Part IV - Education, a supplement to the Big Rapids Pioneer Newspaper. Used with permission.

TITUS SCHOOL MEMORIES SPAN SEVEN-PLUS DECADES
By Jim Buskotter, Managing Editor

The death of Florence Waldron Hill ended a teacher-student relationship that began at a one-room school several miles southeast of Barryton and spanned more than seven decades.

Cecil Darnell, a free-lance writer and photographer from Mason and a native of Barryton said the relationship began when Florence Waldron was the teacher at Titus School in the year his mother, Lillian Hart Darnell, was in the eighth grade at the same school.

"When her family (Ed and Elinor Hart) farmed they lived near Titus, where the kids walked to school," Cecil said in a letter to the Pioneer.

He went on tio explain that the former teacher had contacted him just a couke of years before her death on Oct. 11, 2004, concerned when she was unable to contact his mother. She was unaware that her former student had moved into Autumnwood in McBain in 2000 where she still resides today at the age of 90.

"How long is a teacher responsible for a student?" Cecil questioned noting that Florence was 97 at the time of her death.

"When she taught at Titus," Cecil wrote, "Florence Hill was Florence Waldron from Big Rapids. After growing up on a farm (close to the expressway exit near Ferris) she had gone to County Normal in Big Rapids before she began teaching. Titus was her secnd teaching location, Mother was Lillian Hart when Florence Waldron taught her 8th grade-class which had three students in it."

Cecil also noted that it was interesting "to listen to Florence speak of the students and their families who were involved in Titus. Aging had not eroded the details of the earlier life experiences for Florence as they have for mother."

A letter from Daniel Waldron, tells much more about his Aunt Florence who was born Aug. 21, 1907 in Big Rapids, the daughter of Oliver and Alminnie Waldron.

She attended school at the Cobb School with her three siblings, a sister Gladys and brothers Luther and Ralph.

"The family put high emphasis on education as the key to a good and useful life," wrote Daniel Waldron. "Their mother (Alminnie) had started teaching school at age 16, and all of the children except Ralph became teachers. Ralph chose the career of a rural delivery mailman and for 40 years was a familiar figure on the RFD routes out of Big Rapids. His son, Carl Waldron, was Mecosta County Register of Deens for 33 years."

Daniel also noted that his aunt was the valedictorian of the Big Rapids School High School graduating class of 1924 awnd that she was "an active interested and contributing member of society. Even in her 90's she continued her involvement in state, local and family affairs - a habit that slowed down as she reached the end, but did not stop."

An obituary sent by Daniel revealed that she went on ti get bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University and taught at schools in Lansing, Haslett and Okemos before retiring from Okemos Public Schools in 1972.

"She lived most of her life elsewhere, but she never lost her Big Rapids roots. She returned frequently, and there still be people around who remember her," Daniel concluded.

Cecil and Lillian Darnell certainly do.

Cecil said that the old Titus school is now part of the Barryton Museum that is located beside the park and across the street from the Barryton School. The Titus School had been moved to Barryton and used as a classroom until Barryton was consolidated into the Chippewa Hills School District.

Cecil also sent on a loose collection of the memories of his mother as her family moved from Detroit to Clifford Lake to north and east of Remus and then to Barryton with her own family.

Her recollections included numerous references to the Titus and other one-room schools near her family's farm.

Lillian said one of her first memories of school was "a new coat that I had and how proud I was of wearing it." She recalled that her two sisters also had new coats made out of a material called plush that she thought her grandmother had purchased for them.

She said that she had started school at Titus but had to go to the barr School in the 3rd and 4th grades because ther farm was actually in that school district.

After those two years her father had half his farm "set over" into the Titus District to allow his children to return to the Titus School. She said other families did the same thing, including the Nicholson family setting over part of its farm in the Stone School District to the Titus School and the Gunkles doing the same from the Tinker to the Titus District.

She may have been hinting at the reason for the family's transfer when she noted that "the kids at the Barr School were a tougher group than the "Titus Kids."

Citing an example she said "one girl liked to wrestle me down. She thought it was great sport. On day on the corner where she went west and we turned east I got her down. She never picked on me again."

Lillian also remembered many of her teachers, particularily Florence.

"Florence was very special to our family," she said in her recorded recollections of June 13, 2002. "She now lives near Mason. I called her once when I was visiting at Cecil's and had quite a visit."

"John James and his wife Elsie (Case) owned the store and had living quarters in the east end of the store. They hand pumped gas.

"Coxes lived on the southwest corner. Ed Case and his wife lived just north of the store.

"Buxtoin's lived northwest of the store. Lorena and Cora Buxton were our friends at school. Strongs lived one-half mile east of the store.

"Mulls lived on the corner one-half mile east of the Strongs. Gunckles were a half mile. Harry and Francis Gunckle had six kids...."

Most of all Lillian remembered that long ago relationship with an eighth grade teacher who died last fall.

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