THE BULLDOZERS
“Can you believe who just come in to teach our school?”
“Those kids are going to chew her up and spit her out.”
“That bunch is as mean as snakes, and the devil’s spawn to
boot.”
“Now hold on. They’re
as mean as snakes, I’ll grant you that.
But they’re our spawn. Then
again, living in this godforsaken place, maybe we are the devil.”
“I give her a day at the most. She’ll pack her bags and head for the hills.”
Such was the conversation at the general store about Minnie
Tyler, the petite – maybe five feet tall and ninety pounds wringing wet – young
teacher who just moved into Mrs. Graden’s house. The one-room schoolhouse she’d be running had
been without a teacher all summer. The
kids had run the last one off and bets were on that they’d make short shrift of
the new one.
As soon as she arrived in town, Minnie Tyler headed over to
the barn-like structure that was used as a school. When she opened the door, she couldn’t
believe her eyes. “How can any learning
take place here?” was her question. Not
only was the place falling apart. What
desks there were were ramshackle. It looked
abandoned, just like the town it was a part of and the people who lived there –
abandoned and forgotten.
It was some forty miles down curvy mountain roads to the
nearest other community and school. So
the little town of Oliver’s Gulch lived in its own world and flew under the
radar as far as the state was concerned.
People made do by making do.
Minnie Tyler set to work putting the school in some sort of
order. She patched and mended and got it
into some shape. She made a long list of
needs and contacted the state department of education. They all but laughed her off. So she got in her car and went to the nearest
good-sized city with the pitiful supply card she was given. Of course, like most teachers she used with a
good portion of her own money as well to
buy the supplies she thought she would need – including soap and washcloths.
The first day of school, the kids all gathered in the
schoolhouse. They were somewhat impressed
by all the teacher, or someone, had done to whip it into shape. But to them it was still a school. Minnie Tyler waited until she assumed that
everyone who was going to come to school had arrived. She then strode into the large space reciting
the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
“Does anybody know what I just recited?”
“’The Lord’s Prayer’?” one jokester jeered as everyone
laughed.
“You’re close. It’s
the “Preamble” to the U.S. Constitution.
Anyone know when that was written?”
Again, another jokester piped up, “Before you was born, I
bet.” Again, gales of laughter.
Minnie Driver then asked another question. “What do you all think this school needs?”
The largest boy in the room then said, “A bulldozer!” Once again, gales of laughter.
“Well, you’re all alive, so you can learn.” She then got a wooden crate and set it right
in front of the biggest boy. She got on
it so she could look him straight in the eyes.
“What this school needs is a football team!”
Cheers went up from the group. But then, the biggest boy spoke up. “Right.
A football team. Lady, look
around you. We got maybe eight kids in
here who might be able to play football.
The others are too young or they’re girls.”
“I see that .. What’s your name?”
“My name’s Boyd Stanton. And what’s your name?”
“My name’s written on the blackboard.”
“Well, it might as well be written on the roof. You know, none of us can read.”
Minnie Tyler got off the box and walked determinedly to the
blackboard. “My name’s Minnie Tyler,
M-I-N-N-I-E T-Y-L-E-R. Minnie Tyler.
I’m from Brooksville. Anyone ever
heard of Brooksville?
“I got an aunt who lives there,” a shy girl spoke up.
“What’s her name?”
“It’s Laurie Donavan.”
“I know Laurie Donavan.
She’s a nice person. She works at
a health center there. And what’s your
name?”
“I’m Brenda Madigan.”
“Boyd Stanton and Brenda Madigan. Two nice names. Two strong names. Two good names. I bet you all have good names.”
By now, the entire group was mesmerized by this
teacher. She pointed to each child and
had them say their names.
“Leah Page.”
“What was that? Speak
up!”
“Leah Page.”
“That’s better.
That's a beautiful name. Say it
with the beauty it deserves. Now, about
this football team. You want to call it
the Bulldozers do you?” The group all laughed. “Let’s go outside and pick out a place for a
field.”
The group all walked outside and around the back of the schoolhouse. Right there was an abandoned field. It was perhaps too small for a regulation
football field, but it was level and
rectangular.
Minnie walked the length and width of the field. The kids just stood in amazement. “This is a nice rectangle. Who can tell me what a rectangle is?”
“It’s like a square,”
one of the younger boys shouted.
“You’re absolutely correct.
