Discovering the USA

By the time I retired, I had visited as many countries as I had visited states of the United States.  I felt as though I had missed an opportunity to see as much of our country as possible.  During our mission to visit all of the Major League Baseball parks, my husband and I visited some additional states.  But we still had more to go.  

So in 2014 and 2015 we set out on a new mission to visit the rest of the United States.  During the eighteen months I saw more and learned more about our country than I did during my formal education.  What I saw and experienced gave me a greater appreciation of our country, its different landscapes and its diversity of people and cultures.  In June 2014 we covered the Great Plains.  The fall of 2014 we covered the southern states with an emphasis on the Civil Rights historic sites.  In March 2015 we spent a week in Hawaii and in June 2015 we spent a week in Alaska.  We completed our mission!  Thanks to my husband for helping make this possible; sharing the experience made it more meaningful.

But there are places we would like to revisit and places we missed.  So we are creating a new list...

My First Job

I had the privilege of attending Forman Elementary School from August 1958 to June 1965.  I have no idea how I would have accomplished what I have without the fundamentals and foundation give me during my years there. But beyond the education I received there were many life lessons I got there.  One of the most important was working in the school kitchen after lunch and before the afternoon session when I was in the fourth through seventh grades.

The school cook throughout my entire seven years at Forman was Mrs. Clara May Davis, Miss Tally to the students.  She was an amazing cook and an integral part of the overall school experience.  Once I was tall enough and responsible enough (in the fourth grade) I spent a large part of my lunch time washing the trays, flatware, pots and pans used to create the excellent lunches we had.

 

While I had learned how to wash dishes at home after dinner each night, I got to learn about how important it was to sterilize everything in a kitchen meant to serve many.  It was Ms. Tally who trained us to help her ensure we maintained a very clean kitchen.  She was very fair in critiquing our work and for the additional education we received.  I learned how to prepare for more a banquet as well as a dinner party.  That extra thirty minutes of practical education made taking Home Economics in high school a breeze.

Ms. Tally was a valuable role model for me! 

My First Wish

When I was four years old the only thing I wanted to do was read like my older cousin.  I was so impressed with someone close to my age (not some adult) being able to look at a book and make the story come alive.  Whenever we visited my sister would always ask him to read to us her favorite story:  “Paul Revere's Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The words were burned into my memory from hearing it so often.  But I just wanted to be able to read!

My parents promised me that I would learn to read as soon as I started school.  So when I turned five years old I got even more excited.  In the fall of 1958 my wish would come true.  I started the first grade at Forman Elementary School and my teacher was Mrs. June Inskeep.  My parents were friends of the Inskeeps; so they knew they were putting me in good hands.  I really liked her because she had two extremely long braids that she wound around her head like a crown.  I had braids, too!

I was so thrilled to be learning to read and write that I couldn’t wait to get home each day and teach my little sister everything I had learned that day.  (No wonder she is much smarter than me!)  

But it turned out that reading was quite a challenge for me.  Before dyslexia was well understood in rural West Virginia, Mrs. Inskeep recognized my problem and came up with creative ways to help me work around it.  The techniques she taught me ensured I was never behind the other students and my desire to read was not affected.  During the summer I loved having access to the bookmobile so I could continue with my reading until school started again.

I will also not forget the night she came to our house when I was in the second grade, encouraged my parents to go to Medley and purchase the World Book encyclopedia and Childcraft books for us.  She even sat with my sister, brother, and I so they could go.  Those books turned out to be a significant enhancement to our education even through high school. 

I soon realized how important reading was to learning.  I needed to read well to do spelling and writing, math and science, history and geography.  Beyond making learning fun, Mrs. Inskeep also gave us an opportunity to exercise our creative, artistic talents with Halloween carnivals and special programs.

What I now find so amazing is how in six hours a day she was able to teach three grades with typically ten students in each grade in one room!  During the most important years of a child’s formal education she managed to put each of her students on a course to success.  The environment Mrs. Inskeep created for her students made it easier for them to learn and built their self-esteem.  We in turn gave her the respect she deserved.  I will forever be grateful for having her as my first teacher.