Interview with Grace Baldwin

March 14, 1999

Hazelwood, Mo.

(Additions and revisions June 27, 1999)

Cast of characters:

Grace: Grace May Baldwin 1906 --

Ma May (Mom): Katharine Alice May (nee McCarty) her mother

CT (Pop): Charles Theodore May her father

Ted: Theodore May 1909- 1973 her brother

Lewis James Baldwin: 1914-1973 her husband

Jacob May grandfather

Some other May and McCarty relatives appear from time to time. Katharine McCarty had 11 siblings; 7 survived to adult hood: Kate, Ethel, Dan, Frank, Oliver, Archie, Grace.

Grandpa Baldwin (GAB) Glenn Abed Baldwin Lewis's father

Grandma Baldwin: Eva Baldwin; his wife

John Baldwin: son of Grace and Lewis 1944

Charlotte Baldwin: daughter of Grace and Lewis, 1948

Marshall Baldwin: Lewis's brother

Hazel Baldwin (his wife):

The material through 1933 is loosely based on an earlier set of questions to be attached.

Transcription by John Baldwin (JB or JTB); this is a free transcription - translated from oral to written English. There was an attempt to maintain the exact language only when special vocabulary was involved.

The Mays in Nashville

The German school was called `cowbell'. Because all the town's cows were sent to Huegley's pasture.

When Jacob May decided to get involved in politics, he had to move into town for a few years. He lived across from the church. I never knew Grandpa May but he was a `take-charge' kind of guy. He was sheriff and later assessor. He would take in children who were abandoned. Some of them later sued the estate; claiming that they were treated as `indentured servants' and they should get the final payout of such servants: a horse and saddle for the men; a feather bed and quilts for a woman.

Jacob May willed the 6 farms described below to the grandchildren. He was afraid that at least one of the boys would just sell off the land. So, e.g. Grace and Ted owned the CT May farm. That's why when the various Mays moved into town they often rented the land out.

Grandpa and Grandma McCarty lived out in the Polish settlement. Their house burned and they stayed with a Polish family (Auntie Schlafky??). For years, after the McCarty's went back to St. Louis, Uncle Frank would still go to see Auntie whenever he visited Nashville. A daughter named Victoria married a tavern keeper near the train station. Grace had two of her children in school. One of their grandsons, Steve Jonkowski, is on KMOX.

On the Farm

CT and Kate were married on June 10, 1903; their `honeymoon' was a year later at the St. Louis World's Fair. They stayed with Grandpa McCarty; he worked days and went to fair at night; they went to the fair during the day and slept in his bed at night.

Grace's parents lived in one house from 1903-1921, then in the house on Hoffman Street in town until CT's death and until Kate moved to Florissant in 1979. The farmhouse, milk house, chicken house, and the barn were built new in 1903. Eventually, he added concrete sidewalks around the farmhouse - long before anyone else had them. But he never borrowed money for improvements - they waited until he had the cash. They were saving money for a sewing machine by hiding dollar bills under the rug. The bills moved under the rug and they had to pull up the whole rug to find the cache.

Grace was born on a farm 5 miles from Nashville Illinois - attended by Dr. Schroeder. Most children were born at home. Doctor made house calls and set a regular route. He came in a horse and buggy with a driver. He had to have a driver because he would get sleepy - especially on night calls.

Children were raised on breast milk. Bottles were used only when there was a problem. Grace doesn't really remember when this changed.

In the summer, they had dances in the barn. There were steps up to the second floor loft where the dances were. Main floor had cattle and sheep. All the people in the area, Polish and German, came to the dances. CT played the violin, accordion (Dutch pull-out), and mouthharp. He played the violin at Polish weddings. The dances were square dances and polkas. Pop would buy boxes of soda and beer.

The Polish weddings were early in the morning and the party lasted for 3 days. They were hard vdrinking affairs. She remembers two brothers fighting in the mud. `The Polish were very good people and very hard working.' Pop helped them with government papers and a lot of them

As they were driving off one day, her father stopped to get some apples for the relatives they were going to visit. Ted was about 4 and stayed in the carriage. The horse ran away so Pop went into the house and called the `country line' ( He was so excited he forgot to crank the phone.) The Roethemeyer's came out and caught the horses; Ted wasn't hurt.

