SAN
PEDRO SCHOOL - about
1919-1920
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Many
will remember the
small frame school
building six miles
east of Grapeland,
remembered by the
old timers as San
Pedro.
Heat was provided to
withstand the hard,
cold winters by wood
cut and hauled by
the parents.
It was the duty of
the older boys to
keep the wood box
filled.
Drinking water was
drawn from the well
by bucket.
Tom Whitaker, a
trustee of the
school, came to the
school almost every
day to assist in
needed repairs, and
if a child became
ill while at school,
he would take them
to his home and
doctor them.
The most common
ailments, as I
remember, seemed to
be the earache or
toothache. If
he thought the child
was too ill to walk
home he would call
their parents to
come and get
them.
The only means of
travel those days
was horse back,
buggy or wagon.
When the hard spring
rains came, the
water would get very
high at the slough
near Whitaker Creek.
Willis Whitaker
would meet the
children there and
carry them across
the high water in
his buggy.
Children must have
been tough and
strong those days.
They walked two or
three miles to
school with ice
hanging everywhere.
Never thought
anything of the mud,
water, or heat.
Guess it was a
pleasure to go to
school to get away
from the many chores
at home. Farm
life was all work
those days and every
member of the family
did their share.
Entertainment at
school was a
spelling match once
a month on Friday
afternoon.
Sometimes some of
the parents would
come. On
Friday before Easter
the parents would
come hide eggs for a
big egg hunt.
At the close of
school all the
children would take
part in a concert.
We'd dress in old
clothes belonging to
our parents or
grandparents.
Most of the time
they didn't fit just
right, but no one
would notice.
The program was
enjoyed by all as
each child acted
their assigned
parts. No such
entertainment those
days as T.V. or
radio.
Lunches were packed
at home in lard or
syrup buckets.
We'd eat in groups.
Everyone carried
about the same thing
- meat and biscuit,
baked potato, and
sometimes plain
cake. During
the war everyone had
to eat cornbread,
even for breakfast,
as no one could get
flour. Several
children from one
family would carry
their lunch together
in one bucket and
argue as to who
would carry the
empty bucket home.
Games played during
the lunch hour were
Long Bridges, Annie
Over, Drop the
Handkerchief, and
baseball.
Written by:
the Grandmother of
Sandra Meier |
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