My folks moved to Clovis when I was in the middle of the
third grade. Next thing I knew, I was enrolled at La Casita
School!
My classroom was in the remodeled service station across
the street at the corner of Thornton and Seventh. I remember
having some difficulty in becoming acclimated.
An interesting event was the big football game later on against
Eugene Field. My friend Bob has told that story about Ned Biddix
and the Grant kid, who were our running backs.
That game was a big deal, as I remember. We played in our street
clothes. Three years my brother played for La Casita and they had
complete equipment. We had played baseball on hard-packed ground,
and my brother and his teammates played on grass fields in their
beautiful uniforms.
In the summer before the sixth grade my folks gave me a new Schwinn
bicycle for my birthday. I was proud of the bike and parked it where I
could see it from my desk during class. One day I was called to the
chalkboard and when I went back to my desk my bicycle was gone!
Someone had stolen it. I stormed out of the class in a hurry. I didn't
ask for permission as we were supposed to do. I ran around the
building and finally found it in the inner courtyard. I was very relieved
until I found a big long scratch on the tank between the handlebars.
In those days I had a temper and went looking for the culprits! I had
a good idea who they were because two of the boys had been excused
from the classroom a short time before. I was going to put a serious
amount of hurt on the boys, but the teacher would not let me.
I learned that he had sent the two out to play a trick on me. To this day
I have not forgiven that teacher.
Another story which I have mentioned before is about the school bully!
One day he decided that my turn had come. He always made his victim--
his "pick" of the day-- meet him just over the rock wall at the southwest
corner of the playground. That morning before breakfast I told my Dad
what was going on. His advice was simple. "Fight him and do the best
you can. If you don't, he will haunt you forever."
On the way to school I found a nice piece of 2X4 lumber near the wall.
I leaned it up against the old rock fence and continued to class. At noon
I took off as fast as I could to the wall and jumped over it.
The bully was much larger than I, since he had been put back in grades
in two different years. I had run as fast as I could and barely beat him over.
I picked up the board just as he was making a tackling lunge at me. I
swung as hard as I could and hit him on his arm just below the shoulder!
I felt like Babe Ruth hitting one out of Yankee Stadium. The bully started
crying and ran off the school grounds headed for his home north of the
school. We never did see him again. Someone said that he and his family
had moved.
I loved La Casita but really don't have many memories.
**********************
By Richard Drake,
"BARD of CHS '53"
For MIL'S PLACE
02-27-15
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