Another time the horses ran away and made a break for the barn. They slid into the end of the barn lot. Nobody got hurt but most of the hay, with mom and pop on top, slid off the wagon.

There was a big snowstorm and Grace's dad came with a large rope and brought a lot of the

kids home. They would hang on the rope until the group came to their house. One adult at each end of the rope. They had probably arranged that on the phone.

Her father had shattered his legs jumping out of a wagon when he was seven. Fragments of bone worked out all through his life.

Quilting was a big social event. It was done in the kitchen because that was the only warm place. The quilt would be on ropes hung from hooks in the ceiling. The quilt would be rolled up except when people were working on it. The mothers would drive (in their carriage) over to the farm to quilt during the day. All the children of the quilting mothers would come home to the house where the quilt was and then go home after everyone had dinner.

Most children were within 3 miles of the school; Grace just 1 ½. The school was called Flaxbeard because the Flaxbeard's gave the land for the school but the people in the neighborhood called it Dolly Varden.

If the weather was good the family would go into town once a week - on Saturday. Ma May would exchange her butter for coffee and tea. If she had more than she wanted to trade she would get a `due bill' indicating money due. Once Ma May thought she was being short weighed so her husband went in to ask the grocer, `Are you weighing or guessing?'

Her parents were married 3 years before Grace was born. They had a peacock; she was chased by turkey. Ma May took care of the chickens; sold eggs and chickens. Most sales were in Nashville. He bought and sold stock: pigs and cattle to East St. Louis. He sold large animals to the stockyards in East St. Louis. One time he had 100 sheep that he drove from E. St. Louis.

They had phones as long as mom can remember. A group of about 20 farmers ran a `country-line'. You had to connect through `central' in Nashville. The operator was Ms. Rattelberger. All the people would listen at the same time.

There were only 6 families that weren't Polish in Bolo Township - all May relations. Aunt Lulu got the `home place' because she took care of grandfather May. The families were Phillip May, George Washington (Wash) May, Lulu Kaser, C.T., Aunt Mary (married Henry Habbe but occupied by their son, Paul Habbe, - he raised peanuts), and Willie (William - later Sheriff). The last Habbe died in 1999. Willie was the veterinarian /doctor self taught. He treated mom's sore throat by telling her to swab her throat with turpentine, using a chicken feather as a swab. It worked!

Bolo Township included Dubois, Radom, - maybe 50 families. Both towns had huge Catholic churches.

Ted, Grace and Ma May spent a week each summer in St. Louis. They were the only kids in the county who knew who much about the city or had ever seen colored people. They stayed with Aunt Grace; grandma and grandpa lived with Aunt Grace. Her husband, Tom Dewitt, didn't have much of a job. He ran a second hand store for awhile. He was very anti-colored and anti-Catholic. She lived at 2711 Arlington. Seven room brick. She worked as a waitress. He and Grace were divorced at least twice. He came off a plantation in Alabama. (Aunt Grace was earlier earlier married to a man named Brownlee; it was as Grace Brownlee that she was, with one of CT's nephew's the `attending couple' at the marriage of CT and Ma May. Eventually, grandma McCarty moved out to Wyoming (her son Arch was a railroad engineer - run from Evanston Wyoming to Ogden Utah.) Frank and Oliver lived in Wyoming for awhile. They learned a trade after they came back. Frank had a first wife Helen from Wyoming. She died and Frank later married Norah (who worked at Stix Baer and Fuller (the Grand Leader) then as phone operator.)

Grandma and Grandpa McCarty lived in Jennings (5700 block of Helen.) He drove for the streetcar company but almost hit a man and this so unnerved him that he stopped driving. He continued to work for the streetcar company - ending up as a messenger.

When Grace's father bought a car in 1916, every Sunday afternoon, they went to a different town in Washington county. The first car was a model T with a crank. This was the first car in the neighborhood. A Polish family in town couldn't make payments on the car they had bought and he took it over `Nobody taught him how to drive; he just learned himself -- out in a 40 acre field so he couldn't run over anybody. They kept that car at least until they moved into town. The next car was a Wiley Overland. It didn't run very well but he was good friends with the Overland salesman. He had both the car and truck. He had to drive out to the farm almost every day. The dog, Shep, sat next to him on the truck seat. " Looked just like another person."

