This is a picture of my now deceased grandparents, Ted and Pearl Wauson, and their students. They taught in a one-room school house in the 1930's during the Depression. My late father is the second from the left on the front row......his brother, my late Uncle Merle, is the second boy to the right of my Grandmother Pearl.
I tear up looking at this picture. This is a picture I would have never expected to have...My brother, John, found it on the internet, of all things...Yep, he Googled my father's name and magically,....there it was. Now both of my brothers and I have this cherished photograph.
I did not know my grandparents that well. My grandmother died when I was eight. We didn't see my grandfather much since he lived an eight hour car drive away....When I was a girl growing up, we didn't have air conditioning in our car or our house, for that matter. So, driving eight hours with three young children with the windows of a Fairlane 500 rolled down wasn't something my parents wanted to think about.....at least not until Christmas anyway. My grandfather died in a car accident when I was fifteen. Ironically, this was one week after moving closer to us so we could see each other more.....
This picture of my grandparents tells me volumes about them Through this picture, I see
They and everyone else was poor.
They worked hard.
They were dedicated to a group of children all ages and sizes.
They were compassionate people.
My father graduated from this one room school house when he was sixteen. He was valedictorian of his class of seven seniors.
History repeated itself this past May. My youngest daughter Ivy was also valedictorian of her senior class....Since she attended a small private school......There were only seven seniors!
