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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02 PHMIH Mar 07 y family moved to College Station, Texas, in the summer of 1954. Our home was a two bedroom apartment on the bo􀄴 om fl oor of an Army barracks style edifi ce in College View, C-5-D, to be exact. Many post-war veterans and their families lived here while returning to fi nish their studies at A. & M. College. The housing was cheap and you couldn’t beat the location at Sulphur Springs Road (now University) and College Avenue, directly across from A. & M. Our family of fi ve had barely se􀄴 led in when school started at A&M Consolidated Elementary School on Jersey Street, now George Bush Drive. My older sister, Karen, trooped off to fi rst grade, book satchel in hand, on a big yellow school bus. I was only fi ve and already a jealous wreck. I looked around at our li􀄴 le apartment and felt that my world was so incredibly small. My li􀄴 le brother Clay, now 18 months old, -8-I took up my vigil on the sofa, peering out the window, and proceeded to wait until the bus brought my sister back home. It seemed as though it was forever before I heard the squeal of the bus brakes outside. Karen wasn’t in the door two seconds before I was all over her. “What did you do at school today? What did you learn? I wanna learn! Teach me to read! Teach me to write! Pulllleeaseee???” Being a year and a half older, Karen was eager to profess her maturity and play the dutiful role of teacher. Every a􀄞 ernoon, I waited for the next installment in my secondhand fi rst grade education. By the end of the school year, I MMoment in Histst ory Project HOLD Newsletter Vol. II. March 2007 A TRIBUTE TO TWO TEACHERS by Anne Boykin, Project HOLD Staff itty Worley, 83, of College Station, died peacefully at home listening to her favorite hymns with her husband of 62 years, Will Worley, holding her hand. World War II brought them together when Will, Aggie Class of ‘43, attended Army classes at the University of Delaware. Kitty spent her childhood in Wilmington Delaware skating, sledding, and attending the Methodist Church. When this Yankee relocated to Texas, she earned teaching certifi cation as soon as possible while raising four children: Eleanor, Fred, Evalyn, and Barbara. She taught 32 years for A&M Consolidated ISD, fi rst in second grade and later high school English and Spanish. For 14 summers she took high Mary Catherine “Kitt y” Worley , May 15, 1923 -February 17, 2007 K Project HOLD Historic Online Library Database http://HOLD.cstx.gov Sponsored by: Historic Preservation Committee Moment in History Newsletter Edited by Anne Boykin aboykin@cstx.gov 979.764.3491 Visit us at City Hall 1101 Texas Avenue . . .and bring your memories! City of College Station P.O. Box 9960 College Station, TX 77842 NOW SHOWING! COACH JEROME R. DELLEY, JR. & THE LINCOLN PANTHERS FOOTBALL TEAM 1949-1965 A Project HOLD Exhibit College Station Conference Center 1300 George Bush Dr. College Station, Texas COMING SOON! SCENES OF THE 60s A Project HOLD Exhibit Opening in July 2007 College Station Conference Center If you have items to share for this exhibit, please contact the Project HOLD offi ce at 979.764.3491 TransTexas Airways fl ight at Easterwood Airport, 1963. Coach Delley at Conference Center exhibit, 2007. Photo by Butch Ireland, The Eagle. See Worley, p. 6. See Tribute, p. 2. Res ources for this iss ue of “Moment in Hist ory” Boykin, Elizabeth Anne. To Get to Here, A Journey through My Childhood, 1953-1963. Left-Write Ink Books, 2005. For more information on the topics of this newsletter see the following fi les in Project HOLD (http://HOLD.cstx.gov): Education-Grade School/A&M Consolidated Elementary School Education-Grade School/A&M Consolidated High School People/Families/Worley Family Military/WWII/Veterans/Kitty & Will Worley If you have more materials to add to the Project HOLD fi les on this or any other subject of local history, please contact Anne Boykin, aboykin@cstx.gov or 979.764.3491. If you enjoy writing or have an interest in our local history, consider one of the many volunteer opportunities we have available for you in Project HOLD. Call us today. Reunion News A&M Consolidated High School Class of 1967 in honor of their 40 Year Reunion is hosting Imagine -A 60s Decade Reunion July 20-21, 2007 College Station Conference Center 1300 George Bush Drive Friday Night -Individual Classes host their own get togethers. Saturday Afternoon -The Historic Preservation Committee will be on hand at the Conference Center to scan your memorablia, photos and memories for Project HOLD. Help us preserve the 60s! Saturday Night -Imagine, A 60s Decade Party For more information contact: Anne Boykin at aboykin@cstx.gov Project HOLD Moment in History, March. 