.Uncle Willie became Sheriff - as had his father Jacob May (Grace's grandfather). As the generation of her father grew older they retired and moved into town and rented the farms. One of the Kaser's, Albert, stayed on the `home place' -- Jacob May's farm. Most of mom's generation left farming.

When they moved into town, they had electricity but no city water, had phone. Water source was a well and cistern. (JTB The cistern was still in use in the 70's.) City water came in with WPA in the 30's - also sidewalks and sewer. One person at the time said, `It's strange what the Democrats are doing for this Republican county.'

Most of the kids had to herd cows; we didn't because all our land was fenced. But they we had to mend fence. Grace had to carry nails for her father. Another chore was collecting wood for kindling. She chopped wood. There was a pump in the kitchen.

We had a bathtub in the corner of the bedroom with a screen around it. Most of the families didn't. Hot water had to be brought from kitchen.

Raised all kinds of vegetables and fruit and canned them. From the store needed salt, sugar, and coffee; every one drank coffee. In the spring, it would be holiday and two wagon loads of kids were driven out to pick dewberries. There a few blackberries left but all the dewberries have been plowed under. The fences between the fields have been taken out.

All the Mays were big talkers. I guess that's why we are.

Her dad would walk down to the creek to check the cattle once or twice a day. Sometimes shot a squirrel.

Ma May would go to St. Louis every Feb. 27^th to celebrate Grandma McCarty's birthday.

Only three families in our neighborhood didn't get the flu (1919). Two were us and the Abarrs. A lot of people died but none of the Mays. The school was closed; I was in 7^th grade. We would fix food for the people who were sick. Then Pop would take it and leave it on the porch for the sick people to come out and pick up. Lodge meetings, schools, all public congregations were closed.

There weren't many from Washington County in the first war. Uncle Oliver was a messenger.

Two other cousins served. But Oliver was one of only 2 of his unit of 20 who returned.

High School and Moving to Town

To get into high school, the students had to pass an exam set by the county superintendent; Grace failed the test but got in anyhow since she had an 87 average on the report card. There were 63 in the 9^th grade class and 26 graduated. A lot of the class was girls; they expected to teach. The boys dropped out because they could get good jobs without a high school diploma.

During her first year of high school Grace rented one room with a kerosene stove. Three girls shared the room; one big bed and one little. Grace shared with two sisters; one went to school with her; the other worked at the store. One of the reasons for moving into town was that Ma May didn't approve of this this arrangement. Another was that CT had vowed to retire at 50. When in 9^th grade they wanted to go a function and her dad thought the weather was too bad to drive them. The girls borrowed a rig from Uncle Phillip; pop wasn't happy with Philip.

Highway 15 was the first paved road in Washington County. It was paved around 1923 and resulted in Ma May renting rooms to the workers. There were colored people working on the road but Mom now wonders where they stayed. No colored people lived in Washington County.

There was a train to St. Louis at 6:00; took about an hour. They would go in, have breakfast and then shop. There was a return train in the evening and there were others at other times.

They got the St. Louis Globe and the Kansas City Star - no Chicago paper.

Ma May took care of future Justice Blackmun's grandmother Hueghley. One of the Huegley's married a Reuter and one of the Reuter daughters married a Blackmun. Their son is Justice Blackmun. He actually lived in Minnesota. They just visited Nashville from time to time.

There were not so many dances in town. Some were in the Odd Fellows Hall. But not as regular as in the country. They had a victrola. They had a wind-up before moving into town. They had a radio while still in the country. They used to listen to Amos and Andy, Lum and Abner, One Man's family (after moving into town).

There always one a movie theater in Nashville. The teacher's would sometimes recommend movies. Ted and George Nolte went to the movies every Saturday night; by bike.

One year she was superintendent for a summer bible school - all the churches except the Baptists, Lutherans, and Catholics. Included Presbyterians, 3 kinds of Methodist (North, South and United). There weren't any Pentecostal's or other fundamentalists. There weren't any rich Baptists in the Nashville.

