A former student recalls the first year at Indian Hills

I just read the story on the closing of Indian Hills School. It took me back to 1961, Mrs. Thomas’s sixth grade class, and so many memories.

It was the first year for Indian Hills Elementary. For this reason, the school year was filled with opportunities to create our own identity as the new elementary school in Hopkinsville. Most memorable was naming our school team and colors.

I remember with utmost clarity the students’ final choice for our teams was between “Warriors” and “Braves.” It was obvious to us the faculty and staff preferred the latter, but “Warriors” won by a large margin. I later learned the name was changed [to Chiefs] some time after I left. All the favorite school colors were taken, but we were happy with black and white, and so were our parents.

Our cafeteria was multipurpose. We used it for lunch, assemblies, sports, and sometimes scouts and band. I was the (unvictorious) sixth grade contestant in the school spelling bee held on the stage. Cheerleading tryouts were up on that stage, and a Christmas pageant I barely recall.

I attended Indian Hills that one year. It only went up to the sixth grade. Mrs Ruby Thomas was the toughest teacher I had in my entire childhood and adult life. She had our desks arranged into 3 concentric circles — where we sat in alphabetical order. It was all very efficient. As we passed our papers around the room to collect them after tests, they were automatically in alphabetical order.

We didn’t just memorize spelling words. For spelling tests, we had to divide them into syllables and show the accent marks. For our History class, (I think it was Roman History), we didn’t just read chapters for homework. We had to outline the chapters, in writing.

I once had to sculpt a caveman from clay. My dad helped me use some “dental tools” he picked up in the Army to create a fairly decent bust. She was impressed with it. I got an “A” and I kept it until I was grown.

John Kennedy was president. The space race was always in the news. When John Glenn orbited the earth for the first time, Mrs. Thomas allowed us to bring our transistor radios to class and we all listened to the historic event together.

You can see the memories have stayed with me. I realized many years later that Mrs. Thomas always pushed us for more than was required. Sometimes much more. Parents complained sometimes, actually often, about the two hours it took to finish her homework assignments. She never let up.

Mrs. Thomas made overachievers out of us all. I’m 74. It’s been a long, long time, 62 years, since I sat between Gwen Cook and Dale Dickinson, near the middle of semi-circle 1, in her sixth grade class.

Jackie Cornelius White

Contributor at Hoptown Chronicle

Jackie Cornelius White grew up in Hopkinsville. She left in 1981 when her job with BellSouth took her to Paducah, then Bowling Green, and finally to Louisville, where she has lived since 1984. Now retired, she keeps busy volunteering. She serve on Transcend Credit Union’s board of directors and on the AARP Kentucky executive council.