School Days of Shiloh Elementary School: September 2008

I was five and Don my brother was seven. Mother had left us to stay with our sister Shirley, who was eleven. Shirley was sick and in bed. The rest of the family was in the field picking cotton. Don was playing with matches. Mother had washed some sheet and hung them up by the fireplace to dry. Don caught the sheets on fire . He told Shirley and when help arrived it was to late to save anything but ourselves. I got blame along with Don for playing with matches. We moved into our neighbor’s big old house. It was not home. Jim Ellis Wiginton let us live in the house till Dad and neighbors built the house back in the same place. Bobby was oldest brother at home and he stayed everal Month to help Dad build the house. People didn’t have insurance on their homes and you were thankful for the caring relatives and friends in your neighborhood.

The school had what they called a “Box Supper” to raise money for the school. I remember riding the bus with Daddy as he picked up the children for this special event. I had on my Sunday dress for the night and my Box decorated with beautiful ribbons and bow. They would auction the boxes and if it was really decorated nicely they would get a nice price for the box. Whoever bought your box then you had to eat with that person. This I did not like and I am sure my mother had a wonderful lunch with homemade apple pie, but I was to scared to eat. I would have went missing if Daddy had not been there. I was glad when it was over and I was back on the bus heading for home. We had a big room in back of Mrs. Self’s class room with a long wide hall between the two classes that led to the stage room. This room looked so big to us as a child. This is where all special events were held. There was a coke machine between the two classes. On Special Occasion our parents would give us a dime to buy a coke.

This was an exciting year when you graduated from
the second grade to the third grade. Mrs. Edna Harper
taught the third and fourth grade. Mrs. Harper love to
work with her class in decorating for the holidays. I
remember decorating for the Christmas holiday as if it
was yesterday. Mrs. Harper went to the woods and cut a tree and she would let us made ornaments to put on the tree. We made roping out of popcorn and we colored white sheets of paper and cut them into small rings and glued them together. Our class drew names and you bought a gift at our Christmas party for the name that you picked. The girls would always get coloring book and colors or jacks. The girls would set in the floor and play jacks and if you didn’t like to play jacks then you colored. The boys would play in the other corner with marvels. I didn’t play marvel at school, but would play at home with Don when we wasn’t playing cowboys and Indians. Don was in the 5th grade when I was in the 3rd grade and Mr. Harper was his teacher.

In the spring the student came to school ‘barefooted”, that is why our heal are so tough today. As a child this was fun and I remember the girls would play jump rope between the two big trees that were in front of the school.. Some days we would
play softball.
My sister Audrey would always do my hair for school pictures. She loved doing hair and later in her junior and senior year she worked in Mrs. Edna Beauty shop.

It was time to graduate to Mr. Harper class. He was principal of the school as well as teacher of the 5th and 6th grade.

In the spring the student came to school ‘barefooted”,
that is why our heal are so tough today. As a child this
was fun and I remember the girls would play jump rope
between the two big oak trees that were in front of the school. Some days we would play softball. My sister Audrey would always do my hair for school pictures. She loved doing hair and late in her junior and senior year she
worked in Mrs. Edna Beauty shop. It was time to graduate to
Mr. Emit Harper's class. He was principal of the school as
well as teacher of the 5th and 6th grade.