Back to School

After we were settled in our old house, I decided to go back to school after Christmas break. My teacher was Mr. Earnest Gunson, a tall, good-looking guy, I thought the world's greatest. He pampered me and told me if I did not miss a day, I would receive the same reward as those who attended every day all year.

Mr. Gunson had what we called "nickle pencils." We all had penny ones. He would let me use his pencil, and to me that was super. He kept his promise too. I went every day and I received a gift. It was a nice little Bible. I cherished it so.

The next year we changed teachers and I passed two grades in one year. That made up for my late start. School was a breeze after that.

We played lots of games at school, softball, fox and hound, and one odd game called "getting the sheep out of their pen." We drew a large circle on the ground. All sheep were inside. The shepherd came in on one foot and tried to push the sheep over the line. One foot outside and the sheep were shephards, trying to help catch the rest. That was a real fun time.

At home we played marbles, horseshoes, and jump rope. But our favorite was "paddle and wheel." Our paddle was a piece of wood, whch fit our hand and height, with a crossbar at the bottom and a hub ring from a wagon wheel for the "wheel." We became very proficient at rolling this, even in very deep wagon ruts. By picking it up with the paddle and starting it without touching it with your hand, it was possible, if you were good, to keep it rolling for a mile or two. We often rolled them to the grocery store a mile away.