Dad's Education

This picture is from dad's high school yearbook. He was one of the class officers.

He is on the right side, front row

I have already talked about some of dad's early schooling in my blog about his early years. After reading more from his life story, I want to include the following directly from that journal:

I began school as a kindergarten student at the age of 5 years. The following year I began in the beginners grade. At that time they had a beginner's grade before entering the first grade as they do at the present time. We attended school in an old building on Main Street in Ephraim that was constructed of stone. There was a tower on top of the building which contained a very large bell. The city used the bell for curfew in the evening and also for a fire alarm. The school used it to dismiss and begin the classes. The rope to ring the bell came down into our classroom and I remember our teacher used to let us ring the bell at noon, recess, and at the close of school. Three or four of us would get a hold on the bell rope to ring the bell. Being a large bell, when it would swing in the opposite direction, it would lift all of us off the floor three or four feet. It was a lot of fun and we always looked forward to our turn at the bell.

When I was in the fifth grade my parents bought me a trombone. A children's band was organized in town. I played in that band until I entered into High School and then played in that band for four years. I also played in the public school orchestra. Our main job was to play marches while the pupils marched in and out of the building. At that time, during the fall and spring when the weather was good, students were not allowed to enter the building until the bell would ring. Then they would line up in single file at the appointed place and march into the building and into their respective rooms. We played the music for the marching. During the cold winter months the students were permitted to enter the schoolhouse without having to wait outside and march into the building. However, we were required to go immediately to our rooms and not lounge in the halls. Discipline was very strict and we respected our teachers and especially our principal, who was not the least bit timid about applying the rod to various parts of the anatomy. My sixth grade teacher liked to apply the rod and I know he had the longest fingers in the world. He would put his hand around the neck from the back and really apply pressure. I know that the discipline in his room was perfect.

In the spring of 1916, dad graduated from the 8th grade. There was no junior high, so he went directly to high school. At that time, attendance at high school was not compulsory and you attended only if you want to do so. In Ephraim, there was no State high school at that time, however, the L.D.S. Church maintained a school at the high school level called the Snow Academy. Dad's mother was one who entered the school the year it was founded in 1888 and was very proud of that.

Dad began attending Snow Academy in the fall of 1916. He states in his life story that he liked school very much and was especially interested in the business courses. In addition to his graduation requirement classes and the business classes that he liked, he also took a course in carpentry and states that he was able to use that training all of his life.

During his attendance at Snow Academy, they added a "Normal Course", which was teacher's training or first year of college. At that time they changed the name from Snow Academy to Snow Normal College. Dad graduated in 1921 with a diploma in General High School and also a diploma in commercial work. Interesting to note: Dad was one year late in graduating because of the worldwide flu epidemic in the fall of 1918. All schools and public gatherings were closed for several months during that winter. When they did begin again in the spring, dad decided not to attend, but helped his father on the farm and began again in the fall of 1919.

In the fall of 1921, he attended Snow Normal College and completed one year of college work and then in the fall of 1922, he registered at the University of Utah. Grandma moved to Salt Lake with everyone but grandpa to be with her children. Dad and his sister Leda attended the U of U, his sister Alta went to L.D.S. high school and his brother Theron attended the local elementary school. The following spring, grandma went back to Ephraim and dad took board and room with various people until he graduated in 1925, with a degree in accounting. He states in his life story that he graduated with honors.

Over the years, dad accumulated better than 60 hours of graduate credit, but never applied or wrote a thesis to get his Master's Degree.

Ending note: It is so interesting to read about dad's school experience. He was a very smart man and with all the support of his parents, especially his mother, he went much farther than most "farm boys" of that day. Of grandma's four children that lived to adulthood, all obtained a college degree. This was unusual for the boys, but even more unusual for the girls of that day. Theron, the youngest, graduated from the U of U and then went to Harvard, where he graduated with a PhD in chemistry. (This was the younger brother that dad saved when he sprinted across the field) See blog about dad's athletic skills