Friday, August 31, 2012

Crossing the finish line --- Eldon, MO

                   Eldon High School                       
                       Class of '69

Well, it's time I wrapped up this School daze trip. Last time I wrote, I had gone to Independence, MO, for just a little over four short months, the last of my sophomore year. But we weren't done moving yet.

While we were living in Independence, Daddy was working in Kansas City at some kind of big metal working place in Kansas City where he met a co-worker who took a shine to him. After a few months, this nice man told Daddy that he and his family owned a conglomerate of about three farms, consisting of a little over 1,200 acres, right smack in the middle of Missouri, and they would like to offer Daddy the position of manager of those farms. A farmer. Well, why not? He had tried everything else, and was good at it!

That summer after school was out, we drove down to High Point, MO, to find the 5-W Farms. Pretty appropriate. There were five of us. Winklers. Well, the farm was kind of "run down" because it had been awhile since anyone had worked it. And the house? Well, when I tell you we brought buckets of soapy water and BROOMS into the house to scrub down all the walls and ceilings before we could even paint and start on any floors, would that give you a pretty good idea of what it was like? But we were back in the country. And we were all together. And living life on a farm with cows, pigs, and a pond right outside the back door where I could fish.....pure heaven!

Now, since we were right on the dividing line between the Eldon and California school districts, we were told by both schools that we could take our pick which one we wanted to go to. We drove to both towns and looked over both schools. Since the Eldon school looked newer and more modern, and the drive was just a tiny bit less carsick-inducing, that's the one we picked. Our little sister was still in elementary school, so she went to High Point Elementary.

My favorite classes my junior year were, bar none, shorthand and typing. I absolutely loved them because both of them involved a lot of the same kind of manual dexterity used to play a musical instrument. I excelled at both, even if I do say so myself. In fact, I passed my shorthand teacher's own shorthand speed and she would work with me individually to groom me to take the tests given to qualify for "certified" speeds. Same with typing. I still have all the little "speed" pins I won from the Gregg Shorthand Company, plus one pin that my teacher bought for me herself for my highest speed achievement. Dorky, I know, but I worked darn hard for those pins, so I'm keeping them.

Little did I know those two skills would be primarily the main skills required for the jobs I have held most of my "career" life. They have served me well.

But wait....one more move! No, not a change of schools. But we left the farm and moved closer to Eldon, so my brother and I remained at Eldon High School, and our little sister changed to Eldon Elementary School. So I got to go TWO WHOLE YEARS at one school, and good old Eldon High School is where I got my diploma. And at graduation, I also got a pleasant surprise. With all that moving around, it never occurred to me to track anything like a G.P.A., but the last week of school, the counselor called me into his office....which was a short trip, actually, because I ended up working in his office as a secretary part-time at the recommendation of my typing and shorthand teacher. He told me that I would be graduating in the Top Ten of the class. Number seven, to be precise. I was flabbergasted.

Senior Banquet Date....
My (younger) Uncle
Yeah, I was wild.

So there you have it. My whole School Daze career. For a quick recap:
  1. First Grade - West Plains, MO
  2. Second Grade (1st part) - Columbia, MO
  3. Second Grade (2nd part) - Alton, MO
  4. Third, Fourth, half of Fifth Grade - Plato, MO
  5. Fifth Grade (2nd part) - Back to Alton, MO
  6. Sixth Grade (1st part) - Couch, MO
  7. Sixth Grade (2nd part) - Cloverdale, CA
  8. Seventh Grade - Cotter, AR
  9. Eighth, Ninth, half of Tenth Grade - Mtn. Home, AR
  10. Tenth Grade (2nd part) - Independence, MO
  11. AND NOW, YOU'RE HERE....Eleventh and Twelfth Grades - Eldon, MO
Yup, that's eleven schools in twelve years. Whew!

But I do get lots of class reunion invitations! And I have a lot of great classmates.

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