Interview with Ms. Gloria Hill
January 08, 2005
Interviewed by Otelia Crawley-Hendrick
Ms. Hill grew up in Isle of Wight County, attended Carrollton School, Hardy Elementary, and Westside High School, and became a teacher in the county for several years.
Q. Where do you live?
A. I am currently living in the Denbigh area, in Newport News Virginia.
Q. Where did you grow up?
A. I grew up in the Carrollton area, down off of 17 behind Bailey’s store.
Q. Ok, on Channel Lane?
A. On Channel Way Road.
Q. So that’s the new name of the road now?
A. Yes, it’s the new name of the road, there was uh, a farm at the end of the road and it was Channel Farm, so the road took the name of the farm.
Q. Oh, Ok! So what did you call the road before it received an official name?
A. There wasn’t a name it was just a dirt road.
Q. Oh Ok! So you all called it dirt road?
A. Well no we didn’t call it dirt road (laughter), it just didn’t, there just wasn’t a name, but when they paved the highway and they started call it Channel Way, that’s the name it was given.
Q. Do you have any sisters or brothers?
A. I have one brother and he is 28 years younger than I am, and his name is Anthony Bond Hill.
Q. What county elementary school did you attend?
A. I attended the Carrollton Elementary School, in the Carrollton area.
Q. What year?
A. I’m not sure of the year, but, um, I went first it was a two-room school, and the first three years my teacher was Ms. Clarice White, and my fourth grade year my teacher was Mrs. Lucy P. Blunt, I spent four years there.
Q. What subjects where taught there to you?
A. Well everything, one teacher had three grades and she taught all of the students that were in grades one thru three and it was Miss Clarice White and she taught everything, all the subjects and she had us divided up by tables, the grades were by tables. And I can recall when there was one table for two slow students, which we didn’t know about special-ed that time, but she provided for two slow students that didn’t or hadn’t passed, in the past years and she would work with them individually.
Q. So now how else was she able to teach those three grades, what-- did she have a format for doing all of that?
A. She would start with her morning devotion then work with the lower grade first and give you a work assignment and she would leave that table and go work with another table and she did it on a rotating basis until it was lunch time. And then we had recess and when we came back and she went back in her cycle of working with the different grade, you worked on an assignment while she’s working with a different grade.
Q. Now, how old were you when you started elementary school?
A. I had to have been, uh, at least six years old, because I finished high school at seventeen, so I had to be on time, at least six years old.
Q. So that year that you started was probably around what? You were born.
A. I was born in nineteen fifty one and I am going to say it had to been somewhere around in the late 50’s cause I can remember when Eisenhower was inaugurated, she brought in a black and white television, and showed us the inauguration and I was very young and I can remember that. So it had to be in the late fifties.
Q. So that was one way how they were able to teach history too?
A. That was one way. Uhum.
Q. So how did you get to and from school?
A. Well, my first few years I walked, my mom had some of the older girls from the Carrollton area, um, I can remember Anita Crocker walking me to school (laughter) and we walked along the highway. And later on I remember my mother and my cousin Mrs. Francis Scott they stopped a school bus at Ms. Annabella’s store and the school bus had the white students on it, and ah, and they kind of stood in the bus until they made it clear they need it a bus for the students in Carrollton. And um, in some type of way something was negotiated and later on we had a school bus. And I can remember, all of us jamming, jam-packed on that one school bus. And that school bus just picked up the elementary kids and dropped them off at Carrollton elementary school and then took the other kids, the older kids that were in high school to Westside high school. But everybody was on that one bus.
Q. Now did anyone ever get hurt or hit by a car, when you were going to school?
A. No not that I remember, the older students looked out for the younger ones when we walked.
Q. Now tell me how did the school days start, now you did mention devotion, now tell me what was this devotion like?
A. I can remember, there were, we sung songs, and I, for some reason, I can remember a little bit better when I was in Ms. Blunts- Ms. Lucy P. Blunt’s room, in the fourth grade. We always sung “Lift Every Voice and Sing” could sing, and I can remember seeing Marian Anderson’s picture on the wall. So that really stuck with me, we sung the black national…. The Black history national anthem and we sung the regular national anthem. I remember singing patriotic songs.
