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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEarly Education II Home Interview I. LaeneHOME INTERVIEW - EARLY EDUCATION IRENE LAENE HOME INTERVIEW - EARLY EDUCATION ES: This is Eileen Sather at the home of Irean Leen on Wednesday Aug. 28, 1996. We are going to discuss about early education. Alright Irean, if you would, just tell me how you came here to Brazos County. IL: I was born at Lawerance there on the corner, Church's Chicken was on this comer up here, and place was across the street, on 15th street & Texas Ave. I was born, not on the comer. There was another house on that corner, and I was born next to the drive -in where the drive -in. And all I had to do was go out the house and go to school cause it was the next block behind me. I was bom here, I lived here all my life. This is where I was born. ES: Then how did you get to school ? You just had to walk to school. Didn't you ? IL: All I had to do was not even a block. I did not have to walk a block. I lived on Texas Ave. and all I had to do was cross Houston and there it was that school. ES: OK Then you went on to high school ? IL: That was the same itself; it was one school. There was one school and a playschool in Brazos County for blacks in that spot there. That's the playschool and I have a picture of it in here. ES: OK, but this is what we will look at because they won't be able to really tell. IL: Do you want to see that ? ES: Yes. IL: I wrote the history of the school ? Sesquintinnal super family history. ES: Now when did they de- segregate ? IL: In `71. ES: And do you had brothers and sisters ? IL I had, yes, I had a brother that was older than I. ES: So then you were at this school for both. IL: No, this school burned at the last ES: Oh, right. IL: This is the playschool they built after reconstruction that playschool was there for blacks in Brazos County. Inaudible. ES: The playschool ? IL: Yea. ES: And this has a second floor. This is the school that- IL: And after that burned after the school burned they had school at our church up here Alan Chaple, Ana Church, and the Chaple on East Martin Luther King and Houston and they had the big Chaple on Washington. That is were they had school and then this one was built. This school they outlawed it. ES: The Bryan ? and they said Bryan Colored High School is how they IL: That's my brother. ES: That how they did it. IL: That is exactly what they did and I have some of the better tools some of the stationary and everything. ES: Now how far did you have to go in you Education to be a teacher. IL: I graduated from Bryan Colored HS in `27, May `27. I attended Prairyview for two years. I got a teacher's certificate for four years of teaching in `29. I went `27 - `28 and started teaching in `29 at Nelson Chaple that is in the heart of the district. I taught there. Then I came and started teaching at Bryan & Kemp. It was Kemp High School. Mr. Kemp died after `29 the last class. I started teaching at Kemp High School. After I graduated from here. My husband was in the class of `29 that was the last class that Mr. Kemp taught, `29. I came home from Praireview during that time. I had always helped him with the registers ( the teacher's registers). I did that when I was at school all day with him. Then he asked, I went by to see him, he said he would you come help me Monday with the register all day. I said "I sure will". He went home that afternoon. They lived on west side they were playing Bundalow the Kemp house. They had an oil stove and it exploded, and he was burned. He did not die then but he died right after that the burns cause it. So I was glad I had this picture and I had Mrs. Kemp's picture and everything. I started teaching, later I started teaching over at Kemp High. I taught chemistry and I taught later I taught the 5th & 6th and I know half the kids at school here we had Latin. Mr. Kemp taught these subjects himself; he taught Latin, Geometry, Algebra, and ( I forgot to list something) he subbed a lot for English. But he had just one or two students in each class because then schools they started children didn't started school until late. And so there would be probably one person in eleven grade maybe two in the class in the tenth like that. I'm glad in `27 we had 6 to graduate, six. In the class that followed us did not have but 2. And so all those classes were in Mr. Kemp's room he taught all of that. He would go around. He taught all of that. Checking with the kids. So I started teaching there & I taught Kemp open. It is called near MATH. I have all the school (pictures) Bryan High School was like that. ES: Bryan Colored High. IL: The stationary that they had and ES: Well now when you were teaching. What time of the day did you, did classes start, school start ? IL: The bell rang at 8:30. ES: Then you would take a lunch break ? IL: No, we'd go through school started you would be late if you got there at time. They had a head bell they rang it when you were late. ES: OK. And it started at 8:30. IL: Yea about 8 :30, that is when we had class. We had lunch and there was a shed on Preston it was near Preston. There was a house on the comer of Preston but there was a shed part of the school. The house belonged to the Tally family, but the shed where you put you lunch was back there. But my Grandmother brought my lunch, brought me a hot lunch every day at school. She is a midwife, so she did that for me. I stayed with my grandmother. I was born in the house with my grandmother. All of us lived together until the day she passed. My mother, I never lived out of the house without my mother she died in `85. So that is what they had. We had recess about a 15 or 