2007 Masthead Photos: Miss Viola Ford Toliver and Miss Jackson, 1922; Young Bill Lancaster & Little Davey; 1983 Aggie Bonfi re; Northgate, 1948; Willie Virginia and Clay Boykin, 1954; Peggy Campbell, 1938; Bill Stasny, c. 1900. played quietly in his playpen with a clothespin and a piece of string. Willie Virginia, our colored maid, was listening to her “Hotsy Totsy Radio Show” as she cleaned our li􀄴 le apartment and hummed along. Karen, 1st grade Project HOLD Moment in History, March. 2007 -7-we moved to a suburban neighborhood on Winding Road. The best surprise ever was learning that Mrs. Worley lived one street over on Dexter. Her daughter Evalyn and I became instant friends, along with her big sister Eleanor and big brother, Fred. I felt especially privileged to actually see Mrs. Worley in her home. I don’t know why I was intrigued by this. I guess most of us assumed our teachers had no lives outside of their classrooms. On the last day of school that year, I slowly walked to Mrs. Worley’s classroom knowing that this was to be the end of my afternoon sessions with Karen. The sight that awaited me inside the classroom was almost more than I could comprehend. Mrs. Worley was cleaning out the cabinets of her classroom. Rainbows of bits of construction paper fl u􀄴 ered down into one colorful stack. Partial pads of Big Chief tablets lay in another. Broken crayons, pencil stubs, half-used white paste containers, manilla papers, ruled papers and various odds and ends were in other stacks around her desk. I was looking at a gold mine. Karen was scurrying around to help Mrs. Worley clean up and all I could do was stand there and gawk. My spell was broken with Karen’s pronouncement that rung out like music to my ears, “Mrs. Worley says we can have it all if we help her!” I wanted to drop to the fl oor and wallow in all of it. Instead, I opened my book satchel and started cramming in as much as it would hold lest the spell be broken. Karen did the same. By the end of the school year, I was reading and tackling simple arithmetic problems. There was only one problem. Karen taught me to write the only way she knew how, le􀄞 handed. Not knowing that I was most likely destined to be a right hander, I dutifully mastered writing at the le􀄞 hand of my teacher/sister. Texas was one of the last states to abandon the practice of “switching”. Prior to the early 50s, students caught trying to write le􀄞 handed were switched to righthanded. This soon stopped when it was believed that switching students was reported to cause stu􀄴 ering or bedwe􀄴 ing. Learning to write le􀄞 handed may have been the major turning point of my life. Why else would I have developed an absolute equal love of mathematics and art, writing and mechanical drawing? By the time I began fi rst grade, I was bored. All of the wonderful things Karen had taught me to do were the exact same things we were doing in fi rst grade. Poor Mrs. Caywood fi nally resorted to giving me an S-in self control the fi rst six weeks. It was a grade that my family would never let me live down. Karen had advanced to Mrs. Worley’s second grade class. At the end of each school day, I walked from my classroom to Karen’s so that we could ride the bus home together to College View. Mrs. Worley sat at her large wooden desk grading papers. I leaned on the desk, chin resting on my hands, and watched her every move. My eyes wandered to stacks of blank worksheets just waiting to be fi lled in. Eventually, I mustered up the courage to ask Mrs. Worley if I could have some of them. Her red pencil poised for a moment as she asked, “Do you think you can do these?” My eyes widened at her question and unable to speak in hope and anticipation, I slowly nodded my head and held my breath. I was soon -2-Project HOLD