Q. Now was it specified at the time that this was a black national anthem or you just sang the song?
A. This is just something that we did; they would have us sing certain songs.
Q. What time did the school days start and end?
A. Umm not sure, I am not sure.
Q. So when you went to school, was the school building already opened up or did you have to wait outside?
A. It was always opened, and um, we went in and I can recall the bell ringing and we would go in we knew were our assigned seats were. During the winter months we had a coat room I can remember different ones would ask, I always liked to ask to hang our coats and Mrs. White would give us permission to go in the coat room and hang everyone’s coats up. I can recall that but I am not sure of the time that school began or end.
Q. What did you all use for your heating?
A. Oh, we had a potbelly stove.
Q. Ok, who would take care of it?
A. (Laugh) I can remember Mrs. Ida Lee Bailey, would go in and make the fires in the morning. And um, we stayed warm. It would get so warm you had to come out of your coats. And I can remember that potbelly stove and the teachers heating their pies on the fires for lunch on top of the stove. They would buy the pies from Martin’s store, peach pies and apple pies.
Q. Now, who was Mrs. Ida Lee Bailey?
A. She was the janitor at the time, and she would come in and clean the building and make the fire.
Q. On both sides?
A. I’m assuming both sides, cause I remember her from the first thru third grade sides.
Q. Tell me about lunch?
A. You had to bring your lunch. And when you had your lunch, I don’t know how long recess was, but we enjoyed our lunch because we had to, the teacher would take the order, and you would tell her what you wanted buy. And they always had someone to go down to Martin’s store, which was in walking distance and buy the things that you wanted. And I can remember George Delk was the person who bought when I was in school; we carried sandwiches like bologna sandwiches (etc.). And I can remember my girlfriend Ann Pinner she would always have homemade preserves that her aunt Luna made, and we would sometimes swap half a sandwich she would eat half of my bologna sandwich and I would eat half of her pear preserve because it would have the lemon peel. And we would eat and walk around on the outside and talk and we would eat our ice cream that we ordered from Martin’s store. So it seemed like we enjoyed our lives.
Q. How long was the lunch period?
A. Now being that I was young I don’t remember that either, but it seemed like it was a pretty long time it’s not like you had to rush in 20 minutes or 25 minutes, so we actually had some play time after eating.
Q. So tell me, what did your classroom look like? Describe it.
A. The classroom was a large area; it was one big room with wooden floors. And I can remember the teachers desk was in the far left had corner by the blackboard. And, um, on the left hand side there was the coatroom, which was the full length of the classroom, and I can remember in first thru third grade you always had the alphabet sitting up above the blackboard. And we always had to recite the alphabet and, um, that was a way of Ms. White teaching us how to read using the phonetic sounds of the alphabet. And there were long tables, heavy wooden tables, with small wooden chairs that we would sit in. We didn’t have desks, we just had long tables, and all the students in the first grade would sit at that table. We didn’t have kindergarten. Because kindergarten was run mostly thru private sector, but we had first grade thru third grade. And I can remember a table for the first grade, a table for the second grade and a table for the third grade. And like I said, I can remember when there was a small table for the older students that had failed, and they were slow students. And she had them sitting in a corner and she would work with them individually. But I don’t ever remember any disruptive behavior, I don’t ever remember anyone getting up from the table when Ms. White was working with the other students we sit there and did whatever our assignment was and we waited quietly and patiently while she worked with someone else. And I can remember the reader, which was; See Dick, See Jane, Run, Run Puff, Sally, those were the characters in the reader that we had. And I can remember the spelling list, I was a poor speller and I use to take the spelling list home and we had homework we actually had homework you had to practice your spelling and reading and your handwriting.
Q. Did you have a place at your desk to put your pencils and your paper in?
A. We had…we didn’t have spaces, we just had the tabletop and you knew to keep your things in front of you or just put your things your book bag.