20 minute recess & the restrooms were over here. East Martin Luther King street the back of the ladies room was toward Shilo Baptist Church on the corner. Do you know where that church is ? Well that's where the restrooms were over there the girls restroom, the boys was on Preston and Shilo was here. Now Preston was the boy's side. The side on Houston was the girls side. So you could to a cartin line the girls we moved around there near Preston but when we got ready to come to the restroom we had to go all the way around, left out of the room, and go all the way the school and go around the boy's shower to go to the restroom. ES: Well I went to a country school in Minnesota and we also had to go outdoors and the boys over here and girls over there. I know hoe that goes. I can relate to that. And then after your lunch you had your afternoon classes and how late did they go. IL: I think school let out about 2:30 to go home. We always had an assembly. During assembly on Monday mornings all the teachers by the students would go down, the children sat but the teachers stood by their classes and Mr. Kemp would have devotion. He would ask you what was the subject of the Sunday School lesson. And the Golden text and all of that. we would tell him, those that knew would tell him about it he would talk to us and make announcements and then dismiss us to go back to our room. ES: Now about how many students would be in the school. An average IL: Average. When I was there first they started off the history did not have but four teachers in ES: Four teachers in the school. II.: The history I have the name because I loved history. ES: Yea, I'll get that you don't have to get. And then. Like in how many students would you have in a class that you were teaching early in your when you first started? IL: When I was see I taught in a harder district ES: OK IL: That's what I was saying that when I started teaching in `29, I taught out there. Then all the children had stopped school had dropped out. The only teacher Mrs. Dean she left to go to another school out in Atlanta Spring that was close to College Station somewhere out there, they had? had gotten here so Mrs. Dean went out there to teach and told the trusties what she wanted because she would get more money at the other one. so Mrs. Dean my neighbor right there, she came over to my house and "Irene would you like to go out to Harvard district to " and I said yea I would." So she carried me out there to see the trusties. They asked me some. She said she is young but she is a smart person. I was valedictorian of my class. She is able to do it we will take your word for it when she comes and said the same thing. Then later Mrs. Dean didn't get to school because Mr. Leb Thomas was the one who carried his son to integrate the schools. His sister got to school so that meant that didn't have in school so she went back to they say "No" we can't give it because we have already hired a teacher. So I talked to her and then about there there were about 20 children but one teacher when I went there they didn't have a school they were having school in a church. ES: Now would this be grades 1 -8? i IL: No 1 -6 ES: 1 -6 OK IL: There somehow were as old as I was some of them older than I was. When I went there they came back to school so the other girl teacher and so went off to high school for two years and so they came back to quick came back to school and we played ball I taught them how to dance I just had a ball out there with them We had a stunt show some person would fall. We also had baseball games in school cloths and barbecue and everything it was nice out there. Very nice. Then I came here, do you want me to tell about the classes here? ES: Yes IL: Regular school, same number of classes I taught I think four classes a day four periods I think I taught four periods in a day. I am not too sure about that. ES: Did whatever was supposed to be done, of course you know we had lab and everything. And we stood at the door and greeted the children. And we stayed there until the bell sounds, the buses rolled in and we'd start classes IL: Well, over the years of your teaching, how did you find that things changed.... rules and discipline, as to what you could do or couldn't do? (`work "). Even the students change - you know we all know everybody changes over the years. How did you find that? ES: Uh, children were obedient then they'd know to be obedient. If you were not, uh you were expelled from school. Teachers could whip children then, they would whip you, and sometimes the parent would come down and help whip the children also, you know. IL: OK. Did the head of the school do it, or did the teachers do it? ES: The teachers did it IL: Did you ever whip anybody? (Ha Ha Ha) ES: I never did IL: (Laughing) See, you have control IL: I didn't, I didn't, I didn't whip anybody when I was in school, and I didn't ever whip anybody when I was in the schools in Bryan, and I never sent a student to the office, to the principal. I never discussed students to the other teachers. Whatever I had to say to the students I said when they said "good morning" I'd say "good morning, I'd like to see you after school ". And I'd tell the girls, I'd say, "Now listen, if you get pregnant, don't come to school and tell your friends because they're gonna tell their friends, and some of those friends are going to tell the teacher, and the teacher's gonna tell the principal. And then you gonna be expelled from school. I said you tell your parents. They will hate it, but they're not gonna discuss you. When I see somebody, I would say, I seen your son or daughter at school, and I talked with them- they're not gonna talk to them, but I never