The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
2000-01 Project of Henderson County Retired Teachers Association (HCRTA)
This book continues from last week and was a project of the Henderson County Retired Teachers Association (HCRTA) by president Mary Alice Huntoon of Stronghurst who produced, between Nov. 13, 2000 and March 12, 2001, a storybook of “Memories” from retired teachers in the HCRTA organization. Ms. Huntoon asked HCRTA members to share things they remembered when teaching.
She also included any articles from the last ten HCRTA newsletters where people had shared “Teacher Spotlights” or articles about “Graham School $1.00”.
The Quill began the series on 12/29/2021 thanks to Ms. Huntoon.
HCRTA Members Included in the Memories Project
I entered the teaching field in the fall of 1937 after completing two years of college at Western Illinois State Normal School at Macomb.
During the spring of 1937, I walked across cornfields and pastures in Henderson County applying for teaching position in one of the rural schools. Nobody would hire a teacher without experience at that time, so I had to look for a job elsewhere. My college roommate was from Pleasant Plains and through her father and the help of a veterinarian I was able to land a teaching job in Morgan County. I was just past eighteen, had never slept in a feather bed (let alone made one), had to walk one and a half miles to school, learned how to bank a furnace fire and faced a group of twenty-six students for the paltry salary of $640.00 annually.
My first Christmas program was a disaster but I learned the value of quality over quantity.
I spent six years teaching in one-room schools in Sangamon and Morgan Counties. A vacancy developed in the Ashland Grade School and I spent two years there as a seventh grade teacher. I left Ashland a the end of World War II and taught for three years in the Burlington Elementary School.
In January 1959, I found myself a widow with four children varying in ages from three months to ten years old back at Carman surrounded by kind neighbors, old friends and family members.
I stuffed my twenty-year-old Limited States Elementary Certificate in my purse and made my way to the county superintendent’s office in Oquawka without realizing that this was the new superintendent’s first day there. I left my certificate and asked them to find out if it was any good. You guessed it! They lost it in the shuffle! About three years later the secretary from the office approached me at a political rally and gave me the good news regarding my old teaching certificate. They had found it!
I made my way back into the teaching arena and found myself developing the first remedial reading program at Media Wever Unit in February 1964.
With a heart full of terror, I pulled the fire alarm as the smoke trickled up between the floorboards of the firth grade building.
I transferred to Stronghurst as a fourth grade teacher after the consolidation of Media and Stronghurst and retired in May 1988 with thirty-six years of experience.
As I count my blessings I remember all the joys and rewards of serving as a classroom teacher.
Article from the “Henderson County Retired Teacher’s Newsletter”, Copy 2 Year 2000.
Ruby Steck is our spot light member for this issue.
She started teaching in the fall of 1937 at Berea School in Morgan County. She taught all eight grades in a one-room country school. Three eighth grade boys were taller than she but they were real helpers is in the classroom.
One of her big concerns was to get the fire started in the school wood stove. Where she lived it was a mile and a half away.
The yearly salary was $640.00 with only $80.00 per month as take home pay. The room and board cost her $1.00 per day. She stayed at the home of a board member, walked daily to school and only on bad weather days did she get a ride.
One of her first big projects was to open a charge account at Schrams to get a fur coat and kept this same charge account till the store closed.
Remembered an experience with the students of burying “Ain’t” in a matchbox out by the fencerow, never to be heard of again in the schoolhouse.
She stayed in the area until the end of World War II when she left to go to Burlington where she taught for three years.
Married and was widowed after ten years with four children. She moved to Media in 1965 and taught at Gladstone the same year. Fall of 1972 she started teaching in the fourth grade at the Stronghurst Grade School where she taught till retiring in 1988.
I had always wanted to be a teacher. My dream was — to be a teacher.
Later in life, age thirty-five, 1955 enrolled at Western Illinois University majoring in Home Economics with a minor in General Science. In 1957 obtained the provisional certificate for teaching at the elementary level.
During the 1958 and 1959-60 school years taught at Belmont, the last eight, grade school in Henderson County and continued summer studies at Western.
My memory highlights while at Belmont were the wonderful community people, their interest and fervor for education. The students wl. There were good times and tragic times.
One child lost his mother at seven years of age. At visitation he said to me, “I will need to depend on myself like you told me”. Years later a tall young man knocked at my door. I was glad to see him.
August 1960 I student taught at Galesburg High School in Home Economics. January 1, 1961 I began teaching Home Economics and General Science at Media High School.
Upon arrival I was also give the job of P.E. Instructor. The girls helped greatly with the additional P.E. job. I thoroughly enjoyed the high school students.
A memory highlight was the Home Economics Department three course sit down dinner for the Board of Education prepared and served solely by the students. The dinner and service were first class.
Meanwhile in the kitchen the wrong soap was used in the dishwasher causing the kitchen to fill with soapsuds. The students frantically bailed soapsuds out of the kitchen windows. All of this was happening as I was serenely enjoying a delightful meal. Wonderful students trying so very much to do a good job. Good memories.
During the sixties and seventies a cycle of change was occurring in education. The State Education Department was stressing Vocational Education, real life experiences, on the job training. Value teaching, work ethics setting of goals and developmental tasks were high priorities.
At Media the Vocational Program was small but on-the-job classes were taught. It was a beginning. At that time I became involved in Association work - Illinois Home Economics Association and later Illinois Vocational Association, State Vocational Advisory Council and other committees.
In 1968 I received my Master of Education Degree, University of Illinois, Champaign, Urbana. Major: Education. Minor: Home Economics.
The Media School District 103 merged with Southern Community Unit District 120 in Stronghurst in 1970. I was given the position of Vocational Coordinator and Home Economics teacher.
The Vocational Coordinator had the responsibility of writing the local vocational plan to be sent to the Illinois Vocational Education Department outlining the Vocational Programs at Southern.
These were home economics, food service, agricultural on-the-jog training, business job preparation, building trades, nursing program and beautician training. The Vocational Program at Southern also included the K-8 World of Work emphasis at the elementary level.
The State Education Vocational Department supported the Vocational Program at Southern. Part of my responsibility was to write grants and to supervise the programs including on-the-job visitations. One of the best life experiences was the Building Trades Program. Darrell Burrell and I met with the Southern Board of Education to propose a building trades program.
The board agreed to build a house every two years. It was a wonderful program. We built two houses, selling them at public sale. There are carpenters in the Henderson County area that learned their trade in this program.
The last five years of teaching was at Union School District as vocational coordinator, home economics teacher and two years general science. The Saturday and after school on-the-job visitations were interesting.
The State Education Vocational Department began to require that the local vocational program be placed on a computer program. That was my first experience with TRS80 Computers.
I’ve had wonderful experiences. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to be a teacher.