The remembrances of Nevora Vogt Hess

By Beverly Clinkingbeard

Nevora Vogt Hess or Mrs. Hess, as she was known to her students, was born in Orrick, Missouri. She attended country school near Liberty, Nebraska, and graduated from Pawnee City High School in Pawnee City, Nebraska, and Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri. She became a teacher, farm wife of Merle Hess, and mother of two sons and twin daughters. She taught business at Westboro High School in Westboro, Missouri, for four years and was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church. The Hess family lived across the creek on Hwy. C east of Westboro. This is Nevora’s story:

“Dear Fifth and Six Graders,

I was born at Orrick, Missouri, third in a family of five children. We moved to Liberty, Nebraska, when I was five years old. My mother’s family and relatives lived there. My father passed away December 12, 1918, with the terrible influenza that thousands of people died from. I started to school in a one room white school house near Liberty. There were usually about 20 in my grade schools, so I suppose there were 20 or near that. When I was in the fifth grade my family moved south of Liberty and I remember more about this school because I was older. I went there until I finished grade school. There were twin boys in my class and one other boy. The twins were Dale and Gale and the other boy was LaVern.

School children in those days dressed very poorly compared to now. I wore a dark green skirt and had two long sleeve blue blouses that I exchanged once a week. The blouses were very sturdy and clean. Everybody didn’t have a car as they do now. We walked to school and back.

I hardly ever went to town. Our entertainment was playing with neighbor children. There were no shows [cinema] as there are now. During the summer, a show would come to our little town of Liberty and that was all the entertainment we had for a year. We raised a big garden for us five children, our mother and her brother, who farmed for us. We had no way to pump water except by hand. So us kids took turns pumping water for the livestock, chickens and ourselves. A creek went through our pasture so we fished and picked gooseberries. We didn’t catch many fish, but were really thrilled when we did.

Our home was a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedrooms and pantry. No conveniences. We raised chickens, dogs, cats and cattle. I thought threshing was an exciting time. My poor mother didn’t think so. A neighbor woman helped get dinner. There were between 10 and 20 workers for threshing. We had meat, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, bread, butter and tea. I don’t remember salads. Maybe we didn’t have any. I remember we had no refrigerator. Usually had pie for dessert.

We celebrated Christmas with a dinner and a few gifts. Very few compared to how people celebrate now. We had exchange at school, like children do. Our home exchange was very simple. We hardly ever had company for Christmas dinner. Our relatives were too far away. My mother had five brothers and they all lived away in Colorado, Montana and Oregon. One was hard of hearing from scarlet fever when he was a baby of three years old. This uncle lived with us and did our farming.

I went to high school at Pawnee City, Nebraska, all four years. When I graduated I came to Tarkio College for my final education. My first teaching was at Westboro High School and there were 20 or so [students] in a grade then. The school busses were kept down town in a building owned by Jack Teague and now by Lewis Mather. There used to be a hedge east of the school building to the road. It was taken out when the bus barn was put where it is now.

Westboro had football teams. They played north of the present school building. We used to ride the sports bus with the sports people to Mound City, Craig, Fairfax, Rock Port, Tarkio and other towns. It was thrilling, especially when we won and came home happy on the bus. That was discontinued a few years ago when we didn’t have enough boys to have an 11 man team and substitutes. Too bad we are gradually losing our school. Do you suppose someday Tarkio, Rock Port and Fairfax will all combine to make one school in the county?

Greetings and good luck to all of you. Sincerely, Mrs. Nevora Hess”