Miss Webster

 

 

What kind of teacher is remembered by her students 60 later? A teacher like E Lucille Webster.  Miss Webster was born on 15 November 1902.  Her life was not easy.  The family moved from farm to farm in southern lower Michigan, finally settling in Belleville where she graduated from Belleville High School.  She was plagued by many illnesses and lost a beloved brother who fell into a hidden well at age 5 and drowned.   Still, she persevered.  In 1921 she took 6 weeks of classes at Normal School and gained a teaching certificate and began teaching at a one room schoolhouse while continuing her education at Michigan State University. In June 1930 she graduated with her Teacher’s Life Certificate.

Her second teaching job was at Hale School, at Eureka and Merriman Roads in Romulus.  She began there in 1922 and roomed with the families in her district.   She taught there for nine years, and encountered one of her most recalcitrant students, my dad, Allie  Joblinski.  Some of the exploits he related were trying to set off a WWI shell that a friend found in his uncle’s barn.  She caught the boys hitting the firing cap with a rock!  Another time the boys were having a water fight during recess.  A smirking Allie hid around a corner of the school house as he heard someone approaching.  Splat!  A lunch bucket full of cold well water hit Miss Webster.  That prankster Allie was always getting into trouble.  Yet, when his parents wanted to pull him out of school after 5^th grade to work on the farm, Miss Webster went to the farm for a meeting with the parents and convinced them to let their youngest son finish his schooling at Hale School.  He proudly kept his 8^th grade graduation certificate, the first in his family to get one, presented on 7 June 1930. To the end of his 83 years of life Allie could recite the poems, songs and memory rhymes he learned from Miss Webster.  She left Hale School in 1932.

A gentleman had observed her classes several times, then requested a meeting with her.  He represented Henry Ford, and she was recruited to teach at the Scotch Settlement School at Greenfield Village.  She remained at that school until her retirement in 1969.

Miss Webster was a profound influence on my father’s life.  He maintained a lifelong thirst for knowledge and always talked about his education at the one room school house in Romulus, MI.   He also maintained communication with Miss Webster.  In 1978 she wrote a book, “An Autobiography of a One Room School Teacher.”  Miss Webster gave him a signed copy.  She wrote in it “February 10, 1979. To Allie, Happy memories of our Hale School Days!”  It takes a great teacher to make such an impact.  Miss Webster passed in 1993 after a lifetime of service.

 

 

 

Miss Webster from her book jacket

 

Miss Webster and Allie