Darlington First Grade

By John ‘Butch’ Dale
Guest Columnist

“Run, Tom,” said Mother. “Run, Betty, run. It is time to go to school. Run fast!” … Yes, that was the first page in my first school reader “On Cherry Street” in the fall of 1954. I believe my parents may have told me something similar … “Run, Butch, run. It is time to go to school. Run fast. Please. We need some peace and quiet.”

Yes, as I mentioned in a previous column, I was a very active and mischievious little feller, and my parents decided that even though I was only 5 years old, it was time for the first grade teacher, Marian Couger, to get me into shape. On that first day I recited my favorite nursery rhyme … “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells … and one damn petunia!” Sad to say, but Mrs. Couger did not appreciate that version of the rhyme.

For the most part, I enjoyed school. I had already learned to read simple books when I was 4 years old. I found that math came easily, too. I have always had the ability to memorize things, and for the Christmas program that year, I recited “The Night Before Christmas” while on stage in front of the all the parents of grades one through six. I loved to draw and color and paste in art class with Mrs. Surface. And I had great fun on the playground equipment during recess. Mrs. Couger was strict, but she was very loving and patient. I learned many things during my first year of school, such as …

(1) Listen to your teacher, (2) Don’t talk out loud in class, (3) If you don’t understand something, just raise your hand and ask, (4) Don’t hit people, (5) Be nice to everyone, (6) Use good manners, (7) Learn to share, (8)Wash your hands before you eat, (9) Drink all of your milk, (10) Do not chew gum in school, (11) It is good to lay your head down on your desk and take a nap after noon-time recess, (12) Respect the flag and be proud to be an American, (13) Take time to read every day, (14) Sports are fun, but studying is more important, (15) Don’t let a bully pick on others, (16) Play fair and sometimes it’s good to let others win, (17) Girls are very interesting creatures, (18) The world does not revolve around you, (19) Your teacher cares about you and wants you to do your best … and finally, (20) Do NOT say any curse words … especially in the presence of your teacher!

All of these lessons served me well during the remainder of my school years. I loved attending school. It was nice to have the summers off, but I always looked forward to that first day in the fall right after Labor Day … riding the school bus, the smell of newly varnished wood floors, seeing my classmates again, meeting my new teachers, learning new things, recess, playing sports … and enjoying life! I finished my 12 years of school in 1966 as the class valedictorian. Mrs. Couger had given me the start that I needed.

“Thank you, Mother. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Mrs. Couger,” said Butch … See Butch run. See Butch run fast to school. Butch likes school.

“Down the lanes of boyhood let me go once more, Let me tread the paths of youth that I have trod before … Down the lanes of boyhood, where innocence abounds … And yet we never can return when once we’ve journeyed on; Old age is ever wishing for the joys forever gone.” Edgar Guest, 1924,