In high school Grace had Algebra I, Plane Geometry for a year, one semester of solid geometry, and one semester of Algebra II. There wasn't any other math in the school. We had good English teachers; one Shakespeare play each year. Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice (not Romeo and Juliet), Macbeth, and Hamlet in the last year. Some of the parents drove the kids to St. Louis to see Hamlet at the American Theater. They had to write a theme at least once a week and give an oral report based on a newspaper story. `That was the hardest thing I had to do; they always wanted me to get my voice down'.The school had physics, no chemistry. They had classes in zoology and botany. They studied evolution; nobody complained. They had bookkeeping but not typing. All the students took almost the same classes. In history: American History, Ancient History, Medieval History, and American Problems. Mary Bailey taught the Ancient History; her brother was in the school. She was a Covenant Presbyterian and she taught Ancient History from the Bible; nobody complained. This was the same time as Grace was in confirmation. The library was just shelves in the hall. Grace played right guard on the basketball team. There wasn't a gym at the school. They played `up town' over a loft. They played `girls rules'; some players can't cross half court. They graduated in the Presbyterian church. The procession was led by the 7 best students (which didn't include Grace). Most of the teachers at Nashville were from the Methodist college at Warrenton

The town of Oakdale had only 100 people and two Presbyterian churches. One was Reformed Presbyterian; the other, the Covenant Presbyterian (Convenanter) mentioned above. They were very strict; originally didn't cook on Sunday; some of the men refused to vote. The history teacher tithed.

1924-33

She voted in 1924 at the city hall. She's voted in every presidential election since except 44 and 48.

Grace started teaching in 1924 when she finished high school. She had a six week summer school at Carbondale - all methods - Methods of Math, History ... She taught first at Flaxbeard. There were 25 studentsm in 5 grades in that classroom. The next year she taught at Addieville- with Morris Gaebe in her first class (see Johnson and Wales). She taught at Addieville until they cut her salary in 1933. Then she went back to school full-time at Carbondale. She went several summers to Carbondale.

When teaching at Addieville, part of the time she lived in Nashville and commuted by train. Addieville was a flag stop. If the train ran by, the station master would make them back up to pick Grace up.

Carbondale: Most of the summers from 24 to 32, Grace went to summer school at Carbondale. She got a junior college degree in 1927. The English course included Tale of Two Cities which they had already done in high school. Each year they had grammar course - Gaudy's grammar was the text: "transitive and intransitive verbs and all kinds of stuff. They got in real arguments about the grammar." Grace majored in History, English and a minor in geography. `You had to teach in front of a critic. I taught civics and Medieval history. I was teaching people a lot older than I was - in the college - since I went directly to the college. I would teach the whole class fora semester. These were remedial classes. Some of these were older people who had been teaching since they got out of 8^th grade and were now making up their high school work. The critic wouldn't come everyday. But he would usually come before the end of each class. (Jim Wright was the critic for both courses.) SIU had a training school (both grade and elementary); Grace taught second grade English and numbers for a semester. Most of the time a critic teacher sat in. This school was taught almost entirely by student teachers. Some of the students l students who had failed during the year; some were the children of the college student teachers. There would be a class of 15-20 7 year olds for the second grade class. During the academic year this school was taught entirely by student teachers.

She taught in Addieville until 1932. She left because they wanted to cut her salary from 100 to 85 per month. (This is an annual salary of about 800- only paid while school is in session. The annualized salary didn't start for Grace until Jennings in the 50's.) They blamed it on the depression but she didn't think the rural district was short of money. Then she went back to SIU for one year - Sept to March 32-33 to finish her degree. When she finished she substituted in Nashville schools and was hired fulltime in the fall at $85. But Nashville didn't have the money. The school teachers at West Frankfurt, Benton (that depended on the coal mines) were being paid in scrip.

(JB: We found a 1980 letter from a Ruth Mousaud. As Ruth Finke, she was in the 1929 class in Addieville. In 1980 she taught now Music at the University of Dubuque and her husband directed the Dubuque Symphony.)

Some summer schools - not just physical summer camps like now. There was no swimming. Went 4 years to Elmhurst- roughly 27- 31. One year at Lake Erie. Classes in bible, how to run a youth group; ladies aid etc. Training for church workers.

Shannondale and the 30's

(JB: The E & R Church had a home mission, Shannondale, in Shannon County Missouri. It played a large role in Grace's life. She spent several summers there in the 30's and contact continued for the rest of her life.)

Grace taught in the Nashville schools - 5^th grade for five years then various grades - during the 30's. Usually teachers taught all subjects. But for a few years it was departmental in 6-7-8 grade; Grace taught history. For another two years Grace and the 4^th grade teacher split up the two grades; Grace taught math and science to both grades. (JB. The other teacher Elvira shows up again in 1998 -see Gaebe celebration below.)

