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To say that Moss School in the
forties was conservative is an understatement. It was appropriate that it
be. The people in the community were poor, requiring that the school be
financially conservative. The families were decidedly Christian in their
daily lives. Guy Weber was a perfect fit as superintendent. Teachers were
not allowed to smoke, though some did. They didn't think we knew about it.
But we did. A pregnant teacher could not teach. I suppose they didn't want
us to know where babies came from. A student could not utter one profane
word without getting into trouble. And if he or she got into trouble at
school, he was in worse trouble when he got home. No one ever, ever,
sassed a teacher.
And then Geneva Jo Davis came to Moss and handled all
music programs. She was perhaps the best music teacher to ever teach
anywhere in Oklahoma. Students and parents loved her. She could bring out
the
best in any music student.
But conservative she was not. She seemed to enjoy
teaching music, and she and her students had fun. In fact, Miss Davis
enjoyed all of life. She was the most liberated woman I have known. Then
or since. And she did not take supervision well. Administration was about
half way afraid to tangle with her. She marched to her own music and to
that only.
Once day Superintendent Weber called her into his
office and closed the door. He sat down at his desk, was quiet for a
moment while he decided how to best approach the subject.
"Miss....ah...Miss Davis," he began cautiously, "It s
been reported that you smoke."
"Yes," she said quickly before he could continue. She
leaned over the desk and looked him directly in the eye. "And I drink and
sometimes tell dirty jokes."
Mr. Weber rearranged the tiny chew of tobacco that he
kept secretly (?) hidden in his jaw, and looked away from her. Finally, he
stood as if to dismiss her and said, "Well...I knew there wasn't anything
to it, but I had to ask."
Clayton Adair, Class of 1954 (Clayton attended Moss 1942-53 and
graduated from Holdenville - 1954) |