School Days; A Memoir; Final Installment

Part One; Part Two; Part Three

Sharon; Senior Picture, 1962

Looking Back; School Days

The Town of Orwell never provided a four year high school. There were two years offered when I entered the 9^th grade in the 1958-'59 school year. Mr. John Kelly, the school principal, taught all the classes. There was no real grade division in the subjects; one year world history would be taught, the next year civics. The math class during my 9^th [and only] year there was Algebra I, and my math comprehension went into a permanent decline.

Students who were following the 'college course' expecting to continue education after high school graduation or chose instead a 'commercial course' had to travel out of town to one of the area 4 year high schools. My mother, Beulah Lewis Desjadon, had graduated from Brandon High School as Salutatorian and went from there to the two year teachers' training course then offered at Castleton Normal School [later Castleton College.] It was her hope and expectation that I would also prepare for a teaching career. By this time I had misgivings as to my suitability for teaching, but the college prep course offered the best options.

In earlier decades young people studying out of town had to board within walking distance of the high school of their choice, an added expense for parents. By the late 1950's and early 1960's the option was to find a ride to Brandon with an older student whose family had provided their recently licensed offspring with a car, or as happened for my sister and me, the opportunity to wait on the corner of Young RD and Rte 73 for a teacher who taught in the Brandon Elementary School.

In Brandon we were let out at the foot of the hill to trudge, book bags slapping at our hips, up the street to the three story brick building which was little changed since my Mother's school days.

The adjustment required for this transition wasn't as surprising as the earlier one although there was now the challenge of a different instructor for each class, bells ringing to signal the ending of a session, the march up and down stairs to the next classroom. Student traffic was marshaled in one direction: one's next scheduled class might be in the adjoining room, but to avoid traffic jams one merged with the throng thumping through halls and crowded staircases wheeling off when the designated room came in sight.

I was again in band—a marching band this time—and in chorus. My best friend from home, Linda, was there and I made casual friends among some of the other quiet girls, most of whom had come in from the outlying smaller towns.

The schedule was grueling; we had to be at the corner to catch our ride at 7:30, arriving home after 4 p.m. Supper, homework, bedtime and trying to fall asleep before midnight in preparation for doing it 5 days per week.

In 1961 Brandon High School joined the newly created Otter Valley Union District; Orwell assigned its students to Fair Haven Union High School. My senior year was spent there, my 4^th school although I had never moved from home.

I was weary of school. The past two years of high school with the early morning commute, the long hours, had worn me down physically. I had ordered a few college catalogs, although I now recognized that college tuition would place a heavy strain on my parents. My pitiful scores in Algebra I and Plane Geometry had kept me from the Honor Roll so in spite of my high scores in subjects that required proficiency in reading and writing I was no candidate for a scholarship. I had also realized that I was not teacher material. I leaned toward the idea of becoming a librarian, but was surprised to learn that unlike the women who had served in that position in our small towns, to be considered for the job at any paying level required a college degree.

So, I was without plans for any scholastic future.

When I signed up for senior classes at Fair Haven I found I already had finished all the requirements to graduate there other than English IV. A schedule was made up for me: English IV; Latin II; Home Ec; Personal Typing, Speed Reading; Geography. Several of these classes were mainly populated by Juniors and Sophomores. The young man I would later marry sat in Geography class, as did my younger sister.

Fair Haven is a border town as are several of the towns in the union district. Many of the area students' grandparents and parents were Welsh, a few were Polish, families who had come to the US to work in the slate and marble quarries. It was a more 'blue collar' background with friendships and associations more recently formed. I knew most of the students on the high school bus, made connections with others who likewise were bussed in from surrounding towns.

I wasn't unhappy there but it felt like a rather plodding final year.

A few incidents stand out in memory. One happened as a result of English IV. 

The teacher, Mrs. Margaret Onion, treated us [we were told] as we could expect to be treated if we went on to college. She was formidable! We read Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Macbeth. We also took on Pygmalion which had been popularized as My Fair Lady.

Pygmalion was read aloud in class with the parts assigned on the spot. Mrs Onion called on me to read the part of the waifish and inelegant Eliza Doolittle.

I was horrified, the 'new girl' in class! After a moment of near panic I decided that if I must be Eliza I would do it with flair! I still have a recalled sense of satisfaction that I, the quiet little mouse, portrayed Eliza in a way that caught the attention of both teacher and classmates. As class dispersed at the sound of the bell, a girl I knew only by name approached me offering an invitation to join the Drama Club.

After school 'extra activities' would have meant catching the 'late bus' home. It would have meant endless rehearsal time. It would have meant eventual public performances something I couldn't have faced at that time.

I didn't volunteer to be a pianist for the chorus group rehearsals; a good friend from Orwell suggested it when the music instructor rose from the piano stating in frustration that she couldn't both direct effectively and play accompaniments. I was excused from other classes on music days to pound out tenor or alto parts for a learning session. I took home music scores so I could learn the more difficult piano accompaniments. I prayed for the good health of the girl who was the usual pianist for school concerts.

I graduated, not with honors due to my lack of proficiency in math, but placed respectably in the top third of the group.

I worked a summer job as I had since I was 16. Another job in a small local business saw me through the winter and spring. My Mother warned that I needed further education, 'something to fall back on' as she put it. Academically, in spite of my aversion to math, I was qualified to attend college. In terms of physical stamina and emotional maturity and discernment I suspect I would have been adrift in the college environment of the 1960's.

The subject background and the study habits I formed during elementary and high school have served me well. I am still often 'lost in a book' or in research of those subjects that interest me.

I'm still at my best and most comfortable in a small group of friends, family and acquaintances who enjoy the sharing of ideas, interests and knowledge.