There was an interesting post earlier this week on my
Facebook feed that probably made many of us who grew up in Hartford, Kentucky
in the 1960s consider what an amazing woman might have been in our midst. It
was a post about Miss Mary Lou Smith, the Wayland Alexander Elementary School principal
who many of us feared. Yet, it took a comment from someone who didn’t even grow up in
Hartford to point out how amazing it was that in the 1960s a woman was our
principal. I’d never really thought about that accomplishment and the
challenges Miss Mary Lou must have endured in reaching that level of
responsibility in those days.
Yes, we feared her. She roamed the halls of our elementary
school, paddle in hand. She had no problem swatting the back-end of any
student who didn’t abide by the rules, but it was only because she wanted the
best for her students. I still remember third grade when our class was
trying to decide on an end-of-the-year gift for our teacher Mrs. Byers and
decided to get together in our classroom prior to the school day starting
(which was against the rules – you were supposed to go to the flag room where everyone
went before the start of school). Miss Mary Lou discovered our meeting and
lined every one of us – backs against the wall – all the way down the
hall. Once the bell rang for the start of school, the kindergartners walked by us on their way to class, wondering what on earth those “old” kids could have done
to have 20+ of us lined up against the wall. As someone who at that point was
quiet and very shy, I was humiliated and figured my life as I knew it was over.
Recently though in this time of renewed interest in women's issues, I've come to the realization that in those early days in Hartford, Kentucky, we were surrounded by strong women: Miss Mary Lou Smith, Ernestine McConnell,
Alice Triplett, Lucille Shapmire and others. They instilled in all of us – boys
and girls alike – the love of learning and the importance of caring for others.
It was a community before we knew what that actually meant.
Looking back over the years, I have learned to appreciate growing up in a
small town where we were enveloped by responsibility, community and love. Today, as a woman who has grown up in an era
where we women strive to be considered as equals and hope to gain opportunities that were typically afforded to men, I now wonder how Miss Mary Lou and those like her who in a time where it was unusual just
to work – let alone be the leader of the elementary school – made it to the epitome
of education.
May we always remember to thank these strong women who came
before us – and who taught us that we could do anything, be anything.
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