I went to bed last night thinking about the bond issue, that is not true, I dont think about the bond issue that is the least important part of this discussion to me, I was thinking about how excited I am to have a new school which then led to how hard it will be to lose the old schools... in 1960, the class of 73 used the west doors of the Grade School directly to the left was a janitors closet (these are important because I never knew which one Grandpa would be standing inside of), you passed though double doors, water fountain, door on the left was first grade, Mrs. Beattie, I dont believe that she had children, but was like grandma... on the right side was third grade, loud, confident, perfect lines, they had a secret... down the hall and a couple of stairs was The Gym, huge, high ceiling, like eight chairs on the north side raised up off the floor for the teachers, so probably eight or ten chairs, during assemblies, we sat on the floor... on the south side, stairs, tall and steep, that lead to another world... but back to the west doors, on the right were concrete stairs with a landing and a window (that I could never see out of) under those stairs was my Grandpas office where he took breaks and always had a treat of some kind... upstairs were double doors and another closet, water fountain, on the left, second grade and Mrs. York, pretty and regal... on the right was fourth grade and Miss Bauck, she went to school with my momma so, of course, she had to love me, and I remember that she was too old to not be married but really she was probably 24 or 26 years old, very tall, slender, proper... the next year, we climbed the stairs on the north side of the building, I have climbed those stairs so many times, excited, happy, sad, mad, disturbed, discouraged, thrilled, enlightened, but fifth grade was inside then sixth grade put us in the new addition, the first class to use the new room, bright, shiny, clean, no other fingerprints before ours and Mrs. Hayes, a sweet woman with a strong conviction that we would do our best, she taught us to color and about dinosaurs, she taught us that even if you cant see something or say its name, you should want to learn about it and that you should do your best to make it beautiful...Jr. High, we stayed in our rooms and the teachers moved because it would be too difficult to move that many kids every hour, Mrs. Swearingen, smiling and alert, Mr. Christesen, wish I could ask him for advice today, scared me silly... I am sure where the new addition went south out of the old building were double doors but I dont remember them but the playground was thousand of acres of blacktop, grass, trees, slides that were too tall, swings that made you soar, merry-go-rounds that held fifty kids, a beautiful Cottonwood tree with roots that tripped us... I have taken all three of my children through those west doors and to that same room along with hundreds of other children over 40 years... watched many many teachers come and go... seen a little disappointment but so much happiness, growth, surprise and love in those halls... so when I say I am excited about a new school and thrilled by the possibilities, please believe that it is with great heartache, tears, and difficulty, however, while I may never be described as sweet, I hope that I am remembered to have a strong conviction that we will always do our best... and that, my friends, is just the south side of the street....
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:19:27 +0000
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