Written and told by Helen Kavanaugh Tobbe (1905-2002) and transcribed by her youngest child, Kate Tobbe Ptak.

When I was a freshman in high school, I had been horseback riding with a friend a few times and really enjoyed it. A friend of the family, Mr. Carroll, had a horse and was looking for someone to exercise it. WP worked out an arrangement with Mr. Carroll so I could ride his horse. The horse would be brought to our house, already saddled. One day, WP looked over the horse as usual, before letting me ride. He didn't think the saddle was on right, so he adjusted it. I then got on the horse and went off riding with my friend Margaret, whose father was a milkman. We were enjoying a good ride and decided to ride over by the cemetery along a gravel path. Margaret suddenly decided to give her horse a good run, and a stone from the path must have hit my horse, for it suddenly bolted. The horse took off down a paved road, the saddle slipped, I fell onto the concrete, and that's how I broke my shoulder.

High school was great fun because we had a good football team. There were Friday night parties after each game. Jim Gates, a wonderful piano player, was most happy to play all evening in the school gym. Then, to see which boyfriend would walk you home!

Winter fun included ice skating down on the river, just a few blocks from home. The big boats docked for the winter would put spotlights on the river, the city having scraped a long section for skating, and for music we had two fellows playing their harmonicas. When the lights were turned out, we all scampered for the hot dog stand on the street. I've never had a hot dog taste that good since.

In 1918 there was a terrible flu epidemic. WP and Uncle Jerry Callahan both got the flu. A trained nurse was needed to care for WP. We kids were sent to Grandma's until Dad got better, so we wouldn't catch the flu from him.

World War I was raging during my high school years. The only family member I remember involved directly in the war was my Uncle Bill, Nellie's youngest brother, who was sent to Dijon, France. Uncle Bill had bad eyes. He went into the recruiting office with a friend. Bill was accepted, but his friend was rejected. Later, after Bill had gone through basic training and was being shipped overseas, he found out the friend was rejected for having bad eyesight. Bill realized that their medical results had gotten mixed up, but it was too late to make any changes, so off he went.

 

Helen (Mudi) Kavanaugh's Uncle Bill, her mother's youngest brother. Source: Kavanaugh Family Files 

My only other war related memories involved a German fellow who was dating the daughter of one of our neighbors. There was no animosity towards him, but he did get teased. I remember Jr. and Louis Callahan (Uncle Jerry's son) would sell newspapers to him, calling out, "Extra, Extra, -News of the war with Germany!!". They'd sell a paper to him, then run away like hell before he'd realize it was a day old paper. Even during the couple's wedding, Jr., Louis, and Teddy Vallee played a prank on that poor fellow.

WP was influential in Bay City business affairs, and about 1919 or 1920 he was asked to run for the board of elections. In the process of preparing to do so, he discovered he was not a U.S. citizen, so had to apply for citizenship and take the test. WP had been voting all this time, but to be sure that he passed, he felt he needed to study for the test. Jr. and I teased Dad about needing to do his homework and study for his big test.

When I was in 10th or 11th grade, WP bought a fur coat for my Aunt Madeleine and bought one for me as well. I was really proud of that raccoon coat and wore it to school even in the spring. One day, in early May, I had worn it to school. In those days girls were not allowed to wear short sleeves at school. If girls had short sleeved outfits they could wear "sleevelets" which were long gloves with the hands cut out. I had a short sleeved outfit on that day and got caught. After lunch, the nun teaching the class called me on my short sleeves. I couldn't find my sleevelets, so Sister told me to put on my coat. Rather than borrow a friend's jacket, I put on my raccoon coat. I got a huge laugh when I sashayed out of the cloakroom wearing that coat, but Sister got the last laugh when she made me wear that big heavy coat for the rest of the HOT, HOT afternoon.

Helen Kavanaugh (Mudi) and John McGinty (1923).  Source: Kavanaugh Family files.  

After high school, I went to college at Mary Wood in Grand Rapids, Michigan which was a long ride on the Michigan Central Railroad. (Today, it's about a two hour ride by car) I had gained enough weight by the time I arrived home at Easter, that I had to wear my school uniform all break - it was, let's say, a pleasant year!

The following year I went to Ypsilanti Normal School which was a two-year course of study for teachers. My credits from Mary Wood transferred, so I only spent one year and a summer at the Normal School. (The normal school was incorporated later into Eastern Michigan University's Education Department in Ypsilanti - The building is still there) My sister-in-law, Pearl, was there at the same time I was and we stayed in the same boarding house near the school. I graduated from that program, earning a lifetime teaching certificate. In 1927, I got a job in the Detroit School System. They were not hiring too many new teachers that year, but because I asked for a black school, I was hired. Although Lyons Public School was mostly a black school, I was placed in a portable building about a mile from the main school. The portable building was in Hamtramack an immigrant (all Polish and Slavic) neighborhood.

I taught Kindergarten & Irene Schindler taught first grade in the adjoining room. We became good friends sharing laughs about our teaching experiences. I taught there for about two years. I remember one little boy who was a real troublemaker, and although the kids at the school could barely speak English, this little boy, named Hillary, sure knew all the English swear words! One day, I was fed up with Hillary's swearing, so I hustled Hillary into the bathroom and showed him the bar of soap, threatening to wash his mouth out with it. Later that day, I got worried that the parents would get upset, so confessed to the principal what I'd done. The parents were called and Hillary's father came to the conference. He was a big, burly fellow. After hearing the story, he stood up and took off his belt. I was afraid he was going to hit me with it - instead he handed the belt to me, saying, "If he swears again, use this!"