ASHDOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ASHDOWN, ARKANSAS
School Years 1944-45 thru 1975-76
Irene Pauley has written a book TEACHING
MEMORIES OF IRENE PAULEY. This book begins with the first school in
Ashdown which was organized in the fall of 1891. It covers her 32 years as a
second grade teacher in the Ashdown Elementary School. She began her thirty-two
years teaching career in Ashdown at the beginning of the second semester of the
1944-1945 school term. She previously had nine years of experience teaching in
elementary schools.
She also kept a diary of the enrollment of each class and the names of her
students each school year. The following is from this list. In some instances a
class member is now deceased. If that information is known, it has been added.
Also, a book ASHDOWN GRADUATES 1906-1985 compiled by
Mrs. C.I. Bowles and Mrs. Ross Henderson, Jr., has been reviewed to see which
students from Mrs. Pauley's second grade class graduated from Ashdown High
School. In addition, a few editions of the Panther Eyes have been used. This
graduation information is noted by (G) behind the name. If errors are found,
please send them to Wynell Walraven Choate at the email address listed
above.
"Soon after I started
teaching at Ashdown and got acquainted with the teachers and children, I became
a "dentist". Pupils would want me to pull their teeth. Two I remember
were Susan Setliff and Dickie Johnson. I had pulled my own children's teeth!
None of the pupils cried! When Burke Street School opened in August 1965, each
classroom had a sink. I could "wash" my hands - have a good health
lesson - not spreading germs. I remember that children would knock at my
classroom door, wanting to know if I was the teacher who pulled teeth. I'd
invite them in, wash my hands and pull the tooth. The last two years I taught
(1974-75 and 1975-76), I kept a record of the teeth I pulled. I had each child
sign his/her name and write the date.
I wonder now if the children still remember their first
"dentist."
(From Irene Pauley's book "Teaching Memories of Irene Pauley")