My Dad: the School Teacher

Throughout my childhood I met adults from time to time throughout Arkansas County who, regardless of the purpose of our encounter, would some time during our conversation insert the still memorable phrase: "I went to school to your father" or "I went to school to Mr. Woodiel." 

A remark that seemed to me a mixture of both pride and accomplishment.  During their childhood they had, along with a dozen or more of their neighbors, walked varying distances in all kinds of weather "to school" in a one or two room structure in rural Arkansas County to classes taught by my father, the school teacher.

The image below was sent to me in 2005 before I established this site by Lottie Mae (Vernor) Forrest, a high school classmate of mine of the class of 1953 at St. Charles.  It belonged to her mother-in-law, the lady in the polka dot dress near my father Allie Woodiel who stands, his hands behind him, at the right.

Members of the 4H Club, Forrest School, Ark. County, AR 1938

From Lottie's note dated May 7, 2005 that included the above image:

Dale,
   We were going through some old pictures that Johnnie's mother has last Thursday and came across this one.  If Mrs. Forrest lives 'til June 12, she will be 100.  Good mind -- just hard of hearing.  This picture was made at Forrest School in 1938.  It is a 4-H Club group and Mrs. Forrest doesn't remember why she is in the picture, but I'm thinking maybe she was a sponsor or leader.  She is the one in the polka dot dress with white collar.  She said Mr. Woodiel drew her name at Christmas and gave her a green pitcher which Johnnie's niece has.  I just thought you might enjoy having a copy.  Old pictures can certainly bring back lots of memories.

A friend,
Lottie

During the 1930s my father taught in several Arkansas county schools.  These rustic institutions served their purpose in ways that, no doubt still relevant, might well ring true to sensitive classroom teachers here in these beginning decades of a new century.

The image below is clearly my father with another group at perhaps another school.  Although I have no information about this image, other than its obviously him in one of his more dishevelled states, perhaps -- from the number of children wearing rubber boots -- a cold or perhaps rainy day.

Which brings to mind a story recently told to me by my sister Maureen -- she having heard it from man who had, as a young boy, "gone to school" to Mr. Woodiel.  He recalled a rainy day when my father's Model A Ford had become stuck in the mud on the dirt road leading to the school.  The older boys were enlisted to push the car out of the mud, and, though too young to participate in this effort, he joined in the effort and, in the process, caught the strap of his over-alls on the car's rear bumper just as it was releasing itself from the mud, dragging him along with it.  After being dragged through the very muck that had stuck the Ford, a rain of shouts from the muddied assistants brought my father's Ford to a stand still, releasing the youth muddy but unhurt.