Reviews from

Living in Country School Days

What a different time from then to now

39 total reviews 
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
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Very well written and organized. I felt horrified about your mother moving every year with so many kids. Your school day was much like mine in a two-room school with four grades in each room. Remember how you helped younger kids with their lessons? Our only supervised playground time was baseball and we played by big league rules with the principal/the upper grade teacher as an umpire. It was a great time with lots more patriotism, although we didn't pray very often.

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Carol, I thank you so very much. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind things and I loved hearing your account of your school.

    I should have mentioned that my dad was with us, but we know who does most of the work. My mom taught in a school like you went to. She was only two miles from where I went to school, but different district. She taught first, second and third and another teacher taught fourth fifth and sixth. And they did things by their districts rules. So they always were supervised.

    I appreciate you so very much. Thank you again, my very dear friend.
    Love, Debi
Comment from LJbutterfly
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Life was so different in those days, even for city kids in big schools. I recall starting the day with the teacher reading the Bible. We also said the Pledge and sang My Country Tis of Thee. Older classes sang God Bless America and The Star-Spangled Banner.

As you said, life was simpler with no school shooting or schools being governed by politics. I enjoyed your trip back to the "good ole days."

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Lorraine, I thank you so very much. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind things. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate you so very much. Thank you again, my very dear friend. Love, Debi
Comment from karenina
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Great job, Debi, reminding us of the innocence of our youth! I just finished typing a 100 word response to this review which "disappeared" as soon as I hit save.

(Grrrr)

Never a country schoolhouse for me ~ but many moves throughout my childhood and even halfway through my junior year in high school. Those moves were tough!

Was there ONE teacher teaching six grade levels in that one room? I guess I never imagined you in that kind of a rural setting!

Country, God, Respect ~~ we were brought up on these.

For all the modernization (and it is great we don't reuse hypodermic needles, right?) -- we've lost something we'll never get back. I remember leaving early in the AM and not worrying about getting back home until supper.

Not anymore!

I do remember the abstract fear of practicing Nuclear Drills -- (as if filing to the hallway and putting our heads down would save anyone)--

But today? Our grandkids undergoing weekly shooter drills? We've lost some sense of sanity!

Again, great write...

(My first review was so much more in-depth but I'm ready to throw my laptop on the floor!)

:)

Karenina






 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Oooh, Hon, that has happened to me. Frustrating!! Yes, but what I wrote about was just elementary. We had the nuclear drills more after we got to public schools in town.

    But yes, thank God they no longer reuse needles. I started out in St Cloud, which was a pretty good size city. Back then it was about 100,000 people in the 50s. So it was a big school. Of course I did like it in the country more than in town.

    I wish I could remember what was going on that we were getting shots but it seemed to me that one of the boys had come down with something and they were worried we all had it so maybe giving a shot. But I just don't remember.

    I do remember where she was sitting and the bottle of alcohol and her swabbing the needle or something with cotton. We are talking over 50 years.
    Some things are a little fuzzy so I left some out. And stuff like the smoking straws, I didn't think people would appreciate hearing about it, so I erased a lot of my story.
    Thanks for the kind words for my story. I appreciate it so much. Love, Debi
reply by karenina on 25-Mar-2024
    Wow! I just reread your story and I see you did some serious editing! Some of my review may not make sense to anyone but the two of us!

    Nice added detail, though..!
Comment from barbara.wilkey
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Yes, those were the good old days. Life made sense and everybody has responsibilities, and they were expected. I enjoyed reading.