Q. Did your parents have to buy the books or did they…?
A. Oh yes, yes, your.
Q. And paper?
A. Yes, your parents would purchase books every year, every year they would um purchase the books sometimes buy used books from someone who had a child, that was one grade ahead of us, or year before. Or sometimes I think they would go to the school board offices some place and purchase new books. But here were no free books.
Q. No free books?
A. No free books and your parents provided everything your pencil, your paper, and your book bags and everything.
Q. Was there anything else on the wall in your classroom besides the ABC’s, any kind of pictures?
A. Yeah, there was famous people like the Marian Anderson and the picture of um, Booker T. Washington, you had famous um people pictures that were on the wall.
Q. Tell me about recess?
A. Oh boy.
Q. How many did you’ all have?
A. I can remember a recess during lunchtime and recess was fun, cause you got to run around and play. And we would always play this game called “Mean Momma”, and we would pull leaves of the tree and use it for money. And Mean Momma would try and catch the children and it was a form of tag and we played Hopscotch and of course we would find broken glass and we would throw and jump and play Hopscotch. But I can remember the girls being a little segregated from the boys. The boys played their game of marbles and the girls had the Mean Momma game and their Hopscotch, so um, we didn’t play with the boys at that age, first grade thru third grade.
Q. But what about fourth grade thru sixth grade?
A. Well we had our same…I only went to the two-room school thru the fourth grade, and by that time Hardy elementary was built. And so I went into Hardy elementary and this was the first time for a lot of two room school students to go into, um, a school that was equipped with indoor plumbing and a cafeteria and heated. And the recess was about the same, and we still run around and played and had our fun, and I can recall recess being part an extended part of the lunch break, we really didn’t get a recess during the day. And I guess it was extended because it was our form of exercise and we really ran once we got out of there. (Laughter) All around the building.
Q. What about the water supply?
A. Oh…. the water supply was awful. We had a pump in the front of the school. And I can recall the boys would, the older boys would prime the pump so we could wash our hands before lunch. And the water had an awful taste, a rusty, rusty taste. And if you wanted a drink of water you would get it during recess time you would hold your hands like this and drink the water. It was always cool but it was nasty it had an iron taste and an iron smell to it.
Q. So what did you ‘all do for your restrooms, did you have an indoor or?
A. Outdoor toilet (laughter).
Q. One or two?
A. We had, um, I think it was one with two sides but I remember that outdoor toilet. And um you would, if you had to go you asked permission but you didn’t go by yourself, someone would go with you to the bathroom. But it was outside in the back of the school, near the woods.
Q. Did the boys and the girls’ use the same toilet?
A. Everyone used the same toilet, there wasn’t a separation boys and girls. It was like one toilet, but it um, one didn’t view anybody it had two adjoining toilets with the doors separating them.
Q. And so some one went to make sure for the safety of the person?
A. Hum
Q. What did the teacher used to write on the blackboard?
A. She had chalk, and the assignments would already be on the board, most of the time when you got in. And when she finished teaching, and then you would just do whatever the assignment was on the board.
Q. So that means that the teacher had to get there a little bit early, so she could have the assignment ready on the board for you. Any other particular school supplies that you ‘all had?
A. Well no, we didn't have anything really, we didn’t have anything, we had the um, we had the readers, and we had the few books that our parents would buy that were required for that particular grade. And I can remember, in the fourth grade when I was in Ms. Lucy P. Blount’s room, it was a big thing for us, because we got phonetic books. And she worked on the phonetic sounds with us from those books, so that was some thing new. And we had a speller, we had a spelling book, but um we didn’t have any extra supplies.
Q. What sort of, I know you’ve mentioned earlier that you didn’t have very many discipline problems, but um, whenever one did occur what sort of discipline or, we hate to use the word punishment that was used with in the classroom.
A. Well, Ms. White and Ms. Blunt both had rulers and those rulers were taped together, and she would have hold your hand out and she would give you so many whacks in your hand. And you knew not to do it again, because she would make sure that she told your parents and once you got home you got punished from your parents. So you got double dosage.