Now, I want us all to get in a
line and pace out the width of this field. Let’s take nice big steps and count
as we go. All lined up? Here we go.
One, two, three, four, …”
“So Boyd Stanton, how many steps did we pace off”
“Twenty.”
“You’re absolutely correct.
Anyone get a different number?” They all laughed, as they had counted together.”
“Now, let’s go over here and do the same thing this way.”
They paced out the length of the field.
“So, Leah Page. How
many paces is the length of the field?”
“Eighty.”
“I couldn’t hear you, Leah Page.”
“Eighty!”
“That’s better.
Everyone agree? Now, let’s build
us a football field.”
“How do we do that?” Craig Fowler, one of the smaller boys, asked?
“That’s a good question Craig Fowler. Any answers?
“I guess we need to mark it off,” Brenda Madigan replied.
“So let’s do it.
Craig Fowler and Leah Page, you
two go round up some boards – nice and straight and not too long. Anyone have a rake?” Almost every hand went up. “Well, why don’t you all run home, grab a rake, and come back here.”
The children all ran home.
Craig Fowler and Leah Page found some boards. Minnie Tyler showed them where to place them
to mark the perimeter of the field. The
other children quickly returned and raked off the field.
“Now, we’ve got us a football field!” Minnie Tyler
exclaimed.
“This ain’t no football field!” Boyd Stanton yelled out.
“Boyd Stanton,” Minnie Tyler retorted, “why isn’t it a
football field? And what’s my name? I’ve got a nice name just like you. I like to hear it.”
“Miss Tyler,” Boyd Stanton replied, “it ain’t no football
field ‘cause there ain’t no yard lines and there ain’t no goal posts.”
“Well, Boyd Stanton, why on earth do we need those things?”
“We need’em cause that’s what football fields have. That’s
why.”
“What’s my name, Boyd Stanton?”
“Miss Tyler.”
“Mr. Boyd Stanton, why do we need yard lines?”
“Miss Tyler, to let us know where we are on the field.”
“And, Craig Fowler, why do we need goal posts?”
“I dunno.”
“What’s my name?”
“Miss Tyler. I
dunno.”
“Anyone know why we need goal posts?”
“’Cause then you know when you’ve made a touchdown,” Willie
Starfield spoke up.
“You’re absolutely right, Willie Starfield.”
“And Craig Fowler, what’s a rectangle?”
“It’s like a square.”
“What’s my name?”
“It’s Miss Tyler. But
you didn’t make Willie Starfield say your name.”
“You’re so right, Craig Fowler. Willie Starfield, what’s my name?”
“It’s Miss Tyler.”
“Thank you, Willie Starfield.”
Minnie Tyler then walked on to the field and began reciting
the “Preamble” to the U.S. Constitution.
“Was that ‘The Lord’s Prayer’?”
“No!” they all shouted.
“What’s my name?”
“Miss Tyler,” they all shouted.
”Then, what was it?”
They all got quiet.’
“It’s the “Preamble” to the U.S. Constitution. You know, I think we’ve learned enough for
one day. Why don’t you all go home now.”
“But Miss Tyler,” Boyd Stanton exclaimed, “we ain't
finished the field yet.”
“There’ll be time, Boyd Stanton,” Minnie Tyler replied. “We’ll make some progress tomorrow.”
“Goodbye, Miss Tyler,” they all said as they turned to head
home.
“Goodbye Bulldozers!” Minnie Tyler replied.
The next morning, Minnie Tyler headed to the schoolhouse,
but decided to check on the field first.
To her amazement, there were
lines drawn around the perimeter of the field and yard lines drawn. There were even goal posts. During the evening, some of the students had
come back and finished the job. Minnie
Tyler was impressed with how even the lines were and how careful the students
had been in spacing out the yard lines.
She ran to get a tape measure.
Even though the distance between the yard lines wasn’t quite a yard, the
spacing was amazingly accurate.
She then went to the schoolhouse and found every student present.
There were even two more who hadn’t shown up the first day. She walked up to each student and said good
morning to each one, calling out each one by name. She learned the names of the two new
students. She then began reciting the “Preamble.”
“Okay folks, what did I just recite.”
“The ‘Preamble’ to the U.S. Constitution, Miss Tyler,” they
all responded in unison, some giggling as they spoke.
“That’s absolutely correct. I love those words. I hope you do.”
