We are at the Rescue Community Center, and we are talking today with Rev. Don Watkins. Mr. Watkins grew up in Isle of Wight County in the Rescue area.
Q: I want to start off by getting a little family information. Did you have sisters and brothers?
A: Yes
Q: Did they attend the school also?
A: They attended school here too.
Q: And you attended Rescue Community School on the site where we are right now.
A: Yes
Q: When you were here, what grades were done in this building?
A: I believe it was one through three in one classroom and four through six in the other.
Q: Two classrooms?
A: Two classrooms
Q: Any other rooms?
A: A big auditorium in the back. It seemed big then, but it’s not so big now.
Q: Two teachers, anyone else?
A: Two teachers, Daisy Maljoy and Nancy DeShields.
Q: Was there a helper here with you when you were here?
A: Never had a helper.
Q: And you attended what grades in this building?
A: One through three. I think at the end of the third year, I think we went Smithfield. I think that is when they closed it down.
Q: What years would that have been?
A: I’m not sure about that.
Q: You were probably about seven?
A: Seven or eight
Q: So figure your birth date when you were born.
A: August 13, 1927.
Q: 1934 you were seven.
A: ’34, that’s about ’34.
Q: The teachers that you named, those were the only ones that were here when you were a student?
A: That I remember; Daisy Maljoy taught 1 through 3 and Nancy DeShields taught 4 through 6.
Q: You helped us a lot with the picture of the other building; do you have any other information along with that about either building?
A: No, and I don’t remember when this one was built.
Q: Since you went to Smithfield after three years, it was probably the end of the time it was used as a school.
A: Yes.
Q: Do you recall if the county provided most of the funding for this building in operation?
A: I don’t remember that. I don’t know whether it was at Smithfield or here that Mr. Hall was superintendent of schools. Hall was a big fellow. Some of the things I can remember real good; some of them I don’t remember so good. I guess that is senior (laughs).
Q: What are some of the things that you remember well?
A: I remember we would go back where there was a big mulberry tree. We used to swing on that, play on it. We had a good time at recess.
Q: What else do you recall about recess? Besides playing on the tree, what were some other things that you did? Did you have any balls or play things?
A: I don’t remember too much about that right now. I don’t think we had teams or anything. When we got to Smithfield, we did.
Q: How far did you live from this school?
A: I would say about a mile up the road.
Q: So you walked to school?
A: Walked to school
Q: Do you have any remembrances of things that occurred when you were on your way to or from?
A: No, we got along pretty good—the kids—we didn’t fight too much.
Q: It would be pleasant things?
A: Yes, it was usually pleasant.
Q: Things that stood out?
A: No, really, it was a good time; it was a good time in life.
Q: School started about what time?
A: I believe it was 9 to 3.
Q: What do you remember about the subjects that you had?
A: Not too much. I—one thing I remember that they don’t do any more is called ovals and pushups. You did these circles, it was teaching how you to write better, writing exercises. That’s one thing I don’t think you do anymore.
Q: Practicing your strokes
A: Yes, We had reading, writing, spelling, English, history, drawing.
Q: Which one was your favorite?
A: I used to like to draw pretty good. It was good.
Q: What do you remember about your lunch time, anything stand out?
A: Oh that was a good time. I remember Miss DeShields, she used to toast a sandwich on the wood stove in the wintertime. We had an old wood stove.
Q: So that was an activity where most all the kids got a toasted sandwich that day?
A: No, no, (laughs) she toasted hers.
Q: Did you eat in the classroom; did you go outside?
A: I think we ate outdoors sometimes. Kids that were fairly close to here, they might have went home, I don’t know.
Q: Was there a store of any kind nearby where you could walk?
A: Mr. Baldwin’s store was further down the road, but we never went down there. I don’t remember whether we were allowed to or not. Do you remember, H.C.? Were we allowed to leave the lot; I don’t think we were. (H.C. Minga: “I used to go home for lunch.”) You did, OK.
Q: How would you describe the furniture and what was inside of your part of the classroom?
A: As I remember they had those one-piece desks where the top of everything was made together.
Q: Your books went underneath it?
A: I think it had a place in there for it.
Q: You got the heat from that pot-bellied stove?
A: Yes, had a pot-bellied stove that heated.
Q: Going back to your teacher who toasted the sandwiches, did she ever make anything for the whole classroom?
A: No
Q: Drinks or sodas, hot cocoa, or anything like that?
A: No, I don’t remember her making anything else. She was a real nice person, but I don’t remember her making anything.
Q: Did she live in the community?
