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September brought the opening of another school year. “They are off to school and most of them will have to tolerate it whether they like it or not,” said Editor Allison. “We are never going to live the kind of life we lived before the war and education might as well recognize this fact. Theory is out. Practical stuff is in. And that is as it should be.”
Allison was correct that everything would be different after the war, but if educational theory was out and practical stuff was in, it would soon be the other way around.
Teachers were hard to find so the high school faculty was not completed until shortly before the school year began. Catherine Berry Shell was the only returning veteran. The rest of the high school teachers were new to the system. For the first time ever, married women outnumbered single women 7 to 5.
Thanks to the draft and the lure of higher paying jobs in defense plants, the only men on the faculty were Supt. Hugh Linn and Sherman Eddy, a former teacher who was lured out of retirement to teach math, science, and Latin. This would be the last time Latin was taught in Laurel.
As there was no school lunch program in those days, students were permitted to go home during the noon hour. Earl “Chunk” Iler, who had recently purchased Andrew Paulson‘s pool hall (corner of Elm and Main), advertised he would serve his “famous bean soup” to students at a reasonable price. This undoubtedly made for some interesting afternoon classes.
Unable to secure a band director, Supt. Linn hired Louise Cooper to teach vocal music. “She had no experience in band. It was a disaster,“ said Marian Mallatt in an interview with this writer about 25 years ago.
Marian had quite a bit of musical experience herself. Although she was just starting her junior year in school she already was giving piano lessons.
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, Miss Beebe presented her students in a candlelight recital at the Methodist Church. Participating students included Charles Fleer, Mary Jane Reimers, Gladys Purcell, Joan Anderson, Marlene Urwiler, Ellen Urwiler, Joan Gade, Bonnie Kenncell, Karen Church, Shirley Mallatt, Arlyce Johnson, Anita Johnson, Eileen Vollerson, Ruth Ann Schutte, Floy Wigg, Faith Ann Kingston, Norma Wiemers, Mary Bull, Gloria Layman, and Dorothy Wiemers. This was the childrens’ first recital. In addition to his duties of running the school, Supt. Linn also was the athletic coach. He was better at superintending than he was at coaching. Ponca handed the Bears a 26–0 defeat in the first game of the season.
Laurel lost the second game to Coleridge 13-0. Linn attributed this loss to the Bulldogs’ superior height and weight. There would be more losses. In fact the Bears would lose every football game that year.
Tuesday, Sept. 26 was freshman initiation day. The victims were dolled up in unusual costumes and paraded down Main Street during the noon recess. Initiation was an annual tradition until 1956 when things seemed to get out of hand. One freshman girl was supposed to wear an eight-foot log chain around her waist, carry a 16-pound shot put in a bucket in one hand, and a live rooster in a cage in the other hand.
The School Board voted to end freshman initiation.
Just before the initiation festivities got underway, Laurel was treated to an unexpected air show. A big flying fortress from the Sioux City airbase circled overhead, putting on a beautiful demonstration of flying. The Advocate speculated the pilot was Buddy Quist who was on his way to a new assignment in Lincoln.
Back to the “never going to live the life we lived before the war:“ Editor Allison said he had visited with a prominent Laurel businessman. The man said he expected Laurel to wither away like other small communities had been doing.
He added that he was thinking of selling his business and moving elsewhere.
“We realize Laurel will never be a great Metropolis,“ said Allison. “But we believe it will always be a good small town.” He said the loss of the railroads would mean little in the post-war period when air and truck transportation would reach their peak.
“Laurel needs a landing strip for aircraft, more farm-to-market roads, and more houses and apartments. We could easily bring in 100 more families if housing were available. Let’s do something about it,” he wrote.
The head of the Federal Communications Commission said television would come into general use after the war, but would never replace the radio. “You can’t sit and look at a television screen 18 hours a day,” he said. A cell phone screen, maybe. But that would be a long way off.
As a result of higher wages to attract workers to war industries, hourly pay was averaging $1.06; weekly pay, $49.23. And people could afford to buy a house and raise a family on that amount.
Pioneer businessman Adolph Mittelstadt died at his home in Laurel at the age of 80. In 1892 the Mittelstadt family came to America from the town of Dunajewcy in the Russian empire (now Ukraine). In 1893 Adolph and his brother Edward came to Laurel and bought the James McDevitt lumberyard. The Mittelstadt Lumber and Hardware continued in business until 1972.
Dave French, another pioneer resident, celebrated his 98th birthday at his home in Laurel. He marked the occasion by adding a few extra blocks to his daily walk, said the Advocate. In his younger days, Dave got plenty of exercise from other activities. He fathered a total of 18 children. The youngest was born in 1916 at which time Dave was 70 years old. He would make it another five years but there would be no more children. Dave French, Laurel’s oldest citizen, died in October 1949 at the age of 103.
