Reunion 73 years later

TARKIO – Jackie Robb still remembers the one room schoolhouse in Tarkio where she learned reading, writing and arithmetic at the instruction of her teacher, Jeane Heller.

Robb said she remembered Heller as her favorite teacher growing up but she hadn’t seen her since 1941 when Heller left Mineral County for other parts of Montana. Due to a twist of fate, Robb and Heller saw each other last Tuesday, Aug. 22 for the first time in over seven decades and it was all because of a picture in a book.

“I got a letter from her,” Robb said. “She said her nephew had given her a book about one room schools in Montana. She saw my picture and recognized me and so she wrote me a letter to make sure it was me. And today I get to see her for the first time in 73 years since she left.”

Robb said she often wondered about her former teacher, where she was and how she was doing. She said one of the remarkable things about the situation was the photo Heller saw was not of her as a child as she would have remembered her. The photo of Robb was of her today.

Before Heller arrived, Robb said she was delighted her former teacher was coming to see her after all these years.

“I’m just tickled she’s going to stop and see me,” Robb said. “She was one of the best teachers I had and the nicest and the prettiest. She taught six grades at the school that was up on the Tarkio flat.”

Robb said the school closed sometime in the 1950s. She said to have her teacher remember her from a picture, to reach out to contact her and then to make the journey from her home in Oregon to come see her was very special.

“I can’t hardly believe it,” Robb said. “It’s such an unusual thing. She must be a good, tough gal to be 96 years old and still traveling around.”

Heller arrived just after 10 a.m. and immediately embraced her former student before the two began to catch up on the last 73 years. Heller’s daughter, Fern McArthur, said the reunion was something her mother had been looking forward to for some time.

“Mom taught here when she was 20 and 21 years old,” McArthur said. “Her great nephew found a book at Costco. It was called ‘One Room Schoolhouses in Montana.’ He sent it to her for Christmas and the part about Tarkio caught her eye. She saw a quote from Jackie Robb and she put the years together and said ‘that must be the Jackie I knew.’”

McArthur said Heller contacted the author of the book and was able to contact Robb and arrange the reunion. Heller said she was excited at the opportunity to reconnect with a former student.

“It feels wonderful,” Heller said. “I really enjoyed my two years here. I hated to leave but the war was coming on and that changed a lot of things. I had four students at the time. I walked over to the school every day and built a fire. I chopped my own wood too.”

Heller said, as far as she could recall, Robb was an exemplary student. She said, while she only taught in Tarkio for a short time, the experience left an impression on her.

“She was a great student,” Heller said. “I’m just tickled to death to see Jackie again.”

According to historical documents from the Mineral County Museum, the one room schoolhouse in Tarkio operated until the early 1960s. The Mineral Independent edition dated Thursday, May 10, 1962 features an announcement of a special meeting to “abandon School District No. 9, Tarkio School.”

The meeting was held in the school on May 18, 1962 with members of the public, school board members from Superior, Alberton and the Clerk of School District No. 9, Mabel Vann. The decision was ultimately made to dissolve the Tarkio school and students were subsequently sent to the other districts for their education.

The site where the school once stood and Heller and Robb began their relationship stands empty now. The school where they first met may be long gone, but as they retired into Robb’s home to catch up over coffee, it was evident the connection made between the two women had clearly stood the test of time.