52 Ancestors #35 Teacher’s School Photos -Harriette Anderson (Kaser)

Harriette Anderson (Kaser) 1906-2003

The back to school theme at the 52 Ancestors challenge was an invitation for me to dig into some of my mother, Harriette Anderson Kaser’s photos from the start of her long teaching career.  Since she taught for a span of 42 years with time out for babies, moves out of state, etc. She had a large collection of class pictures, year book photos, and other memorabilia.  The pictures here show the beginning of her career.

Earlier I showed readers another collection of back to school photos–students from my grandmother’s time up to some cousins in the 1940s. You can see those school photos here.

Harriette Anderson

Harriette Anderson, 16, H.S. graduation 1923

When my mother graduated from high school in 1923, she was only sixteen (two months away from her 17th birthday). Her family moved to Columbus, Ohio, and she started to attend Ohio State University in the pre-med program, wanting to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps. But after two years at Ohio State, she was contacted by the Superintendent of Holmes County Schools, who was desperately searching for teachers for the coming year.

The Anderson family’s move to Columbus had partly been motivated by the belief that her two brothers and her father would be able to get better jobs in Columbus, but things had not worked out that way. The family needed money, and she needed to save money for her medical school education.

So in 1925 when Clark, Ohio was looking for a high school teacher to join Principal Lee Fair and one other teacher in the two-room high school, the Holmes County Superintendent Frank Close asked Miss Anderson to take the Boxwell Test which would give her a teaching certificate. [All you needed was a high school graduation, good character and to pass the test. Think those requirements were easy? Follow the link to test yourself on a sample Boxwell Test.] She thought it would be a good way to make some money to finance her medical education. Little did she know that after her first nine months at Clark, she would dedicate her life to teaching, her grandmother’s career instead of her grandfather’s.

Harriette Anderson teacher

Clark, Ohio High School, the 1925-26 students. The 19-year-old teacher is on the far right.

At Clark, Miss Anderson was assigned to teach English, science, math, home economics and Latin. Home economics was a challenge since the only equipment was a hot plate.

“What I knew about algebra and Latin you could put in a bird’s eye,” she said in later life, admitting that she was more frightened than the students on the first day of school. After all, she had several boys in her class that not only towered over her, but were several years older. In order to hide the fact that she was shaking, she asked a student to write on the blackboard.

One day she took the students on a walk to collect plants and animal life for biology class.  “The boys put a little water snake in the pocket of my sweater. They were waiting for me to reach in my pocket. When I got it out and petted it and put it down they were so disappointed.” (Growing up with two brothers had its advantages!)

After two years at Killbuck, she happily took a job teaching in Killbuck HIgh school, where coaching basketball was added to her accomplishments. Now 21, at the larger school she was the Senior Class Advisor (no doubt the staff member closest in age to the seniors.)  In this picture, the school superintendent, Donald Eggar is on the left of the first row, and mother is next. She told me how she appreciated his kind mentorship as she began her career.

Harriette Anderson, teacher

The very young-looking Senior class advisor (21) at Killbuck High School for the class of 1928, is seated second from left.

She coached girl’s basketball starting her first year at Killbuck in 1927. There was no county league when she started. She refused to take the job unless the school board agreed to trade in the bloomer suits the girls were wearing for real uniforms. One of her students writes that they won because she told them to think, “Victory! Victory! Victory!”

Harriette Anderson, coach

Harriette Anderson (on the right) coach of Killbuck Women’s Basketball Team 1928

She was popular with the kids because she had a little Ford car with a rumble seat and all of them wanted to ride in her car.

Here are the Killbuck High School senior classes of 1930 and 1934, still including Superintendent Donald Eggar and teacher Harriette Anderson. I love those gorgeous white dresses, and marvel at how some of the very poor farm families in the area were able to come up with suits for the boys and beautiful dresses for the girls. My mother, who always loved beautiful clothes, wears a different dress in each of the year’s pictures.

Harriette Anderson teacher

Killlbuck High School Sr Class 1930-31 H.Anderson 5th from right middle row

 

 

School Days, Killbuck, 1934

Killbuck Graduating Class, 1934 Harriette Kaser Teacher, Donald Egger, Superintendent on top right.

Although I focus here on her very early career, Harriette Anderson Kaser had many more years of teaching. In addition to teaching at Killbuck, Harriette went back to Clark in 1936 for, I believe, two years (her letters indicate they did not pay on time) and in the 1950s taught at Killbuck, Glenmont and Millersburg, Ohio. In 1956 the family moved to HIlliard, Ohio outside Columbus and she taught there until her retirement in 1967. She always taught English, often Home Economics, and also taught whatever was needed, even substituting in music once although she admitted she could not carry a tune.

 In her nineties, she still got letters from former students, one addressing her as “Dear Coach.” One woman wrote to thank her for instilling a lifelong love of poetry.

Research Notes

Retirement System Service Credit Statement, dated 4-6-66 (Some years are missing here because she withdrew some of her credits early.)

  • She taught 1925/26 through 1929/30, 1932-33 through 1937/38
  • 1942-43
  • 1945-46
  • 1951-52, through 1965-66

Harriette Anderson Kaser application to teach made to Millersburg in 1954, she lists her education:

  • Ohio State University [starting in]1923—3 years: 107 credit hours (This was two full school years and several years of summer school)
  • Kent State 1933—1 year 85 credit hours
  • Bliss Business College, 1935 12 weeks
  • University of Chicago, 1931 8 credit hours

She lists her experience up until 1954 as

  • Killbuck High [beginning] 1927—177 months [total]
  • Clark High [beginning]1925—27 months [total]
  • Glenmont High [beginning]1953—9 months [total]

Identification of Students in  Photos

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS WELCOME! Although my mother had identified many people, she forgot some names, and although she dated pictures, her dates turned out to be sometimes wrong.  With the help of people on a Killbuck Facebook group, I was able to straighten out some identifications and dates. Particular thanks to Bonnie Smail. I will add all the names here as I confirm them.