Moment in History, March 2007 Clay Boykin, Evalyn Worley, Anne Boykin, Eleanor Worley, Karen Boykin, 1013 Winding Road. c. 1956. grinning from ear to ear with my book satchel fi lled with work sheets as I boarded the bus with Karen to go home. I couldn’t wait to get home. Karen and I sat at the kitchen table. She explained each page to me with the authority of a teacher and I clung to her every word. Karen did her homework and I worked on my new worksheets, dutifully fi lling in all the blanks. My pencil fl ew through the work, eagerly awaiting the next one, yet dreading the moment when there would be no more until the next a􀄞 ernoon. I lived to fi ll in the blanks. In the middle of the school year, our family built a new home and Tribute from page 1. Meeetet tthhee nneeww PPrroojjeectct HHOOLLDD VVoolluunntteeeerrss Alyson “Aly” Sanders Ashley Ross Emily Johnson Meeetet tthee PPrroojjeectct HOLLD IIntteerrn Sarah Sundbec k Currently pursuing a B.A. in History at SHSU, Alyson came to Project HOLD last fall from Lubbock. She is an avid antiquarian book collector, Campus Representative for the Walt Disney Co. College Program and interned at DisneyWorld in the spring of 2004. Aly loves to scubadive and skydive, her favorite t.v. shows are Get Smart and RENO 911. Her favorite book is Gone With the Wind, and her favorite movie is anything by Mel Brooks. Alyson has already logged in over 75 scanning hours. Ashley is hard at work fi nishing her PhD graduate work in political science at Texas A&M. She has a so􀄞 spot in her heart for the preservation of history that brought her to Project HOLD. Her busy schedule only allows her to volunteer a few hours a month but already she has been a valuable asset to the project. She enjoys spending time with her family in the Columbus area. She likes to fi sh and ride horses. Her ki􀄴 y “Alli” is her favorite home companion. Welcome to the Project HOLD team! Our newest volunteer, Sarah, is a junior history major at Texas A&M from the Round Rock area. “Thinking ahead more seriously about graduate school...I read about Project HOLD and the need for volunteers and felt this would be an amazing opportunity for me to help the community, gain experience and explore a type of history-related work.” Sarah has a radio program on KANM, enjoys documentaries, and absolutely loves to scan. We are delighted to have her with us. Emily Johnson is a senior at SHSU, graduating in August with a B.A. in Political Science. When her husband recently joined the Bryan Police Department, the Johnson’s decided to make Bryan their home. A􀄞 er Emily’s spring semester, she will volunteer part-time as an intern for Project HOLD in order to fulfi ll a course requirement. Having an intern on a regular basis is a true gi􀄞 for Project HOLD. Emily has recently been accepted into the Bush School of Government and Public Service and is working toward her masters in public service and administration.She has worked very closely with the City of Huntsville, and on many election campaigns through school. Her intern duties for Project HOLD will include working on the Oral History Project and creating a real honest to goodness volunteer offi ce area within the Project HOLD offi ce. Needless to say, Anne is very excited about the prospect of working with Emily. -6-Project HOLD Moment in History, March 2007 danced with Howard Nederman. Point, point, step...point, point step... point, point, step, bow... every one of us could probably still dance it today. Mrs. Worley had instilled in us how regal and elegant we were. Another magical thing in Mrs. Worley’s classroom was her goldfi sh bowl. It was made of glass, round like a bowl with a hollow handle like a basket. Magically, the water ran through the handle and if you watched for a while, the fi sh swam through the handle. I’ve never heard of or seen another one since. Mrs. Worley approached every school day with the exuberance of a child. On Fridays, when we were allowed to bring our roller skates, she brought hers, too. We wore our skate keys like badges, strung around our necks on kite string. A􀄞 er lunch, we sat on the sidewalk, a􀄴 aching the metal skates to our shoes, adjusting the clamps with the metal skate key. Off we went, down the sidewalk and to the slab, squeaking and