My Bus Was a Pickup With a Camper Shell
by L. Steve Stillwell
I was born in 1948 not too far from Red Bluff in lower Arkansas County. I attended Bayou Meto School from 1954 to 1960. My teachers were Mrs. Ragsdale from first to third grade and Mrs. Ruffin from fourth through sixth.
My day would start with a one mile walk up to the corner to catch the “bus” which actually was a pickup with a camper shell. Mrs. Thelma Maugans was the driver I remember. Riders included my brothers Lonnie and Danny, Carol and Janet Jacobs, Bob and Mike Davis, Jerry and Kathy Fisher, and probably others I have forgotten.
Some of the memories that have stuck with me over the years are the games we played during recess and lunch. “Annie-Over” which consisted of pitching a ball over the roof and then the other side running around and tagging a member of the team on the other side of the building with the ball. A game that I don’t remember what we called it, but it was played between the basketball goals. Some kids were “it” and would line up in the middle and then other kids would try to run through the line without getting tagged. If they were tagged then they would be in the middle group. I don’t remember ever playing basketball as it was not very easy to dribble on the raw ground. We occasionally played baseball. I remember the slide being HUGE. Thinking back, it is a miracle some kid did not break their neck falling off the thing. The swings were a lot of fun but also a miracle that kids weren’t injured as we loved to “bail out” at the top of the loop.
One spring when I was in the third grade we were outside swatting bumble bees with bats. When the bell rang and I took my seat inside I felt something moving in my pants leg and then a sting. Somehow a bee had got in my pants. I made a mad dash for the door and everyone got a good laugh out of my misfortune.
The outhouses were things of wonder. There were many times I remember a group of boys trying to drag some poor girl over to the boys unit and/or a group of girls trying to drag some boy over to their facility.
I remember a day that we had an Indian chief in full headdress show up and deliver a presentation. I think there was also a guy dressed up like Abe Lincoln on that day, but I could be mistaken. In the classroom I wonder to this day how we concentrated on our studies as the other two grades in the same room were receiving their instructions and lessons. My favorite thing to do was look through the World Book volumes we had. The Bayou Meto School was really lacking in their music education program. There was a piano in the room but we were strongly forbidden to touch it!
I always loved to see Mr. Allen Gill arrive in the Borden truck to deliver those cartons of chocolate milk!
The holidays were always a real treat with the Halloween carnival, Thanksgiving and Christmas programs. Especially the Christmas program as it was always followed by a couple of weeks off to hunt, celebrate, and eat pies, candy, and cakes.
My recollections of Bayou Meto School through the 50-year fog of history are positive. If not for the devoted teachers who did their best to give us a good basic foundation in the 3 Rs, our lives would be so different.
This story was included in the Bayou Meto School Reunion book for that event on October 5, 2013.