1925-1926 School photo Clark, Ohio, first year of teaching.

Harriette Anderson on far right. (No identification on students.)

1928 Killbuck H.S. Senior Class (Note: This would have been Harriette Kaser’s first year of teaching at Killbuck High School, after two years at Clark.)

Front row:

  • Donald Egger, Superintendent
  • Harriette Anderson, teacher
  • ______________, teacher
  • ______________, teacher?

Middle row:

  • Bessie Beller (Lowe)
  • Beulah Frazier (Arnold)
  • Marjora Garver (Rhode)
  • Florence Crosby (Patterson)
  • Garnet Bucklew (Zachman)
  • Ruth Teeling (Butler)
  • Ruth Uhl (Powell)
  • Lorna Carpenter (Neal)
  • Cleo Purdy (Andreas)
  • Pearl Mohler (Watts)
  • Helen Youngs

Back row:

  • Emmet Snow
  • Don Hunter
  • Earl Myers
  • Wilmer Patterson
  • Earl Russell

Note: the graduation list also has a Lester Hamontree, who does not appear to be in the picture.

1928 Holmes County Champions

  • Beulah Frazier (Arnold)
  • Ruth Chapman
  • Pearl Mohler (Watts)
  • Mary Rohskoph
  • Lorna Patterson (Myers)
  • Eleanor Burke
  • Ruth Uhl (Powell)
  • Garnet Bucklew (Zachman)
  • Harriette Anderson (Kaser), coach

1930 Killbuck H.S. Senior Class (Note: these are as she wrote them, except that I put parens around the women’s last names which she had added—presumably married names, and a couple of brackets with my own additions.)

Bottom Row:

  • Carl Hoxworth
  • Evelyn Smith (Tidball)
  • Rosabel Koons (Reno)
  • Edward J. Miller [teacher?]
  • Donald Egger (Superintendent)
  • Pauline Carpenter (Spears)
  • Leona Anderson
  • Paul Schuler Deceased (don’t know what year she wrote this.)

Middle Row:

  • Denver Middaugh
  • Mary Moore (Ackert?)
  • Garnet Froelich (Spurgeon)
  • Opal Purdy (Waltman)
  • Madeline Macky (Jackson)
  • Mabel Brumme
  • Harriette Anderson, teacher
  • Pauline Patterson
  • Cleo Teeling (Lowthers)
  • Ethel Ward
  • Robert Mullet

Back Row:

  • Ralph Anderson
  • Waldo Fites
  • John J. Purdy
  • Lloyd Crosby
  • Dwight Jackson
  • Harold Spurgeon
  • Leland Shrimplin
  • Edward Waltman
  • Jack [?] Purdy

1934 Killbuck H.S. Senior class (Note: HAK wrote names on front but not all are correct, and with help from Killbuck I added some women’s married names.)

Back Row:

  • Ted Muller
  • Micky McKee (Teacher, probably—not on class list)
  • Otto Lisle
  • Guy Miller Jr.
  • Dean Shrimplin
  • Dean Anderson
  • Staley Lanham
  • Harriette Anderson, teacher
  • Donald Egger, Superintendent

Bottom Row:

  • Dorothy Frazier (Klinger)
  • Zola Christopher (Kinsley)
  • Helen Low (Hoff)
  • Evelyn Beller (Kinsey)
  • Margaret McKelvey (Graham)
  • Virginia Buker (Uhl)
  • Bernice Black
  • Charmaine Allamong
  • Oneta Anderson (Way)
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5 thoughts on “52 Ancestors #35 Teacher’s School Photos -Harriette Anderson (Kaser)

  1. Bro

    What strikes me about these high school graduation photos from the twenties and early thirties is that (certainly unlike today’s high schoolers) they all look serious, even straining for dignity. As you note, these were not preppy or finishing school swells and flappers but were sons and daughters of yeoman farmers and small tradespeople. The pride and respect for education shows in their images. They seem ready to face the challenges– but who could have imagined those struggles would include a decade-long Great Depression and World War II? Many of them even look quite distinguished and in the case of several of the young ladies, lovely — almost could be out of the Great Gatsby album!

    Reply
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  3. Jeanie (Patterson) Bateson

    My grandmother, Addie Patterson, was born in Welcome, Ohio and raised in Killbuck, Ohio. In the late 1950’s and up till her death in 1994, she lived mostly on Water Street. I remember visiting and she would make us kids go out and pick dandelions. She’s fry a bit of bacon up and put the washed dandelions in the bacon grease with some white sugar and the broken up bacon pieces. This was our salad. We were related to the Bucklew’s, Uhl’s, and Mohler’s (to name a few). Everything was simple and a good life. I miss Killbuck tremendously.

    Reply
    1. Avatar photoVera Marie Badertscher Post author

      Have you discovered the Killbuck Gang Facebook group? A great place to stay in touch with all things Killbuck, past and present. My grandmother made dandelion greens that way, too. I’ve tried with greens bought from the store, but you need to have young, fresh dandeliom greens so they are not too bitter. I’ll never get them just right. Bet your grandma also cooked up morel mudhrooms in butter in the Spring, too. Now they are a luxury. Then they were a walk in the woods.

      Reply

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