“Miss Tyler?”
“Yes, Brenda Madigan.”
“Miss Tyler, when we had other teachers before, we would all
say ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ at the beginning of each day. Do you believe in ‘The Lord’s Prayer’?”
“Yes, Brenda Madigan, I believe in ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and I
pray it every day. You know what? I’d like us all to close our eyes and say ‘The
Lord’s Prayer’ to ourselves.”
A young student raised his hand.
“Yes, Matthew Brock?”
“Miss Tyler, I don’t know ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’”
“Well, Matthew Brock, do you know any prayers?”
“I know Grace.”
“Well, why don’t you say that”
“What’s my name?” the little boy giggled.
“Your name is Matthew Brock. That’s such
a nice name. It’s a strong name. it’s a good name. So, now, let’s all close our eyes and say our
prayer.”
With previous teachers, when the students would recite “The
Lord’s Prayer,” it was half-hearted at best and the teachers could notice
giggles when someone got the words mixed up.
Now, the students all stood perfectly quiet and with eyes closed. Little Matthew Brock and a few others did
take a peak every now and then to see if others had finished, but then they
closed their eyes tightly once again.
The students then began to take their seats.
“Hold on class,” Minnie Tyler said as she motioned for them
to stay standing. “We’re not going to sit down for a while. You know, I saw something this morning that
was absolutely wonderful. You know what
it was?”
“No,” Boyd Stanton
replied, “ what was it?”
Minnie Tyler remained quiet, looking intently at Boyd
Stanton.
“What was it, Miss Tyler?”
“What I saw was that some of you took it on yourselves to do
some homework.”
The class laughed.
“The football field looks absolutely wonderful. I think we need to go out and inspect it.”
The class immediately left the schoolhouse and went around
to the back.
“Okay class, I have
some questions. I’m so impressed by how evenly all the lines
are.How in the world did you know how
to space them?”
“Well, Miss Tyler,” Willie Starfield spoke up, “my dad’s a
builder, so I asked him if he would help. We showed him how we’d paced out the length of the field, and found that
it was eighty paces He measured a pace
and figured it was a little less than a yard.
So then, he figured that if you were gonna have lines to mark the
yard lines and the goal lines, you’d have to take off a little more to make the
right number of yard lines for a football field. So, we measured and made sure they lines were
spaced just right.”
“That’s wonderful, Willie Starfield. Okay, now we’ve got to get our teams. We’ve got eight boys who are old enough to
play, I think. And we’ve got four girls
to be cheerleaders. And we’ve got four
boys who are too little to play but who can help out the team.”
“Miss Tyler?”
“Yes, Johnny Todd.”
“Miss Tyler, I’ve got a bad leg and I can’t play.”
“That’s fine, Johnny Todd.
You can referee, okay? “
“Thanks, Miss Tyler.”
“Miss Tyler?”
“Yes, Dillie Jessup.”
“I don’t want to cheerleader. That’s too girly-girl for me.
What can I do?”
“Why don’t you referee with Johnny Todd?”
“Okay. Thanks, Miss
Tyler.”
Minnie Tyler had purchased some balls she thought the kids
might be able to use. They weren’t
footballs, but they’d do for the time being.
“Let’s work on our passing game. Everyone can do this. I want you all to line up - eight on this yard line and then eight,
facing the others on this yard line.
How far apart are you?”
“We’re ten yards apart,” Leah Page said proudly.
“Well, not exactly,” Johnny Todd commented.
“What’s my name?” was Leah Page's reply.
“Not exactly, Leah Page.
The lines weren’t made ten yards apart.
They’re a little shorter so you could get the right number of lines in
the field.”
“You’re absolutely correct, Johnny Todd. But you’re correct, too, Leah Page. Even though we know that the lines are not
really ten yards apart, we’re going to pretend they are. So now, this line is on the thirty yard line
and this line is on the forty yard line. What I want you to do is to throw the ball easily to the person across
from you but zigzag so the ball travels down the line. Real easy now. “
They practiced that for a few minutes. “Now, I want both lines to move back about
two yards. That’s it. Now, how far apart are you?”
“We’re fourteen yards apart, Miss Tyler,” Willie Starfield
said.
“You’re absolutely correct, Willie Starfield.”
“How’d you know that, Mr. Math genius?” Boyd Stanton asked.
