The School!
Paulette Elementary
Article 40
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| Something reminded me of Miss Hazel this week, how many of you remember her? I first want to apologize to all of you, I know I haven't written in a while. It isn't that nothing has happened because it is just the opposite. As anyone who drives by can see the parking lot is paved and there are cars everywhere. I was one of those cars numerous times, or in fact a truck. Teachers have been moving from Maynardville Elementary to Paulette in the past couple of weeks. When most schools move they hire a company to move them. A Google search finds several moving companies that specialize in schools. 97 degrees on Tuesday afternoon I was wishing someone with a lot of money would do this Google search. As with most things the school system is being very frugal with the dollars the taxpayers have entrusted in it. Instead of hiring a company, husbands and spouses of teachers pitched in. Anyone who had a truck just pulled in and started loading up. The interesting thing is I don't think anyone was asked to. Sure, a husband might come to move his wife but what makes him stay and help others? The UCHS Cheerleaders have been having a camp at MES during the move. Last Friday I had a whole school full of books to move to Paulette. Jason Bailey came up with a small van, and I had my truck and trailer. It would take us about six trips to get the move done. After loading up and planning our next load, a lady walked up and tossed me her keys. She said for me to go and back her truck in and load her up too. This lady's name was Coleen Beeler. She was there with her daughter and decided to just pitch in. Once some parents saw her, they began to pull trucks in also. What was to be six loads for Jason and myself turned into one load for the make-shift caravan that pulled in. I didn't get a chance to thank many of these people. Most drove the books down, unloaded them and left. The fact is, I didn't know some of them. So if you are reading this I want to say thank you. Now, why did I single Coleen out? First, because this isn't the first time she has done this. She recently purchased boxes of books at an auction. She asked me to stop by her house and loaded me up. These books she paid for out of her pocket and then donated to the libraries of Paulette and MES. Some of these books had never been opened. This reminds me of why I like Union County. When politicians leave us alone and quit trying to divide us we work together as neighbors. I have no idea how many people's cars and trucks I have driven in the past two weeks. Union County, we moved a school in a couple of weeks. We did this by being neighbors and being neighborly. We did this by seeing a need and stepping up to fill this need. The average price for moving a school is $38,000. We did it together for no cost whatsoever. Teachers were there off the clock, I was not being paid. We did it because we cared. I am proud of our county and how it came together for this. Now on top of moving to Paulette, MES Principal Laura LaRue and myself have been moving teachers from room to room at MES. The idea is to get every child inside a structurally safe building. The portables that have been in the news recently will be taken out in July. The other portables will be staying down below the playground for the time being. Although children won't be housed in them, they may be used for storage. During this move I learned that teachers rarely throw anything away! The rooms were like working time capsules. I found tables made by Irby Monroe. Irby was the maintenance man for UCPS back in the 70's and any time a table was needed he made it by hand. I found chairs and tables both made by him. Then in one room I found a miniature teacher desk. It was made just like a teacher's desk, only from wood and about 1/3 the size. I remembered this desk! I had flashbacks to my childhood years and the palm of my hand began to sting. I rubbed my hand and thought this could not possibly be the desk! Miss Hazel! I slowly picked the desk up and turned it over. Right there on the bottom in black magic marker was written...MISS HAZEL! Miss Hazel was a legend in the school, along with Edna Loy, Leah Wolfe, Florence Chesney and others. When you got out of line in Miss Hazel's room you didn't get 26 trips to the principal's office. What you got was one trip up to the little desk. There you sat down and turned your hand palm up. She would grasp your fingers and strike the palm of your hand with a wooden ruler. Then you got to sit at the little desk beside her desk until you shaped up. I spent many days at this desk. And here is the funny thing. When I got whacked by Miss Hazel somehow my parents knew before I got home and I got whacked again! It did me no good to plead my innocence, to them Miss Hazel had spoken and much like Judge Judy, the boy was determined guilty. I could have said that Miss Hazel sprouted horns and danced around with a pitchfork. My parents would have assumed my actions had driven this saintly lady to this end. Recently, Mr. Jason told me that he wanted the theme at Paulette to be, "A New School... A New Way." That is a good idea. But I looked at all the folks that pitched in and helped in the move. Most if not all of us had experienced Miss Hazel, Pauline Dyer and Leah Wolfe. I have to say we all turned out alright for the most part. Here we were back at our old school helping out. As many times as we all had our rears tanned in that building it is a wonder any of us would go back in. I guess this is testimony to the character of the old school's teachers. Maybe when MES is rebuilt the motto can be, "New School... The old way." I promise to get pictures and maybe a video tour in the next week or so. |
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