Interview with Naomi Banks
April 26, 2003
Interviewed by Delores Cuffey
Mrs. Banks attended the Windsor School, also known as Sugar Hill, until the fourth-fifth grade. When that school consolidated into Georgie Tyler she moved into the sixth grade there.
Q: Today is April 26, 2003. My name is Delores Cuffey and I’m going to be interviewing Miss Naomi Banks. What part of Isle Of Wight County did you grow up in?
A: In the Walters area.
Q: In the Walters area, in Isle of Wight. How many brothers and sisters did you have?
A: I had four brothers, one sister. I have a brother deceased and a sister deceased.
Q: So what school did you attend?
A: In Isle of Wight County, the Windsor Sugar Hill School.
Q: What grades do you remember that was taught at that school?
A: Well, the grades that were taught was first through seventh.
Q: And you had like your first through.
A: Through the fourth grade I think______________________.
Q: In one room.
A: Mrs. Parker started in fifth grade I think, through seventh.
Q: Do you remember any other teachers other then Mrs. Parker?
A: Mrs. Ethel Joyner was in the other room. And when I came, see we moved here in the early forties, from Southampton County so I started school in Southampton.
Q: Was that a one-room school?
A: Two room.
Q: Two room school, okay. So how long did you go to the one at Southampton?
A: Just to the second grade.
Q: Second grade, so when you started this school you were in third.
A: Third, under Mrs. Joyner.
Q: Do you remember what year or years was that, that you went to the Windsor (Sugar Hill) School? Do you remember?
A: Maybe 45 (1945).
Q: Do you remember anything about how the school got started or when the last classes were taught there, back when that particular school closed?
A: That school closed in the fifties because we went from Sugar Hill over to the beginning of Georgie Tyler School and I was in the sixth grade under Mrs. Coma P.Walden.
Q: Okay, do you remember, what did you have to do before you went to school on a given day? What was some of the chores and things you had to do before you went to school?
A: Well, we were raised on a farm, so there were farm chores and being that I was next to the youngest, we had to sort of feed the chickens and maybe get up the eggs you know, for that morning. We lost our mother in 49 so it was a big responsibility on me because my sister had just married that April that my mother passed in November.
Q: So you were like the oldest girl at home.
A: At home, but I wasn’t the oldest sibling but I was the oldest girl, and the only other girl at home.
Q: So how far did you live from school and how did you get there?
A: We lived, I would say _________is about six miles, and we rode a school bus.
Q: You rode the school bus.
A: Yes. My walking days were in Southampton.
Q: Southampton, but when you came to Windsor, you rode the bus.
A: Right_______.
Q: Your other brothers or sisters, you all went to school together. All of you were at the same school at that time?
A: Now my brothers, some of them went to what they called the Gay School, which was just down the road, two of them went there. But I was not, see we had come to Isle of Wight and then we went back to Southampton and come back to Isle of Wight.
Q: What did your day start off like, what was some of the first things you did at school?
A: Well, of course being students, we played outside a bit. In winter months, the young men made the fires and in summer months we played “ain’t no bears out tonight” and “Mama and Papa” and stuff like that until it was time to get to school.
Q: When you got into school, what did you start off with?
A: A, I’m not sure with what classes we started off with but back at that time they went from one grade to the other, you know. Like when we were in third grade or fourth grade maybe, the teacher would work with the fourth grade students in arithmetic and reading and spelling. And then, they would go to the next grade and have something for each one to be doing.
Q: At the start of the day, did y’all have any kind of devotion?
A: Yes we did, we had devotional and we prayed the lords prayer, we a, saluted the flag and there were times when the teacher would call on bible versus and things like that.
Q: Do you remember what classes were taught?
A: We had spelling, reading, arithmetic, of course writing. There were periods that we had drawing time, I guess that was art at that time. We may have called that relaxing time or whatever. And of course we had you know, recess.
Q: What did you do at recess?
A: Well, we again played again and of course; they had balls for us to play with. After we got over to Georgie Tyler we did a lot of dodge ball and bob jacks.
Q: What was lunch period like? Where did you eat and did you take your lunch to school?
