School Story:
"Miss" Lillian Cathey taught me to read at school. She taught me to read the Bible in Training Union at First Baptist Church.)
"Miss" Ola Hyde taught me to count money and to say my "times." She taught me Sunday School at First Baptist Church.
I still do not know who put a wagon on top of the school building, and I sure don't know how they got it up there.
Red Lowrance told me that it was Mr. Reeves (the superintendent) who put the bulldog grave on the football field and blamed Hawkins.
Mr. Goolsby (principal) brought me into his office and showed me his board; after that I straightened up.
I still think about how hot it was on the west side of the high school building in the early fall and late spring. The west wall was all glass. Very few windows opened and those not very much. Last period of the day was like an inferno. Before AC.
But that wasn't as hot as when we were in the first grade when we were placed in a small off- stage room with no windows and a sky light overhead. "Miss" Lillian said she felt sorry for us.
What about her with 30+ 6 yr olds?
"Miss" Lillian had us and the second grade all in one room for about 6 wks. that year. 60+ kids and she had to teach them readin', writin', and arithmetic.
In my first grade school picture, I was wearing a flour sack dress my mother had made me. It was the best dress I had. I doubt if I was the only one in a flour sack dress.
The '50s were great years to grow up in.
The following is an incident which occurred when the class of '57 was in the 8th grade:
Wesley Kincaid proudly arrived one morning in early spring of l952 with a quart fruit jar containing a snake. Mrs. Burgin was aghast. She exclaimed, "Make sure that lid is on good and tight and set the snake in the window sill, and don't touch it until you take it home this afternoon." Wesley promised.
I was incredulous at her leniency.
Then about 10 o'clock, we had a break. All the teachers filed into Mr. Walker's office and closed the door to do whatever it was they did in there, leaving the students and the snake to their own devices. We were left completely unsupervised for 15 delicious minutes. Much can happen in 15 minutes.
The break began with all of us standing around calmly talking, but with 8th graders conditions can change without warning.
Before long, Billy Earl Hibbs (who else?) swaggered over to the snake jar, unscrewed the lid and brought the snake out.
Next, Billy Earl, who was on one side of the room, slung the snake across the room to the other side. The snake traveled through the air, round and round horizonally, and slapped an unsuspecting Glenda Cook right in the face. Glenda let out a blood curdling scream. The snake fell to the floor, frantically trying to escape a stampede of hyterical youth.
In a split second all the desks, books, kids, etc. were piled against the opposite wall from the snake. The room became an explosion of scrapping desks and kids trampling whatever was in their path and screamiing.
Instantly, all the teachers materialized in the room.
Billy Earl shouted over this pandemonium that he had been snake bitten. To everyone's amazement, Mrs. Burgin stated flatly that she did not believe it. She said to get the room straightened up right now.
Finally, the desks and kids were untangled and arranged back into place, and school was resumed.
I personally expected Billy Earl to be dead by noon. I could not believe how callously Mrs. Burgin went right on teaching English as if nothing had ever happened. I watched Billy Earl, and I could tell he was concerned about these same issues.
Noon finally came and went, and he was still alive, much to everyone's relief. By the time lunch period was over, everything was back to normal.
When school was out that afternoon, Wesley retrieved his snake. I never did know how it got back in the jar.
Mrs. Burgin said that this had better not happen again, and it didn't!!
