School is starting in many places. It seems terribly early and terribly hot to begin school, in my opinion. When I was a child, we never started our fall term until after Labor Day. But when my mother was a youngster, school terms were more different still. The following excerpt is from The Heritage of Etta Bend. This is how my mother, Susie Latty Day told it. The year was around 1915 and the words are hers:
“Farm work was our livelihood at Etta. Mama and Papa worked hard at their daily chores and we children worked too. Our parents valued an education for their children, so we divided our time between school and work on the farm.
The school year was divided into two terms. Summer school consisted of July and August then we had a two- or three-month vacation. During this time out in the fall, we picked cotton, gathered corn, and helped harvest other crops. We picked dried beans and peas, gathered apples and helped with the hay. Then we went back to school for five more months. Etta’s school lasted only seven months. It wasn’t until later that the community could afford a nine-month school term.
Most of us looked forward to summer school; at least, we girls did. We liked meeting our teacher and seeing friends, old and new. Excitement grew as the opening day of school approached. Mama drove the wagon to Tahlequah and bought books, writing tablets and pencils. She got a good supply of “penny pencils”. These pencils were of cedar. The lead was so brittle that it broke easily. The school boys re-sharpened our pencil points with their pocket knives. We had no mechanical sharpeners. Sometimes we got a small sharpener which fitted over the end of a pencil like a cap. A blade on one side of the cap shaved off the wood.
One room and one teacher made up Etta’s first school. Double desks filled the room. Two pupils sitting together made communication with friends much easier. Although talking was a great temptation, we usually resisted that temptation with the aid of a stern teacher. Double desks helped develop character. Most teachers did not allow whispering and talking out loud was unheard of. Even beginners soon learned that school meant silence. When a child wished to speak to the teacher, she first raised her hand.”
(To be concluded tomorrow)
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