SCHOOL DAYS

SCHOOL DAYS SCHOOL DAYS

GOOD OLE GOLDEN RULES DAYS

READING AND WRITING' AND RITHMETIC,

TAUGHT TO THE TUNE OF THE HICKORY STICK

I started my "school days" at Ritta Elementary on Washington Pike in Knoxville in 1949. At that time it was grades 1-8 with no Kindergarten. Let me tell you about walking to school. My family lived 1 mile up Edmondson Road which was a dead end road. The bus didn't run up the road at that time so we had to walk. There were several ways we would go. One was to go straight across in front of our house and across the Reesers field then through the Stoffels woods and then over the creek and through the Stoffel cow field to the school. Stoffels Dairy was right beside the school. Or we would walk down the road to the fence line on the lower part of Reesers property and walk down the fence line and across the creek to Cole's Store and down Washington Pike to the school. Or we could walk the mile to the end of our road and catch the bus there. Most times of the mornings our dad would take us to the end of Edmondson Road on his way to work to catch the bus but in the afternoon we had to walk because my dad worked downtown at Albers Drug Company and didn't get home until about 6:00. Although my mother knew how to drive my family never had two cars. And you didn't just walk if it was a pretty day. We walked hot, cold, rain or snow. I still remember almost getting hit by a car when I was in the first grade.

My first grade teacher was Mildred Truan. She was single and I thought she was very pretty. But she was strict. I can still remember her teaching me about Dick and Jane baby Sally and Spot. I read that Spot was a cat in the 1930 editions but was a dog in later editions. Spot was a dog when I was in first grade. I guess I got my love for reading starting in the first grade. I remember a border around the top of the blackboard that had nursery rhymes on it. Sometimes I will get a whiff of blackboards and paper towels that take me back to Ritta School. When I went to school there they did not have the addition on the front like it is now. That was built later. My older brothers and sisters remember the outside toilets but I can only remember the ones inside. Around the sides of the school building was a lot of big shrubs and we would play under those shrubs at recess time. One of the things I remember about recess time at Ritta was when it was really hot outside they would let us line up and go through the cafeteria when recess was over and get a glass of tomato juice or orange juice. I thought that was great because we didn't have juice at our house unless it was squeezed from oranges we got at Christmas. I can remember my days at Ritta as good times. Although I did get one paddling. I was in the second grade and I was putting on lipstick and the teacher saw me and gave me a whack with the paddle. I hadn't thought about it but do you guess that is why I never wore a lot of make up and lipstick? I didn't really have any teachers that I didn't like. Some I liked more than others. I remember a few things they said to me. My fourth grade teacher Miss Shipe told me if I could ever write as good as my brother John I would be doing good. I think she had all eight of the Spencer kids in her class room over the years. She also told us to bow our heads when anyone prayed. She said "I don't care if its the blackest man in town you bow your head." I have never forgot that. Remember that was when schools were segregated it wasn't until 1954 that the supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for public schools to be segregated. I don't know how old Miss Shipe was when she was my teacher but I am sure much younger than we all thought but she always seemed to be the oldest teacher. Except for my bangs my hair hadn't been cut until I finished the 5th grade. I was having headaches and someone said if they would cut my hair they would probably stop. Miss Yadon was my 5th grade teacher and she told me not to have it cut until I got out of her class. My one crowning glory growing up was my hair. It was jet black and down to my waist. I got more complements on my hair than anything else when I was young. When I left Ritta Elementary the eighth grade class went in three directions. Holston High, Central High and Gibbs High. We still have reunions of the Eighth Grade Class that went to Ritta. I have kept in touch with more of them than the ones I graduated with from high school. The new Holston High School had just been built and my home was in the district to go to Holston. My older brothers John and Jim and sisters June and Phyllis went to Central, me and my brother Bill went to Holston and my younger brother Ron and sister Mary went to Gibbs. My brother Jim had started to Central but had to transfer to Holston so he was in the first graduating class at Holston High. Again I enjoyed my years at Holston. I was quite and wasn't in any sports or clubs. James and I dated all through high school and when he quit school many days he would follow the bus in the afternoons and when I would get off the bus at the end of our road he would take me the rest of the way home. I made good grades in high school. Not straight A's but good. I was going to be a business lady so I took typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, Algebra etc. Looking back if I had known then what I do now I would have taken music, art, home economics etc. One thing I am glad I took and use a lot now is my typing. I don't want to forget my close friend Pat Ogle. She was my friend all through school and was one of my brides maids when I married. James sister Barbara was also a good friend and carried our love letters back and forth for us. I graduated in 1961.

I really didn't consider going to college. When you came from a family of 8 kids there was no money for further education. In my days girls mostly got married and had a family. I worked for a year and James and I got married in 1962. For the next several years we focused on raising our family and James going to school. In 1981 I was working as a CNA at Hillcrest Nursing Home. My mother had to have surgery and I was at the hospital with her when I saw Sandy Roberts (now Sandy Alexander) and she was going to nursing school. I asked her about it and she told me all about the school. I came home and I thought if I was going to work in nursing I needed to go to school so I could make more money. I called and did all the necessary things and was accepted into the 1981 Fall LPN Class. I was disappointed because I wanted to be in the Spring Class. In a few weeks I got a call that someone had decided not to attend the Spring Class and I was able to go. The classes were only for 1 year and only cost $250. So in the Spring of 1982 I graduated from the LPN Program. I did my student practice at St. Marys Hospital and went to work there when I graduated. I considered going on to get my RN degree but I was making so much money compared to what I had made before that I just couldn't quit work to go. And I would of had to quit because I had 4 kids at that time and couldn't work, go to school and take care of my family all.

I have always liked to learn new things and have taken classes in Sewing, Tailoring, Flower Arranging, Cake Decorating, Candy Making, Art and Computer Classes. I have made a cook book for my family. I co-taught classes at one time for the University of Tennessee on Foster Care. Over the years I have taught Sunday School and many VBS Classes. So I guess my education at Ritta Elementary and Holston High have enabled me to do a lot of things I would not have been able to do without it. I have actually been thinking about working toward a degree here in my old age.