As I gained experience working with students, I became more adept at anticipating their actions. The other clubs which I sponsored after leaving Fort Worth were Future Homemakers of America * clubs. In the sixties, I taught at Lincoln Junior High in Abilene, Texas. At that time, the 9th grade was in junior high. I taught freshman homemaking. On one trip, I took several girls to a district meeting in Stephenville, Texas. The meeting was held on the campus of Tarleton State College (now University). We traveled in private cars to the meet and stayed in a local motel. One of my safety rules was no roaming around the motel late at night.
Late in the evening one of my delegates called the room where another sponsor and I were staying. She told us that some girls were roaming around the motel area. It was their group consensus that a sponsor should know. Perhaps I had made my girls fearful that the college boys would be trolling for them. I don’t think so, but I honestly don’t remember what I told them about staying together and staying safe. At any rate, they felt something should be done. Another reason could have been the circumstances of our day. Just before the first session began we received word that one of the groups from Abilene had been in a horrible accident. The sponsor and one student were killed. This saddened all of us. The entire Abilene group felt subdued that evening.
I went out, found the girls, and began talking to them. They were chatty. They were just bored. They weren’t resourceful enough to give me a reason for being out. They were bored and wanted to walk around for a time. They even told me their names and where they were from. Did I know that town? I didn’t tell them that was my hometown. Instead, I asked them if they had permission from Mrs. T, their sponsor, to leave their rooms.
There was silence, and then “Oh, do you know Mrs. T?”
“Yes, I do.” And then to another girl, “I also know your Mother.”
I enjoyed the shock for a minute before I told them how I knew this. I told them they needed to go back to their rooms and follow the rules. They assured me they would. They asked if I was going to tell Mrs. T. I told them no.
A decade later I had an FHA group at Georgetown High School. Another sponsor, Mrs. S., and I took some girls to a meeting in San Antonio. My girls were sophomores. Her girls were seniors. She was expecting them to disregard rules.
We had a busy day. Her girls tried to escape the group a couple of times, but we foiled their efforts. After we left the evening meeting and socialized for a bit, we went to our rooms. She had placed the girls she was concerned about in a room adjacent to the one she and I were sharing. I was sitting on my bed with my back to the wall. The girls were pretty loud. That was OK until I heard the words, “another bottle.” We stopped our conversation and began seriously listening. One of the voices was definitely not female. I told her not only did they have alcohol but there was a boy in the room. The more I listened the surer I became. My partner was getting nervous. I told her that I would handle it. I put on a robe, picked up the phone and dialed the girls’ room. When they answered, I said, “That boy has 5 minutes to get out of your room or all heck is going to break loose.” I promptly hung up. Then I stepped into the hallway beside their door. Sure enough, a tall, handsome cowboy came out. He had a sack with the bottle in one hand and a cowboy hat in the other. When he saw me, the hand with the bottle went over his heart and the hand with the hat covered it. He began to talk rapidly and started backing down the hallway. He told me he knew Georgetown well. His aunt and uncle lived there; I might know them; their names were ABC; they had XYZ business; he was just visiting with the girls, etc. All the time he was talking he was backing down the hallway toward the elevator. I was amused. He had the hopeful expression of someone wishing that I would rush over and exclaim how glad I was to meet the nephew of the ABC’s. He made it to the elevator. We said a pleasant good night as he got inside. All was quiet the remainder of the night.
Mrs. S. had set down the rules for the trip. They included no alcohol and no boys in rooms. She had told them if there were any problems, they would immediately return to Georgetown. I told her that I would have no trouble with her other girls as one of them was dating my oldest son. She took the offending girls and returned to Georgetown immediately after breakfast the next morning. Her other students became part of my group.
The next assignment I had was the advisor to a Young Homemakers of Texas chapter. They were adults and I enjoyed working with all of them. Being their advisor was delightful. They did all of the work and I was there only if they needed me.
* Notes:
Future Homemakers of America is now Family, Career, & Community Leaders of America
Lincoln Junior High School is no longer in use
Young Homemakers of Texas is no longer active