The teacher
who first taught me was Reta Merriam. That would have been around 1938/39.
She was a diminutive size lady and very young and sweet. She taught me
for 4 years. Then she went to Fulton Public Schools and taught in
that system until retirement. I believe she lived to be quite old
as someone asked if I had gone to her retirement party. Reta had
to teach all children at Eight Notes who ranged in age from 5 to probably
15 years of age. Some of those boys were not easy to deal with. I remember
my brother getting his mouth washed out with soap for some infraction.
He was not an easy one either. But Miss Merriam was kind and I believe
taught us well. She came to outside activities in the community and
I note that she attended my wedding in 1955. She wore a pretty flowered
smock with pockets and was fresh and pretty. She boarded up the road
at the Dan Stewart home and so was close by. We did not miss school for
sickness of the teacher or because her car would not start.
I remember Miss
Merriam passing out WW2 ration books. People in the community came
to get theirs at the school. We had coupons for gas, for soap,for
sugar, and other items scarce during WW2. I hated honey for years after
the war as we consumed honey in lieu of sugar. The students collected milkweed
pods by the feedbag size for the war effort. It was to be used in flotation
vests. We collected papers and tinfoil and anything else required. We bought
war bonds by purchasing one stamp of a few cents at a time. The book would
eventually be filled.
Our next teacher was
Frances Parlow. She had been in the WACS, which was a part of the women’s
army. She was instrumental in bringing in a radio to hear General McArthur.
She also had a small bust of him. We never had any kind of electronic accessories
in those days.
Mrs. Bessie Wilcox,
a retired teacher was brought in to teach . She was very good at teaching
and got many of us through our Regents and into high school.
We remember her
cooking pots of soup or chowder or baked potatoes on the top of the pot
belly stove. Any hot food was a treat after years of cold sandwiches in
our lunch boxes. By the way , my lunch pail was a tin pail formerly filled
with honey.
Mrs. Wilcox also brought us to love nature
and took us out to explore our surroundings. She made a large terrarium
and we dug plants from the woods or outside and planted and cared for them.
She included the girls into domestic activities like helping prepare lunch
and cleaning the dishes used after we ate.
After, I left school at Eight Notes to
go to Fulton High School, there were other teachers who taught in that
school until it consolidated with Phoenix. My younger sisters attended
and one was bussed over to Cody School when Eight Notes closed.
The school bell was taken to Jack Luke’s home. The clock that hung on the
wall was taken to a Phoenix administrators home who collected clocks. The
teachers chair ended up with my brother in Mass.
Notes
Wayne Dickinson sent me about Eight Notes School
By Wayne Dickinson
Date Jan 2, 1997
1) When I went to the 1st grade, my teacher
was Miss Irene Thompson. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever
seen. She wore lipstick and Evening in Paris perfume.
2) When the rain and smow came, the dirt
roads at times could become ice-coated. With our steel runner sleighs,
we could do a running belly flop going towards home. We could go
all the way to the creek and up the first hill. Coming from Fricks
in the morning we could go all the way to the creek and up the next hill.
3) Our Best Scary Story. Michael
Prall and myself went behind the abandoned house where Walter Hopp had
lived at times. Again the road was smooth dirt. Carl Lower
was walking to school. My uniform was a burlap bag with arm holes
and leg holes cut out. On my face was a Halloween mask and had picked
up a four-foot length of exhaust pipe that had fallen off a car.
We let Carl get behind the building on the school side. Michael threw
a cherry bomb into the road behind Carl. I then pulled in behind
him, waving my gun. He looked back, gave a scream of terror and took
off! We could hear his shoes pat the ground like a horse running.
His family had to bring him to school for about a week, as he wouldn’t
pass the abandoned house.
4) A big round coal stove heated the school.
The older boys would every now and then toss in a loaded 22 shell.
It would sit there for a couple of hours to finally explode with a wicked
blast.
5) In seventh grade, my last year there,
I was officially appointed “janitor”. This meant keeping the fire
going and in the winter going to the school on a Sunday evening, starting
the fire with wood and once that was burning well, starting a coal fire
so the school would be warm Monday morning. My brother, Rod, was
to come with me and we would listen to the radio, country music. WJJD Chicago.
For this janitor service, the district paid $20 in June, which for those
days was good money.
