School Days Remembered

White Hall Elementary School

Mrs. Sylvia Smith, 1st Grade Teacher, didn’t mind that my mother (Nelle Rhodes Winn, a former teacher in that school) had taught me to read before I went to school, and she made everything very interesting. I remember her as a warm, loving lady – very important for a child’s first year in school.

My brothers George and Jerry and I walked to school and went home for lunch. My father, George Elmer Winn, would give each of us 2 pennies and we could stop by the candy store on our way back to school. Believe it or not, those two cents would buy a couple of pieces of candy.

My Grandmother Winn lived across the street from the school and sometimes we went there for lunch, especially in bad weather, or my dad would pick us up and drive us home.

I remember stuffing my dress down into my snow pants (wrinkling it badly), wearing mittens with a string across your back and snow boots. It took forever to get in and out of the snowsuits.

I don’t think we had “crushes” in First Grade.

I remember one of my classmates was Nancy Griswold, and we would stop by her mother Babe’s restaurant sometimes and go back in the “Annex” and play the piano.

We moved to Arizona when I was in the 4th grade.

Shirley Winn Williams