A Quitter - My Year at Elderon, Wi.
I had taught at Lenroot School, Wausau, Wi., (my first school and a rural school), for 2 years. During my hunt for a summer job the following summer, I ended up working for the Telephone Company as a secretary, which turned out to be a permanent job if I wanted it. Just having started my teaching career, I wasn't too gung-ho on it, so I accepted the position of full-time secretary at the Telephone Company. After working there for l½ years, I had the opportunity to change jobs, at which time I went to work as secretary at the Rothschild Paper Mill, in the chemical division. While there, I received a telephone call from the Superintendent of Schools, telling me that a teacher was needed at a country school near Elderon, Wi. I had worked as secretary for more than 2 years, and was not especially thrilled with that job, so I decided to get back into teaching. I took the job, which paid $150 per month compared to the $80 I was getting. This was of course for only 9 months.
My job at Elderon turned out to be rather difficult. They couldn't find a place for me to stay less than 3 miles away from the school. I had to walk 3 miles every morning and get the fire started. It turned out that I had 40 pupils in all eight grades, and 31 of them were boys. They all had Polish names which I never did learn to spell.
The school was set in the midst of the woods, as it had to be centrally located. At recess and noon hour all the kids would disappear into the woods, climb trees and do whatever else you can do in the woods. Then the bell rang, I never knew if anyone would show up, or if I had lost some of my class. Being responsible for the students during the day, this made me somewhat nervous. What if someone would fall out of a tree and get hurt?
This school had a basement, furnace, -and many mice. I got my bigger boys at setting traps and catching mice. Every morning they would make the rounds and empty the traps. They used school paste for the bait. They didn't seem to mind their new job.
The place I stayed, really had no room for me either, but temporarily I could sleep in their living room. I was promised a place closer to school by Thanksgiving. Nothing happened. The snow fell and I was still walking 3 miles to school every day. When I told them I could no longer do this, I was offered a place closer to school where I could have my room in the attic. I wasn't used to any fancies, but sleeping in the attic didn't appeal to me. So I quit my job at Thanksgiving.
The next 9 months I spent with a sister in Dallas, Texas, where I worked for Manpower and finally, more steady in The Texas Children's Hospital. I guess if I could have moved that hospital to Wausau, I never would have become a full-time teacher, as I really liked my job
In the forenoon, I admitted patients. In the afternoon I worked in the record room, where I typed up records for patients that the doctors had dictated on the dictaphone. My hours were from 11:00-7:00. Since I'm not an early riser, this time suited me just fine. I ate my lunch and supper at the hospital every day. It was here that I learned to eat grits. I had never heard of them before, and I don't believe I have eaten them since. It was a regular part of the diet in the South, but I don't believe it has ever really taken hold here in the North.
The following summer I came back to Wisconsin and continued my teaching career in the fall. This time I stuck with it until I had completed 38 years. I never had any more doubts about my career after this, and enjoyed all the 38 years that I taught.