6) This doesn’t concern school but has
come to mind. Probably about 1935 Carl Happ helped my father with
haying for a couple of days as day labor. They had known each other
for years and my father said “what do I owe you?” He said, “Oh Lester,
give me 10 cents and hour.”
7) Noon hour was an hour off and we would
go in the woods to play. The bell would ring at 10 minutes of one
and again at one. In the wintertime we would run on top of the ice
of the stream in the woods. The game being not to break through the
ice. We got pretty good at it but sooner of later every kid got wet.
I think there was a relationship between how heavy the kid was.
8) This was not at school but, the same
time period and the same kids. We would go in the woods and have
B-B gun wars. The only rule was not to hit above the waist.
We all were good shots so there never was any problem but you could always
tell when you hit the other kid in the rump.
Jack Luke holding the Eight Notes
School bell. It was taken from the school and placed
in a special display in his yard.
He removed it from the display case for this picture.
Jack
Luke School Memories
By Jack Luke
Feb 8, 1997
Dear Diane
I have many fond memories of Eight Note
School (the name Eight Note being derived from four knolls on each side
of the road north of the school thought to resemble notes of music).
I started school at age five(1930), Arlie
Hawthorne being my first teacher. She used to drive a horse and buggy to
school and would have the horse in a barn on our farm during the day. Rita
Merriam was my second teacher and she in turn was followed by Irene Thompson.
Irene always had readings of Bible stories every school day. How different
today! We played hard during our recess times (oh yes we teased the girls),
but we, also, worked hard on our studies during school hours. I recall
the visits of the district superintendent, Warren Gardner. He was a stern
yet benevolent type of person. I attended Eight Note until the spring of
1937. The fall of 1937 I left to attend high school at Phoenix.
My Grandfather, Alonzo Luke, taught school
at Eight Note at one time. I'm sorry I do not have the date. I do know
that some of his sons attended while he was the teacher. Unless Jim Kring
has covered them, the initials of two of my uncles are carved in the woodwork
of the old school. They were ????????
Later my dad attended school along with
other of his brothers and sisters. I believe they had a teacher from Baldwinsville
named Gina Steele who boarded with my grandparents.
Dan Stewart was trustee when I went to
school and I think Rita Merriam and Irene Thompson may have boarded with
Dan and "Tiny" part of the time.
One thing always bothered me going to Eight
Note. Because I lived so close to school I was required to come home for
lunch almost every day. It was a rare treat when I could take my lunch
and eat with the rest of the kids. Because the kids all walked to school
and the teacher was close at hand, I don't recall having any snow days.
You may recall from visiting us some time
ago that we have the old school bell that we purchased when centralization
came about. In fact you have an ancestor's name on the bell, J.O. Dickinson,
Librarian. I have a copy of the original bill of sale for the bell. It
was purchased from a firm in Troy, NY for $34.00 delivered.
Did you or any of your brothers go to school
at the same time I did? I don't recall. Some of the kids I went to
school with were Mary and Paul Reichel, Leonard Hogoboom and his sister,
Doris Young, Harriet Ward, Ralph Hubbard, Andrew George, and Charlotte
Butler. There were others that I don't recall.
Since there was no well at the school drinking
water was usually obtained from by parent's home. You may recall that the
school was heated by a wood and coal stove. I remember a coal bin in the
back shed part of the building.
There wasn't much of a library in the old
school but I do recall that I read all of the books and wished there were
more.
Our oldest daughter, Cheryl, started 1st
grade at Eight Note, John Rowland was the teacher a that time. The year
was 1951. The Phoenix district centralized in 1950 but some of the county
schools remained open until new buildings were built.
I hope some of these thoughts may be helpful
to you.
Compilation
of Notes of Gloria Chubb Stewart
Re:
Eight Notes School Memories
Diane Dickinson Titus
I often think how Mrs. Wilcox so
dearly and kindly mothered us. Remember the delicious cornchowder
that she made for us in winter time.
Diane: I wish that I could remember more.
I think often about the end of school days. We had family and picnic
and games. Roddy and I were always partners for the games. Behind
the school was the beautiful golden valley. How about the ink wells
in the desk and the seats that would pinch your butt or your toes? I remember
Carl Lower and Laura Jean Hall (?). Lloyd and Allen Stacy.
I saw Lloyd back in the 50's when he visited Mom Hubbard. When I
watch "Little House On The Prairie" I think of the Eight Note School
House. Mom showed me a picture of her, Millie Luke and another girl.
