South Ward Days
By Jonna Bridgman
Special to the Dalhart Texan
My small family had lived in the Coldwater community until time for me to start school. As I was an only child, I have become the keeper of my family’s past. If I’m not sure about a memory, usually there is no one to ask about details. So, if I make them up, nobody will know. In my writing, I do try to have everything correct.
When it was time for me to start school, my parents learned that I would have to ride around one hundred miles on the bus every day. At that time, our farmhouse was in the Dalhart School District. A decision was made to find a house in Dalhart. Why not Texline or Boise City? First of all Boise City is in a different state. We had been driving to Dalhart every Sunday for church so that city was the obvious choice. The home my parents bought was a very small “Rock Island” house. These houses were originally on the north part of Dalhart and had been built to house railroad workers after the war. At first, there were two of these houses on each lot. Eventually, the houses on the rear were moved to other parts of town. The houses on the front are still located near the North Ward School building. I remember when my parents and I first went to look at our new home. I had just received a pair of roller skates for my birthday. I had the big idea that it would be fun to skate inside the house. Mother put a stop to that!
As our fairly new Scott street home was in the south part of Dalhart, my first school would be South Ward, located on the five hundred block of Conlen. This building is no longer there. If you are interested in what it looked like, look at the North Ward building on Dallam Street. South Ward and North Ward were almost twin buildings, built in 1922. Any student wanting to eat the school lunch had to ride a bus to North Ward. I don’t remember ever doing that. The lunch room at North Ward is still there, probably an old barracks building. After South Ward was demolished, Wes Purdy bought the property and built his home there.
My first grade teacher was Mrs. Banner. Unlike the high school students of today, we always called our teachers Mrs., Miss, or Mr. Our principal was Mr. (George) Thomas. For some reason Mr. Thomas was missing one of his thumbs. I never did learn why. I remember him telling us in assembly how important the thumb is. I also remember hearing him say at the end of the school year that he wanted us to be very careful during the summer because he wanted to see all the returning students when school started in the fall.
The South Ward building was not air conditioned while I was there. I don’t remember being too hot, but of course the windows could be opened. We didn’t even have ceiling fans.
The school building had blackboards, chalk, and erasers. A fun activity was to get picked to clean the erasers. We would go outside and hit the eraser against the brick wall. Students today don’t know what fun they’re missing.
Girls usually could not wear pants at South Ward. I remember having to wear pants under my skirt. I hated it! There was at least one exception to the rule in our home. My mother made me an outfit which included petal pushers and a matching top. The fabric was green and gray stripes going across. Some boy teasingly called me a jailbird. I never wanted to wear that outfit again. Boys wore jeans with the pant leg rolled up. That way, the boy didn’t outgrow them so quickly.
The auditorium, principal’s office, and library were on the top floor of the building.
The library was tied with the cement outside as my favorite place to be. Outside, in good weather, I could roller skate. In the library, I could find hours of entertainment, no matter the weather. I was the kind of kid who would hide under the covers at night with a flashlight in order to read. I still enjoy reading. The basics in South Ward led to a lifetime of enjoyment. .
My first grade classroom was on the bottom floor on the north side of the building. Back in that day, students never learned the ABC’s, numbers, etc., before starting to first grade. That is what school and the teacher was for. I had a hard time in school because I had not been around other kids very much. Now we would say that my social skills were lacking.
Mrs. Bradley was my second grade teacher. The Bradleys never had children. I thought she was harsh. I had Mrs. Banner in the third grade–again. I will always remember her as being kind. She had a son, Roger, in the same grade. He was also nice.