A: No, she lived in the Smithfield area.
Q: Where was the chalkboard?
A: It was a big blackboard on the wall. We used to have to wash it sometimes and then we had to take the erasers outdoors and knock the chalk out of them. That was a job that different kids got.
Q: Any other chores that students did?
A: I don’t remember, I don’t know if we brought the wood in or not. I was trying to think about that the other day. We probably did.
Q: Did the stove use coal or was it wood?
A: I think it was wood.
Q: Do you know if the county provided that or community?
A: I don’t remember that. We got two recesses too. We got two ten-minute recesses.
Q: Did you also have recess with lunch?
A: Yes, we had lunch; we had ten minutes at ten o’clock and two o’clock, it was ten or fifteen minutes.
Q: You had to cram a lot into ten minutes.
A: Yes (laughs).
Q: Could you tell us about any ideas that you have concerning discipline and punishment.
A: She didn’t have many discipline problems because my father taught me—I guess the other kids’ parents probably told them—I was going to have more problems with him. It wasn’t a thing that you’d run home and tell your parents how bad the teacher was to you; you didn’t do that. We did have a teacher here one time, though, that was pretty . . . I think she went a little bit beyond the—I wasn’t involved with her; my brother was. I remember some parents got involved. But she was pretty. . .
Q: Pretty strict?
A: Strict. See, back in those days, I didn’t have it happen here. When I went up to Smithfield a teacher might take a ruler and crack your knuckles. Today, I guess they would call it child abuse. But then they could do a lot of things that they can’t do now. They could paddle you a little bit if they wanted to. Now you’d be in court looking at a judge. It really wasn’t child abuse; it was just discipline. There’s a difference in the two.
A: Any additional positive memories of the school?
A: I enjoyed school; it was something I looked forward to. I wasn’t anxious to go when I had to go to Smithfield High School because I had to ride a bus and leave the community. But I enjoyed going to school here.
Q: Was there anything that made this school stand out in your mind?
A: It was a time in life that will never be again because it was slow. Teachers took time with you; today, they don’t have the time. Teaching was a more personal thing than it is today. It is a lot more impersonal because they have a lot more students and they can’t give the attention they did back then. The teacher would walk around and ask you if you had a problem and talk to you. A little different.
Q: You got that type of feeling from the teachers.
A: Yes, you felt like you were important, felt like you mattered. I know even after I went to Smithfield, it was a different situation. The classroom was bigger; the teachers had more to do. It was like stepping back in time.
Q: Any other school experiences you would like to tell us about?
A: No, I remember the auditorium back there. They used to have a play once in a while or something like that. The ceilings here were real high and it was block tin. I don’t know whether you’ve seen ceilings like that? Maybe old bank in Smithfield had it. Have you ever seen that has the real blocks of tin with ornamentals, pretty ceilings? I don’t guess you could get this thing back the way it was. They dropped these ceilings and put this tile up.
Q: Were they any experiences that you had personally that stand out in your memories about school, the early days, the ones here. You talked about plays, did you participate in any plays or were they brought in from somewhere?
A: I think they had different things come in from time to time as I remember. I was pretty well adapted to everything. I wasn’t a person who liked to rock the boat. I behaved myself pretty good, got along good and didn’t have any problems.
Q: Could you give us a brief summary of your highlights after you left school and what transpired after that, like a little autobiography.
A: I was married at a young age; I was not quite 17. I had quite a few jobs, I worked Navy Yard, the Electric and Power Company as a meter reader, a couple of hardware stores, then I went to work for the Post Office as a rural mail carrier for 23 years. During that time I studied for the ministry. I felt called to the ministry. I took college courses and got my license. I pastured and worked for four years; I wouldn’t take a salary—that was a labor of love. Then in 1979 I went fulltime; I’ve been pastor of the same church for 29 years.
This is a testimony for the Lord; the way I got to be a preacher is my wife almost died. I promised the Lord if he let her live that I would—in fact, four doctors worked on her one morning. I didn’t know he would call me to preach, but the Lord dealt with me about preaching, and thank God he did. If you had told me when I was younger to be a preacher, I would have shook my head and laughed at you because that was the last thing I wanted to be. But God had different plans for me, and I thank God for that. I always loved people. That is one thing my father taught me, respect for people. He always said, “If I catch you disrespecting anybody, I will take care of you,” so he did. I grew up respecting people and loving people.
Q: Would you like to give us the name of your church?
A: Smithfield Assembly of God on 1800 Second Church Street.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: The memories I have of coming to school here were good.
Q: Thank you very much.