(That was not his real name, but rather a pseudonym that I shall use in case he is still alive and/or has family back in Nickerson, Kansas.)
Times were definitely different back then. Nickerson Grade School was a 2-story red brick building. Lunch was served in the downstairs Hall for everyone except the little Bartholomew kids who carried potato sandwichs tied up in a handkerchief. The kitchen was located at the end of the hall and right between the girls' bathrooms and the boys' bathrooms. Grades 1-4 were on the first floor and 5-8 were on the second floor. The Principals office was located on the second floor. The principal at the time was Mr. Somebody who was in charge of running the whole school and making sure there was harmony and a conducive atmosphere for learning.
Now, the first thing you should know is that back in those days, 70 years ago life was different. There was a thing that existed called "discipline." It existed in homes and schools across our fair land. It was usually dispensed at home, so schools ran on an even keel and if an incident happened at school (which was a rarity) it was handled in the principal's office.
At the time of this particular incident, I must have been in about the fifth grade. Dewite was probably an eighth grader. Mr. Somebody stormed onto the playground and grabbed Dewite by the ear and marched him into the school, up the stairs and into the Principals office. I have no idea what offence he had committed, but we all knew it was bad! Now we all knew that Dewite was just a little short in the social skills department. Back in those days it was referred to as "odd", and today it would be recognized as a social problem, but that was before the days of "awareness." Back to the story.
Mr. Somebody was a skinny fellow who always wore a suit and tie. Physically he was a skinny man who, in retrospect, would not survive an altercation with anyone else his size. And Dewite was bigger than him. We all stood on the playground looking at the office window which was open. We watched in further amazement as the black rubber hose that was used for disciplining errant students came sailing out the window and landed on the ground. It was followed very shortly with Dewite emerging from the back door of the school and walking across the playground to his home right across the street.
We never saw Dewite again. I think his mother just kept him home because back in those days there were not schools that could handle "special needs". Soon we forgot about him. The music teacher married Mr. Somebody's son, although she loved the coach. I knew many things back then, but few of them have survived the passing of 70 years.
I am rather glad that schools have changed, and students now have rights, which brings me to another point. With rights also comes responsibility. We learned that early in life. Seventy years ago, was a different world. We were taught respect for our elders at home about the same time we learned to walk. We never questioned adult authority and that was not always good. Some adults were not respectable, but we survived. We survived to live another day and to raise kids that respected elders but could also question authority if it did not seem right.
Several years ago, Dona Marie and I went back to Nickerson. They have built a new school and there are homes where the old school stood. Main Street is mostly deserted. Engles Candy and Book store is gone. Warn Appliance. The drug store. IGA moved and Flemings is gone. It is hard for me to realize that all this was seventy years ago! I can still see it in my mind's eye like it was yesterday.
The one thing I have learned is that no matter how things change, the more they stay the same! The schools have changed and discipline is no longer handled behind closed doors with a rubber hose. I think that is good, although I have seen quite a few instances where the old saying "Spare the rod and spoil the child" comes to mind.
Well, for the most part, I think I turned out pretty well, but I do wonder about Dewite and a lot of my classmates. Reminds me of something my oldest daughter is fond of saying, "What don't kill you will make you strong."
And so it goes!
Peace!
