Oral histories provide background information for five essays which address the development of country schools in Western Kansas during the late 1800's. The first paper provides a historical review of the founding of country schools in Western Kansas, with specific country schools (many are now historical sites) described. The second paper portrays country schools as being the heart of the rural community where potluck dinners, minstrel shows, 4-H Club meetings, literary meets, church and Sunday school, ball games and most other community activities were held. Teachers, their roles, rules, and regulations are reviewed in the third paper. The basics, reading, writing, arithmetic, and recitation, which were stressed in the country school, are presented in the fourth paper via stories dealing with the early classrooms and instructional materials. The last paper portrays the public and parochial country school as one of the major elements in Western Kansas that helped immigrants learn American customs, history, language, and patriotism. Among the ethnic groups discussed are: American Indians, Volga-Germans (German Russians), Blacks, French, Swedes, Mennonites, and Czechoslovakians. Appended to the second paper is a list of the 104 historic site forms completed and a list of 35 oral interviewees. (AH)