Old Schools

[W. Gray]

McCoy Grade School, Independence, Missouri
A couple years ago, the wife and I went back to my home town in Independence, Mo., and I decided to look up where I went to kindergarten through grade 6 to see what had become of it. The school district had closed the building a few years after I attended.

The structure was built around 1898. It has been sandblasted with new windows put in. I remember one had to use a long pole and place the metal tipped end in a slot to open and close the windows. The boys, at least in the sixth grade, had that job and we all wanted to do it. Another job we enjoyed was completely erasing the black board. I did not go inside the renovated structure but I recall it was decrepit with squeaky oak floors when I spent my time there. There was no air conditioning but there was a huge coal fired furnace in the basement, which the janitor kept going in the winter.

We had desks and seats that were bolted one behind the other on to thick parallel wood runners maybe four inches wide. Desks were seven or eight deep on these runners with six or seven sets of these parallel runners with desks in each classroom. We had rather large classes. At each desk there was an inkwell with an ink bottle for penmanship and the top of the desk raised to access limited school supplies storage. I do not believe the ink wells were used, though, after the third grade. A cafeteria was in the basement.

The janitor had to watch the time and then walk from his digs in the basement or where ever he was cleaning to the first floor and manually push a switch to ring the bell. It would ring only as long as he was pushing the switch. There was only one clock in the entire building and that was on the second floor at the principal's office and it did not control anything. The janitor pushed the bell switch for the beginning of school, morning recess, end of recess, lunch, end of lunch, afternoon recess, end of recess, end of school, etc. Years later, I wondered how he ever got anything done. The bell switch was located rather high on the wall but anyone of us could have stood on a chair and pushed that switch but no one ever did; we knew better.

Besides most parents being strict, the female only teachers were strict. We did have a recalcitrant boy from time to time, though. The principal, in conjunction with the teacher, had the power of whipping. This was conducted in the principal's office. I was sent to the principal once when I was in the third grade; however, I only received a verbal reprimand. That was scary in itself. Over the seven years I was there, I can only recall two guys that were whipped. It seems to me the tool used was a long wood paddle specifically made for that purpose.

Even when I attended the playground was entirely blacktop.

For thirty years now, it has been a Music/Arts Institute, which I guess means people pay a lot of money to go in that building and study.

After taking photos, I drove the walking route to my old house. When I was a boy, I thought I had to walk forever to get to school and back. At the time, I would have guessed the distance was several miles. I was really surprised that it was only eight-tenths of a mile.

[Janet Harrington]

So, Waldo, what is this building being used for now?

[W. Gray]

Up until recently it was called the Music/Arts Institute.

It is now called the Millicent A Daugherty School of the Arts where one can study brass, woodwinds, percussion, piano, strings, harp, classical guitar, and voice.

There are nineteen teachers/instructors/professors and it has to be expensive to attend. I don't know the extent of their student population but the institute has been there for thirty years. The sand blasting and windows plus an inside renovation must have cost a small fortune. There is an addition of two classrooms built on the back end of school when I was in the first grade.

[patyrn]

What a well-preserved and beautiful building!