ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701200013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: guest column
Your recent story on Bethel Elementary School [``Plans for closing create nostalgia for Bethel," Current, Jan. 7] really brought a lot of memories home.
Bethel is the alma mater for my two brothers and me. All three of us hold the fondest of memories when we talk about this school. It was a place where everyone fit in and no one had to worry about what was in style, what religion someone was, how much money someone's family had or if they had enough change to ride a school bus.
It was our home away from home, and we didn't mind going there each day.
It was also where it was OK to say, "Tonight we're having our Christmas play." We didn't have to worry about offending too many people when we colored a nativity scene and put it up in the hallway.
In first grade, I met my childhood sweetheart and learned the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. And we said a prayer every day.
In second grade, I met Smokey the Bear and was also smacked on the hand with a Smokey the Bear ruler for giggling too loud and disturbing class.
In third grade, we were studying math when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The teacher cried and the school was silent.
In fourth grade, I had to be put in a "combined class" and was separated from some of my friends for the first time in four years. That was the year "Martians" were suppose to invade the school, and I believe it was the year I learned that babies weren't brought by a stork.
In fifth grade, we learned there were black people as well as white people, and that was fine with us. We didn't pay much attention to skin color.
In sixth grade, I was introduced to Mr. Millis Cox, the former teacher who was mentioned in your recent story. He fussed at me a lot for giggling, but I think he liked me a lot, too. He would grin sheepishly at me in the halls when no one was looking.
In seventh grade, we realized we had learned quite a lot and we were a pretty good group of kids. At the end of that year, we had the famous Seventh Grade Banquet. When we left that night, we knew Auburn High School would be our next stop and perhaps our lives would be changing a bit.
The very things that stick in your mind, soul and heart for a lifetime are the things we learned at Bethel Elementary School. Sometimes not all of the best learning is found in books. Some of the best things in life are what you don't or won't appreciate until they are gone.
Bonnie Roberts of Radford is an editorial assistant at Radford University. She attended Bethel Elementary in the early 1960s.
LENGTH: Medium: 51 linesby CNB