Her given name came from the small community in which she stood back in the 1920's. It was a time when one room schools existed where there were sufficient numbers of children within a small area. When automobiles began to appear, transportation became less an obstacle and the one room school began to disappear in favor of a large campus housing all grades in different rooms. So it was with her. Several small one room schools came together to form a bigger school, and because of the most central location, she was built in the community containing Beulah Baptist Church, therefore, her given name was Beulah.
Her surname came from the founders of the school out of respect for the state superintendent of education of the day, a man named J.F. Hubbard, who apparently had a part in the consolidation effort of the time. In any case, the school became known as Beulah Hubbard school, and it churned out its first graduating class in the 1929-30 school year.
She was built of rough cut timbers and lumber with handsaws, hammers and nails. Her floors were of heart pine that were oiled on a regular basis to prevent rot. Her walls were lathed with strips of hardwood and then plastered over. Restrooms were built inside the building which was quite innovative and a novel thing at the time. Each classroom was well lit by huge windows that lifted up easily for ventilation during the hot August days. Early on she was heated by coal burning heaters and later, large butane heaters in each classroom provided heat on the colder winter days. She was a marvelous construction in her youth, a long hall of classrooms with a large auditorium attached to the back, a gymnasium within a few yards of the north end that also had a small lunch room on the back and a bus garage underneath and people were proud of her. Teacher's housing was made available across the road from the school, and as numbers grew, an additional building was constructed to house grades 1-5, the old house that had been used to house home economics and agriculture classes was replaced with an add on to the south end of the school, and a new stand alone cafeteria was constructed. Her district lines were permanently fixed when the northeastern and east central part of the county were taken in. Now, the family called Beulah Hubbard was almost complete. Integration became law in 1968, but, black students had a year of choice before they were compelled to attend the public schools. Some chose to go ahead and attend, but most waited until the 1969-70 school year to begin their education in the "white" schools. Now, the family was complete.
The little country school called Beulah Hubbard produced graduates who became doctors, lawyers, school teachers, business men and women, bankers, preachers, and farmers, all of which were successful in what they did with their lives. Very little money was allowed through the county for her maintenance, most needs had to be met locally by fundraising efforts, and though everyone contributed as much as they could, age began to wear her down.
It's difficult to explain how important the school became to the community. The smaller communities...Beulah, Hopewell, Greenland, Rock Creek, Pleasant Grove, Battlefield, Duffee, Center Ridge, Oakland, Hebron, and a few others now had a common thread..the grand old lady Beulah Hubbard. Life blood, fabric, focal point...all good descriptors, yet, they fall short in trying to explain the atmosphere surrounding the school and community. Most of the staff were local people and those who came in from other places quickly bought in to our way of doing things. The student body averaged about 250 grades K-12. They knew each other well and all were accepted no matter about social status. They were taught at home to act right and respect their elders, and they allowed themselves to be taught. They were great athletes and able to play with most schools with much larger numbers.
The talk began in earnest around 1986...that dreadful word..consolidation..became the desire of the controlling interest on the county school board. Much debate took place over the next few years, many tempers were lost, many ideas were presented to the school board in hopes of saving all or part of her to no avail. Every vote was 3 to 2 in favor of the controlling interest until the death sentence was pronounced in 1989.
Beulah Hubbard school is no more, the lady is dead, yet, those of us who attended or worked there remember that sense of belonging to something very special...just a little country school, made up of country people who loved each other and loved their school. Deep down inside, each of us who were a part of her still harbor a hope that she will someday be resurrected in some way. As the consolidated school becomes larger and larger, perhaps...just maybe...only time will tell!!
No comments:
Post a Comment