“Well, we were ten yards apart, about anyways. Each line moved back about two yards. So that
makes four more yards apart. Four and
ten makes fourteen.”
“What’s my name?”
“Four and ten makes fourteen, Boyd Stanton”
All the kids laughed.
After they practiced throwing for a while, they practiced
running with the ball and handing off the ball to others. Then they practiced running the yard
lines. Minnie Tyler got Dillie Jessup
and Johnny Todd to stand on the sidelines and make note of how far each person
ran to practice their refereeing skills.
As they practiced, Minnie Driver wove math, geometry, physics, and
anatomy into their practice.
They took breaks every so often and Minnie Tyler would teach
them about the rules of football.
“How’n the heck do
you know so much about football, Miss Tyler? “Willie Starfield asked. “You’re a girl.”
“I have two brothers, Willie Starfield, and a dad. I may not look like it, but I’ve played my
share of touch football with my brothers and dad. I’ve even gotten tackled a time or two!”
The days passed quickly.
Minnie Tyler would often observe from a distance the students practicing
on the field. She would never fail to
recite the “Preamble” to the U.S. Constitution, and pretty soon, the students
were reciting it with her. She never
failed to have them silently, and with eyes closed, say “The Lord’s Prayer,” or
another prayer they knew. She had the
cheerleaders make up cheers. They had
been in school for over six weeks and had yet to sit at their desks.
On rainy days, the class would meet inside. Sometimes, Minnie Tyler would have students
clear a large area. They would practice
throwing, hiking, and handing off. But
they would also take turns going up to the blackboard. In the grand tradition of the one-room
schoolhouse, the older students would help the younger ones learn how to
write. They also had story-telling time,
as well as such traditional activities as show-and-tell.
It was the middle of October. Although they had begun to scrimmage every
day, they’d never played a game. “Okay,
Bulldozers, I think it’s time for a real game, don’t you?” So, Johnny Todd and Dillie Jessup, armed with
whistles and handkerchiefs; the three cheerleaders-- Leah Page, Brenda Madigan,
and Bethany Ragsdale-- cheered with hand made pom-poms; and the two teams of five
players each got into their positions. Things were rough at first, but every
student put their heart and soul into what they were doing.
One morning, Minnie Tyler woke up to find a gentle snow
falling. The first snowfall of the year
always made her giddy. She made her way
to the schoolhouse early to stoke up the stove.
She had been shocked earlier to discover that the stove didn’t even work,
but she used that fact to teach students about thermodynamics. She had purchased five large thermos
bottles, which she filed with different hot drinks, such as hot chocolate and tea, which she served, along with jam and
crackers. She noticed that not all the
students had winter clothing, so she taught them how to make clothes from
fabrics she had purchased. She knew that
the folks in Oliver’s Gulch were too proud to accept handouts, but were happy
to make their own clothes. She even
recruited several ladies in town to help finish things up.
On this first snowy morning, as the children were enjoying
their hot chocolate, jam, and crackers, Minnie Tyler announced, “Okay folks,
let’s get bundled up and go for a walk.
It’s not that cold, and I have something I want to show you.” They put on their coats, some they had made
themselves; their scarves and caps, all hand made; and gloves. While still clutching their large mugs of hot
chocolate, they followed Minnie Tyler out back. They walked past the football field, with Minnie Tyler fielding
questions along the way. “Which U.S.
President was a football player when he was a college student?” “I’m a ramblin’ wreck from where?” She mentioned the names of colleges and
universities as much as possible. She
loved instilling in them a pride and love for their community while at the same
time lifting their sights beyond the mountains that surrounded them and
separated them from the rest of the world.
They arrived at the edge of the woods. Minnie Tyler then began reciting the words of
Robert Frost’s famous poem, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” “Whose woods these are, I think I know. His house is in the village though.” The students didn’t catch on to the fact that
she was reciting a poem and Boyd Stanton interrupted her recitation with the
comment, “Mack Conrad’s house ain’t in the village, Miss Tyler. He owns this forest and he don’t live
anywhere nears here.”
Without missing a
beat, Minnie Tyler responded, “Is that a fact, Boyd Stanton? And where does Mr. Conrad live?”
“I don’t rightly know, Miss Tyler,” Boyd Stanton replied, “I just know it ain’t
in this village.” Minnie Tyler continued
with the poem.
“That was really pretty, Miss Tyler. Did you just make that up?” Johnny Todd
asked.
