Sunday, November 16, 2008

Orlando School Carnival, 1937

Orlando's elementary school sat on Flint Knob, the hill at the confluence of Oil Creek and Clover Fork. Near-by elementary schools which defined other communities were on Three Lick, Posey Run and Clover Fork at Meadow Run. This photo was taken looking southwest from the Orlando Cemetery, up behind Bill Barnett's place, in the 1960s.

by David Parmer
A School Carnival in December, 1937
The citizens of Orlando took a great interest in the success of their community's school. The Orlando Parent-Teachers organization worked hard to raise money for the improvement of class room activities and to bring the community into the classroom. This small offering will relate one such activity.
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Importantly, there were many community minded residents of Orlando who recognized the value of education which many of these residents were unable to access during their own youthful days. That year Orlando residents were proud of the fact that one of their own, Herald Barnett, son of Alva and Jessie Gay (Marple) Barnett was the top scholar in the sophomore class at Burnsville High School. The raising of funds for the school took priority for the residents of Orlando so that the children of Orlando could gain the advantages that an education can bring.

With 84 children to teach, the "one room schoolhouse" in Orlando had three rooms. During the school year 1937-1938, the Orlando School teachers were Ralph Queen, principal and teacher of the upper grades, Ruby Thompson, soon to become Ruby Barrett, teacher of the fourth through sixth grades, and Beulah McPherson, teacher of the primary grades.

Left: Teachers in the three classrooms: Ralph Queen, Beulah McPherson, Ruby Thompson

To raise funds, the teachers, parents and residents of Orlando hosted a school carnival to raise funds for the school on December 4, 1937. Thanks to Jesse Bragg, who had taken over the duties of reporting Orlando news in the Braxton Democrat, we have the following information about the fair.
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Three Beauty Contests
Over two hundred people attended the school carnival on this cold wintry night. The organizers didn’t forget an angle. Capitalizing on the popularity of Shirley Temple, the child actress, a “Shirley Temple Look-Alike” contest was held and the winner was little Miss Betty Barnett, daughter of Bill and Marie Barnett. The prize for the winner was a Shirley Temple doll, furnished by Orlando merchant Charley Knight.

Kathryn Riffle, daughter of Joe and "Pet" Riffle was adjudged to be the “best looking girl in the younger set.”

Two of the three beauty contest winners
Right: Betty Barnett b. 1932
Left: Mary Margaret Francis b.1925

After the preliminary beauty events, the carnival organizers saved the biggest and best for last: the Beauty Queen for the Orlando School. By secret ballot, the students of the Orlando School voted on the prettiest girl in the entire school and it was easy to agree with their decision. Miss Mary Margaret Francis, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Francis, was crowned Miss Beauty Queen of the Orlando School.


The Master Fiddler Contest
Orlando was well known throughout the area as the hot-bed of fiddlers. To capitalize on the availability of fiddlers, the judges heard a little string music from Mike Moran, Marion Blake, Edward Blake and John Gallagher. After the ears stopped ringing and the smoke from the fiddle strings abated, the judges decided that Edward Blake was the king of fiddlers.
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Edward Blake won a fiddling contest against the likes of Mike Moran, John Gallagher and his brother Marion Blake? Edward was known as a fine guitar player, but he is not remembered as a fiddler. When asked recently about his Uncle Edward's contest-winning fiddle playing, Marion's son Wayne Blake was quite surprised and said that he didn’t know that his uncle Edward could play the fiddle. Wayne did say that his uncle Edward was a good guitar player but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall him playing the fiddle.

Opal (Blake) Hall, when told of the outcome of the fiddle contest and the names of the contestants in the contest, laughed confidently. She agreed with her brother Wayne that any of the other contestants could outplay her Uncle Edward on the fiddle by a country mile. However, Opal revealed the secret of the winning ticket. It seems that Edward, to make up for his lack of expertise, would clown around while he was playing, making exaggerated sweeps with the bow, make faces and comedic pauses which no doubt entertained the audience and provided some hilarity to the contest. Considering the outstanding competition, Edward, no doubt, was proud of this accomplishment.

