This is the third of a series of articles on the history of Wood Dale School in Union County, Tennessee.

In the first article I shared information about Wood Dale School from 1900 through the depression years to 1940 as related in Our Union County Heritage: A Historical and Biographical Album of Union County—People, Places, Events by Kathleen George Graves and Winnie Palmer McDonald (© 1978 Josten’s); Ms. Bonnie Heiskell Peter’s book Union County Schoolday Memories: A Pictorial History of Union County Elementary Schools From the mid-1800’s to the 1960s; and from available school registers on file at the Union County Board of Education.

In the second article I shared information about Wood Dale School during the World War II years (1940 through 1945) as related in available school registers on file at the Union County Board of Education.

This article commences with the school year beginning August 6, 1945 through March 29, 1946. Ms. Ina Hendrix and Mr. Joe Davis were the teachers listed on the register covers for that term, though Mr. Davis’ register copy of the Rural Elementary School Standardization Report signed by him on September 28, 1945 lists him teaching grades 4-8 and Faustine Nicley teaching grades 1-3. Ms. Ina Hendrix’s register succinctly states as her Record of the Year’s Work: “Continuation of work Ms. Nicely had started.” Mr. Davis served as school principal while teaching 25 students, 10 boys and 15 girls, in grades 4-8.

Mr. Davis listed two encyclopedias/dictionaries, 125 books in the county circulating library, and 40 books in the two classroom libraries for a grand total of 167 volumes for student use. He also reported as improvements that year the purchase of new supplies, repair of toilets and improvement of school grounds by seeding grass.

Five students were awarded eighth grade certificates: James Herbert Hopson, Purley Hugh Clay, Ethel June Bailey, Edna Inez Thomas, and Gracie Lenor Nicely. Four students were not promoted during 1945-46—three of these students had failed twice, one student three times for reasons including auditory, low vitality, poor nutrition, over-age, out-of-school interests and activities, lack of interest, irregular attendance, and tardiness. It was noted that each retained student, his family and his group were prepared for the retention so that no feeling of shame or punishment was felt. Mr. Davis estimated that he expected 20% of Wood Dale’s students to go on to high school.

Mr. Davis summarized the Record of the Year’s Work as follows:

For the year 1945-46 we started school with 49 enrolled, finished with 47 enrolled.
We completed all the textbooks furnished by the state.
We had several public programs during the school, one was for the National War Fund. Out of a total enrollment of 52, 34 made passing grades.

1945-46 appears to be the only term that Ms. Ina Hendrix taught at Wood Dale. Ms. Hendrix resided at Route 3, Maynardville. She was a high school graduate, but she recorded no post-secondary education on her Teacher’s Record included in her register. She was a “grade teacher”, having taught prior to the 1945-46 term for two and three-fourth years at 3 locations. Ms. Ina was born March 14, 1909, a married white female with five dependents. She was paid $95.50 per month to teach grades 1-4 (or 1-3, depending on which report from the registers is referenced) for an eight month term.

Ms. Ina recorded her total enrollment as 26, 16 boys and 11 girls. Of that number, she retained 12 (46.15%), 8 boys and four girls, for principal causes including indifference, poor attendance, spoiled, laziness, and non-attendance. Other contributing factors included speech defects, over-age, out-of-school interests and activities (Ms. Ina noted that boys and girls in grades 1-4 spent their leisure time “with little supervision”), inefficient work and study habits, lack of interest, lack of study, irregular attendance, and late entrance in fall. Ms. Hendrix noted that she provided little remedial instruction, though she reported utilizing different levels of material, enrichment and variety in extra practice for slow learners, as well as utilization of special aptitudes. Her prediction was markedly lower than Mr. Davis’—she expected only about 8% of her elementary students would go on to high school.

Four of my step-siblings were in Ms. Ina’s classes. Billy Howard was a first grader. He was born on September 17, 1936, and was recorded as having both whooping cough and measles in 1938. He received satisfactory marks in all subjects save writing and reading during the first term and was accordingly promoted to second grade. J. C. didn’t fare as well. He was born March 2, 1938, and was reported as having German measles in 1946. Though his grades were similar to his brother’s, particularly in character traits,
J. C. was retained in first grade due to “indifference”. The same held true for “Madlene” or Madeline, also retained in first grade for the principal cause of being “spoiled”. (Mr. Davis listed the cause in his register as irregular attendance.) The only of my father’s children to be promoted was Ruby Nell, born August 14, 1934, who, having attended Wood Dale for five years, was promoted from third to fifth grade. Ruby Nell was also the only of my father’s children that year to receive excellent marks.

Miss Barbara Bailey replaced Ms. Ina for school year 1946-47. The school term ended on March 21, 1947, and there is a note paper clipped to the register addressed to “Miss Turner” (undoubtedly Lucy Jean Turner, Superintendent of the Union County Public Schools) dated April 28, 1947:

I am very sorry that I haven’t sent my register in sooner, but I have been sick and wasn’t able to work on it.
So I hope it’s right this time.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bailey

Miss Bailey taught 33 students in grades 1-4, 19 boys and 14 girls. Nine of these students, 7 boys and 2 girls, were not promoted. Once again, my same three siblings were retained, all three for the principal cause “laziness”. No students were transported. The length of the school term was 160 days, 157 actually taught (excluding holidays). For her Record of Year’s Work, Miss Bailey stated:

I did what was required by the Board of Education.
We did not raise any money in our school for any thang (sic) this year.

