acts were done before 1947, when Neff graduated from eighth grade. He attended the Herdman School in Oakland Township, but his "finals" were administered at nearby Schoolhouse No. 1.

"It's still there," Neff added. "People are living in it."

Neff relayed these and other anecdotes Wednesday at the Lowrie-Shaw House museum, where the Butler County Historical Society is collecting data for books on the county's historic schools.The books are being compiled by Natalie Hall, 24, of West Sunbury, who interned at the historical society last summer. She graduated from Slippery Rock University in December with a master's degree in history.Hall began collecting the data in January, after a local radio host discussed the historical society's 2010 calendar, which featured a sampling of schoolhouse photos.Pat Collins, historical society president, got the idea for a book after hearing repeated listeners call in to discuss the schools.An unexpected response to a subsequent on-air request for submissions led Collins and Hall to realize the project would encompass at least two volumes."I thought it was going to be a month or two of work: 50 or 60 schools," Hall said. "Now it's snowballed to 340."Divided into two or three geographic regions, the books will list all or most of the one-room or small public schools formed after the Public School Act of 1835. The last of those closed around 1960."The 1940s is probably when the most significant amount of them started to disappear," Collins said, citing an onset of more reliable transportation, like school buses, which allowed communities to establish districts and open larger, more centralized facilities."You (now) can go to a school that's 10 miles away. You don't have to walk," she said.As well as providing factual information on each school, the books will include photographs and personal stories from people like Neff, who have been submitting information to the museum."We had an overwhelming response," Hall said. "I'm amazed by the amount of people who are willing to share information, stories and pictures."Collins said scanning people's photographs allows the society to increase its collection as well as preserve the precious images."It's always preserved in another place if a house burns down or a flood comes through," Collins said, explaining photos are returned to their owners after scanning."It's a historical collection that will never be lost now, because these people cared enough to share."Despite a steady stream of submissions, the women still lack information on some schools, especially in southern Butler County.With a print date estimated in May, they hope those with information will continue coming forward so the yet untitled books will be more complete.Residents who wish to share photos, memories or information about the county's one-room and small schools can visit the museum, 123 W. Diamond St., between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays or call the museum at 724-283-8116.

Natalie Hall