click here Now that right there is the truth if ever I printed it! Back in the days of sand and shovels life was so much easier! We walked to school in a cluster. Our family lived on Strong Street and there were 3 houses with kids. On the end were the Ayers kids. Willis, Ralph, and Marurite. Then the Reinke kids. Delores and Irene. Flo was older so she ignored us. Then came the little Bartholomew kids! Josephine, Jake, and me. Donna, Mary and Dorothy would come later. I attended all 8 years in that 2 story red brick building on the corner by the First Christian Church. I attended that church the same 8 years.
We all walked to school. Not so much in a group as one would think, but rather as a bunch of stragglers off to learn to be responsible adults some day. My brother Jake was pretty much a goof off but most of the boys in that era were. He finally joined the Army, because that is what boys did back then.
Now back then, if a kid misbehaved they were sent to the office where Mr. Houston would administer the proper punishment. That usually meant a spanking. Lordy! times have changed, haven't they? If your kid got a spanking at school, they would also get a better spanking at home. No mother or father wanted to have a kid that would misbehave in public. It just was not done! Period. End of story. The classroom teacher was not allowed to spank. She (and most of them were women) would walk up behind an inattentive, wiggly kid and whack them on top of the head with the edge of a wooden ruler. Trust me on this; I seen stars for days! Mrs. Howe was the only one who ever struck me. That woman was mean! I prayed every morning that she would not look at me, but God ignored my plea!
I still remember my teachers through grade school. First grade was Miss Donough who married in the middle of the year and became Mrs. Breece. She was so kind. Then grade two was Mrs. Wait. Grade 3 was Miss Holmes who was very sweet. Fourth grade was Mrs. Howe who was, to my recollection, the meanest woman in the world. Fifth grade was Miss Swenson who was kind and the first person to ever praise me for my feeble attempt at writing poetry. She actually got me published in a magazine that was popular at the time. Sixth grade brought Miss Lauver. She was strict, but very fair and probably one of the best teachers in the school. Old maid. Seventh grade was Mr. Schriber and eighth was Mr. Bollinger. I did not like men teachers. They were full of themselves. But in all fairness, Mr. Bollinger owned the movie theater so he was cool.
At the time I was in school there were less than 1,000 people in Nickerson. The red brick building has been demolished and a one story grade school built a block away. A bunch of houses occupy the lot where so many memories were made. The church I attended which set on the corner across the street from the school is boarded up now. There is one grocery store and it is in the building the appliance store used to occupy. I left Nickerson, Kansas 65 years ago, but in my mind, I am still there.
We never wore shoes to school in the fall. When the weather started getting cold the shoes were dug out and whoever they fit had shoes. The Montgomery Ward Catalog was dug out and feet were measured and new shoes bought for whoever did not get a pair of hand me down shoes. Life was hard back then, but poverty did not discriminate. New shoes were a luxury, but they were also harbingers of blisters on our feet because they were stiff and needed "broke in". I did not like new shoes.
I watched the kids getting on the bus in front of my house. They are in little uniforms. Shoes are all the same color. Wonder how that works for developing adults that are unique? Oh well.
Busy day ahead of me so I better get busy. The days of sand and shovels must go back in my mind and wait for another day. I hope I never get so old that I forget where I came from and the road I took to get to this day. School days, school days, dear old golden rule days! Reading and writing and arithmetic. taught to the tune of a hickory stick.........
Peace!
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