First went to Shannondale in 1934 to do churchwork - Mom was 50, I gave her $50 dollars when I left for Shannondale. Stayed 9 weeks, 3 summer schools. It rained the day we came and the day we left and not in between; this was the east end of the Dust Bowl. Shannondale was a home mission. Vincent Bucher (the long time minister of the center) came later that year. There were 85 kids in the bible school in `34. Many fewer people live there now. Most of the people lived as loggers but the forest had been cut down and there weren't jobs anymore. So they survived for awhile as subsistence farmers. Whiskey stills were more of a myth than fact. But there was a story of Bald Eagle Still in Troublesome Hollow - just down the hill from the parsonage. People moved out after the second world war. Now there are scarcely enough children for a summer school. In the 30's had Bible school, Wednesday night services. The Church owned over 4000 acres of forest. Bucher was trying to find a cash crop; tomatoes one year, strawberries the next; goats once. Now they have ged classes, tutorials etc. Selective cutting from the forest now supports the church. Also donations from the `associates' - largely based on people from 30's.

They were cooking on wood stoves with big iron pots. Cook at lunch and the pot was still warm for dinner. No hard roads, no electricity, no pumped water. The Quakers ran work camps. They built low-water bridges, buildings, schools. Paul and Marie Turner ran this one year. The women's guild (of South Illinois and South Missouri) paid for the parsonage in 1937.

Grace had a friend Bertha Breuning who was trained as an attorney and worked in the beginning of the copy industry. The two of them traveled to Texas for `Under Six flags exposition' in Fort Worth. The hotel was very hot. They saw Billy Rose and the aquacade. They went by train.

In 1936 ?, Ted, Ma May and Grace drove up to Chicago for the World's fair. Then Ma May took the bus back and Grace and Ted went to Elmhurst for the two week church summer school.

When did you learn to drive? The first car I owned was a 37 Chevy - bought from Kirchkoeffer-

in Nashville (JB -still in business in the 50's and the car lasted until almost 1950). I learned to drive from Oscar Kirchkoeffer. 3 - lessons. The car cost $750; cash. I was paying my parents $15/month room and board. Pop had a Willys Overland at the time. When it was too hot to drive, Ma May would have an umbrella as a parasol. Pop wouldn't put the top up because then the car wouldn't fit in the shed.

Grace brought her parents and neighbor Dan for a visit to Shannondale once. They came through Cape Girardeau, stayed in cabins at Round Spring. Her dad really enjoyed the trip.

The Nashville E and R church got a lot of money from a farm family (over 250K) in the 80's/90's. A schoolteacher left them 25K for a scholarship loan fund (no interest for prompt payment) and this been sending people to college for at least 30 years.

Grace took a 2153 mile trip through six southern states in the late 30's or 1940. They went through Memphis, Biloxi, one day in New Orleans, Montgomery Alabama, Mammoth cave. Other people who went included Ruth Maxwell, and Roy Anderson. Probably a Christmas holiday.

1940 trip to Maryville: Went through Shannondale, Rolla, K.C. Lewis managed a Co-OP store near Shannondale. It burned in ? Marshall and Hazel came out but Aunt Lena came as chaperone. Aunt Lena sat in the front seat with Marshall - to Hazel's chagrin. Hazel's sister Ruth also came along. They met at the Baldwin's in Maryville and stayed for a week. Grace drove from Nashville and back. Lewis went back to Shannon County. Hazel and Marshall had bought the car together. They were married in December 1940. Marshall had graduated from Carnegie Tech and was already working for Colgate in Newark.

World War II and after

We, the teachers, had to register the men for the draft during the winter after Pearl Harbor.

Reverend Abele was preaching against all war; then after Pearl Harbor I heard another sermon and now he was for the war. Lewis was working in Shannon County with the coop; he registered with the draft and asked for granted conscientious objector status. Bucher was a big influence on his applying and on getting it. He was sent first to Arkansas and then to Connecticut He was working as CPS (alternative service - civillian public service) at the Fairfield state hospital. He caught TB there. What kind of reaction to CPS? Ted never said anything. One woman in Connecticut refused a ride home from the hospital. But another group threw parties for the CPS people.

