Interview with Mrs. Lelia Brown
January 11, 2003
Intervied by Sandra M. Lowe
Mrs. Brown, a former teacher in the county, began her education at the Lawnes School in the Rushmere area of Isle of Wight County.
Q: First let's get an idea of where you grew up at in Isle of Wight.
A: I grew up in Rushmere, Virginia.
Q: Do you have any sisters or brothers? Can you tell us if and where did they attend school?
A: My sister attended the same school as I did.
Q: Could you name those?
A: Lawnes School.
Q: And the elementary schools that you attended what grades were taught there?
A: Grades one through six.
Q: Do you recall what years you attended that school?
A: Not in at the slightest
Q: (Laugh) O.K. How many teachers do you recall were there?
A: Mrs. Cofer, Miss Clarice Pretlow, Mrs. Virginia Pretlow
Q: All right, how did you get to and from school?
A: We walked to school.
Q: Can you think of any experiences that you had on your way to and from school or people that you walked with?
A: Hmm, my sister was afraid of worms, and one morning we could not walk to school because there were worms all over the road, so we had to go back home to get mother to drive us to school.
Q: Did you have any jobs at home that you had to do before you left for school?
A: No, we had afternoon jobs.
Q: All right, what did you do in the afternoon?
A: We had afternoon jobs. We stored the wood in the winter and after we got the wood in, we could listen to the radio.
Q: O.K. Um, did you have any chores to do at school before classes started? Did the girls have anything they had to do?
A: No, I don't recall any of them.
Q: What do you recall about how school started each morning?
A: Umm, the bell would ring, if we were outside playing, the bell would ring. They had a little bell they would ring. First grade went to Mrs. Cofer, third and fourth went to Miss Black, and Miss Pretlow taught sixth and seventh.
Q: What subjects did you cover?
A: Reading, History, Geography, English, many subjects.
Q: How long was the school day?
A: Umm, boy, it started at nine and ended at three-thirty.
Q: What breaks did you have during the day?
A: We had a lunch break, and we would have a recess break.
Q: How would you describe the room, what was in it, what did it look like?
A: Uh, the first grade was over to the right as you went into the main entrance of the school and there were two classes on the backside. They had their separate doors. The classrooms for grades three, four, and five, there was a petition you could pull the doors to open or close them.
Q: What was in the rooms, what kind of furniture?
A: You had a seat off to the right, like 25 seats in the room.
Q: Okay, um, what subjects did you cover? Um, did you have recess before lunch and then after lunch, or was it just in the morning, or one recess included with lunch?
A: It was included with lunch, I think.
Q: Umm, what can you tell us about the lunch period, anything that you recall as far as activities that were done at or after lunch or what people did during that period?
A: Umm during the early years we had, we took lunch from home, but during World War II, they made a kitchen in the first grade room, and we ate there. They served us hot lunches.
Q: Okay, umm, (clears throat), What was done to provide heat in the building during the winter?
A: We had pot -bellied stoves, one in each room, and that provided heat.
Q: And your water supply, where did it come from?
A: Uh, it came from an Artesian well.
Q: Did uh, did you have an indoor restroom or an outdoor?
A: Outdoor
Q: Could you describe the student's desks?
A: Uh, the desks had a piece, um, I think from the right across the front that you could do your writing on.
Q: Did it open up or did you lift the top up for books and supplies or was it solid?
A: We had books under the seats.
Q: Were there any teaching aids, wall displays, or maps?
A: Yeah, we had maps.
Q: Were there windows?
A: There were all windows on the left hand side, about maybe six windows to a room.
Q. Did you have a cloakroom or wall hooks on the wall?
A: We had hooks in the back of the room.
Q: How would you describe the discipline or punishment that was used during that period?
A: I don’t recall too much from the fifth grade up. Clarice, she would get us interested. I don’t recall too much discipline that had to be done.
Q: If some discipline was needed, usually was it, very minor, but was there anything used in particular or was talking to the student enough?
A: Talking to the student or putting the student in the front of the classroom – taking them from their original seat and having a seat up front for them or something like that.
Q: What about school programs? Can you think of any that standout?
A: W e would have bake sales or sell baskets and that sort of thing after school to raise money to try and get some equipment.
Q: Any community programs that you can think of or any help the parents provided?
A: We had nice programs. We had a big church and teachers would present programs during a month.I remember we had ball games up there, that sort of thing.
Q: Could you give us a brief biography of your work experience, schools you went to, or jobs you had and any other experiences you had. This is the last question. And after you finish school, where did you work?
A: I worked in Surry County, my first year right out of school. I worked there 4 years, stayed out 6 years to have my children. When I came back, I came to this county.
Q: And, was Hardy the first school you taught at in Isle of Wight?
A: Yes.
Q: And last question, in case you haven't thought of any other experiences in the county or about school that you would like to add to your tape or end with?
A: I had pictures of the students in Surry…no, that’s OK…I enjoyed teaching. With the smallest students, I taught first, second and third in Surry and I taught second, fourth and fifth at Hardy.
Q: If you have nothing else to add, this will conclude our interview and we have enjoyed very much, reviewing the information that you gave us.
Q: First let's get an idea of where you grew up at in Isle of Wight.