They also went to school there. So often I wish we could go back and tap
those maple trees. Remember how much we loved that syrup?
Well now, I forgot about Foster Park where
I injured my back on the high dive and no one knew it. It has caused
me so much trouble. The Chiropractors have kept me in shape.
However, I did enjoy those picnics so much especially, with roddy as my
partner because we always won.
Yes, Irene Hubbard was Irene Adele Beebe.
She was beautiful. Her father died when she was young and her mother
married Fred Cook.. I think that I have it straight. I want to work
on their line too but I don't know if I'll be able to or not.
Remember you came to Hubbards to see me
one time when I was home. You had your first baby with you that was
just a month or so old. Then I saw you at the church sale at Little
Utica.
I don't think Roddy was so unruly.
I think like me, we both were blamed for things we were not guilty of.
Have I forgotten something???
I remember that Wayne was the prankster.
He also had a different type of humor. I don't quite remember but
we seemed to rub each other the wrong way and I think that he was teasing
but I took him seriously. Does that sound right?
I remember Leonard Hogoboon and I often
wondered what happened to the family. He worked for Harold Hubbard
(Dad Hubbard) His sister Leona went with Bob Anthony for a while,
June was married at their home which had been the home of Mr. Woodruff.
The house right below Hubbards on the left. I can't remember who
June married. Roberta we always called Peaches. She use to pick up
the family's milk every morning at the house and the boys would tease her
sinfully. The farm boys were not use to seeing nature enhanced with
make-up. I think the very nice young lady at sixteen found the harassment
amusing one moment and torture the next. They just loved to see the
beauty blush. There was an older sister but at this moment I can't
recall. I think that Kenneth Blakemen married their friend. Arlene
?.
I remember Uncle Dan and Aunt Tiny.
They were favorites of mine. That reminds me that they were Mom Hubbards
real aunt and uncle but I am not sure which line.
Remember Charles Lacy's beautiful Gladiolus?
Did anyone ever preserve his business?
When and how I got on the bad side of Ms.
Merriam. Ralph told me to ask her to say"electricity" She got
mad as a wet hen. She couldn't say it right. She would say
"electwicity" . She told me to tell Ralph Hubbard to mind his own business.
I liked Ms. Merriam, she was just a hot head and justifiably so.
I would have been too. She had to be bored to death in the
country at her age and few chances for romance or fun. A teacher
back then had to be careful...real careful not to offend the parents. Did
you go to her 90th birthday party? Ralph wanted to go but I don't
think he did. Ralph liked Irene Thompson. Mom said that she
was very nice.
...Remember how we (you and
I) use to turn uncle Fred Cook's corn stacks over? We thought that
was great fun. We did it for quite a while until one day Mom Hubbard
pulled me aside and explained that Uncle Fred was a real old man and it
tired him too, too much to stack the corn let alone having to do it again
and again. We never did it again after that understanding. I felt
really sad for uncle Fred.
Yes, I remember playing in the woods and
climbing trees, crosssing "rivers" Ha ha. We were real adventurers.
We came over once maybe more, to ski down your mountain. The big
hill behind the barn or dwelling. We had a high hill also across from the
house. I think Phil Luke graded it down and put trees on it.
The Lukes were very nice neighbors and when Mildred died I felt really
bad. I use to baby sit for Jack and Betty, I began dating and
no more sitting.
I was told that the Hodges came from Canada.
She use to visit Mom every day and that made life more pleasant for her.
He worked at the Steele mill in Solvay. Did you know Mr. Woodruff
? He lived or owned that house below Ralph's many years ago.
Do you remember the ice mill , the cider mill. and the wood mill all together
there by what use to be a pond? Ralph and Mart own that now.
There were many years of fun had on that property. That area was at one
time called jell valley. Maybe there are some older people left that
can tell you about that.
I remember when they use to come in horse
and wagon to pick up the morning mild from the barn. We have lived
to see the greatest inventions of all time. I hope that we
live to meet the greatest king of all times. Yes, I did go to Sunday school
and I taught Sunday school to Gordon Lovell, I think Duane, Jimmy Wolfred
and I can't remember all of them right now. Yes, we were in the same
Sunday School Class. Millard Blakeslee was our Sunday School Super.