A: I took my lunch most of the time. When we first got to Georgie Tyler, we went back across the street to Sugar Hill for lunch. They had, you know, fixed that as a cafeteria and we went across there. There were times when I got lunch and of course, an I think the seventh grade year I was working in the cafeteria so I’m sure I ate most of the time. Mrs. Mabel Eley was the head cook at the time.
Q: What were the hours for school? I mean what time did you have to be at school and what time did you leave?
A: We took in at nine, but of course the bus would get us there early because the students got off at Windsor and then of course the bus driver continued on to Smithfield, those that were in high school went to Smithfield. And there was a period that the bus, well that was after I got to high school, when we were going there and the elementary students was coming back this way and we would get off and get on another bus and go to Smithfield but this was eighth grade.
Q: How long was the school year then, was it the same as now, you started the school in August or September?
A: Well, maybe September, maybe after Labor Day. I think yeah, because I think I remember making the comment in later years that students were going to school a little bit earlier in the year.
Q: And you went through to the next like May or June.
A: May or June, right. Back in the early years, we were out a lot for snow but not for teachers work days and stuff that students have now.
Q: Do you remember anything how the classroom looked like; did you have things on the walls, pictures?
A: Yes we did, but a black board and we would do our windows for different occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas, things like that. When it was time for our teachers, like a birthday or something, we would always bring a nickel, put it together, and bring her a gift. I remember that from Ms. Parker. I still can’t recall what we did for Ms. Joyner. But I was in Ms. Parkers class longer because that was from fifth grade up to till I went over to you know.
Q: So everybody like bring a nickel or something to buy a gift.
A: Yes, yes we put the money together.
Q: Was the school heated there, when you was going, do you remember how it was heated?
A: It was just a coal stove or wood stove, whatever you want to call it
Q: Who made the fires?
A: A lot of times it was some of our fellow students, like the older ones, like Mr. Kemper Jones, Mr. Aaron Duck, and Mr. James Darden. Different ones like that.
Q: So what about restrooms, did you have restrooms inside there?
A: No
Q: They were outside.
A: At Sugar Hill, they were outside and we would have recess periods or time periods to go to the ladies room.
Q: If you had to go during class.
A: Yes, well I’m sure they dismissed you I think_______________.
Q: What about water in the school did you have running water?
A: No, we had a pump, a well pump, at Sugar Hill. Now, over at Georgie Tyler, from the sixth grade up, they had indoor bathrooms and you know water.
Q: At Sugar Hill, did you bring water in for the day? You didn’t go out each time, did you?
A: Well, I don’t think we were excused to just drink water anytime we wanted to. I think what we did was like when it was recess or lunchtime. Cause most of the time we would go outside for lunch.
Q: And then you had recess?
A: Right and the recess period, and I remember going and getting water. And there were times when the pump, you know students were there and I remember that Ida Smith and I used to go over to her uncles house, Mr. Ed White, and get water from them because we were just so thirsty and wanted water, and he was right there. His place was right there and I think Ida, you know, was living there with them and we would go over there and get water with a few more of the girlfriends, you know.
Q: Do you remember anything about the teacher’s desk; did the teacher have a desk?
A: Yes she did, she had a desk. And we had those little chairs that….
Q: Yes, describe what you sat it.
A: We sat in a little two-seated chair; I don’t think it was a divider it was one that you lift back, and of course our desk was the other students desk.
Q: So where did you put your books?
A: Underneath this desk. Now that was a divider, the desk area and you had a little pencil rack. Unfortunately, they would carve things in the desk wood and that would mess your paper up a little but not bad.
Q: What about school supplies, your paper, books a pencils, did your parents buy them?
A: Yes, yes they did.
Q: What about the lighting, I guess at Sugar Hill, did you have electric there?
A: Yes they did
Q: What about in the wintertime, did ya’ll have somewhere to hang your coats?
A: Yes, they ended up at Sugar Hill, before we went over to Georgie Tyler, they ended up with another little room in between back there. That’s probably where we hung our coats and all at that time.
Q: If one of the kids did something bad in class what kind of punishment did you get, if you did something you weren’t suppose to do?
A: Ms. Parker had different measures of punishment we have gotten little cracks on our fingers. I remember I didn’t know my times tables and we got spanked on our hands, and of course we had to stand in the corner. So it was dependent on the level of mischievousness we went through.
