Dixon Springs School
circa
1929-30
A Class History
Submitted
by Fran Cutrell Rutkovsky
Comments or Questions CLICK HERE
This story was written by my mother, Josephine
Highers Cutrell,
for her 8th grade graduation from Dixon Springs
School, circa 1929-30.
It is unedited for spelling and punctuation.
--------------------------
Class History
Friends and classmates I will now read to you a few pages from the
history of our class. One bright September morning we hied ourselves away to
school with a greater zest and a new eagerness. We felt ourselves above certain
younger ones who belonged to the fourth
grade, for we were to sit in the big room.
However the bigness had reference to the size and grades of the pupils.
This was indeed an accomplishment. We had passed at least one milestone on the
road to education. Ruby Law, Will T. Hines, Frank Garrett and I made up the
class. Mrs. Allen was our teacher that year. We selected our places found new
"parking" space for our chewing gum, nice broad backs behind which to
hide and settled our selves for a good time. But alas! the bubble soon burst,
we found that we must take seats in front of the larger folks and that we were
expected to do some studing. Arithmetic was such a bother and took up so much
of our valuable time to say nothing of English Spelling and Geography. We found
out that coffee come from Brazil,
That it is very hot in Chile and that there are a lot more countries in South
America with cities too hard for anyone to remember. Besides we couldn't see
why the world war had to come along and add a lot more countries to Europe when
there were more on the old map than any class could ever remember. Everyone
seemed to think there will not be another war and we certainly hoped there
would not be. The idea of expecting folks to learn JugoSlavia Czechoslavia and
any such names but the teacher was very patient and kind and didn't
seem to mind at all staying in at recess time to help us with the things we
just couldn't remember.
The next year brought us a bigger geography, that made such a good
hiding place if one just couldn't wait until recess for a piece of candy or a
bite of apple. and too that year brought us a new teacher Mrs. Wilson by name.
She had gray hair and wore glasses and we hoped
she wouldn't see any to well. Along with the new teacher we acquired some new
members for our class. Irene Phillips decided it would be better to come down
the creek than to go up Maces Hill School. We are so glad the did too for she
has been one of our faithful members--and that year brought us a new boy too. A
rather tall black headed fellow he was. He signed his name James Morgan
Phillips and he too has been faithful unto the end.
So much more seemed to be
expected of us each year. Think of keeping up with all the parts of speech--of
dividing up sentences to see how many parts they had. It just seems so much
trouble. But in spite of (torn, illegible) - nobody left behind. The next sixth
grade may take and use the thing we didn't learn. Seventh grade found us intact
and no new members.
History had become one of the many things added or that we were expected
to learn. I don't see why we had to have so many wars any way then there
wouldn't be so much history to learn. We found that Washington was our first
president that Lee was our greatest southern general and Ruby Law learned that
all great men died.
Of course this was an important year but was not such an eventful one.
After being worried with lessons every day harassed with tests each month and
tortured with final exams we were given our promotion to eighth grade.
Then came the big year that means so
much in the history of our class.
We still had Mrs. Wilson to guide us in paths of deeper study all the while.
James got a late start because of the drought, the tobacco crop, and
various other things that turned his feet from the paths of knowledge. Things
ran along in a rather even tenor for a time. The usual run of history, geography,
English, with civics and constitution thrown in for good measure.
November was ushured in and instead of the usual chill there came a
certain brightness and warmth. A new girl had come to our group. The boys
immediately christened her "Red" but to the teachers and the girls
she was Mary Frances. The average daily attendance of the boys for that month
showed a slight increase. The lost combs were searched out the drugstores was
beseiged for hairoil; overalls and jumpers were replaced with neater looking
sweaters and trousers and school went along. The newcomer however soon showed
us that she could set the pace for work as well as for play and in time soon
took her place at the head of the class.
Next came the announcement that there would be uniform examinations this
year with questions made by the superintendant. We wondered if he would be able
to spring any thing new under the sun in the way of questions; but we decided
that if he could think of anything Teacher hadn't already asked us he was just
welcome. Well he did his work and we did our best and here we are tonight but
how? The End
Josephine Highers
--------------
NOTE: Josephine can be seen on the family page below
in the photo of “Ella Frances Miller Highers and Children“
Go To Simon Claiborne and Ella
Frances Miller Highers Pictures
Dixon Springs School Pictures can
also be seen on the page below:
Go To Dixon Springs School
Pictures