The Hawthorne children also. I use to go to Sunday School camp at
Casawasco. I wanted to be a missionary. I am a prodigal child.
Did you ever find out what happened
to Richard Joslyn? All of his family are are or were in Fulton.
He was a foster child also. Just like a brother. Before Linda and
I could read, he would read the funny papers to us every Sunday.
Mom had us darn and embroider tea towels and pot holders. Richard
worked right along with us. He went into the Navy and after that
went into the Army paratroopers. The last time I saw him was when
my first child was born. He came to Annapolis to visit me.
I have never heard from him since.
Yes, let's not forget that stinkin' old
out house. If kids had to use them today they would take us to court
for child abuse. Ha ha. Do you have any pictures of that?
It's a failing site from the countries landscape.
I remember two things, maybe three distinctly.
Remember when you told me that Ms Merriam was a midget? Then you and I
went around the school yard chanting, "Ms Merriam is a midget". She
was so mad and she was mad at ME, I don't remember what she
said or what I said but I started screaming that she broke my beads.
They had just been given to me. She was trying to thrash me around
and Roddy {my defender) tried to calm her down and she shoved him right
into a coat hook. I don't know what happened after that. I
am not one to stay mad or to hold a grudge. It was just another day
come Sunrise.
Then another time when you taught me to
spell Sh-- and those few words. I was so thrilled to learn knew words,
I said, "Let's write them in the sand, on the teachers car, on the out
house and all over the place". WE DID, It was weeks later when Mary
was home sick that Mom found out about it. I think that I missed
two days of school if not a week. That's all I am going to say about
it right now. Together, you and I were bad girls.
Did you finish school in FHS ? Did
you take a different bus then Mary and I?
She gets so upset with me for saving bags,
jars, boxes, and sprouting things. I've told her how we use to save
the tin foil off gum and cigarette packages and anything else we happened
to find. So soon those times are forgotten but how hard old habits
are to break.
Diane do you remember?? I handed
Roddy this beautiful little vegetable. He said "Thank you"
with the sweetest look upon his face. It was a red hot pepper . Nasty!
I feel bad about it today. I don't remember if I did it because
he daily sent me home crying with a bloody nose or if the hot pepper was
the reason he gave me a bloody nose. I am sure he had a good reason.
Remember one year at a school play,
You, Mary and I sang a song together. We were stirring up cookies?
Diane: We were singing a Christmas song and pretending to stir cookies.
Sandwiches-mustard
with butter is what i always asked
for. mom couldn't believe that was all I wanted. Yes, we sometimes
brought peanut butter and bananas. I still like the combination.
I gave my daughter songs and what not that
we had during the war. I didn't expect to be here this long and I
wanted them preserved. I hope that she has them. I remember
the pot belly stove that it did get pretty hot. Some of the other
thing you mentioned I don'[t at this time recall. I'll have to get
out my reading certificate. After High School I would visit my Father
Chubb. He couldn't get over the fact that I went to bed with a book.
Even to this day I read.
I personally didn't know that many people.
Towards Little Utica, I remember Lacy and Uncle Dan.
The other way You, Cooks, and Pralls, Lower
or (Lauer?) Stacy. Lukes, Anthony, Hubbard, Hogoboon later Hodge, Woodruff,
later Larrabee. Whipple (now Hubbard). Elder Larabee family
on the Jacksonville road lived Howard Johnson.
I remember Mrs. Wilcox insisting on our
singing. I always had a frog in my throat and I was so embarrassed.
Then I decided that if Mrs. Wilcox could screech so could I. I loved Mrs.
Wilcox more than all my teachers... She was very special.
More
of my memories that I shared with Gloria Stewart.
~Diane Dickinson Titus
I vaguely remember the
play. Can you tell me more? Were we cooking in a skit and pretending? Did
you ever have a crepe paper dress? I had one made for one of the skits
we did. Unbelievable to have a dress of crepe paper. Do you remember cutting
out the sailors, soldiers and men that were like 2 papers long? We pasted
them together. The legs were
on one sheet and upper torso on another?
I think the patterns were from the Instructor.
And the morning exercises
where we sang several songs and pledge to flag. What songs do you remember?
Do you think we can recreate names of people up and down the road who attended
Eight Notes School? I could from 1930 census. Do you remember
who used to bring what kind of sandwiches? Seems like we used to
trade. Did you put bananas and peanut butter together? I used to
like plain mustard sandwiches. Did we ever bring thermoses?
