Country School Legacy #12 - Kermit Hayes Interview (Rice County)

Scope and content: Index
Kermit Hayes
Rice County
October 17, 1980

Time: Description
0026: Attended Volunteer School; Description of early days when he was in school; Description of school; Three in his class: Eleanor Jordan, Harold Deeds, and himself; Used to go home to stay the night at Harold's and vice versa

0120: New school built - given a superior rating; Burned 1919 - rest of the year he went to school in Galt township school; Rebuilt school in 1920

0176: Games: "I'm surprised we didn't get killed"; Shinny, with tin cans (like hockey); Baseball; Steal sticks, rabbit and dog, dare base; Winter: fox and geese when show, Inside: clap in and clap out, cipher or spelling, fort building (outside - snowball fights)

0250: Most embarrassing moment; His little brother Guy visited school - came on Valentines Day and gave a blue heart to everyone in school

0301: Graduation from eighth grade; His brother Guy played the cornet, he played violin and Eleanor Jordan played piano and they rendered a musical number at the program

0326: Courses studied; Liked geography and map drawing; Penmanship stressed

0375: Homecoming at Lyons; All schools would come in and march; Had contests and displays

0387: Song he was taught to go along with penmanship; "We're forever making ovals"

0426: County examinations for rural students; Griped rural students a bit; Taken over two years - Went in to Geneseo to take exams; You were just a little on edge - out of your natural setting

0477: Never intended to teach; Switched major from agriculture to history so he could get a teacher's certificate. Thought (during the depression) he could teach until he could get into high school; Got a B.S. degree before he started to teach

0521: First year teaching - Victoria school, 1932; Knew most of the people; Took over the job from his brother, so brother could go back to college

05775: Hospitality to the teacher

0589: Lived at home and drive six miles to school; After married, school was just a mile away and he walked; Webster school, district number fifty nine

0612: Being a man teacher - how that was

0646: Students; Had a girl who was very hard of hearing - couldn't grasp what was being taught; had time with that

0690: Evaluation of being a rural school teacher - advantages; Older children helped teacher younger ones; Competition between older and younger students; Listening to other classes

0746: Role in community; Teacher should become part of the community; Monthly community meeting - drew patrons and teachers together in the community; Box socials, orchestra that met in the school house

0779: His years on the school board; It was felt because he had a college education, he was suited to be on the board of Webster school; "Not much of a job" - get materials, keep records; Was on Webster board for ten years then unified with Mitchell. Elected to Mitchell board eight to ten years, and then was hired to teach at Mitchell; More supervision of board in the town school at Mitchell - more to do. Three room town school, music supervisor, athletics

0890: Feelings about role of the school board

0924: What he looked for in hiring teachers; What kind of person they are - who do you have handling your kids; Example for the students and the little kids at home - "a molder of lives"

0989: Opinion of the education received and give; Learned reliability and responsibility, work habits

1065: Discipline

1190: Athletics - interaction between schools - 1932 on; Rural league softball, basketball, track; Rural student needed to be able to compete with town schools when they went to high school

1245: Dirty Thirties; Storms got so dark they had to dismiss school. Told them to follow roads or fence rows so they wouldn't get lost

1382: Hot lunches; Supplement to lunch in cold weather; He was expected to plan and prepare one as a teacher. School would provide stuff or would bring from home; His school had a small oil burning cook stove and a few kitchen utensils

1430: Lunch hour; Girls went to one side of the school yard to eat, boys to the other; Man teacher who wasn't much of a cook; Trading food at noon; Lunches of sandwiches and fruit