Margaret Inez Gill--School Girl

Hi everybody!  Look at this random picture of Mother I found:

Inez Gill, Woodrow School

I don't know what year this was taken, but maybe 6th grade?  I had never seen this picture before. It's in bad shape, obviously and I'll try to clean it up some and post a better version soon. I wanted to share my find today, though, so here you are! Wasn't young Inez cute?

Woodrow School was a two-story schoolhouse. The lower grades were on the first floor and the upper grades were on the second floor. The school only went to the 8th grade at the time Mother, Mary, and Doris went there. I don't know when it became a 12 grade school, if ever. The school eventually consolidated with other nearby schools and became Cooper Independent School District, where Betty, John, Joe, and Judy all attended. Mother graduated from the 8th grade. If she had desired to go to high school, she would have had to travel to Lubbock High School, about 12 miles away, to do so. She wasn't that interested because, she said, "I was more interested in boys and getting married than going on to school."  I always had to smile at that comment. She repeated it numerous times through the years so I know it was true. Mary, Evelyn and Doris all did go to Lubbock High School and earned their high school diplomas. (Maybe they weren't as boy crazy as Mother?)

Mother was always an excellent student and made good grades. When I was a child, she was a stickler for spelling, grammar, and penmanship. She was especially insistent that I work on my penmanship. (I never did quite meet her standards.) So far as math, Mother could out-figure anyone I've ever met, even Daddy. I was constantly amazed as a kid at how fast and accurate she was with math problems, without a calculator of course. We would get to the checkout line at the grocery store and she would know exactly what she owed, down to the last penny! If she needed to figure out fabric yardage for clothes or draperies she was planning to sew, she had it figured out before someone else had grabbed paper or pencil.

Daddy also graduated from the 8th grade and then was finished with his formal education. The interesting thing is that, although neither Mother nor Daddy earned a high school diploma or went on to college, they were two of the best-educated people I've ever met. Daddy was especially well-read. He read anything he could get his hands on, but his favorite reading was "a good old bloody Western!"

So, this was Mother in her school days. I hope you've enjoyed seeing this picture as much as I enjoyed finding it!