Kansas 11/8/99
Nebraska 11/12/99
South Dakota 11/15/99
North Dakota 11/18/99
Minnesota 11/23/99
Iowa 11/29/99
Missouri 12/3/99
Arkansas
Kansas: Due 10/29
Winfield, KS
11/8/99 Owney arrived here and will leave today in the earliest mail we can get him in.
Nebraska: Due 11/4
Grand Island, NE
11/12/99 Owney arrived in Grand Island, Nebraska, in our third garde, Friday at
1:15p.m..The class was very excited, and we really had fun showing him
around our school.One of the students found a picture of a boy on a horse
and his dpg in Grand Island, back in 1882. So it was placed into the
journal. A very small version was made to go with the tag, and another
student added their red ribbon which said "I have better things to do than
drugs!"We took pictures and he watched us put glitter on pinecones. We
were making decorations for the cities Christmas tree,and it fit with what
we were learning about, the life cycle of conifers.
Grand Island is named after a 50 mile long island that early French fur
trappers named , back in the early 1800's, found in the Platte River.At
that time it was said to be a river " a mile wide and an inch deep in
summer."We are prarie land, where the few trees of an size were 30 miles
east of us at "Lone Tree."(Now Central City)That was the last big tree
until you went west to the Rocky Mts., and Northwest to the Black
Hills. Some early explores from the eastern US said we were the "Great
American Desert." Boy, were they ever WRONG!!We grow wheat.corn soybeans
and cattle...great grass in the Sandhills to our northwest.
Owney was sent on to Rapid City ,S. Dakota, Friday at 4:15p.m..I put
copies from the "Owney " story on each side of the box. Hopefully, alerting
all to the "quik" delivery of our favorite dog.
Betty Foster
Teacher,Grade Three
Jefferson Elem. School
South Dakota: Due 11/9
Rapid City, SD
November 16, 1999
Owney had a wonderful visit in Rapid City, South Dakota. Grandview
School has 98 second graders. We showed Owney to the three other second
grade classrooms and the third grade classrooms too. The third graders were
happy to see Owney again because they really liked him last year. We also
showed Owney to our big buddies in 5th grade.
This is Children’s Book Week, so Owney went to PE and heard our PE
teacher read a story. He watched us play games too. Owney also went out for
recess and enjoyed seeing our playground. He had a great time at our party
too. We showed him South Dakota products like Black Hills Gold jewelry and a
rock blasted off Crazy Horse Mountain. We put a Mt. Rushmore key chain on
him. (Grandview School is only about a half hour away from Mt. Rushmore.)
Right after school Mrs. Dupré took him to the Post Office, so he's
traveling tonight to North Dakota. We hope he makes it all the way to the
White House this year!!!
Mrs. Dupré’s Second Grade
Grandview Elementary
Rapid City, SD
North Dakota: Due 11/15
Beulah, ND
Thursday, Novemeber 18
Hi everyone!
I made it to North Dakota this morning at 7:30 AM in the mail truck. The
whole city of Beulah (all 4,000 people) were ready to meet me. The
postmaster hand delivered me to the Beulah Elementary's 4th graders at
8:30. I was so relieved to see so many happy faces! I'm resting in the
classroom now from all the excitement while the kids are at recess. I
think the 4th graders are planning to show me a dog movie this afternoon
while they treat me to puppy chow (a yummy snack!). The 3 teachers in the
4th grade told me I will be heading to Minnesota in the mail truck after
school today! I am doing well and I am thrilled that I'm getting back on
schedule so i can meet everyone in all 50 states! I'll talk to you more
later this afternoon!
Love,
Owney
Then later the same day:
November 18, 1999- North Dakota
I spent a cold and windy day in Beulah, North Dakota with sixty 4th grade students. I was hand delivered by the Postmaster Angie and greeted with smiles from Mr. Schilke, the principal, and Mrs. Sommer, the secretary. Everyone was taking pictures and the newspaper even came to take my picture.
It was suppose to snow today, but it didnt! Hurray for that! I will hurry off to Waconia, Minnesota today after school! Here's what I did with my 4th grade friends in Beulah:
Mrs. Zachers Class
I started out the morning in Mrs. Zachers room. I was haunted when they told me they were going to introduce me to some High School students. They really were nice to me though and enjoyed hearing about my journey. I also got to meet Mrs. Beckers 3rd grade class. The students worked on their dog research reports and then had a party for me! I wasnt really hungry yet so I didnt have any puppy chow or po with them. They just made me feel like a real celebrity! Off I went then to Mrs. Gemmills room.