Not a great deal changed for Mr. Davis. He reported a “created interest in reading library books” and organization of a 4-H club. He also cited “some new equipment and supplies added to the school”. Improvements were made to the instructional program that year: “By conferences, reading of books and periodicals on teaching, improved public relations”. He taught 17 students, 5 boys and 12 girls, in grades 5-8. Of the total school population of 50 students, the total average daily attendance was 41.8, a rate of 83.6% (not too shabby for a rural country school in post-war Appalachia).

Miss Barbara Bailey was replaced by Mrs. Lucille Bailey for the 1947-48 term. [This was the year that the records indicate that the length of the school year increased from eight months (160 days) to nine months (180 days).] She was a high school graduate who listed no post-secondary education on her Teacher’s Record. She resided in the same community where the school was located, Liberty Hill, Tennessee. Born on December 7, 1924, she was a married white female with one dependent. She had taught at one prior location for one year before coming to Wood Dale. Her Daily Program of Work was:

1. Unlock and raise windows, dust the desks
2. Read a selection from the Bible
3. Primer
4. 1st and 2nd readers
5. 3rd and 4th grade arithmetic’s (sic)
Recess
6. Primer
7. 1st – 4th readers
8. 3rd and 4th grade health
9. 1st – 4th grade writing
Dinner
10. Primer
11. 1st and 2nd readers
12. 3rd and 4th grade English
13. 3rd grade geography
Recess
14. 4th grade geography
15. 1st – 4th grade speller’s (sic)
16. Read a story
17. Lock windows

No other information is provided in Mrs. Bailey’s register except for student records, and it was notarized on December 16, 1947, by Charles H. Lynch, Jr., later to become the principal of Maynardville Elementary School.

For the Record of Year’s Work, Mr. Davis reported:

For the school year 1947-48 we improved the school grounds by setting out shrubs and shade trees added pictures to the interior of the school building, making it more homelike./Several new desks were added during the school year also many other small items of equipment as well as some instructional supplies and teaching aids and daily program was rearranged and made more practical

The school population that year was comprised of 20 boys and 25 girls. The average daily attendance was reported as 25.5, or 56.6%, a 27% drop from the previous school year! Of the total enrollment of 45, 25 were retained (55.5%, over half of the total school population), 16 boys and nine girls. Every student enrolled at Wood Dale with the last name Mincey (Billy Howard, J. C., Madeline and Helen) was retained that year due to poor attendance. The term was bright for two girls who received eighth grade certificates: Betty Joan Nicely and Helen Euewona(?) Nicely.

Barbara Jean Ingle replaced Miss Barbara Bailey for school term 1948-49. She had taught 2 previous years at one location. She listed her permanent address as “Blain” Tenn. Route 2, her present address as Liberty Hill, Tennessee. She was a high school graduate and was issued a teaching permit in November 1948. She received 3 extension or correspondence credits which comprised her total college experience from the University of Tennessee, also in November 1948. Mrs. Ingle was born August 15, 1928, married with no dependents. She was contracted to teach grades 1-3 for a 9 month term at a salary of $113.10 per month.
Mrs. Ingle’s Instructional Plans and Objectives for School Year were:

I plan to have Chapel every Monday morning from 8:30 untill (sic) 9:o clock and once a month I plan to have a program for the children.
and the last day of school I plan to have a picnic.

Note the absence of any mention of actual instructional goals or teaching objectives and the emphasis on development of moral character and celebrating the last day of school as a special occasion. Mr. Davis emphasized instruction in his objectives, stating:

. . . we plan to give instructions in all subjects required. we plan to give Individual instructions where needed as much a[s] we have time for all students who need it.

Mrs. Ingle noted in her Summary of Achievements during the School Year that in addition to Chapel and a picnic that she had one pie supper in March.

Mr. Davis had a total enrollment in his fourth through eighth grade classes of 21, 8 boys and three girls. The average daily attendance for his boys was 61.25% and 83.85% for the girls, a total rate of 75.24% for grades 4-8.

Following is the Record of the Year’s Work reported by teaching principal Mr. Joe Davis.

For the school year of 1948-49 we began school with an enrollment of forty six and finished with the total enrollment of fifty eight.
Our membership at the end of school was fifty eight.
Of these fifty five(?) students, forty one passed to higher grades.
Nine were dropped from the roll and five failed to pass on account of poor attendance.
The three students in the eighth grade [Howard Hopson, Joyce Braden, Mary R. Davis] were passed and are planning on entering high school next year.

Of his retained students, two were male and three female; all were “held back” for the principal reason of absence/irregular attendance. One of these students was my sibling Ruby Nell Mincey who was present only twenty days.

Mrs. Ingle noted that there were three boys and three girls added and three boys and two girls dropped from the roll. Her total membership at the end of the [last?] month was twenty nine, “and they were all promoted to the next grade”.

In this article I have shared information about Wood Dale School during the post-World War II years (1945 through 1949) as related in available school registers on file at the Union County Board of Education. I will continue this discussion into the decade of the 1950s in the next article in this series.

Next week I will share an article regarding what would constitute “heaven on earth” for me. Until then, I leave you with yet another thought from my world of email:

Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job
because she couldn't control her pupils?