“No, Johnny Todd.
That’s a poem by a man name Robert Frost.”
“Is he any kin to Jack Frost?” Willie Starfield quipped.
“He might very well be, Willie Starfield. He might very well be. Speaking of Jack Frost, it’s getting a little
cold. Why don’t we go back in.”
“Miss Tyler,” Brenda Madigan commented, “I don’t mean to be
rude, but why’d you drag us out in the cold to look at some woods and hear some
poem?”
“’Cause we see these woods all the time but don’t really
look at them. We just sort of take them
for granite,” Bethany Ragsdale commented.
“That’s granted, not granite, Bethany Ragsdale. And what’s my name?”
“It’s Brenda Madigan. And I knew it was granted, not granite. I was just talkin’ like the older people talk, for fun. Anyways, I liked that poem, Miss Tyler. I want to commit it to memory.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Bethany Ragsdale,” Minnie Tyler remarked as they made their way
toward the school house.
The hard of winter set in, and more classes were held
inside. But still, the students never
sat in their seats. Minnie Tyler always
found a way to keep them up and moving.
One day, she arrived at the schoolhouse with her pull wagon filled with
thermos bottles, crackers and jam and opened the door to find the room freshly
painted. Some of the students and their
parents had taken it on themselves to spruce up the rather gloomy interior of
the schoolhouse. At the front of the
room, on one side of the blackboard she found a large framed and cross-stitched
“Preamble” to the U.S. Constitution and on the other side, a similar
cross-stitch of “The Lord’s Prayer.” Many
of the parents of the students were present that morning.
Somewhat overwhelmed, all Minnie Tyler could say was “What a
beautiful , beautiful sight to behold!”
“Miss Tyler,” Brenda Madigan commented, ”We just wanted to
let you know how much we appreciate you and how much we love you.”
“Thank you so much, Brenda Madigan, and Leah Page, and
Bethany Ragsdale, and Boyd Stanton. …”
She called out the names of all the students and then asked the parents
who were present to introduce themselves.
She noticed some things covered up with cloth. Her curiosity was aroused.
“Miss Tyler,” Willie Starfield said, “we know how much you
love football, and we love it too. But
it’s too cold most days to play now, so we thought of some things we might do
indoors. We got our parents to help
out. We’d like you to uncover the things
we’ve made. Well, we didn’t make
everything. Somethings were made by our relatives
and kinfolks, but they want us to use them.
Minnie Tyler went over and lifted up the cloths that covered the items. Underneath she found some gymnastics
equipment, such as a pommel horse and two beams. She then went over to a large covered area
to find a beautiful curved set of
benches with tables on which sat dulcimers
and bells.
“These are absolutely the most beautiful and wonderful
things I’ve ever seen!”
“You know what this is, Miss Tyler?” Leah Page asked.
“It’s a hammered dulcimer, Leah Page, and it’s a wonderful
musical instrument.”
“Do you know what the word ‘dulcimer’ comes from, Miss
Tyler?” Boyd Stanton asked.
“No I don’t, Boyd Stanton.”
“It comes from a Latin word that means 'sweet,'” Boyd Stanton replied. He then picked up a dulcimer and, with hands
that were obviously used to hard work,
began to strike the dulcimer with
mallets. From the mouth of the big,
rough-hewn boy came a beautiful rendering of “I wonder as I wander.” Every note from the dulcimer and every sound
from his voice was like honey. Others
who could play the dulcimer or ring the little bells soon joined in a beautiful
song Minnie Tyler had never heard.
“That was so wonderful.
You couldn’t have made that up. I
mean, you were all playing and singing together so beautifully.”
“We’ve been singing that song for years, Miss Tyler,” Dillie Jessup commented.
“Well, Dillie Jessup, you’ve certainly all kept mighty quiet
about it."
“It’s just something we do at home, especially in the
wintertime when we’re stuck indoors.”
Through the winter, the students practiced their football on
nice days and did their gymnastics, singing and dulcimer playing on nasty
days. All the while, they learned
mathematics, geometry, physics, astronomy, Latin, French, Old English, poetry,
literature, history, geography, religion, and so much more. They even began playing football with some of
their parents.
Minnie Tyler noticed that she had met every single parent
except for the parents of Boyd Stanton.
They never came to anything.
Because most of the students lived on small farms that were spread apart,
she was unlikely to run into them.
