Another letter in the series on the Class of '49, Fort Scott

Hi Marilyn,

When I first thought about writing this, I was going to write about school years, but everyone else has written about childhood years, so guess I will too. I was really raised by my grandparents (on my dad's side) like everyone else it was during the great depression era. My mother and dad were divorced. I can remember waiting for my granddad to come home each night from his job on the WPA (he worked on the brick streets) He always saved me something from his lunch pail for me as a treat. I also remember chasing the ice truck to get pieces of ice that the ice man would drop out of the back of the ice truck. We had a cow in the back yard that grandma would milk for us for milk for supper. She washed our clothes after heating the water in a big black vat in the back yard and did the cooking on a wood burning stove. (Hard to believe she got a meal together) but she did, every day. We took a bath once a week in the back yard (me first). We wore the same clothes all week, took them off immediately after I got home from school. Boy how times have changed.

School was better after the first year. My first grade teacher Miss Harris changed me from left hand to right hand. She would hit my hand with a ruler if I used my left hand. Stella Gunsallus was the principal and supposedly had a rubber hose in her room that she kept the boys in line with. I skipped 4th grade altogether. I got to be in a Christmas play as a big doll in the 6th grade. (This was a big deal for me) The day before the play, Miss Wallen our teacher loaned me the dress that I wore in the play. I really felt important. If I remember Janet Morrison was Mrs. Claus. I was also in another play in 8th grade, that was the last of my acting career. During the summer of my sophomore and junior years I worked at Ben Franklin for 25 cents an hour. G.O. McCain gave me the job of bookkeeper for his print shop my junior and senior years. I really wasn't that good in printing anyway. (It was just an easy class to take). It got me my job at Master Printers. I kept that job 'til after I got out of school.

Many of the friends I had in school I still have and keep in touch with. The internet helps with this. Hopefully several people will decide to write their letters.

Gloria (Stanley)Dalton

Class of '49