Pop had died in `41. In `43, Grace and Grandma Baldwin drove to Connecticut. (Grandma Baldwin took the train to St. Louis.) Then they went to Aunt Lena (Wilkes-Barre Pa). They bought the wedding dress in Wilkes-Barre. Grace and Lewis were married in August 43 in Newtown Connecticut at the Congregational Church. Stanley Dotterer (Church of the Brethren) performed the ceremony. Grandma Baldwin, Aunt Lena, (Lena's friend Aunt Belle) and Uncle Marshall attended but not Grandpa Baldwin or Ma May.

We visited Aunt Helen in Baltimore in January (couldn't get off for Christmas), also Aunt Belle. She heard mom say she missed fried chicken. So Aunt Belle had her colored cook, Jasper, make southern fried chicken. We also visited Marshall and Hazel in their apartment in Washington. (JB: Marshall was in the Navy; posted first in DC and later Hawaii.)

Grace and Lewis lived in dormitory and worked in the hospital from 43 until John was born and until Lewis got TB. The CPS didn't want to pay his hospital but Grace insisted. They worked the night shift. Ma May came to Danbury when John was born; they stayed in a country place with a Jewish family. (JB We have a picture of Grace milking a cow in Ct. In 44). When Ma May came, they moved into Grassy Plains street in Danbury. Ma May worked in the Woolworth's in Danbury. She saved $100. `I think she had it till she died.' In February 45, Grace, John and Ma May drove back to Nashville. Ma May didn't approve of the marriage; Grace and John went on to Maryville (Baldwin's). Then in summer 45 Grace and John went back to Connecticut. They stayed with the Reneires - the man was French Canadian and the wife Jewish. Grace taught a mixed 3^rd and 4^th grade in Connecticut in 45-46. There was a Jewish boy who didn't say the Lord's Prayer and a Catholic boy who dropped out.

Ted had two small boys so he was exempt from the draft; but Ted worked as a motorcycle officer for the State Police.

In 44-45 and 45-46 Grace taught in Pickering while Lewis was in the tuberculosis sanitarium in Connecticut. She taught English, bookkeeping, and commercial law. There were less than 100 students in the school. Commercial law was more of a Consumer Education course. She and John spent summers in Nashville with Ma May.

Lewis recovered from TB in 46. The three traveled back to the midwest in 46. On the way they stayed with Stanley and Margaret Dotterer in York Pa. John got lice at a CPS hostel in Philadelphia. Then Margaret got the lice from John.

Grace, Lewis, and John lived in an upstairs apartment with G.A. Baldwin and Eva (Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin in Maryville in 46-47. They were two years in Maryville. Grace taught in Maitland, Mo. the spring semester of 48: for 155.55/ month. She taught another year at Pickering. Lewis finished his degree at Northwest Missouri in Math. He kept trying to get jobs especially with various Coop's and around Shannondale. Grandpa Baldwin retired from Maryville in 47?. They moved to the Jules street house in St. Joseph. Grace and Lewis had the apt on the 3^rd floor. Charlotte was born there in November 1948.

JB; I thought Dad had something to do with the Henry Wallace campaign. No, we were interested in Truman. We weren't sure how he'd come out. He was so honest but he was mixed up with Pendergast. He had a lot to do with setting up Israel because he had that Jewish partner in his haberdashery.

West Plains

The 4 Baldwins moved to West Plains, Missouri in 1949. John started kindergarten in Fall 49. This was a private kindergarten run by the Pooles. One mother and daughter ran the kindergarten; the other taught first grade in the public schools. Lewis worked for the Employment Security. Grace substituted for one year and then had third grade.

Lewis was working with a relief program that was collecting money for food distribution both in US and abroad. There was a parade in Cabool; to publicize this relief effort. John and Lewis were on a float with a train engine.

In West Plains Grace bought a 1951 Dodge and retired the 37 Chevrolet. (JTB. I thought this was a 36 Chevy in 1950.)

Marshall was working for Colgate in Newark. When his job was moved into NYC, partly because of bridge tolls they moved to Connecticut - West Port.

Jennings

The Baldwins moved to Jennings Mo. In 1951. Grace substituted for one year and then got a regular postition of Fairview Schools - West Walnut Manor School District. This small district split off from Jennings and was independent for about 50 years. John and Charlotte went to this school.

