During World War II, severe shortage of teachers developed across the nation, including Nebraska and McCook.

To alleviate that shortage, schools adopted a number of stop-gap measures, some more effective than others. School hours were lengthened, or classes shortened, to add another class period to the day. Teachers were required to teach more classes, and sometimes those classes were outside their fields of expertise.

"New" teachers arrived on the scene -- not teachers newly graduated from college, but former teachers, some long retired, or lay persons recruited to teach a certain subject.

Most of these teachers had "Teaching Certificates" long out of date, or no certificate at all. For these teachers the State Department of Education issued an "Emergency Teaching Certifi-cate" that was good for a limited period of time (ie: the duration of the war), and then only if a wholly qualified teacher could not be found to fill the position. All a candidate had to do was show a proficiency in the subject he/she would be teaching. At the same time provisions were made so that these teachers could take courses, either in Lincoln or by mail, to gain the necessary college hours to qualify for a regular Teaching Certificate.

For the most part these "temporary" teachers did an admirable job, and considered that they were doing their part in furthering the war effort.

School administrators were not entirely happy with these "temps." They tended to be independent and often quite outspoken, preferring to do their jobs with a minimum of interaction with the school administrators.

It was no secret that Superintendents preferred to deal with teachers who were more compliant with their rules and procedures.

World War II came to an end in August of 1945. Immediately, veterans began to return home, and some of these veterans were former teachers, who under an act of Congress, were entitled to come back to their old jobs.

Sometimes these jobs were being filled by temporary "former" teachers. Superintendents saw the returning vets as an opportunity -- to get all of older teachers, and at the same time get rid of some of the "temps" who were causing headaches.

In McCook, in the spring of 1946 the situation came to a head. At a March School Board Meeting it was decided that eight faculty members of the high school and Junior College (at that time McCook Junior College was part of the McCook School System) would not be rehired. There had been no prior indication that such drastic action was imminent, and the news hit the community like a bombshell. Hundreds of townspeople and students were caught up in the controversy, which eventually culminated in a student strike. Like so many issues that grow out of hand, this one could perhaps have been contained had the school board been more open with the public and the media, and had strived more to keep lines of communication open.

Of the group of eight teachers who were at the center of the controversy, some had been teaching in the district for as long as 20 years -- they were institutions in the system. Others had "filled in" at a time the nation was suffering a wartime teaching shortage.

Community attention quickly focused on the eight teachers' sudden dismissal. The School Board and Superintendent Leonard L. Larson refused to state publicly the reasons for the dismissals, and indeed, the School Board gave Superintendent Larson its vote of confidence.

A Citizens Committee, led by Harold Sutton, was formed to investigate the case. At the same time a Junior College Committee was formed to conduct its own investigation. Two petitions were circulated.

One called for the resignation of Superintendent Larson. Another called for the resignation of both Larson and the School Board.

On April 30, both MHS and MJC students voted to walk out of classes, "on the basis that the Board's action had been disrupting school for the last two months.

"We can not understand why the Superintendent or the Board of Education has not made some statement that will enlighten the people as to the reasons for the dismissal of the teachers. Is it possible that the School Board … is now trying to camouflage the mistakes of a certainly faulty Superintendent?"

On May 1, the School Board met at the home of banker, Harry Krogh. Dismissed teachers were allowed to make statements at the meeting. Gazette Publisher, Harry Strunk was at that meeting and reported in the Gazette over the next few days.

Helen Shurtleff, a most respected teacher, had taught at the Junior College since the day it opened in 1926.

She said that trouble between Supt. Larson and herself had erupted when she reported on a Student Senate meeting involving MJC students and Junior College students from Scottsbluff.

The Scottsbluff students were allowed much more latitude in governing their school than the MJC students, which surprised and embarrassed the MJC students. (At the time a good number of the MJC students were World War II vets -- adult men who had seen combat and were not happy with what they considered arbitrary, "Mickey Mouse" rules handed down by the Administration.)

Supt. Larson took the report as criticism of himself. Later he announced to Miss Shurtleff, "I've been making inquiry about you and I think I have enough information that would warrant (your) dismissal."

Miss Shurtleff reported to the Board that she was so angry at Larson's words that she told Larson that she was mad enough to kill him -- words she later regretted saying. Mr. Larson had taken Miss Shurtleff's words literally and reported to authorities, including the McCook School Board, that Miss Shurtleff had threatened his life.

The Citizens Committee, with more than 2000 signatures on the petitions decided to turn to professionals for guidance. The School Board, in turn, invited help from the NSEA and the NEA, both Teacher Organizations.

At the next public meeting it was decided to offer three of the dismissed teachers new contracts. Four teachers who had resigned in the face of the controversy could reconsider. (All four considered, but resigned anyway, as did Helen Shurtleff, at the next regular meeting.)

McCook's Merrill Ream, at the time a Junior at MHS vividly remembers the following day, May 2. A group of Junior College men came into the high school and went from room to room, shouting "We're going out. Are you with us?"

Merrill's home room emptied like a shot (except for one boy, whose mother was a teacher at the school). They joined some 400 high school and college students who left their classrooms and marched down Norris Avenue, passing mimeographed sheets with cartoons depicting children pleading for an education, and demanding the reinstatement of the dismissed teachers.

(Merrill remembers that he welcomed the chance to leave school on a balmy spring day -- not for the reasons given for the strike, but simply he wanted the time to work on his Model A car.)

For two days students stayed away from the school. Then, in increasing numbers, students began drifting back to class -- thus ending McCook's first (and last) student strike.

Note: With the summer recess things calmed down and the incident was presumed closed.

In the fall Superintendent Larson was still at the helm, apparently still with the backing of the School Board. But he had had enough.

In February he resigned his position with the McCook School System and left teaching forever, to take a job with the McMillan (School books) Publishing Co. He was replaced by Ralph G. Brooks, from Audubon, Iowa.

Source: McCook Gazette Centennial Edition, Year books, MHS, MJC.