Before Steven, our youngest was in high school, he'd gone to 9 schools, because his dad was Army. I do understand moving. We promised him he would start and graduate from the same high school. My husband retired here in Texas. Our oldest went to 4 high schools, next, 5 high school, next 2 high schools. Steven did graduate the same high school he started. LOL

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Barb,I thank you so very much. I loved hearing about your boys and how many schools they went to. I can see why with your husband moving around so much. That must have been hard on your too. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind things about my story. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you again, my very dear friend. Love, Debi
Comment from GWHARGIS
Exceptional
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Oh, how I miss the days when you could leave the house after breakfast and not have to check back in until the porch light came on and you knew dinner was ready. If you were thirsty, you drank from the nearest hose. This was a delightful piece that made me remember the good old days. Gretchen

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Oh my Gretchen, I thank you so very much. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind words plus honor me with a six for this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate you so very much. I just thought about that porch light that you mentioned. Wow, I had forgotten ours until now. Thanks for giving me a memory back.
    Thank you again, my very dear friend. Love, Debi
Comment from davisr (Rhonda)
Exceptional
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Awww, Debi,
What a wonderful set of memories to share with us, especially for me, a teacher. It almost makes me want to teach in a one room schoolhouse. I am pretty much that way now as I am the only high school science teacher. I like it like this!!

Much love,
Rhonda

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Rhonda, I could picture you completely doing this. Teach six grades. LOL, we went thru sometimes 3 a year. Mrs Davee finally stayed for two years and we grew to love her. I thank you so very much. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind words plus honor me with a six for this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my very dear friend. Love, Debi
Comment from lyenochka
Exceptional
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This was great. I enjoyed reading your memories of this little country school! Of course, we said the pledge and sang the national anthem every morning in our big urban school in Honolulu but we didn't need to keep the fire going or burn the garbage!

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Helen, are you home now? How is your mom, your brother?? And how are you after that long airplane ride?? I love that you can relate to some of this and I totally get why the wood stove isn't one of your memories. LOL

    I thank you so very much. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind words plus honor me with a six for this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate you so very much. Love, Debi
reply by lyenochka on 25-Mar-2024
    No, I'm here still for another day. We leave tomorrow and then catch up on the missing three hours of time change.
Comment from Terry Broxson
Exceptional
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LOL, yep I think you are right. They were good old days, and we didn't know any better. Debi, this is an excellent memoir. This is well-written with enough details to make me smile and shake my head...yep, remember that! Outstanding. Terry.

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Terry, I am going to jump you up to the head of the class. Just so I can thank you for the idea and for steering me in the direction. I am glad I did it and it made so many memories surface that I had to finally delete some, as it was getting too long. Thanks for all the kind words and the generous six stars.

    I took both my stories off of Medium and going to try to work on getting some of those back as drafts again. Thanks again for all your support, in both places. You are an awesome friend. Love, Debi
Comment from Jeano
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The Good Old Days! Life was so innocent back then, kids were kids, not trying to be whatever it is today that seems to cause so much pain among them. We all played well together in the sandbox, we were civilized. Nicely done. Thanks for posting this, you rock!

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Jeano, I thank you so very much. This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind things. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate you so very much. Thank you again, my very dear friend. Love, Debi
Comment from nomi338
Exceptional
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Some of what you relate resonates with me, although I had been in the Air Force for three years by the time 1963 rolled around. I did enjoy some of the same experiences you did, just much earlier. The most outstanding memory I have of 1963 is November 22. I was standing on a cakes of ice in North Dakota, guarding a B52 aircraft, heavily loaded with bombs, and ready for action. I thought for sure that it would be taking off at any moment. Fortunately for all of us, it did not happen. That day changed me forever. Thank you for the more pleasant memories of that time in our history.

 Comment Written 24-Mar-2024


reply by the author on 24-Mar-2024
    Hi Nomi, so about that time you were just in the state to the west of us.
    And that was something else that we were told to pray for our soldiers back then. I thank you so very much for your service, dear bro!! This is so incredibly sweet of you to say such kind words plus honor me with a six for this. I appreciate you so very much. Thank you again, my very dear BBBB. Love, Debi. I dare you to guess what the last b stands for.
reply by nomi338 on 25-Mar-2024
    Thanks Baby Sis. I am clueless as to what the last B signifies. Please enlighten me.
reply by the author on 25-Mar-2024
    Best Brave Big Brother!!
    😘♥️♥️♥️🦾
reply by nomi338 on 25-Mar-2024
    Awesome! Thank you. Sweetest Baby Sister Ever. (SBSE).