Everyone was excited about my first day of school except me. In the fall of 1945 I began grade school at Helton Elementary in Sturgills, NC. The big two story building looked very intimidating to a little six year old girl. It took all of my courage to climb the steps while the big iron bell was ringing overhead. When I stepped inside I did not know I was walking in the halls of history where so many students had passed through before me. The empty rooms upstairs seemed to hold echoes from the past.
Years later I learned the huge structure was the former Helton Academy, built by private citizens using their own resources. No state or local funds were available. Completed in 1902, it was the first high school in Ashe County. Professor S.W. Brown came from Alleghany County to teach. Young men and women arrived from all over Ashe County to study. They stayed at the boarding house next door or with families in the community. Many of them rode their horses to get there and those were kept on farms nearby. Then in the early 1930’s the Helton Academy was combined with Lansing High School, leaving the old building to serve as an elementary school for many years.
Miss Betty, my teacher, taught first and second grades. She was nice and I loved being there with the other children. Well, that didn’t last long. Two months later the county nurse came to check our health. She sent a note home to my parents. It said they should take me to Dr. Jones right away. Mom and Dad were surprised, but the nurse knew what was wrong. At recess we kids ran all over the place playing tag or hide and seek. Sometimes I fell down on the ground and lay there for awhile because my chest hurt. If I didn’t run it didn’t hurt, so I had not mentioned it to anyone. Mom and Dad took me to Doctor Jones’ office. He told my Mom to keep me at home the rest of the school year if the weather was bad at all. I could not even go outside if it was raining. And be sure I took the medicine he gave me every day. Oh, but that’s another story, let’s get back to school.
In the fall of 1946 I was back in Miss Betty’s room ready to start first grade again, eager to learn more about ABCs and numbers. Miss Betty used chalk to write them on the blackboard. Letters became words and numbers became simple arithmetic. We pupils sat at our wooden desks and copied them on our wide ruled paper using large lead pencils. At the end of the day the blackboard was wiped clean with an eraser, but we kept our papers to study. We learned to read the little storybooks about Dick, Jane and Spot the Dog. They always had lots of fun.
In the third and fourth grade I was in Miss Alta’s class. She taught us more about reading, writing and arithmetic and encouraged us to read library books. The work was harder, but the rewards were great. February 14th might have been just another winter day if Ms. Alta had not brought joy to us. On her desk there was a big box covered in pink paper. Red hearts were glued on to make it pretty. We students dropped our Valentine’s cards in to be given out later. Everyone hoped to get the biggest Valentine from their best friend. I still have a favorite Valentine from my best friend, Kay. It’s a big skunk.
Mr. Guy, the principal, taught grades five, six and seven. He opened up the world for us through the studies of geography and history. One of the library books I read was about the Lewis & Clark expedition. The report I gave on it included my crayon drawing of Sacagawea, their Indian woman guide. On Friday afternoons we had programs. One day a man and woman came. He played the accordion and they sang. Then they used a felt board and figures to tell a Bible story. I loved that.
While our classrooms smelled like chalk, glue, books and a bunch of wiggledy kids there was always a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen where Miss Ettie was preparing our lunch. Whether it was apple crisp, vegetable soup or pinto beans and cornbread – it was all good. Families who had children in school there often brought bushels of apples, potatoes, beans or other produce to help pay for their child’s lunch.
Miss Ettie was always smiling when she came to Mr. Guy’s room to get a student to help her with chores. Sometimes she chose me. I sorted pounds of dried pintos, getting out small gravel and stems. The beans were soaked in water overnight and cooked the next morning in time for our lunch. Miss Ettie was good at telling booger stories while we worked. She would tell of a dark hairy figure creeping up the stairs while the family slept. Then she would send me into the pantry to get things for her. You see, the problem was it was dark in there. Could I make it to the center of the room and find the string to pull the light on before Miss Ettie’s booger grabbed me? And then, when I turned the light off, could I make it back to the door before it was too late?!? I laugh about it now, but at the time I was scared. Everybody liked Miss Ettie.
Those are my precious memories of attending Helton Elementary School. To sum it up, that is where I learned to love stories, books, programs and food…and I still do.
