Reading, writing, and a hickory stick

Classes I took in school? Reading, writing, and arithmetic, and a Hickory Stick, #1; then spelling, language, history, geography, penmanship, drawing (guess it’s called art now). We had a large bookcase that held the outside reading books (books we took home to read and then take a written on; we had to read a certain number of books during the school term). We could get a library book to read for the last hour on Friday and put it back when it was time for school to let out. 

I vividly remember that once I was reading a story and all at once I heard everybody laughing and when I looked up I saw Mr. Wilson, the teacher’s dad, who had come to get Miss Opal. It was the custom back in those days for a teacher to board with a family close to school if she lived a longer distance to home, as was the case here. It happened that I had been so engrossed in my story that I had missed getting my books put away and was not prepared to get my coat and cap and whatnot in preparation to be dismissed. I was really embarrassed.

In high school, the main ones that I recall were citizenship, modern and ancient history, agriculture, algebra, literature, geometry, commercial law and, on Fridays, assembly when all four grades got together and did things for fun such as singing, ciphering, and spelling matches.

There were two brothers, Jim and George, who were natural artists. Many times everyone wanted to have them go to the blackboard and draw what someone suggested. Might be a teacher, a comic character, or an animal. That family moved away when the boys were juniors, and I have no idea what happened to either one of them.

Oh, I forgot typing. We had to rent the typewriters, and Janice loaned me the money as she was working out as a hired girl at that time and the folks couldn't afford it, at least that’s what I remember in looking back. I got to go to Maryville to enter a contest but didn't win! Anyway, I learned more about it at Gards Business School later, and now I'm glad I did. Ha! Another thing we did in high school was debating, which was fun. We also put on plays, so I guess that was drama!

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