Pauline Roberts Nelson, my Mama, went to Kimball school in 1937. She was born the year of the depression, 1929. Times were tough then. She came from a big family. Everyone had to help just to survive. She went to school whenever she could but when the crops came in they had to help in the fields. There wasn't time to go to school if there was more pressing things to do. She did good in school, though, when she got to go. She had A's, B's and a few C's. She would say that during those times you wore what you had. You didn't have to have the latest styles. You wore whatever would fit. And if it didn't fit you any more, it probably fit your younger sister. If you had a sweater that had a hole in the sleeve, you just folded that sweater in a way that the hole didn't show! One time after a Christmas party at school, the teacher gave their family the tree to take home with them so they could have a tree for Christmas. And they were happy to get a nice, shiny red apple and maybe an orange for Christmas. Her Dad would buy one of those big peppermint sticks and break off chunks of it for them to eat. Pauline loved the reading class when she went to school. She loved it because she could get lost in another world when she would read. Recess was a lot of fun too. You could skip rope, play hop scotch, play jacks, shoot marbles or play the game "rolling a scotch". Rolling a scotch was when you took a piece of wire with a u-shaped hook on the end and pushed a wheel around with it. You would try to keep the wheel going as long as you could. You would use a wood wagon wheel about twelve inches big if you had it. Also, another fun thing to do would be to take the lid off the lard can and use it for what is known as "frisbee" today. Lard came in an eight pound bucket and the lid was metal so this was perfect to throw. When you came in from school, you changed to your play clothes. You kept your best clothes for school. Pauline and her sisters and brothers had a very talented mother who could sew anything! All she had to do was look at something in the Sears catalog and she could make it. Flour sacks made some good dresses and shirts. She could write really pretty, too. Her name was Bertha Lillian Chaudoin. She went to school at the Sam Houston Academy. Her teacher in the sixth grade was J.N. Sadler. This was in Dec. 1912. She later married John W. Roberts. She wrote deeds for a family member who was in the courthouse. Her sister, Eunice Chaudoin, who married a Graham, was a teacher. She was first a student and later a teacher at Sam Houston Academy. Yes, times were tough then, but it made people who were strong-willed and smart in a way that no book can teach you.

I also went to Kimball school - the first through 5th grade. One of our big recess activities was playing "annie over" behind the school and "over" the coal shed. We also played a lot of dodge ball and "breakup". Some of you will know what those games were. My mother felt like I needed to be acclimated to the big city before I hit high school so I was sent to South Pittsburg Elementary for the 6th grade. There were two 6th grade classes A and B(smart and dumb). In reality the two classes were A for the white collar and well to do families of South Pitt and B for the poorer kids and the country kids. There was very little political correctness in those days. I was in B and Mrs. Nation was by teacher. She was the sister of Galen(sp?) Story who was later my math teacher in high school and my favorite teacher of all time. Mrs. Hewgley taught A and in later times she and her family became close friends with my family. Her husband was Bill Hewgley who was my science teacher in High School. Shelia wrote: > Pauline Roberts Nelson, my Mama, went to Kimball school in 1937. She was > born the year of the depression, 1929. Times were tough then. She came > from a big family. Everyone had to help just to survive. She went to > school whenever she could but when the crops came in they had to help in > the fields. There wasn't time to go to school if there was more pressing > things to do. She did good in school, though, when she got to go. She > had A's, B's and a few C's. She would say that during those times you > wore what you had. You didn't have to have the latest styles. You wore > whatever would fit. And if it didn't fit you any more, it probably fit > your younger sister. If you had a sweater that had a hole in the sleeve, > you just folded that sweater in a way that the hole didn't show! One > time after a Christmas party at school, the teacher gave their family > the tree to take home with them so they could have a tree for Christmas. > And they were happy to get a nice, shiny red apple and maybe an orange > for Christmas. Her Dad would buy one of those big peppermint sticks and > break off chunks of it for them to eat. Pauline > loved the reading class when she went to school. She loved it because > she could get lost in another world when she would read. Recess was a > lot of fun too. You could skip rope, play hop scotch, play jacks, shoot > marbles or play the game "rolling a scotch". Rolling a scotch was when > you took a piece of wire with a u-shaped hook on the end and pushed a > wheel around with it. You would try to keep the wheel going as long as > you could. You would use a wood wagon wheel about twelve inches big if > you had it. Also, another fun thing to do would be to take the lid off > the lard can and use it for what is known as "frisbee" today. Lard came > in an eight pound bucket and the lid was metal so this was perfect to > throw. When you came in from school, you changed to your play > clothes. You kept your best clothes for school. Pauline and her sisters > and brothers had a very talented mother who could sew anything! All she > had to do was look at something in the Sears catalog and she could make > it. Flour sacks made some good dresses and shirts. She could write > really pretty, too. Her name was Bertha Lillian Chaudoin. She went to > school at the Sam Houston Academy. Her teacher in the sixth grade was > J.N. Sadler. This was in Dec. 1912. She later married John W. Roberts. > She wrote deeds for a family member who was in the courthouse. Her > sister, Eunice Chaudoin, who married a Graham, was a teacher. She was > first a student and later a teacher at Sam Houston Academy. Yes, > times were tough then, but it made people who were strong-willed and > smart in a way that no book can teach you. > > > > > > > > ==== TNMARION Mailing List ==== > *********************************************************************** > PLEASE NOTE: This list is for queries and replies, comments, > requests for help, and other genealogical related information > that is of interest to researchers having a connection or a > possible connection to Marion County, Tennessee. There is no > soliciting or advertising of any item or service for sale allowed. > Betty McBee - list administrator-- [email protected] . > Marion County Web Site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnmario2/ > *********************************************************************** > > ============================== > New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429