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More Pages from Articles From Other Primetimers
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Marvin Key
Then I got a chance to come to the Central Office and I’ve been there every since. There I’ve done about everything except being superintendent. I worked with the Federal programs, Title One. One time I had a Title Two. That’s another Federal program for libraries. I’ve been with education for several years. (When I began to work at the central office) Mr. York was superintendent. He was a nice fellow. I worked with text books. We had fifty 16mm films in my library. I kept noticing that nobody ever used them. So I came up with this idea I would start a media mobile. Put all those things on a van and go around to every school and let them check them out. And they started using them. We went up to about fifteen hundred 16mm films and they checked those things out like mad and of course they changed to videos. We started out with a few videos along with the 16mm. Eventually we got all videos now. They used to check those out, I mean a lot of them, but it’s slacked off. Now we are going to have to go to DVDs or something like that. I started it about three or four or five years ago, something like that. I’ve been responsible for it since then, since I started it. Occasionally I drive it myself, somebody else would take it and then they would quit and I would have to drive it for awhile. Wound up when I retired Jim Boyd hired me to do just that, the media mobile, part time. So I did it part time and pretty soon I didn’t like staying at home every two days a week you know. I didn’t like staying at home the other three so I just started working full time and getting paid part time. I did that for sixteen or seventeen years. Fifteen years. (I’ve been officially retired since) ‘88. I worked full time on part time pay nearly all of that and I’m not complaining. I’m glad I had that opportunity. I started the media mobile a long time before I retired, several years. They would give me some one to help me and to drive it, but they’d quit you know, and we’d have to get someone else and I’d have to drive it ‘til they did. When I retired I started driving it all the time, both days, by myself. They checked out a lot of them but it’s slowed down a lot now. It’s grown a couple of thousand students (since I came to the central office). It might be more than that I don’t know. (I came to the central office in) ’66. Course it wasn’t really for Mr. York, but those positions in there were usually political. People told me “Oh, you won’t get to stay there long. They’ll want to get rid of you”. But I’ve been there every since. (I started out in) Title One and adult education, at night mostly. I had to get the teachers and organize the classes. We had them at just about every school to begin with. There was quite a few attended. It went down too in later years. Then they finally changed it, let the State Department take it over and take care of everything. I didn’t do any more with it. (My time with) Adult Education was seven or eight years I’m sure and Title One was probably ten years or more. Title Two was just a part time job I did in my spare time mostly. I believe just a year after he (Mr. York) hired me his time was up. Then it was Martin Campbell. No, wait a minute. I’ll take that back. Mr. Moore was the superintendent when I came to Cullman County, (when I was at) Dowling. Then I went to Kelly and back to Dowling and then to the Central Office and Martin Campbell was in there in between there but Mr. York hired me for the Central Office. His term ended in about a year and Hollis Tucker. You ever know Hollis Tucker? He was superintendent for four years. Then Jim Boyd stayed in for twenty years. I worked for him and I enjoyed working with him, working for him. Well I retired and came back. I never did quit work though he hired me before I retired. We had the agreement and everything. Hollis Tucker, Jim Boyd for twenty years, Felton Easterwood for four, Jan Farley, eight. This one we’ve got now (Dr. Horton), worked for her two or three years now. (You have probably been around the Central Office as long or longer than any one there now). That’s probably right. I have been in education for 53 years I believe it is. It is a good life. When you grew up like I did it is good (My parents) they were very poor and uneducated but they wanted me to get an education. They didn’t want me to have to do like they did. And I didn’t want to either. When I went in service I saw things that I really enjoyed like showers and bathrooms and stuff like that. When I got back that was my aim. Well I didn’t have it when I got back from service either. There have been a lot of changes (in education and our country). I think some of them were good. Maybe some I don’t agree with. It’s tougher to teach now because of discipline, you know. Some of the parents don’t want their children disciplined like I used to do it. And I got it done to me too. I think we have just given over too much. We’re paying for it now. You know my part of it is just about over. She (my wife) came from a poor family too. She was born in Akron, Ohio. Her dad went up there and worked in a tire factory from down here and married a lady from up there. She was born up there and she was the oldest of her family. They moved back to Cordova and he worked at different things you know. Then they moved up to Winston County, up to Arley, where all her family was close. Now it would be a long way to walk. (It was within walking distance back in those days?) About five miles. (Was that how far you had two walk to catch the school bus?) Close to it. |
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