squeeling all the way. Mrs. Worley Worley skated with us every week. When recess rolled around during the week, we brought out the the chalk for hopscotch, marbles, balls, jacks and jump ropes. We chanted the rhymes and waited our turns to run in and jump. Mrs. Worley could out jump us all, even in double Dutch with two ropes going. In the heat of a College Station summer, if we ever needed a cool respite, we could always go to Mrs. Worley’s house and fi nd plenty of books to read. The Worley garage was always available to us for the many plays that That a􀄞 ernoon, on the walk home from school, we decided that we had enough material to open our own school for the summer. And so we did. The Boykin garage at 1013 Winding Road became the school house for the younger children in the neighborhood. Karen was the teacher and I was the helper. Parents paid a nominal fee, probably 5¢ per student per day. We continued our garage school for several summers. There were several of our dedicated students who began fi rst grade already reading. The following year, my dream came true as I was assigned to Mrs. Worley’s second grade class. Her classroom, although very much like the others was special. The atmosphere was magic. My favorite part of the school day was a􀄞 er lunch listening to Mrs. Worley read aloud to us. I lay my head down on my desk and closed my eyes. I could see Christopher Robin, Pooh Bear, Eyeore and Piglet as Mrs. Worley changed her voice according to the character. She read all of A.A. Milne’s books, Charlo􀄴 e’s Web, and a delightful story about a family in Vermont who made maple syrup candy. We learned about “blab schools” and danced the Minuet. In February 50 years ago, our mothers constructed period costumes and made wigs from cotton ba􀄴 ing. Mrs. Worley’s class danced the Minuet in honor of George Washington’s birthday. Larry Holt remembers that he was George Washington. I think Meg Huebner was Martha. I Project HOLD Moment in History, March. 2007 -3-End of school picnic for Mrs. Worley’s Second Grade class in Karen (Thompson) Thatcher’s backyard. 1957. 56-57 A&M Consolidated school students to Mexico for emersion in Spanish and the culture. She was an energetic educator as well as volunteer and fundraiser for many causes including her high school EI Club Castellano. No aluminum can or tab was safe from her collecting skills. Kitty and Will loved learning as well as teaching. They traveled to 23 Elderhostels in 11 different states and five foreign countries. Kitty devoted her phenomenal leadership and energy to Girl Scouts, the Pan American RoundTable, Masters Swimming, Kiwanis Club, OPAS, Stage Center (where she was nominated volunteer of the decade), Delta Kappa Gamma, Brazos County Retired Teachers (where she served as chaplain), Friends of Chamber Music, Symphony Orchestra, Mended Hearts, Baptist River Ministries, Barbara Bush Center for Child Literacy and Literacy Volunteers of America with regular dinner dances and community entertainment of all kinds. Kitty’s enthusiasm for community projects had roots in the Methodist Church and grew with her memberships in the A & M and Covenant Presbyterian Churches. She taught Sunday School and Bible school, served as an Elder and represented the Presbytery in two General Assemblies. Her close relationship with her many students, four children, eight grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren reflects her joy and exuberance for life. She believed and lived, “What you do for yourself dies with you; what you do for others lives on.” She often said each memory would not be as much fun or worth doing without the constant help of Will. We’ll miss hearing her say, “This is sooo wonderful!” and “Where there’s a Will there’s a way!” A memorial service was held at 2 pm Tuesday, February 20 at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 220 Rock Prairie Road, College Station, Texas 77845. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Kitty Worley Memorial Fund for Covenant Presbyterian Church. For those who wish condolences for the family may be left at: www.callawayjones.com. The Eagle, February From Obituary from page 1. n 1980, a high school graduate from Caracas, Venezuela, enrolled in Spanish at Consolidated in order to improve her English even though she had been accepted at A&M. Mrs. Worley welcomed her with open arms. She specifi cally enlisted the help of a young Aggie, a recent graduate of Consolidated. The pairing was supposedly for “educational purposes” however, the young couple began a courtship in the oldest traditions of the young woman’s native country, always in the presence of a chaperone. Katyla and Thomas Boykin, married 24 years, now have two children and their own business, Taste of the Tropics at Post Oak Mall. Katyla saved a treasured birthday card, a tin elefante and an impromptu English lesson (wri􀄴 en on the back of the envelope) from her days in Mrs. Worley’s class. No doubt there are many such pieces of memorabilia in scrapbooks around the world. Such was the legacy of Mrs. Worley. I -4-Project HOLD Moment in History. March 2007 Project HOLD Moment in History, March. 2007 -5-teaching English and Spanish. Her love of teaching, her love of her students, and her love of life was evident every single day. Although I never took Spanish, the tune of “Un elefante se balanceaba...” being sung in her hoarse yet strong voice carried through the halls at A&M Consolidated. If I ever entered her classroom to deliver a message from the offi ce, she always spoke Spanish. One could not help but understand simply because of her body language and expressions. The poor woman never took a lunch break. She tutored students during the non hour with a book in one hand an apple in the other. Her classroom was full of eager students from before the fi rst bell until long a􀄞 er the last. Mrs. Worley’s every waking moment was about teaching. Singing was second nature to her and became part of her daily routine of teaching. One of the last times I visited with her in her home, she gave me a Spanish language children’s book for my new Southwest style home. It is a book I will treasure always. I was fortunate to get to see Mrs. Worley fairly o􀄞 en once I moved back to College Station. She and Mr. Worley a􀄴 ended the Exploring History Lunch Lectures at the Conference Center. It was easy for her to do so, she was teaching Spanish and English at the Baraba Bush Parenting Center next door. She always invited me to come and visit her classes there and I am so sorry that I never did. The Worley’s celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary a few years ago at the University Club in Rudder Tower. Several of us from that second grade class attended and posed for a picture with her. She ra􀄴 led off almost all of the names of her students from that 1956-57 school year nearly 50 years prior. And most recently, she a􀄴 ended a reunion of our A&M Consolidated High School Class of 1967. One of my most favorite photos of her was taken there that day. Mrs. Worley has always been and will continue to be my most favorite teacher because she the same. I owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Worley and my sister, Karen. She had the patience to play school with her little sister long enough to nurture my desire to learn. She gave me an opportunity at a head start long before the program of the same name was ever begun. That early head start carried me through all of my school years. 􀁆􀁇 Mrs. Worley at former second grade student Penny (Hancock) Hervey’s house, 2005. Background: Mrs. Worley’s former second graders Lary G. Holt and Dr. James Creswell. Also, former Consolidated teacher Mr. K. C. Morgan. What you do for yourself dies with you; what you do for others lives on. 􀁆􀁇 Where there’s a Will, there’s a way! 􀁆􀁇 This is sooooo wonderful! 􀁆􀁇 we staged for the other kids in the neighborhood. In later years, Mrs. Worley took us with her to Lincoln School, the school for blacks on County Road. There, she was helping to begin the Head Start program. We sat and read to young children for hours. Eventually, Mrs. Worley moved up to the high school level had confidence in my abilities and shared her enthusiasm for education, especially reading, with me. I have always admired the fact that Mrs. Worley never grew old. She never forgot how to play and threw herself into her every endeavor with the enthusiasm and spirit of a child. Thank goodness she never grew up because it always kept her young. I plan to do Mrs. Worley’s ladies of the Minuet, February 22, 1957.