Mrs. Gemmills Class
I went on a trip to the Historical Museum of Mercer County with Mrs. Gemmills class. When we got back from our windy walk, I was passed around to all nineteen students while they ate puppy chow. I didnt even get any! The students were sure interested in reading about my journey around the United States. My time was up with Mrs. Gemmills class as I was moved into Ms. Schmachers class.
Miss Schumachers Class
While in Miss Schumachers classroom I learned about the great state of North Dakota by reading the state newspaper with her class- The Bismarck Tribune! I listened to each of the students read to me! They are such good readers and loved to tell me stories about their state. I even got to go to Phy.Ed. with the class. I only got to watch though as they didnt think I could keep up with them. I dont think I couldve either. I was glad when it was time for the movie, Air Bud: The Golden Receiver. I needed a rest and I just love watching movies about other dogs!
Minnesota: Due 11/19
Waconia, MN
11/23/99 Owney has been in Minnesota, and it was a whirlwind visit. He arrived the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and was mailed off on Wednesday (with a turkey sandwich for the road, of course). Unfortunately, we have been offline for three weeks and I didn't have a way of contacting all of you. Sorry, Iowa. I tried to let you know he was on the way. My students thoroughly enjoyed having Owney visit. We'll enter our information later.
Leslie Kronk
Southview Elementary Waconia, MN
Iowa: Due 11/24
Cresco, IA
11/29/99 Hi from the Tall Corn State! I arrived in Iowa sometime over Thanksgiving vacation. Because the students didn't have school on Wed. I had to sit in the office for many days before Mrs. Fisher discovered me on Nov. 30. It was dark and lonely in there, and I was glad to see all the students. I got to sit in one of the stations while the kids looked at all my "stuff" and
read the journal entries. A student from the 6th grade came and interviewed
the class and found out all about me and my history for a big article in the
newspaper.. I can't wait to see myself! After many pictures and hugs I left
Iowa in the afternoon mail on Nov. 30. Missouri here I come!!
Love, Owney.
Missouri: Due 12/3
Becky Hicks, Washington Elementary School, Cape Giradeau, MO
12/3/99 Owney arrived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (pronounced gir-ar-dough).
I arrived in Mrs. Hicks’s 2nd grade classroom at the end of the school day on December 2nd. I watched the students read and take their Accelerated Reader tests. They were reading some interesting books! One of them took a test on one of my favorite books, "Clifford, the Big Red Dog."
I spent a quiet night at Washington School, keeping the janitor company when he came in to clean the classroom. Mrs. Hicks’s introduced me to him as she was leaving for the day. The next morning the students arrived and were glad to see me. They knew this would be a special day for all of us.
Miss Steffens, the student teacher in Mrs. Hicks’s classroom, started off the day with the news for the day stating, "Today we have our Owney Party." I made the headlines! After listening to some Christmas stories read by the librarian, (which again included my favorite, "Clifford’s Christmas"), the class got to work on their reading lesson. They worked hard on learning how to make predictions, listening for the "ow" sound in words, and practicing their spelling words. Then they had reading groups. As I spent the day sitting on a printer by the computers, I watched the students work at the computers. One of the groups read a CD story called, "Ruff’s Bone." I thought I would have liked to have that bone too! It was a rainy day, so the students stayed inside playing Seven-Up. That was fun! After lunch we listened to a story, did the calendar (I was here on their 67th day of school), and did some measuring in math. Then the students were very good during art class, making some really cool projects. When they were done, they could color a Christmas page and one boy, William, gave me his paper. It even said, "To Owney From William." That was neat! Finally, I was the star! We had our Owney party where we had heart cookies, as Missouri is in the heartland of the United States, some chocolate chip cookies, and a drink. YUM! Mrs. Hicks read my story, pointing out all the places I visited on the map of the United States and the world. I felt very proud. Then I had my picture taken with the class and then some of just me! I didn’t get to visit their science class where they are learning about rocks, but I liked their rock collection, so I had my picture taken with all their rocks.
Now that my visit is over, I must hurry on to my next stop in Arkansas!
Take a look at their web site.
Arkansas: Due 12/8
Hot Springs, AR
