The remembrances of Katherine Rankin Baker

By Beverly Clinkingbeard

In 1981, Betsy Chapin was teaching the fifth and sixth graders at Westboro Elementary School in Westboro, Missouri. The pupils were given the assignment of asking a senior citizen, their grandparents or a friend, to write an essay of what their school days were like. Those who were asked were in school at a time when essay/story writing and penmanship were a part of their curriculum. As a result, their remembrances were well articulated and the handwriting quite legible or type written. In the coming weeks, their experiences will be shared. Thank you, Betsy, and thank you to the contributors, now deceased, for sharing their yesterday experiences.

Katherine Rankin Baker

Katherine Rankin Baker’s childhood was in Tarkio, Missouri. Her father was William McKee Rankin and his business was the Caine Rankin Lumberyard and Farm Equipmemt.

Katherine attended Tarkio schools and was a graduate of Tarkio College. She taught 6th and 8th grades and social studies for more than 30 years at Altamont, Missouri, school. She was a pianist and also taught Sunday school for 50 years. In these years, she married Lynn Barker and was a farm wife and mother to twin daughters and a third daughter. This is her story.

March 20, 1981

Dear Kids,

I am 65 years old. Since I lived in town, I went to a school much like children today, except we walked to school, which was seven blocks to the grade school and 12 blocks to the high school. We always walked home and got out at 4:00 p.m. with a morning, noon, and afternoon recess. We had around 35 in each grade. We had a gymnasium to play in during the winter. Our school subjects were like yours today in the 5th and 6th grades. We always marched out of our classrooms and down the stairs single file and the same way when we entered the school. We didn’t have any band, but we had art and music in the classroom.

We wore long hose and high-laced shoes, long-legged underwear, and wool clothes in the winter. We took our good clothes off when we got home from school and we had special dresses we wore to church and parties. In the summer we wore thin clothes, but girls never wore slacks or shorts.

At our house we had fruit, toast, cereal, bacon and eggs for breakfast, and pancakes on Sunday. We had our big meal at noon with meat, potatoes, gravy, vegetables and dessert. For supper we had a lighter meal. We never had hamburgers, pizza, chili, tacos, or luncheon meat. Ice cream was seldom had at meals. Our refrigerator was cooled with ice and it couldn’t stay cold enough. We had peanut butter and crackers, cookies, cake, or apples as snacks. When we had the money, we might be able to get an ice cream cone for five cents at the drug store. We had roast goose at Christmas and baked chicken for Thanksgiving. We very seldom had fried chicken as they were not in the market. You had to buy one from a farmer and you had to kill and dress it yourself.

Our home had seven rooms, two bathrooms, two halls and two porches. It was heated with a coal furnace in the basement and we had a cookstove that burned coal and cobs in the winter. We had a kerosene stove that was used for cooking in the summer. We had electricity, but no electric fans or refrigerators. We had a piano, phonograph, and a radio with head phones. There were two sets of these and they could be divided so each one of the four members of our family could hold it up to his or her ear to listen.

My father had a lumberyard and sold lumber and also farm machinery. My mother stayed home. We did not have a car, but walked places we needed to go in town. My father did not like to drive cars. We had cats as pets, but no dog.

Christmas was an important occasion. We always had a program and gift exchange at school. Then we had a Christmas program at church on Christmas Eve. We had our presents on Christmas morning and my father always had a fire going in the fireplace and candles on the mantle lit. We had a Christmas tree but no lights. We just had our own family for Christmas dinner.

For Thanksgiving, we always went to my cousin’s in the country for dinner.

The 4th of July was a big day with a band concert in the park. We had sparklers at home, but no firecrackers and at night the men had pretty fireworks to see.

On Halloween, we dressed up and went to neighbors, but never asked for any treats. We just went for fun.

On the 1st day of May, we made May baskets out of crepe paper and we put violets in them and also homemade candy to take to our friends. We would go to the door, ring the bell, and run away. Our name would be in the basket.

My sister and I had to do the dishes in the evening. In the winter, we had to get a bushel basket of cobs from the outside shed and into the house. We helped iron, clean house and made beds.

We had lots of fun with our friends as we coasted our sled on hills that were roped off for us.  In summer, we were fortunate to have a swimming pool in town. In the evening, all the children played run-sheep-run, and hide-and-seek in the neighborhood. I was still playing with paper dolls in the 5th and 6th grades. We also put on plays and acted out shows we had seen in the Saturday afternoon matinee that cost ten cents.

Our family went on trips to California and Kansas City and St. Joseph on the train. It was lots of fun being ten and eleven years old.

My original letter was written on paper from a school notebook of 1935. They had fountain pens and straight pens, but no ball point pens.

Katherine Rankin Barker