(JB: The house at 5444 Janet had a living room, two bedrooms and kitchen. The bathroom was off the kitchen and you had to walk through one of the bedrooms to get from the living room to the kitchen. We later built a large bedroom as one wing.) Grace remembers paying about 3500 and selling for a bit less. (JB thought it sold for more.)

Most of the administrators at Fairview were from the same Methodist college at Warrenton; in fact the superintendent and principal knew some of the people from Nashville.

One of the teachers was there at least 10 years (JB had her in second grade and she left the year he graduated). There was a new superintendent that year and he told Miss Scheppers that since she went to a Catholic College she ought to teach at Catholic school. Most had gone to small private schools; not state schools. Grace had to take a course in classroom management and one in nature study to get her Missouri certificate (while at Jennings).

Grace bought their first tv in about 1954 - because the kids were always over at the neighbors. She bought the tv while Lewis was out of town. What tv programs did we watch? Charlotte says Saturday morning cartoons; John remembers: Perry Mason, Leave it to Beaver, Father knows best. Jack Benny, You bet your life. Charlotte: There were lots of Westerns - Have Gun Will Travel, The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry (JB We heard these on the radio in West Plains and early 50's.)

There was a teacher's organization for both high school and grade school. Grace was president one year. This was engineered by Cooper who was vp. This was probably 1959 or later; Puricelli was already on staff.

Lewis was a leader of the Great Books group. They met on Friday nights at the library and often came to Baldwin's afterwards. (JB: John would go over and after choosing books, read his own while the adults talked.)

Lewis got three week vacations and the family took long trips each summer. One summer Grace persuaded Lewis to just see St. Louis. We went to movies at the Rio, Goodfellow and W. Florissant and the Janet and sometimes downtown to the theaters on Grand (JB here). We saw the Greatest Show on Earth, The Ten Commandments (with the church), Northwest Passage... `We saw what we considered the good movies.'

Grace's salary in 1956 was $4000 paid in 12 installments. This increased rapidly to $5900 in 1959 and to almost $10,000 when she left in 1962. (JB My recollection is that her initial salary in Jennings (53) was under 3000; compare with the generally low inflation rate 50's.)

St Clair

The new math came in when Grace was in St. Clair. The superintendent thought it was a fad but it only lasted a couple of years. `I think it was all right for the bright kids. They could do it all right but it took a whole page when they could do it the old way in a couple of lines' ` I had the top class that year so I taught the new math. ' Grace didn't attend any institutes on new math. They had a new science book for the lower grades that was good.

Summer 1998: Providence, Rhode Island

One of Grace's student in Addieville was Morris Gaebe who later built the Johnson and Wales Secretarial School in Providence, Rhode Island into a college with the largest culinary school in the world. In 1998, there was a celebration of Gaebe's 50^th year at Johnson and Wales. Grace was invited to dedicate his statue in downtown Providence. The guest's included many student she had in school including Mrs. Gaebe. And the one of Grace's co-teachers in Nashville, Elvira.

Addendum 6-24-99: More on Ted May

Ted was born April 4, 1909 on the same farm and probably in the same room I was. He's three years younger. T. R. May: People thought he was named after Theodore Roosevelt, especially since my pop was a big fan

of Roosevelt. But Ted's middle name was Raymond and he was named after the nephew of a close friend of his fathers. He also went to Flaxbeard School (which was formally named for

the Flaxbeard family who gave the land.) We called it Dolly Varden but I don't know why. (She

didn't know Dolly Varden are trout, JTB).

His best friend until he was in 8th grade was George Nolte who lived across the street (in Nashville). But after 8th grade George's mother thought he would do better working in the

coal mines and the `gold dust twins' split up.

Ted graduated from Nashville High School in 1929 and went back to teach in the same grade school he went two. He had maybe a year or two at Carbondale and taught for about seven years. Then he got involved in the oil boom. He would negotiate for an oil company with the local farmers to lease their drilling rights. A lot of farmers could use the extra money during the

depression.

Q. You graduated in 1924 but Ted didn't until 1929; is that right. A. Yes, he lost one year when he moved in from the country (when students come from a country school the town had the attitude, 'hold em back a year whether they need it or not.') Then he lost another year when he failed some classes during high school. The superintendent then had a racket going. He'd fail students during the year and charge their parents for summer school.

Nashville High didn't have a football team when I went but they did later and Ted played on it.

They played in the afternoon and I never saw him play.