On to fourth grade we went, which was upstairs on the south side of the building. My teacher was Mrs. Overstreet who, at that time, did not have children. We heard about the other fourth grade teacher, Mrs. O’Neal. She did things that would get a teacher fired today! She would smack a student on the hand with a ruler. In Mrs. Overstreet’s class we were assigned a project of creating native American houses. I managed to make an igloo, with my mother doing most of the work. I remember in the fourth grade, also, having to stay in during recess because I hadn’t finished my math. I never was any good at math. In the fifth grade I had Mrs. Herald. She took an extra interest in me because my mother and her had gone to college together. Mr. and Mrs. Herald never had children, but I think she would have been a good mother. She would read poetry to us. After more than sixty years I still can recite the first lines of one poem. “The Pirate Don Durk of DowDee” has remained a favorite of mine. I credit Mrs. Herald with turning my school career around. The bathrooms in South Ward were a terror to me. The “gravity flow water closet” had a tank installed close to the ceiling. A pipe connected to the bottom. The toilet flushed by way of a chain that hung down from the tank. I was afraid of this setup. So, to avoid an accident at school, my parents would come get me for lunch mainly to go to the bathroom! (Yes, I was spoiled, but knew I was loved.) Occasionally I would take my lunch. I had a Hopalong Cassidy lunch box. My mother had put my name on it with fingernail polish. The students who brought lunch ate in one of the classrooms. Here my shyness appeared again.
I had few friends while in grade school. I met Prudence while playing near the slide. We became lifelong friends. My friend Carol was very special. I would go with her to the Dr. Pepper bottling plant that her dad owned. I can still hear (in my mind) the sound of the bottles clinking while being filled. Another friend, Sandy, lived across the street from the school. I envied her because she could easily walk home for lunch (and for the bathroom). Around the time I was in the fifth grade, I decided to drop my middle name, Lu. It has been a lifetime fight. Now, when I hear someone call me Jonna Lu, it’s comforting because they have known me all my life. Many spell Lu wrong. Most spell it Lou. Carol, Roger, and I each took piano lessons from Miss Pound who lived across the street from the school. My turn was before Carol’s and our lessons cost a whole seventy-five cents! Across the street south of the school was a building called the “Little Green Store.” If a student had some change, he could buy a candy bar or many other items, all sweet. Oh, that sugar rush! The two sixth grade classrooms were on the north side of the block. These were “huts” which had been hurriedly built after a fire destroyed the high school building on July 20, 1949. After a new building was constructed, the huts were moved all over town. In fact, one was in the backyard next door to me for many years. There were no bathrooms in these buildings. I don’t remember it being a problem. Our teacher was Mrs. Gaines, who ended up teaching our class in high school also. The other sixth grade teacher was Mrs. Harris. One day there was a terrible smell in our classroom. After searching all the desks, Mrs. Gaines found a rotten Easter egg in Carol’s desk. It had been in there for more than a month!
Recess is usually a child’s favorite subject at school. Besides skating up and down the twelve hundred block of Scott Street, I could take my skates to school. Skating on all the cement at South Ward was a favorite activity, of course. The skate key hung around my neck by way of a cord. There were tennis courts on the west side of the block and we could skate as far as that. Now, what district builds tennis courts on an elementary school block? The only answer I can think of is that the very first Dalhart school was on that block. This building was for all grades and the tennis courts were for the high school students. Most girls liked to play jacks. I was not good and never took part. There was a slide, merry go round, monkey bars, and teeter-totters for all to enjoy. Most of these playground fixtures are too dangerous for students today. Especially bad was the student up in the air on the teeter totter when the child on the ground decided to suddenly get off. The girls liked to play softball. I still don’t like a ball flying through the air towards me. I was never any good at softball and thus no one wanted me on their team. When choosing up teams, I was the last one picked. I don’t blame them. The girl scout hut was on the northwest corner of the block. It was very convenient to go to Brownies or Girl Scouts after school. I still have my Brownie beanie and the badges I earned. In Brownies and Girl Scouts the South Ward girls met a member named Bonnie. Bonnie went to the Catholic School through the sixth grade. Bonnie was one tough girl! If she was your friend, you had protection I don’t remember there being aides or substitutes at South Ward. Surely, a teacher was sick or had to be absent at some point. I know that the teachers did all their work plus playground duty.
After sixth grade we were ready to move on to Allyn Finch Junior High. One thing I remember about junior high was that I was put on the annual staff. I spent all year wondering just what was an annual. I could have asked my mother, but didn’t. I finally found out when the annuals arrived. Later, the term changed to yearbook
The years at South Ward were good, although I had a lot of things to learn. Learning takes place in more ways than one.
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