Published in 2011, the late John Eddie Vogt’s book, Witches, Bitches, and Other Small Town Folks, brings to life the quirky, unforgettable, and entertaining tales of growing up and living in Kendall County from the 1930s through the 1960s. Thanks to the gracious permission of his family, The Kendall Gentleman is honored to share excerpts from his book for your enjoyment.
Dear Old Golden Rule Days
And rule days they were. Some used a wooden ruler on you and some only a leather strap. In some cases it made you better, but in some cases it made you more defiant.
The school year never started until after Labor Day. This was a hard and fast rule. The first holiday was Armistice Day, always on November 11. Then would be Thanksgiving, we would get off Thursday and Friday. Next in line would be Christmas and New Year. Maybe we would get off the day of Christmas Eve, sometimes only a half day, and still other times not at all until the 25th. We went back the day after New Year’s Day unless there would only be a day or two left in the week and then we wouldn’t go back until that next Monday. Once in a while we would be given Washington’s Birthday on February 22nd, but never Lincoln’s. On March 2nd we would be off for Texas Independence Day, which was a day of reenactments for us kids that I’ve written about elsewhere in this book. For Easter, if you were Catholic or Episcopalian, you could get off at noon on Good Friday providing you were going to go to church. Naturally most kids became Catholic that day and attended high noon services, or at least said that they had. Back to school that Monday.
At the end of the school year the senior class would get to take a day off from school called “Senior Day”. In 1946 a very defiant junior class declared that they were as important as the seniors. On a planned day, 26 of the 29 juniors all failed to report to school. A popular Baptist minister that was also teaching school was sent out to where we all were and attempted to persuade the bunch to return to school for the remainder of the day. It seems like one or two went with him, but the rest continued their “Junior Day” with no more interruptions. Somehow we got away with it.
I remember one day while we were having study period and it seemed like most of the class was making noise of some kind. Our teacher reached the end of her rope. In a voice way too high and loud for a teacher, she boldly declared, “If you all can’t sit down and be quiet I wish you would get up and get out of here!” It hit everyone the same way and at the same time we all got up and went outside. The superintendent came and asked us to go back inside, and we did. Honestly, we weren’t a bad bunch of kids, but we stuck together like cockleburrs in a horse’s tail.
I still remember many of my teachers. There was Miss Toepperwein in the first grade. She wore a long, to the ankle, dress with long sleeves. She would tuck her handkerchief in the cuff of her sleeve. There were several children in the class that could not speak English, only German. Miss Toepperwein would give us instructions in both English and German. Then she would explain in both languages that she would do this for one month and then we would all talk English. And lo and behold, this is what happened.
Lucy Saxon was our teacher in the second grade. She had just recently married Gerald Saxon, who later became Boerne’s postmaster for a number of years. Lucy liked dramatics and hoped to make each of her students into performers. For a number of years, she and my mother would assist in putting on plays with children as the actors. These plays would usually be presented in the high school auditorium at Christmas and possibly the end of school.
Miss Kessler. The terror of third grade. She loved to yield a leather strap to all who did not follow her demands. Her aim was good, but her backswing was horrible. Margaret Ann sat across the aisle from me and, bless her innocent bones, she received the worst end of my whippings. I liked to wear corduroy trousers to school because they were thick and absorbed the shock better.
Along came the fourth grade. Olie (Viola) Wilson. Olie had also just been married, to Bob Wilson. Olie’s maiden name was Georg.
When the weather was bad and we couldn’t get outside to play, Olie would read to us from the book Black Beauty. She made us look forward to what otherwise would be a dreary day. Mrs. Wilson was a beloved teacher for many generations of Boerne families.
Then there were Annie Wendler, Aunt Jessie Theis, Miss Helen Theis and several other I cannot recall. There were even a couple I don’t want to recall. Aunt Jessie and Miss Helen each only taught for a short period of time. Miss Helen had us for the period right before lunch, or right before daily dismissal. My only clear remembrance was that all us kids were ready to tear out when the bell rang. There is a “however” to this story. The moment the bell rang, Miss Helen would have us stand by our desks and recite in a singsong voice, “God be with you ’til we meet again”.
More from John Eddie Vogt: The first installment of this series is School Days, School Days: Dear Old Golden Rule Days, Part 1. For another window into JEV’s school-age years, read H.O. Adler and the Boy Scouts, when he was old enough to lead Troop 102.
