< by Sandy, mother of Jill >

I began my schooling in a one-room schoolhouse about 1/4 of a mile from my home on the farm. There were 13 students in all, including my brothers who were in 6th and 8th grade. There was also a set of twins (Mary and Margaret) who were in 5th grade. That first year was pretty uneventful — it was the second year that became a problem.

My new teacher was named Mrs. McCall. She was a rather large woman and not as nice as our first-grade teacher. Mrs. McCall would teach in the morning and then EVERY day at noon she would get her coat on and walk to the outdoor bathroom (a.k.a. an outhouse). Mary and Margaret hated her and on our walks to school they would call her names and talk trash about her. Wanting Mary and Margaret’s approval was high on my list. Never mind that they were evil twins, it didn’t matter. I decided to do something that would make Mary and Margaret worship me forever.

One afternoon after school I got my color crayons and walked back to school and drew a big picture of Mrs. McCall on the outside wall of the outhouse. It was magnificent. I had never really considered myself an artist, but this was good. Then, to make it REALLY stand out and special, I decided to title my art “Screwball McCall.”

There! Complete! Beautiful!

The next morning I was full of anticipation as noon approached and when it finally arrived and Mrs. McCall put on her coat and walked outside… I don’t think I had ever seen someone as old as Mrs. McCall run so fast in my life and now she was heading straight for our school and I guess I figured this wouldn’t turn out well.

“ALL YOU GIRLS — GET IN A LINE RIGHT NOW AND TELL ME WHO DEFACED THE OUTHOUSE!!!!”  Silence. “MARY AND MARGARET — DID YOU DO THIS?” “Oh no, Mrs. McCall — we would NEVER do such a horrid thing.”  It was then I knew I was in big trouble and started crying. Needless to say, I was busted.