told the principal anything. And some of those teachers would do just that. They'd go tell the principal that the other girl was pregnant. ....She's gonna bring her own little _ to school when she comes. (Ha Ha) They knew `em good. IL: Gina had the problem back then, just like they do now, except it's more magnified now. Oh, tell me again please when you were out in the country, exactly where was that located. I'm trying to put that in my mind. ES: In Harmonistic, going toward Huntsville... that's Harmonistic. IL.: Oh, OK Because I've been here since 1980, but some of the things I've been trying to put in my mind. ES: Have you been out to Harmony? Out that way, going towards Huntsville? II.: Yes, uh huh. ES: Well, I don't know exactly how many miles, about 8 or 9 miles, you might know where.... Roan's Chapel- I don't know if you know. IL: Yes, uh huh.. I go through there. ES: Roan's Chapel is on the right going. Nelson's Chapel is on the left, across from Roan's Chapel. II,: OK ES: That was a Baptist church- Roan's Chapel- Church was a Baptist, and the school up there, there was a school there, uh, Nelson's Chapel was a Methodist Church, and uh, but they were down on the left.... uh, Roan's Chapel on the right - and right straight down the other way was Nelson's Chapel. And we visited - - -- church out there, but my church was right here, - -- Chapel. That was about time whenever I was a very new Methodist - - -- there since. ES: Now, how many total years did you teach? IL: 44, let me get my plaque. ES: 44 IL: Let me get my plaque and show it to you. ES: OK And you're married? IL: Yes ES: And how many children? IL: I don't have any children. ES: You don't have any children? IL: No ES: Well that's....... IL: I'm sorry, but I don't have any... See, this is what worries me. See cause I'm - -- Well, I'll be coming out my bedroom and she say - -- ES: I'm looking at this plague of Mrs. Laene, and it's from Bryan Public Schools from 1929 to 1973. That's ... my mother was also a teacher back in the 20's and she, like you, did uh, you know the couple of years in college and got her teacher's certificate and then she married my dad and taught in rural schools until she got pregnant with my brother and then she stayed at home being a farmer's wife. IL: Here's a plaque, the decade of the 50's , class of `40...'49. It's dated. ES: A special thanks, decades of 50's, class of 48,49. That's beautiful. IL: That's, that was the, they gave, presented back to me this evening of July 23rd. Right- 1996! Just did that, just a little over a month ago. IL: I got a whole stack of plaques. ES: That's great. And because you lived in this, uh, I mean in an area, you went to church and school and everything in a real small area, didn't you. IL: Yes, we played, uh, there along Texas Avenue and East Martin Luther King St. until I think it was in, uh, 20's , then we moved to Oak Lawn. It was Pierce St. then, they named it M.L.K St. to uh, 19th. St. west side, east 19th and west 19th., when you got to the curb it became Pierce, it's still Pierce, E. M.L.K. St. is Pierce up to the white - - - -? Uh, huh. That's the street we were on, and then later, uh, we moved here, where my husband, uh, my mother, I've always lived with my mother. My husband was in the service, OK. I lived with my mother and had a house tom down, and I rebuilt it when we stayed over there with her, and then we decided we were gonna build, so we moved her here with us and then she died. She died in `85, April `85. She was 92 years old. ES: Longevity in your family isn't there? Well now, your parents, were they born and raised here? Or did they.... IL: - - - -in the family. They moved here from Washington D.C.. in the sesquicentennial 128- - ES: They moved here from Washington D.C.? IL: Washington County ES: Oh Washington County, when you said Washington, I'm thinking...... IL: 1/28, 1/28, way over too far ES: Family, local history, society, 1/28 (reading from something) IL.: That's black education ES: Black education in Brazos County IL: Uh huh ES: --- And - - -- IL: 1/12 ES: 1/12, and the family name was Watson. IL: Yes, the 12th. ES: When was this Brazos County History published? IL: Mine is dated April 14, `86 , ten years ago. ES: 10 years ago IL: That's the Watson family. They came here from Washington County. ES: And your husband's people? IL: My husband's people, from Navasota and Bryan. Got married here, Tulane, on Tulane, so after we married, he, he was principal out at uh, Fairview, yah, Fairview. He went to Caldwell. He was principal there. He left there, he went to Pasadena. He was principal for Pasadena when he retired. He was there for 25 years. ES: But with you living in an area where, like I said, your church was close to you, you don't have to worry about transportation, you could walk. And how about grocery shopping and all of that, could you just shop here in the area and walk, or did you have a car back in the 20's (Ha Ha). IL: In the 20's ... No, I got a car in the 30's because I was going to school. ES: yah, for you to ... right II : I had a car then. We've had cars ever since. ES: And what were uh, what ere the roads and things like between Bryan and College Station then, do you remember ? IL: Oh, yes, I remember they were good. College avenue was good. Most of them were very good. My stepfather worked there at that? And the trolley was running out to uh, not to academy, but the capitol school. And Leyland was? He was a fireman at the old mill and also? ES: Well with Texas A &M here, did you, uh, go over there to an of the sports or things like that, or ... IL: My brother did, but, uh I also attended Texas A &M . I was out there when uh, Johnny Macentire was taking physics was