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From: "Jackie Goeken" <>
Subject: [IADECATU] A COLLECTION OF RECOLLECTIONS by LaNelle Cartwright Buckingham
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 20:12:57 -0600


More from A COLLECTION OF RECOLLECTIONS by LaNelle Cartwright Buckingham 1976 - 1977


BRADNEY cont.

Honors appreciated in our school were having permission to dust the erasers or go after a bucket of water. A stick was placed through the bail of the bucket for easier carrying by the smaller folks. As a rare privilege, you might be allowed to pass the water.

The Palmer Method of Penmanship was in vogue. We had a copy book, and some time was spent in practicing ovals and up and down movements. We were required to hold our pen in a certain position and use arm muscles in a relaxed way.

It always seemed to me that each person should have a neat, individual style of writing, rather than encouraging every person to have the same style. I have known a few persons who did, what was called ornamental writing.

On Friday, after the last recess, we had a complete change of pace. We ciphered, spelled down, or hunted Geography names. Sides were chosen in Ciphering or Spelling. When we ciphered, the smaller children from each side went to the blackboard first. The one who lost, chose someone from his side, who in turn, decided whether they would compete in addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

Concentration and speed were in evidence until one of the contestants yelled "Answer". Meanwhile, there was not a sound in the room except the sound of chalk on the blackboard. The first with the correct answer remained at the board, and if he happened to be skillful in Arithmetic, he might cipher against most of the opposing side.

If there was a spare minute during the day, the teacher might give us some mental Arithmetic problems.

Slates and slate pencils were much used for practicing lessons.

There were two types of Spelling Contests for Friday afternoon. The teacher pronounced words or we spelled Railroad fashion. In the latter contest, the next person spelled a word beginning with the last letter of the word just spelled. We secretly looked up all the words we could find which ended with X. After a while, it was difficult to think of words beginning with X.

In Geography Hunts, we were a little crafty. We hunted towns in obscure places on the map. They were placed on the Board in this fashion: C-----o. The first to locate the city was allowed to put the next city on the Blackboard.

On rare occasions, Rural Schools competed with each other on Friday afternoons. It was on one of these occasions that I earned my first dollar, in a spelling contest. The silver dollar looked as big as a cart wheel to me.

To be continued.
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Copied by Jackie Moore Goeken: A Cartwright Descendant.
*(I suppose competition with other Rural Schools is where the Spelling Bee came from. I remember practicing our spelling words at home, by writing the words over and over until I had the words memorized. I then had my mom pronounce the words to me and I spelled each word for her. Spelling tests were every Friday at LeRoy School.)



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