Can you
remember the smell of mittens and boots drying next to pot belly stove?
And do you remember new books to read in 2nd grade? I think it had
colors in it.
I always listened
to the upper grades recite. I learned a lot listening. And
those seats that 3 people could sit together in. And trying to be
first on the first day of school so you could get a favorite seat. And
new long pencils. Mine used to get very small after use. Did you ever eat
paste? It was quite good. And the visit from the superintendent--
Mr. Gardner.
Do you remember
sitting in the tree down the hill that had gum like resin seeping from
it? I don't ever remember being afraid. I do remember a big
windstorm and Rod and I had to hang onto trees to keep from being blown
away. I also remember spring thaws on the dirt road and driving a
car was nearly impossible unless it had frozen hard.
The
enclosed correspondence is from Mary Chubb Clapper who attended
Eight Notes School around 1940-45.
Good
old eight notes Yes I remember those games well/ I think we also
played tug of war. Dear old Miss Parlow. Do you remember the time I got
stung by a bee. I had long braids and a bee got in my hair,
and I couldn't get it out. It kept stinging
me. I ran in the school, the outhouse and all around the school. No Miss
Parlow. Finally she appeared and said, "what is wrong"? I said "where
were you,I got stung by a bee and it hurts"? Of course I was crying.
She said dear I was right here. I think we both know, now that I
am older, where she and Charlie both were.
Also
your brother Wayne use to like to tip my seat up when I sat in front of
him. Of course I had a big mouth and told that he was tipping my
seat up. This one day he thought he would get away with something
and covered my mouth with his hand. Unfortunately I had a cold and
blew my nose in his hand and he told on me.
Remember
the Ipana toothpaste that we use to get. And the Lower boy would
eat it. After I got older I felt sorry for that family. They
had so little.
The
memories below are some of mine that was in the correspondence to Mary
Chubb Clapper.
Diane
Titus.
Yes,
those were the good days. Were you referring Charlie as to
the liquor? I think Miss Parlow must have imbibed a bit. Was
it Richard Joslin who discovered a bottle in her drawer? I
remember she did not ring the bell for us to come in after lunch so we
stayed playing. What wild times we had running about.
My mother came up to school pushing the baby buggy all that way.
I knew if my mother did that she was
steaming mad. We kids probably told all these stories when we got
home. I remember cheating in my math and going to the girls cloak
room to find the book that had answers in it. I never was great in
math. Do you suppose that is why.
Do you remember Miss Merriam and how little she was? I remember her
searching the pockets of one of the big boys and he
had lots of pockets in his blue jeans. I think it was Richard Joslyn.
My brother Rod was usually in trouble , too. He tells stories about
the escapades.
I remember the teacher washing his mouth with soap so he blew bubbles with
it. My sister's ex husband lives where the schoolhouse is.
He used the bldg as a frame shop. It may be for sale by now.
I remember coloring pictures
for the windows for each month. ( think I will get in touch with
Junior Prall and see if I can get his recollections. He
came to one of our reunions agouti 7 years ago.
Yes the Lowers were really poor and my brothers used to scare Carl on purpose.
Do you remember the Violandos? They lived in a little house
just down the road going by Tony Patsy's. They made
delicious cakes when we had picnics. My younger sisters went
to the other school over by Jacksonville road. And they went to Phoenix
rather than Fulton for high school.
It
is fun reminiscing. What books do you remember at school? What
songs do you remember?
What games do you remember playing at Eight Notes? Fox and
Geese in the winter and prisoners base? Seems like one game called
Mother may I and Red Rover.
Mrs. Wilcox really helped get us through our studies I think. We
had slacked off under Miss Parlow.
~Diane
Dickinson Titus
Notes
Stanley
Dickinson sent me about Eight Notes School
I had forgotten to include this testimony
about Eight Note School given by Stanley Dickinson who attended school
there in the 1940's. Diane Titus
Memories of a
One room school
In winter we would bring a large raw potato
and a healthy chunk of butter wrapped in wax paper. The teacher would put
the potato on the top of the coal burning stove so that by noon, we could
enjoy a baked potato.
Winter games at noon time { 1 hour}.
Sledding on the road east of the school-large
hill- no traffic, roads rarely sanded.
Fox and geese in field west of school
.
Stanley
Dickinson
