In Rural Schools and Teachers in Comal County, Texas: 1854-1956, Alton Rahe pays tribute to teachers of the 29 rural schools in Comal County. He sets the story in the first couple of chapters then goes one by one and gives a brief history of the school and the teachers who taught there. Rahe also includes a number of photographs to give a little flavor of the school. The number of students sometimes varied, but most of the schools had only one teacher.
Rahe does not include New Braunfels nor any schools in Comal County after the formation of the Comal County Independent School District was found. Some of them lasted for decades, some only a few years. He brilliantly includes a map, some facts about rural school operations and copious sources.
Overall, the book is very well researched, easily explored and quite clear with its data. If you ever wanted to glimpse into the life of a rural teacher in central Texas in the late 19th to the mid-20th Centuries, this is your book. As a side note, the extensive lists of teacher names will interest the living students and/or their families.
“A wonderful, structured look at rural teachers, schools and school life in central Texas”-Scott Cowin
“This book provides an excellent account and insight into little-known Comal history”-Simon Sinek
