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.
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.
Publisher’s Note: Look for Part 2 of John Eddie’s story in the May issue of The Kendall Gentleman.
More from John Eddie Vogt: This is the first of JEV’s school-year remembrances. Continue with School Days, School Days, the next chapter in the same series. For another childhood scene from the same era, read Customs & Manners.