Q: Is there anything about school that really sticks out in your mind that happened when you were in school then, either going to school, in school or with your brothers and sisters? Something that really sticks out that happened?
A: Well, in my experience, I look back and think, and I’m not saying now that teachers are not dedicated, but it was a more dedicated foundation. And the reason I say it is because some of my brothers did not go as high as I was blessed to go and their foundation was much stronger then mine. I wasn’t a very, very good student in school but I kept up but I was blessed to graduate and they didn’t. Not that they couldn’t have, it was just circumstances for work and things like that that kept them out. But, when I compare what they have done with themselves and the things that they have done with, I know that the foundation was there. And once you build that foundation, well this is what I have often said even to young people today, get the basics.
Q: That’s what my next question was going to be, what would you tell children now? Not what we went through and what we had to endure, what would you tell the children of today?
A: To get the basics of things and to just study and I often saying just read, read, read. That was one of my down falls, I didn’t read, read, read, I played, played, played. When I should have been reading I was playing or _______something to that effect and just would scan through books and not read. That’s what I would tell them now. They don’t have a lot to do, they don’t have the responsibilities we had and things for them are much better. Use that time to carry themselves into a higher degree of education.
Q: Is there anything that you can think of that you would like to share with us that we haven’t covered, anything come to mind?
A: No, I think I covered just about everything. I had a couple accidents when I was at school playing and as far as I can remember back, the teachers were very concerned and worked with me. That was before I lost my mother at that time, and they were very concerned about what happened. Of course, during my very early, early school years, I had tonsillitis, and had to have my tonsils removed, I think I was nine, and that was also before my mother passed. The teachers were very concerned with helping me catch up on things.
Q: So you would say teachers then got more involved and were more concerned about individuals then they are now?
A: I just feel that they had a more deeper concern for the students to advance with limited things that they had to do with. Now you have more of everything and yet they are sort of leaving it to you to do on your own.
Q: What would you have to do when you got home from school, maybe before your mother passed? Did you still have chores to do?
A: Yes we did. Like washday, of course being on a farm you had certain times of the year that you had to like kill hogs and there was certain responsibilities and certain things. My brother Clifford and I, we were the wash people; we had to do the washing, making sure that the water was in. We had one tractor and four horses, so there was responsibilities we had to do with keeping the yard straight and horses and things like that.
Q: What can you remember abut getting your homework or studying for the next day, did you do that at home that night?
A: Yes we did. Yes I did. We were blessed to have, living in a farmhouse, my mother had a dining room and that was where had to go to study.
Q: Did you have electricity?
A: Not at the beginning, when we first came in the early forties to Isle of Wight it was not, we came right back to the same home the same house. We did not have electricity. We went back to Southampton, and stayed two years where I began school. Then when we came back to Isle of Wight to the same home, there was electricity there and that’s the same home that we lived in for any number of years where we lost our mother, was at that same home. And, we had a dining room and that was where she would let us go and study our lesson. I remember that when I wasn’t getting my lessons during the summer months I would play school, because I wanted to be a teacher. I would open the books ___________________________ and, my younger brother would be one student who was the worst student I had and the others were just make believe and that’s where we studied. Of course, if it was cold in the dinning room, in the kitchen portion of the home that we lived in, it had a fireplace and of course, you know we warned out there.
Q: That concludes my questions unless you just have something you want to share with us? It’s been an interesting interview and I appreciate you coming in to do that. Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: No, I think you covered, I think it’s very nice we have concerned people in the county who would like to have a flashback as I call it or a look back, into the history of our generation.
Q: Okay, since you said that in looking back, just thinking about what happened when you went to school, it doesn’t dis-encourage you. I mean, some people don’t like to reflect.
A: No, I learn from it.
Q: So you think it’s a good thing.
A: I think it’s a good thing. A lot of students don’t realize some of the struggles….
Q: And that is true and we are hoping that, some of these people will go to the museum and get to listen to some of these interviews that we are conducting. To be enlightened, not saying that they haven’t been told, some know and some don’t. It’s hard for some of us to even comprehend, or understand or believe that these things did happen. Thank you so much. We have enjoyed having you Mrs. Banks. Thank you so very much.
A: All right, thank you.