Memories Of The Old Hope School & Gym (Part 2)

Part 1 ended with the following paragraph: Leading the class down the ramp and into the gym always stirred good feelings. Classes were generally large, and it was a challenge to keep all students involved; however, a few minutes of time out on a bleacher was the only discipline technique needed due to the enjoyment of the planned activities, some from a book and some created by me.

One of my favorite original activities was “Beat The Clock” which could have ended my career. We incorporated a scaffold on wheels left in the gym. Each team had students sitting on a board on the scaffold with students pulling the scaffold by a rope as well as students holding on to a rope on scooters behind. It was so much fun until the scaffold tipped over.

Fortunately, not one student was injured, and all were ready to do it again. I had to make a quick decision of whether or not to continue for obvious safety concerns. From then on, I was the scaffold stabilizer while circling the gym, and we never had another accident! (I suspect students who tumbled off the scaffold still remember that day; I did not receive one call questioning my judgment.)

Another favorite original was “Knock Over The Pin.” There were several teams. The student in back crawled between the legs of teammates to get on a scooter. They then retrieved a rubber ball from a basket and headed to a line where they would roll the ball toward a pin in trying to knock it over while a teammate would roll it back when the pin was missed. Once knocking the pin over, they would return on the scooter to the front of their team, and their helper would put the pin back in place and return to the back of the team with the routine starting all over again.

An activity was always planned in conjunction with the Indy 500. A track was marked off by orange cones which also served as pit areas. Scooters were cars, and each team came up with a name for their car. One student would ride while another one would push or pull. It was great fun even with a few scooter crashes into one another and the bleachers. Terri Beeker Young did not know, as she was racing around the gym, that she would marry Kevin Young, Cross Cliff and Hauser graduate, and that their daughter, Brittany Young Need, would proudly serve as an Indy 500 Princess in 2016, one of 33, and have all the opportunities afforded with that honor, one being the traditional Princess Lap.

One of my most embarrassing moments was when my pants split out. I had to come up with a quick remedy and tied a jacket around that area which made for an interesting look the rest of the school day. One of the most inspiring moments took place when a student, with birth defects resulting in no legs and arms with a few fingers, stopped moving due to her artificial legs completely coming off. I was wondering how her classmates would react. They immediately helped her put them back on, and she continued to play with a smile. (She always had that beautiful smile in and out of the classroom!)

It was interesting establishing an obstacle course with all kinds of equipment, and students were timed. We utilized the entire gym including the stage and bleachers. One piece of equipment was a very large pushball, 36 inches in diameter, which students had to move a certain distance before continuing. One year, we proudly shared the obstacle course during a parent/teacher meeting and received an appreciative applause.

Dodge ball was always a favorite activity; however, I thought of other ways to win besides hitting a player or catching a thrown ball. The 36” pushball was placed in the middle of the court which gave a team a huge advantage of protection if grabbing it first. If players could roll the pushball all the way to the end line without being hit, then their team won. Three pins were standing on each end. If a team could knock over all three pins, then it was another way to win. Teams quickly realized the importance of standing in front of their pins.

I did not have much of a soccer background, but the book was of great help. (Jim Stultz was eventually responsible for starting a town soccer program.) After spending weeks on all the basic skills and the possible positions and roles of each, we divided into two teams. All students participated game time. I quickly realized the need to have more than one goalie and to gradually increase the number of balls to hold interest. (Even though soccer is not football, Debbie McCarty Smith likely never thought while kicking a soccer ball that she would be trying out and almost making the Indianapolis Colts Cheerleading Squad at the age of 19 when they first came to Indy in 1984.)

Of course, basketball was a favorite activity. The gym actually had six goals which were helpful when presenting skills. For games, we divided into boys at one end and girls on the other where they would go horizontally while utilizing four of the six goals. I still hear the scream when Vickie Wasson Tedder somehow broke a bone in her arm. It was a compound fracture, one that I had seen in high school when a classmate broke his arm while jumping on a trampoline. Tracy Harris Kuncar stayed by Vickie's side as I had all the other students sit on the bleachers; an ambulance was called by our Secretary for many years, Janet Venable, one of the most pleasant individuals in the world; Charlie Biggs, well known Hauser educator and EMT, was there. The gym was very quiet, and I still see the concern in Vickie's eyes as well as her mom's eyes, Lavon, who rushed there from work. When Vickie returned, all students signed her cast. The operation scar is visible years later while Vickie cuts my hair. We have discussed that day a few times!

The red and white parachute generated lots of excitement. Students enjoyed lifting it up together as a team and then bringing it back down as they held on while turning their bodies to be inside of the dome. They also very much liked shaking balls and jump ropes off it, which required a lot of shaking and energy. No one wanted to stop using the parachute as we threw and released it high above our heads in celebration ending the class. It was one of the best activities presented to future teachers at Indiana State University. (For my grandson's fourth birthday, Gibson Mize, a parachute was a gift. Our family gathered around as I recalled fun activities; Gibson was smiling from one ear to the other!)