People largely kept to themselves.
One afternoon in late spring, as students left school to go
home to do chores, Minnie Tyler called out to Boyd Stanton. “Boyd Stanton, can I talk to you a
minute?” “Sure, Miss Tyler.” “Boyd, I don’t mean to pry, but I’ve noticed
that your parents don’t seem to make it to the school. I’ve never even met them.” ”Well, Miss Tyler,
my pa’s handicapped and has to be in a wheel chair. He can’t get around very good. My ma doesn’t like to leave him by hisself, I
mean himself. They’d like to come to
things, but it’s just not possible.”
“Well, Boyd Stanton, I’m sure some of the other parents could help out
somehow.” “My pa’s a proud man, Miss Tyler.
He’s also pretty angry a lot of the time. He got injured back when he was just twenty
somethin’, right after I was born. He
feels sorry for hisself, I mean himself, a lot, and just has a lot of anger that
comes out.” “Again, I don’t mean to pry,
but is he mean to your mother or to you?”
“He can be mean to me and sometimes to ma, but it’s just talk. We try to
understand. He’s a good man.”
Minnie Tyler did some discrete asking about Boyd Stanton’s
family. At the same time, the students decided to put on the school’s first day long
spring festival. Minnie Tyler found out
that it was Boyd Stanton’s father who had made the dulcimers and had given them
to the school. He was obviously a good
man, but a man who felt constrained by his handicap. She screwed up all the courage, charm, and
determination she could muster. On the
morning of the festival she decided to go out to the Stanton’s farm. She had a pickup truck, which she had
prepared to secure a person in a wheelchair.
It might not be highway legal, but was fine for the short drive from the
farm to the school.
Minnie Tyler left the festival in the hands of several
parents and headed out. She knocked on the front door of the Stanton’s
house. Mrs. Stanton answered. She was a large woman, but also a very
soft-spoken and gentle woman. “Mrs.
Stanton. Can I speak with you for a
minute?” A voice cried out from inside
the house. “Lula, whose that at the
front door? Tell’em we ain’t got no need
for what they’re trying to sell!” Minnie
Tyler managed to speak to Mrs. Stanton and then
went right into the house and marched up to Mr. Stanton, who seemed
shocked to see this small, young woman approach him with such
determination. Just as she had pulled up
a wooden crate and looked young Boyd Stanton straight in the eyes on that first
day of the school year, she pulled up a chair, sat down, and looked Mr.
Stanton, straight in the eyes. “Mr.
Stanton, my name’s Minnie Tyler and I’m the teacher at your son’s school. We’re having a big festival today and we want
you to be there. We know you made the
absolutely wonderful dulcimers the students enjoy playing so much. You need to be there to hear them and be with
everyone. “
“Listen here.
I’m a cripple. I don’t go nowhere. So, I thank you for the
invite but I’m afraid I can’t make it.”
“What’s my name?”
“What did you ask me?”
“What’s my name, Mr. Stanton?”
“Why, it’s Minnie Tyler.
Boyd talks about you all the time.
He really likes you. You’ll have
to forgive me, Miss Tyler, but I’ve got some things to do.”
“Like what, Mr. Stanton?
You seem to have shaved and have on your day clothes. Have you been to the bathroom?” Minnie Tyler stayed seated, still looking Mr.
Stanton straight in the eyes.
“I don’t see as that is any of your business, Miss Tyler.
You’re kinda pushy, ain’t ya?
”He’s been to the bathroom, Miss Tyler,” Mrs. Stanton broke
in.
“Well, Mr. Stanton, I can’t imagine anything more important
than being with your son and his friends today.
Don’t you agree, Mrs. Stanton?”
On that note, Minnie Tyler got up. She and Mrs. Stanton lifted the wheelchair
and got Mr. Stanton through the front door, into the front yard, and into the
back of the pickup before he knew what was going on. Minnie Tyler strapped him in securely and then
she and Mrs. Stanton got into the cab of the truck. They made their way to the school where folks
were all over the place enjoying the festival. The sound of dulcimers, bells, and singing filled the air. The pommel horse and balance beams had been
moved outside, and students showed off their gymnastics skills. Several of the men lifted Mr. Stanton from
the back of the pickup and wheeled him over to the front of the school
house. A ramp had been built to allow
Mr. Stanton to be wheeled into the schoolhouse.