The Hog Calling Contest
Ethel (Skinner) Blake (her husband was the fiddler Marion Blake) won the hog-calling contest hands-down. There were probably many loose boards discovered on the hog-pens on Flint Knob the next morning.
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Left: an early photo of Ethel (Skinner) Blake, b. 1895
Right: Jesse (Riffle) Bragg, b. 1912
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The Husband Calling Contest
Uncle Zeke was fond of reciting that many a suitor told the girl of his dreams that he was not good enough for her, and after they were married, lived the rest of his married life proving it. Faced with such circumstances, Orlando wives had to develop a “no-nonsense” approach to husband-taming which required an exceptional set of lungs. There were many contestants in this category, among those vying for this exceptional honor were Mrs. Polar [Vada] Henline, Mrs. Dave [Macel] Bennett, Mrs. Wick Moran, Mrs. Marion [Ethel] Blake, Mrs. Ralph Queen, Mrs. P. J. [Jessie] Bragg, Mrs. Ruby Toms, and Mrs. Mike [Margurite] Moran.
There isn’t any question that Pres Bragg, the Orlando Route 2 mail carrier, knew the winner had to be his wife Jessie, and the voting of the judges confirmed this preordained fact by a landslide.
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A Beacon on the Hill
The system of one room school houses that served rural America is just a memory in today's centralized public school system. It is important to understand that the one room school house is not the quaint, outdated institution that it seems to be in this era of consolidated schools. Rather, this alternative model of education, with its own strengths and challenges, can be easily argued beside the consolidated system and the home schooling system. Some of the several advantages are close support for and from families, the foundation it builds for a close-knit community.
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Many students passed through the front door of the Orlando School. The parents and residents of Orlando always felt welcome and enthusiastically participated in school functions and activities in the school house on the hill and most importantly the students who attended the school of the hill left with a sense of pride and accomplishment, in themselves and in their school.
Other entries about one room schools:
. . . Apr '07 The Posey Run School
. . . . .
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Comment by Goldie Rogers
Opal had told me about the hog calling contest and mom winning it. I was too young to remember it, but if mom and dad were there, I would have been unless an older sister stayed with us. My brother Pat (deceased) was born in '34 and Faye in '36, so we may have stayed home. My teachers were Freda Mick and June Amos (Denver Barnett married her sister Rose). Mom taught me how to read, my ABC's, count to 100 before I ever started school. She also taught Dad how to read and write since he only went to school 3 days and didn't like it.

Comment by David Parmer
While discussing the 1937 Orlando School Carnival with Wayne Blake, I advised Wayne that his uncle Edward Blake won the fiddle contest held during the carnival. Wayne was quite surprised and said that he didn’t know that his uncle Edward could play the fiddle. Wayne did acknowledge that his uncle Edward was a good guitar player but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall him playing the fiddle.

To investigate this matter a little further, I spoke with Opal Hall, a daughter of Marion Blake and a niece of Edward Blake and told her of the outcome of the fiddle contest and the names of the contestants in the contest. Opal laughed confidently and told me that any of the other contestants could outplay her Uncle Edward on the fiddle by a country mile. However, Opal revealed the secret of the winning ticket. It seems that Edward, to make up for his lack of expertise, would clown around while he was playing, making exaggerated sweeps with the bow, make faces and comedic pauses which no doubt entertained the audience and provided some hilarity to the contest.

Comment by Donna Gloff
Mary Margaret Francis and her sister Betty were raised by their aunts Mary and Jo Dolan after their mother died in 1939. They lived at the family's Dolan Hotel downtown Orlando. The portrait above of Mary Margaret Francis is detail from the photo to the left of Mary Margaret as May Queen at St Patrick's, the Roman Catholic High School in Weston.


Comment by Donna Gloff
Several styles Shirley Temple dolls were sold in the late 1930s. To the left is one from 1937.







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