Anderson, Roxanna

ANDERSON, GAYLORD

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 7/6/2019 at 09:45:10

Roxanna E. (Gaylord) Anderson
Lamoni's Passing Parade. by Joseph Anthony. p. 38

She was my first school teacher in Lamoni. I went to school that first day under protest, as there were only two months of the school year left and I thought it would be a good idea to wait and start out with the new year in the fall. However, my parents had other ideas, and consequently after a few preliminary arrangements I was escorted by some member of the family as far as the Gaylord home, as Miss Gaylord (this was before she became Mrs. David Anderson) had promised to see that I reached the schoolhouse safely and was properly enrolled.

I will always remember our first meeting and the short visit at the home ( I did little of the talking) before leaving for the schoolhouse. She was young and good-looking - too good-looking, I thought, to be a school teacher, and her method of expression - here enunciation and pronunciation - was perfect. I listened as though I were in a dream world, answering her questions awkwardly and clumsily and was very conscious whenever I used the word "ain't" or confusedly forgot a number of "ings." She called me Joseph, and always did thereafter, the only person of my acquaintance, I think, who persisted in that practice.

During the time I was in her classes I found her to be the type of teacher who encouraged her pupils to think and installed in them a desire to achieve something more than just the ordinary; and a teacher who can accomplish those two things with youngsters from thirteen to sixteen years of age has really accomplished something worth while. She knew children and she knew how to make them respect her wishes, and in doing this won their respect for herself as well.

I do not remember hearing anything about child psychology in those days but I think she knew a lot of the answers to the questions the students of that subject might ask today. One day one of the other teachers in the system had occasion to punish one of the larger boys in her room. The boy had resisted and it turned out to be more than a commonplace chastisement. The youngster had apparently fainted during the fray and the teacher, breathless and white-faced, burst excitedly into our room and called upon Miss Gaylord for help.

Quite naturally this situation caused the occupants of our room to be greatly excited, and, though we were commanded by our teacher to remain in our seats as she hurriedly went to the assistance of her friend, some of us found opportunity to witness what went on out in the hall. Miss Gaylord approached the lad, who apparently lay unconscious upon the floor. She spoke calmly to him but received no audible answer, but evidently from some tell-tale movement or expression of his face she detected the true situation, and turning to the other teacher she said sharply, "Give me that strap." Then again turning to the boy she commanded: "Now, Frank, you get up and go to your seat or I will give you a whipping you will not forget." Frank took her at her word, went to his seat, and the affair was ended.

During my last year under her (and she had become Mrs. Anderson in the meantime) an incident occurred which has stimulated a life-long appreciation of her. We were playing football at recess when one of my classmates and I had an argument. For a moment scathing words passed between us, which were only the forerunner of more violent action. In a frenzy I clenched my fists and drew back to strike, and then glancing beyond my antagonist I saw Mrs. Anderson rapidly approaching the scene, and a few minutes later she re-entered the building followed by two sullen lads who in their hearts were swearing vengeance up each other after school. She calmly motioned us to our seats and after recess conducted the remaining classes of the day as though nothing unusual had happened. Then, when time came for the closing of school, she said: "Wilber and Joseph will remain - the balance of the class is dismissed."

I do not think either of us was surprised by this announcement as we had both evidently spent the time since recess preparing ourselves for the tongue lashing we felt would be forthcoming: but instead of punishment she went quietly about her work as soon as the other pupils had left the room. She calmly rearranged some details of her desk and replaced some books upon the shelves of the bookcase. This completed to her satisfaction she quietly stepped out of the room and closed the door.

For some time two sullen youngsters sat there stolidly and in their thoughts swearing vengeance at each other. Then as time passed and she did not return, each tried stealing sidelong glances at his antagonist to see how he was reacting to this unexpected state of affairs. Still she failed to return . . . The stillness was becoming oppressive and time was dragging unmercifully. Did she intend to keep us there all night? Had she gone home? These and a dozen other similar questions raced through our minds, and finally we happened to glance in each other's direction at the same time. Each caught the other's eye and we both grinned two big sheepish grins. That was about all there was to it. A few moments later she re-entered the room and with a few casual remarks about lessons or some other commonplace interests she dismissed us. We walked away from the schoolhouse together as good friends as ever, and a friendship that has lasted from that day to this was greatly enriched by this experience.

The youngsters and the schools today need teachers like Roxanna Anderson, teachers who can instill in their pupils the lessons which help them to avoid the shamming and bluffing, thus incorporating in their lives those finer things and building stronger and truer friendships. Her years of service did not and when she severed her connection with the Lamoni schools, but are still bearing fruit in the lives of youngsters who came under her influence. All honor to her and the important position she holds in Lamoni's passing parade.

NOTE: Roxanna was born in 1875, and died on October 11, 1932. She was interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni IA.

Copied by Jean Belzer, November 8, 2002

Note by Sharon R. Becker, July of 2015