A South Dakota Country School Experience concerns the Emmett School in Union County near Beresford. Based on both teachers' records and the author's recollections, this history covers the period from September, 1934 to May, 1942. During those eight years at Emmett, William E. Lass and his schoolmates experienced the effects of the Great Depression and the start of World War II. The depression especially overshadowed all aspects of their school years by impacting the way they ate, dressed and thought. Although it was unique in its own locale, the Emmett School bore striking similarities to the thousands of other rural schools in South Dakota and the nation.