A couple of ladies quickly offered the Stantons glasses of punch and
some snacks.
Mr. Stanton was so taken aback by all of this that he didn’t
have time to react. Then, both he and
Mrs. Stanton were stunned when a hush fell over the small crowd and an angelic
voice could be heard from inside the schoolhouse. Minnie Tyler wheeled Mr. Stanton into the
schoolhouse to hear his son play the dulcimer and sing a beautiful mountain
song. Without even thinking about it,
Mr. Stanton began singing along with his son.
It was clear where Boyd got his musical talent. Minnie Tyler put a dulcimer in front of Mr.
Stanton and placed the mallets in his hands. He began playing a duet with his son, tears streaming from his
eyes. Years of anger and self-pity
washed away from his face.
“You know, Miss Tyler,” Byron Page, Leah Page’s grandfather,
said to Minnie Tyler, “I never guessed you would have lasted two seconds here. How you’ve tamed this wild bunch has been
beyond me.” Byron Page was one of the
men who discussed Minnie Tyler’s
appearance in town when she first arrived the previous summer.
“Well, Mr. Page, when I finished up my college study, I knew
I wanted to be a teacher. I also knew
that I couldn’t teach just anywhere.
When I found out about this place, everyone tried to talk out of coming
here. They all said I might as well go to Timbuktu. I drove here in early summer and just fell in
love. I knew I had to teach here.”
“I guess you’ll probably be movin’ on though, just like all
the others who’ve come and gone over the years.”
“What’s my name?”
“It’s Miss Tyler.”
“Mr. Byron Page, I’m here for the long haul. Oliver’s Gulch is home to me now.”
Miss Tyler was in it for the long haul. She taught at Oliver’s Gulch for thirty years
and only stopped teaching when the
student population dropped to only four students. Those students went to live with relatives in other
communities during the school year. The
football team she started continued as
long as there were at least six players on the team. Gymnastics, singing, and even drama were
always a part of student life. Minnie
Tyler continued to fill her students with the sounds of Frost, Sandburg, Keats,
Angelou, Shakespeare, and many others from all times and all places.
When Minnie Tyler’s last days of teaching in Oliver’s Gulch
were on the horizon, the folks who had
seen what she had done over the years felt they needed to honor her. Of
course, the children she taught in the past had long since gone on to other
things. Most went to college. It was likely that Oliver’s Gulch would have
dried up on its own, but Minnie Tyler always had mixed feelings about her role in it. She would wonder whatever it was she had done
to do get her students to think about what lay beyond the mountains that surrounded
their isolated community. So much of
what she did was spontaneous and intuitive. One morning, Minnie Tyler, who
bought the house she had had a room in all those years, heard the sounds of
dulcimers, bells and voices coming from a distance. She dressed and went outside.
As she walked toward the old schoolhouse, she became
overwhelmed by the sight of hundreds of former students who had come back to
see her. The first question each one
asked her was, “What’s my name, Miss Tyler?” She knew each and every one by
name. The parents and relatives of many of the former students,
including the Stantons, were also there.
After much singing, playing, eating, drinking, and game playing, the
large group came together. Leah Page
invited everyone to close their eyes and silently pray “The Lord’s Prayer,” or
any other prayer of their choice. After
the prayer, a solitary voice, that of Boyd Stanton, began reciting the “Preamble”
to the U.S. Constitution. Gradually,
everyone – former students, relatives, and friends – joined in.
To close out the festivities on a happy note, Willie
Starfield, who had gone on to great success as an engineer and building
contractor, announced that the little schoolhouse was going to be completely
restored, and that he and others were going to establish an educational retreat
built on the philosophy that had served them so well thought the years. He kept
his remarks brief, but concluded by noting
that “Miss Minnie Tyler made us
realize that even though we lived in Oliver’s Gulch, a place no one had ever
heard of much less been to, we were truly special people with names that were
‘nice names, strong names, and good names.’ “
He unveiled a signed to be placed above the entrance to the
schoolhouse. It read: “Though no bulldozer will ever flatten this
building or the spirits of those who were privileged to study, learn, and play
here, we,the Oliver’s Gulch ‘Bulldozers,’ will never forget everything our
teacher, Miss Minnie Tyler, inspired and instilled in us. And by the way, the desks inside this
schoolhouse were never used!” Below
that was a quotation from Minnie Tyler that no one would ever forget: “What’s my name?”