Q. Is there any particular thing that holds some positive memories for you of your school days?
A. I think everyone was more loving and caring and even though we walked to school on the highway. We played a lot of times; I don’t remember the teacher having to stand outside watching and giving supervision. I think as a whole the kids had a more healthier attitude towards learning and the parents had a more caring attitude about everyone’s child. And I think you know that, um, I think we learned pretty well, even though we didn’t have supplies, but we learned the basics, and no one was neglected.
Q. Is there any particular thing that stands out about each one of your teachers?
A. Well…. I think it was, um, a connection with Ms. White, because she taught me for three grades, three years and, um, I think she encouraged kids to learn. And I can remember she gave us books, every child, a book for a Christmas present one year. And she signed it, she did a little autograph, and um, I think she made a big impression on us, as young kids toward learning, because I became a teacher, you know and I use to look at them. And even though they didn’t have the best situation for teaching, but they were always professional, both Ms. White and Ms. Blunt, were both well dressed professional and I used to look at them and say this is what I want to do when I get grown.
Q. Is there anything, or do you have any negative memories?
A. I don’t have any negative memories. I think I had a happy childhood, and I enjoyed it, if I was missing out something I didn’t know about it. I enjoyed the times we had. I can remember they would do a celebration of harvest feast or something like that at the schools, and that would be around November or December and I thought that was fun.
Q. What other type of programs did you all have?
A. I don’t exactly recall the programs cause I was fairly young, but I can remember that.
Q. What about holidays…Christmas holidays, did you all do anything, any special type of decorations?
A. Oh yes, we made the Christmas chain for the tree out of paper, construction paper, I remember doing that.
Q. Did each classroom have a tree?
A. Um…I’m not sure, I’m not sure about that.
Q. You said there were two classes, so what, what separated the two classes?
A. There was a wall and a door, and you would go from one class to the other, open the door and walk thru.
Q. What have you heard about the history of Carrollton School?
A. I really don’t know the history of Carrollton School.
Q. Give us a short autobiography/sketch, highlights of your life:
A. Well I was born on July 1, 1951 to Lillian and Isaac Hill. She was Lillian Batten Hill and Isaac Hill; my mom attended a two-room school, the same one. I’m from the Carrollton area and lived in the Carrollton area until I was fifteen and we moved to Smithfield for a short period of time. I attended Hardy Elementary School from fifth grade thru seventh grade. And then I went to Westside for about eight and ninth grade and during the time we had freedom of choice my mom worked with the NAACP. I went to Smithfield High School for tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade, and when I finished high school I was the only black girl and there were two other black males that finished in 1969 with me so there were a total of three blacks at the time in 1969. Then I went on to college in Lawrenceville Virginia, St. Paul’s college and I majored in elementary education. And from there I went to Hampton University to work on my master’s and I’m taking classes at William and Mary and I am currently a teacher and have been teaching, going on thirty-one years and I love it. I am working in Charles City County public schools at Charles City High School.
Q. Do you have family?
A. Oh yeah, how could I forget that. (Laugh). I have two children, one is a daughter and she is twenty-five. She currently graduated from Christopher Newport University, a literature major, and she is working in Hampton public schools. She is substituting, working on trying to get a job as a teacher. And I have a son who is twenty-eight, I think, and he lives in California, Los Angeles California. He finished at Howard University and went on to San Francisco to graduate school at ACT and is living out in California. His name is _________ Hill, and my daughters name is Kendra Hill Kemp. I have two grand children, my daughter has a little girl who’s seven months and her name is Charisma Harmony Kemp and I have a little grandson who is in school. He is in the magnet school in Hampton and his name is Andre Lee Kemp Jr. and he is five years old.
Q. May I ask are there any words of wisdom that you would like to give or say to the young people?
A. Yes, I think they need to set their priorities in order, and take on responsibility of wanting to learn, be a life long learner. Because when I grew up we didn’t have computers and televisions and different things manipulative to use to learn from and we learned. Now a days, kids will find every excuse in the world not to learn and I think they’re hindering themselves because you can learn something every day. And it’s important to have a healthy mind and become a good citizen.