Mrs. Shumate

This old house stands today in Grainola but is full of memories even when the last board rots away and the rafters collapse. It is mostly hidden by grown up trees and brush but the light that came from it will never die because of Mrs. Shumate.

I really don't remember when her husband died but I am sure Sally and Janie have the memories locked away. I can only tell you about how this very short lady changed or made my life what it is today.

Well here goes:

Mrs. Shumate lived around the corner from Mrs. Castleman (another story but my first and second grade teacher) and she taught me in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. Now she did not move with me but you see there were 5 in my class, except when Joy showed up, and there were 3 classes in the same room. In fact two of those years my sister, Debbie, was in the room with me as she was and still is 1 year older.

We better take a detour for a second here to explain something. Debbie was actually just over 10 months older than me and if you see her and me together it is obvious we are brother and sister as we look alike. I can't explain what was going through my mom and dad's mind after Debbie was born but you can guess I was a surprise. Enough explanation at this time. 

Mrs. Shumate had the privilege of having five wonderful children in her class and of course sometimes six (this is the last time I am going to bring up Joy to you but I will be telling stories about Joy later, I promise).

Jon Tanny Olsen

Hugh Allen Jones,

Jimmy Heath

Denise Logue - the only girl and I am not sure if i spelled her last name correctly.  I would love to find out where Denise lives so if anyone knows send me an email.

and Me, Gary Olson

Mrs. Shumate was a delightful lady who grew up during WWII and worked at Tinker Air Force Base doing something I cannot recall but she would sometimes tell us about the war. What I remember about those stories was the short supply of rubber and iron and things that had to be gathered to help make the things soldiers needed over seas. She one time told us that someone accused her of being a Communist but I will assure you she loved America and she loved us.

When Sally and Janie (Shumate girls) and Debbie and Larry (my bro and sis) went to the orthodontist to get braises I always got to stay with Mrs. Shumate as Mom would take them to Ponca City (Ponca for the locals)  to see the orthodontist. Now that may sound like a bummer but it was great.  Mrs. Shumate made the very best cherry pie and she liked making it for me. The bad side of this is when something needed fixed Dad would tell me what to do and I got to do the fixing (fixin is the correct word). The worst one I got was when their sewer backed up and I had to dig up the sewer line and replace it plus clean out the septic tank. I also got to do this for Aunt Gladys and therefore I became the official "Honey Dipper". A Honey Dipper was the person who got to clean out sewer tanks and dig up sewer lines which is where all the POOP etc. goes. Do I have to explain this?

One last thing I have to tell you is this story about Mrs. Shumate's teeth. When it was our class's turn to be taught we moved from our desks to the table at the front of the room while the other two classes sat in their desks and did homework. It was during this time one day when Mrs. Shumate (Auntie Beth - not a relative but that was her name after we got out of school) was taking some of that white material that was used to stick papers on the wall without tape and getting it ready to be used. What she had to do was stretch it and massage it until it was malleable enough to break into small pieces for attaching the papers to the walls.

She took all of our papers and stuck them on the wall so everyone could see them. We did NOT hide the good or the bad homework but it was posted so you could see how you were doing compared to the other students. My perception is that this was a good thing in that I always knew how I was doing and was challenged to do better. We call it competitiveness.  And I should note that Joy always got A+ on her papers so I was glad when she went back to Shidler, just kidding.

Back to the story and I am sure you are wondering what this has to do with her teeth. Well Jim Heath was sitting at the other end of the table and he was the smartest and funniest guy in the class. When he saw Mrs. Shumate stretching that stuff he made the comment, "that looks like you are stretching a girdle". Wow, I was getting ready to learn a lot of things about character. Mrs. Shumate got tickled and started laughing so hard she got choked and coughed and then her teeth popped out into her hand which created pandemonium in the classroom. My jaw hit the floor because this was all new to me. She had tears of laughter in her face and she did not yell or get mad but she saw the humor in the entire event.

That was a lesson in character and how to deal with adversity.

Laugh at yourself and not at others

Don't over react

Because you have power does not mean you have to use it.

Mrs. Shumate was a lady of character and a great teacher,

Thanks for your time,

gary