taking physics, there, and I was sitting. Mrs. Macentire wrote a book and a magazine about her husband. Do you have time to see it ? ES: Yes, certainly. Well I would like to really look at that sometime and this is something that, I guess, at that sometime, and this is something that, I guess, at the conference center they know about. I'm sure they know about this history book. II.: Yes, sesquicentennial, ES: And now, you know, they've read it or not, I haven't, but I can get it from them, but uh. Now you got Christmas holidays oft� even as a youngster, and then when you were teaching, and you had the summers off II.: Yes, sure did, had summers off. ES: So they went from September through May. They didn't start in the middle of August or ... like they do now (Ha Ha). IL: I told you I went through ? for 2 years straight, then I would go to extensive school on Saturday, and during the summer I went to summer school during summ and got my, uh bachelor of science degree. I went during the summer and got my master of science degree, and after that, I went to University of California out at ? . My husband and I both looked into there, but I couldn't get a doctorate, because I was too old. I was too old to get a doctorate - but I had worked on it. ES: Yah- of course, nowadays, every once in a while, you hear of somebody in there 60's still doing things. But I certainly admire you for continuing your education like that, and uh, it's wonderful. IL: Science foundation -I received science foundation to go to Texas A &M for 2 summers and one to Prarie View, applied down at University of ? and we had places that were very interested in school, and they had ? . They used to charter trains. Go to Dallas or Houston, things like that. Used to ? And have these speakers come to BBB Boyd and things. Go to the park, have parades and all that. They would celebrate the 19th of June _ ES: I think for a small community, like say, when I moved here and we moved here in `80, especially in College Station, there wasn't anything beyond S.W. Parkway, and now everything has grown up so much, and the university has enlarged, your Bryan High School has grown so much, as have the high schools and all of the elementary schools. It's just growing, growing, growing. Well, Bryan is growing ? ? My niece is at one of those schools, south, no, north. Well that's where she lived, out there, so when my great great niece went in to Baskin Robbins, she was going in to get this great big cake with ice cream on it, and said happy birthday auntie, that's what they called me, auntie. She said ? so she could see my school. So I asked, how far is this from town to College Station. She said 3 miles. I said what? And see, none of that was there when I was going. I used to go drive on campus, I'd drive down to go to the library, I'd drive sown all the time, go to oil will, uh. ? and then I couldn't go anywhere down there, I couldn't go to the mall uh.... IL: Too much traffic for ya? South Noles school is real close to where I live. IL: It is ES: Yes, uh, will maybe a total of 3 or four blocks. IL: Oh, really ES: Yah -so uh, we didn't have to be concerned about being close to a school cause our children were grown and are in Dallas. But, for resale value and everything, our house is on a location. IL: That's good, I couldn't imagine, all I know, see when I lived in Lana, that was there. I used to drive out to the game -at night and everything. I was there when my great niece graduated. I got to see her. They carried me out of there. I wouldn't try to drive. Especially this weekend, now, with 42,000 students going to be out at A &M. The streets are quite crowded. But, I still love it, and that's why when my husband died I decided to stay here with A &M, and my church, and all of my friends and neighbors and stuff, so... ES: What is your church? IL: Peace Lutheran, there off of 2818, and uh, so we you know, have been real active in that kind of thing and stuff so, ES: I don't go 2818 either, Ha -Ha, and I haven't to the mall this year. I used to drive out there. Before they made them one -way, they've changed this one. All these big roads coming in. Bypasses and what not. I used to go by ? to the mall and I could come back the same way. Now, you can't come back that way, you have to go onto too many outlets there. One going to Harvey. And so I come back through College Station because I ? I just look one way when I'm going -my husband told me just look straight down. I sure do -look straight down where I'm going to see where I'm going. I saw a man and his wife in a van. I said go up to the next and turn left, pass through the first light, then go to the next one and you'll see the service station, turn left ? . I was close to it, but I didn't know where I was. That's why I don't drive, and we don't have any stores here, IL: Yah, that's the thing, that's kind of sad that ... because Manor East Mall doesn't have that much either for you. ES: They -my niece gave me a beautiful tensile bracelet. I ? I haven't found anything there that's good since almost Christmas I think. I haven't tried to even by something, but I didn't like their shoes, I didn't like their belts, I didn't like anything they had out there. Of course, I don't come this way. IL: Yah, you don't need to ES: Yah, I have a Kroger's store not far from me on Southwest Parkway, and then I go out to the mall, you know, and hit some of the other stores if there's something specific I'm looking for, when my grandchildren were visiting ? IL: I go to H.E.B., Appletree, there's nothing uptown ES: Well Irene, I have enjoyed talking with you. Thanks, and your background and what you've done, I think is just wonderful.- - - - - -- - END