The Big Gray House and the School Bus: The Big Gray House Iv

By J. Henry

THE SCHOOL BUS shows the unfairness of the practice of "separate but equal" and shows how one community did something about it in the early 1950s. It shows how seemingly unrelated events connected in unimaginable ways. It further shows how people can work together to solve common problems if they have the right motivation. It highlights the family as an important institution of the community as it works along with the church and school. It is easy reading for children and adults, and could be used in related studies of history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490766942

Book preview

© Copyright 2015 Henry Dyson.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6693-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-6694-2 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Trafford rev. 11/11/2015

33164.png     www.trafford.com

North America & international

toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada)

fax: [phone]

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

A Scary Walk to School

A Bright Idea

Meeting the Superintendent

Expanding the Idea

The Drunk Driver

The Purchase Request

The Cost of the Bus

PTA Approval!

Project EHS!

Like Father - Like Son

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

Preparation for the Bus

The Bus! The Beginning of Change

Historical Prospective

DEDICATION

TO

BETTY A. DYSON

MY WIFE

FOR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAEMENT

HENRY DYSON *

JANIE DYSON *

MY PARENTS

Mr. J. C. PRIOLEAU, JR. *

PRINCIPAL, EBENEZER HIGH SCHOOL

COUNTLESS AND NAMELESS MEMBERS

OF THE EBENEZER COMMUNITY

THAT MADE

PROJECT EHS POSSIBLE

ISAAC L. DYSON* AND ROBERT (BUCK) DAVIS

THE FIRST STUDENT BUS DRIVERS

(DECEASED *)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T he basic events of this book are true: The parents, teachers, students and community of Ebenezer High School, Dalzell, South Carolina, raised money and bought their first school bus!

Many of those involved in Project EHS will never be individually named, or recognized. This book is designed to say a collective THANK YOU to those countless, nameless persons. Very often we do not show gratitude to those who struggled to pave ways for us, and were not around to see the results of their efforts. I recommend that we locate any that are still alive and talk to them about their experiences. They may be your parents, grandparents, relatives or friends. Ask them if they remember any of the events mentioned in this book, or similar events. Please take the time to thank them personally

Special thanks to my proof reader, Ekundayo Azibo.

I would be interested in seeing any material you may find in your family archives that relate to The School Bus. Also, please start a conversation with your children and grandchildren as a way of making their history come alive. Reach me at [e-mail].

PREFACE

T his book represents the fourth edition in The Big Gray House series. It is different because it is the author’s first attempt at writing a novel. Editions I, II, and III included many short stories in the life of Franklin Meyers.

The School Bus shows how one family, one school and one community dealt with a problem that existed when separate but equal was the law of the land. This story was probably duplicated in many places throughout the United States, involving many different issues, as determined citizens came together, and pooled their meager resources to solve problems that affected their communities. It shows the power of the human spirit, the importance the adults placed on education, and how, sometimes, seemingly unrelated incidents affected situations in unexpected ways.

The School Bus covers a period in the early 1950s, when many homes and schools did not have electricity, indoor plumbing, or telephones. Without electricity there was also no television or refrigeration. The three main institutions of the community were the family, church and school.

This book includes a section entitled, Historical Prospective, to show some other events that were happening around America during the same period covered by this book. You can see how some of these things, especially court cases, started to have ripple effects that reached all the way down to South Carolina, Sumter County, Dalzell, and into the Ebenezer community.

This goes to show that each person can do something to impact a situation, no matter how big the problem, or how small the contribution. I hope you can find some inspiration within these pages.

A SCARY WALK TO SCHOOL

A s the Meyers children, their cousins and friends took their usual route to school one morning a school bus came barreling down the road. It was right up on them before the driver blew the horn, frightening every one! They jumped out of the road and into the bushes just in time to avoid being hit. The bus missed them, but their clothes were dirtied by the bushes, and the dust stirred up by the bus. The students on the bus were laughing and yelling at the walking group as they scrambled to figure out what had just happened. The white schools had just received brand new buses, and this was a new driver. He drove like a wild man, trying to scare them. They had seen the buses before, but the drivers never tried to frighten or hit them before.

After the bus passed and the dust started to settled, the larger children picked up the smaller ones and dusted them off as well as they could. This is terrible! said Lois, as she pulled George and Franklin out of the bushes. Your clothes are dirty, and your books scattered. Are you hurt? That driver must have been crazy! We have to explain this to all of our teachers at school, and then to Mom and Dad when we get home. They started off to school again, grumbling and expressing their anger. Despite the incident, they still needed to get to school before the bell rang. Hurrying along, they decided to let Lois and Marilyn talk to the principal, Mr. J.C., and the teachers.

They finally arrived at school and talked to the principal and teachers, who understood, tried to calm them down and cleaned them up. After the excitement died down, they managed to have almost a normal day. At the end of the day, the teachers warned the students to be careful on the way home.

Leaving school that day, everyone was nervous, and waited for Lois, Larry and Marilyn to be sure they would walk together. They had agreed to meet at the edge of the school yard near the road that headed home. Once assembled, they started walking home, agreeing to keep a watchful eye out for any signs of the bus. I sure don’t want a repeat of this morning, Larry said. Maybe we can make a little plan to help ourselves."

The older children, Larry, Lois, Judy and Cousins Marilyn and Susan, developed a little plan that would act as warning system. They agreed that one of them would walk far out in front of the group, and one in the rear. They would look out for the bus and give a yell or a whistle to warn the group if they saw, or heard it coming. That would allow the rest of the group to move out of the road, and seek shelter on a path or side road. Larry agreed that he would watch every day and the girls could watch on alternate days. He figured that since he was the oldest boy he