Image Above: Estella’s Teaching Certificate
In the spring of 1905, there was a teachers’ training school at Brunot. It was taught by a Mr. Pogue, who had taught the regular term preceding, but as they only had six month terms then, school was out early. He was an excellent teacher.
I boarded with Cousin Claude Redford and his wife. Leander also went to this school. He stayed with his sister Isadore who was married and lived at Brunot. I think this training school lasted three months, February, March and April. In March we took teachers’ examinations at Piedmont. I first took it in Wayne County and got a certificate to teach third grade but as I got a school in Iron County, I had to take it in June at Ironton.
Leander [was hired at] a school in Madison County and I in Iron County that year. My school started in July just a few weeks after I was sixteen years old. I was grown up and most people took me for eighteen. My pupils would sometimes ask how old I was but I would not tell them for fear they wouldn’t want to obey me.
I boarded with some very nice people, but they lived one and a half miles from school so I walked this distance twice each day. The King school was a two room school. The superintendent had all grades from fifth up to eighth. I had from first to fifth and it was a very small room. I had fifty-two pupils. We were very crowded but I enjoyed my school very much. My pupils all tho’t a lot of me.
I was only promised a five month term, but at the end of five months they hired me for another month and the primary part was out the same time as the higher grades.
I saved most all my money for teaching. I only received $25.00 per month and paid $7.50 a month for board. This left me $17.50. I did not go to school that winter and loaned my money to brother Eli to go to college at Springfield, Missouri. He went the spring term. That spring I [was hired at] a school at Lower Camp Creek. Our district was called Upper Camp Creek and three miles farther was called Lower Camp Creek, so I didn’t have so far to ride and boarded at home.
I had the entire school from first to eighth but only about thirty pupils in all and some of them were as old as I. I was a little past seventeen now and felt very old and experienced. I received $30.00 a month here and had a six month term. By this time Leander and I were engaged and planned to get married as soon as school was out. I don’t think I was too good a teacher this year as my mind was on getting married, but I was well liked and some pupils went every day without missing.
I kept my pony “Old Gyp” (my father had bought for me to ride) up there in Mr. Russell’s pasture and when Friday evening came I would saddle her and light out for home about eight miles away and thro hills most of the way. I never tho’t of being afraid as I had ridden a horse ever since I was very young and was used to going thro long stretches of wooded sections where there were no houses.
Leander would usually ride back with me on Sunday afternoons. As his school was several miles beyond where mine was, it was his route too. Sometimes he would stop at Mrs. Russell’s for awhile and would go on later on in the evening. He had a beautiful bay mare and very often we would run races, for “Ord Ribbon” and “Gyp” would try to out run each other. One time Gyp ran under a hickory limb, my saddle turned, and off I went. Leander and I were going from our house to church at Brunot and when I fell off Gyp, I tore my dress. We went on, however, and his sister, Isadore Barnes, sewed my dress and we went on to church.
The reason I fell off is that I was riding a side saddle. Girls those days did not ride astride a horse. Just a few did and they were not tho’t to be nice girls. Even if a girl rode a man’s saddle she would sit sidways on it. I remember when I would be going thro the woods, where I knew no one would see me, I would get astride for awhile but as soon as houses appeared I would change and sit sideways. It was really very dangerous for if a horse stumbled you would almost pitch off.
Part of the time I rode a beautiful bay mare named Nell. She was my father’s love that he rode to go preach and she was a fine saddler. She could out pace any horse I ever rode, but the roads were rocky and not much road to pace on. It took me an hour to ride the three miles to school.
[Leander and I] were to get married on December 23rd, my parents’ wedding anniversary, and all plans were made and guests were invited. Ruth had my beautiful wedding dress made and had started baking cakes when we looked out and saw Leander’s father coming, riding a horse and leading one. This was on Friday before the wedding was to be on Sunday. He said that Leander had taken very ill. What a terrible shock and disappointment. I had to take a big cry but dried my eyes and went with Mr. Henson. I stayed with them a week until Leander was better.
I had to get permission from the school to layoff, but my father took care of that for me. We had to postpone our wedding for a month till he recovered from the influenza (called La Grippe then). So on January 27, 1907 we were married. We had a home wedding. We had several guests; all were relatives of both of us. Lander and Idk were there with two year old Carl. Isadore lived in Brunot and rode a horse there. Will and Ada and their only child from Patterson were there.
Uncle Henry Wilkinson said the ceremony, which was short. I requested it short. My father could have married us but I felt like that would look like he was glad to be rid of me (Ha!). Uncle Henry was a Christian preacher. He was getting old and we were the last couple that he married. He became ill and passed away that spring.
My wedding dress was a very light blue, fine wool cloth, Lace over silk yoke, trimmed with lace and silk. The skirt was floor length, had nine gores and pleated ribbon, trimmed and sort of flounced. The sleeves were bishop sleeves with long cuffs to the hand and large blousey tops also trimmed with pleated ribbon and white lace over blue silk for the long cuff. My sister Ruth made my dress and it was very nicely made and a beautiful dress. I wore two flounced underskirts and a white flannelette. People wore lots of clothes those day.
It was very cold and there had been a big snow and some was still on the ground. I had a brown velvet hat with a feather plume, shoes were black and black cotton hose. I had never seen or heard of silk hose at that time as silk was very expensive.
Fred says we had Grandpa Henson’s record player there, but I don’t remember it—too scared, I guess. Hal stayed at my home the first night! In those days the groom’s Mother and Father gave a dinner on the next day after the wedding which was called the ‘Infare Dinner’! and usually the same guests were invited. The bride wore a different outfit, however, and mine was a navy blue brilliantine (it shone like silk) skirt. It was fifteen gores and ankle length. I made it and it was almost my first experience in sewing. With it I wore a white embroidered front, brilliantine blouse with high neck, long steeves and I wore a black velvet ribbon band with bow at the neck.
We had another nice day at Leander’s parents, David Hensons. After this we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Henson until our furniture came. In two weeks’ time we were settled and keeping house, across the creek from his father, in property owned by Leander’s Aunt Liz Shoemake.