Often, we had programs in the gym. We gathered in the gym in 1980 to watch Miss Candy Taff be recognized for being named one of nine teachers in the United States and Canada as a Teacher Plus out of 2,200 nominations by “Instructor” magazine. Leanna Landsmann, Editor-in-Chief, Publisher, traveled from New York to say a few words and present the ever so humble but appreciative and very deserving Miss Taff a plaque. Candy was also named runner-up for Indiana Teacher of the Year by the Indiana State Department of Instruction. (I would be very interested in knowing who won that year!) Jean Glick, fourth grade teacher and fabulous writer who soon accepted a writing position at Cummins Engine Company, nominated Candy. Typically, such a process is not easy, and Jean took it on with all her other teaching responsibilities. (Jean, with her daughter, Kim Glick, a Hauser graduate, eventually wrote a book about trying to quit the habit of smoking cigarettes, “Holy Smokes-Inspirational Help For Kicking The Habit.” It was very clever, even with rolled up scriptures resembling cigarettes to help.) Jean was also very kind when endorsing my book, “Characteristics of A Great Teacher.”)

Candy has wonderful memories of when her Little Hoosiers Club hosted a one-day State Convention attended by many clubs and members throughout Indiana. That's right, our little town of Hope was selected for this convention, with several clubs just awed by the rural experience and the leadership of Hope's fourth, fifth, and sixth graders on a Walking Tour of Hope with several stops, one at God's Acre Cemetery. The visiting clubs reportedly loved the Parade Of Hoosiers in the gym which every student in our club dressed as a famous Hoosier and said a few words. (Bobby Waddle evidently received much attention portraying Red Skelton and was able to showcase those abilities while being in the DJ business with Mike Asher for years and even on a local radio station for awhile.) Later, Barb Johnson and the Hope Little Hoosiers hosted another outstanding State Convention at Hauser.

The gym and classrooms were always places for yearly fun fairs. The staff and parents teamed together to make sure “kids” had fun and to bring in money for teachers to use toward trade books and other items. A Prince and Princess Contest sparked much interest, and Debbie McCarty Smith and Jeff Smith won it my very first year of teaching. (I purchased quite a few goodies at their town bake sale!) Since my nickname was “Duck,” due to enjoying Donald Duck Orange Juice, I pretended to be a duck in some way at my booth. It made for a long but worthwhile night. (The hundreds of ducks received over the years are now with my daughter, Bethany Webster Mize, who teaches at Hope Elementary to give away to students exhibiting great character.)

Kevin Stonerock, well-known storyteller and songwriter/performer and a former Director of Indiana Historical Society, would now and then portray early Indiana characters such as a fur trapper, Civil War soldier, pioneer, and steamboat captain. Kevin would keep all of us gathered in the gym engaged while going back in history.

On the stage, I was Alexander, the Gatekeeper of Dreams, in “Pocket Full of Dreams,” a musical which primary teacher, Connie Baldwin, directed. I recall how students handled learning their lines seemingly much easier than me. (I was reminded of how hard my mom, Lida Webster, worked with me for a school play at Lovett when portraying the archangel Gabriel and on learning multiplication facts. All former fifth graders know the facts and moon pie story!) My outfit was overalls with plenty of pockets full of dreams, one of my favorite outfits likely because my dad, Roy Webster, constantly wore them. The message was great, one about the importance of following our dreams and catching them.

On the gym floor, one of my fifth grade classes acted out a play I put together based on “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. All students participated while starting out spread throughout the floor as the tree. Wesley Martin portrayed the boy in the book. Wes eventually walked in as an old man hunched over using a cane and sitting on the stump of the tree. His acting skills made him a star! (There is a video tape out there some place, and I would appreciate watching that play again!)

Much later in life, I applied these experiences. I was a senile character in a play, “Dearly Departed,” at Simmons Winery, a very easy part for me. Glenda Butler, a student in my first class, was my acting partner and tried to keep me from straying too far from the script. Pete Law, former student and colleague, directed plays I wrote based on three excellent books, two by local artist and writer, Rena Blake Dillman, and one by Mark Van Voorhis and Ed Kugler, the first at Strawberry Fields and the other two at WILLow LeaVes. As the Narrator of each, I elected to read my lines as opposed to memorizing them! Pete has now taken many classes in acting in Chicago and Hollywood and has acted in several movies while hoping to make a career of it some day. (Part 3 Coming Soon)

Dreams Inspired By My Performance In “Pocket Full Of Dreams”
Musical Produced By Hope Elementary Teacher, Connie Baldwin

Dreams are the essence of life
To not dream is to not live
We must all dream
No matter how poor or how rich
No matter how painless or how painful we feel
Dreams should be a part of our vision
A dream can be:
To live another day
To help another being
To continue education
To find a career
To have a special relationship
...
Dreams are limitless
To not see a dream is the worst blindness
Blindness sometimes caused by shattered dreams
Unfortunate as they may seem
They need to lead to other dreams
No one
Nothing
Should get in the way of dreamers
They just keep on dreaming and
Living!

(If you by chance have a program with names of students in the cast or a video, please reach out to me.)