| Coach Birtchet was gifted at making history come alive (and he was so charming and good-looking!). Sophomore year, Betty and I were in his world history class, along with Billy Wilbanks, James Brantley, and Tommy Normand. The basketball players were gods, of course, to Coach Birtchet and everybody else, but they really were smart and always knew the answers. Betty and I were mere mortals, but decided we'd show them that even though we were lowly 10th-graders, we could compete. Coach taught us how to use mnemonics to remember lists, such as the many contributions of the Romans, by making up a word from the first letters of each item to be remem- bered. This was back in the days when grades were numerals rather than letters, and both Betty and I got 99s for at least one six-weeks. However, if I remember correctly, Billy Wilbanks got 100! ---Jan |
| Miss Davis put up with me for 3 years! She taught me how to make custom- fitted, lined suits with professional-looking bound buttonholes---and how to stay out of the way of her "shillelagh." She taught us that a shillelagh (pronounced shuh-LAY-lee) is an Irish stick made of blackthorn, a wood strong enough to break an Irish skull. She was proud of her Irish heritage. ---Jan Read the note from Miss Davis's grandniece at More Favorite Teachers. |
| "Miss Minnie" probably had the greatest effect on my life, since her class locked in the love of Spanish and Spanish-speaking people that led to several of my "careers." A master teacher, she taught us the vocabulary that we wanted to learn. She was business-like, often in a no-nonsense, tailored green suit, and kept a pretty tight rein on her fun-loving students. She sponsored a Spanish Fair in which we painted murals and posted them in the hallway, and she took us on field trips to San Antonio, where we toured the Alamo and Mission San Jose, lunched at Casa Rio, and brought home souvenirs from the shops. I adored her! ---Jan Bee "Miss Minnie" died July 1, 2007; was buried in Herrington Cemetery near Cedar Knob. She tried with all her might to help me understand Spanish verbs...nada. Pronunciation was fine....but verbs are where it ended...she was benevolent in giving me a C-...The trips to San Antonio and the Casa Rio will always be remembered. Bon Voyage, Miss Minnie. ---Rob |
| Mrs. Johnson, too, managed to keep her rowdy class in order, tiny young thing though she was! I remember doing an illustrated book report on Willa Cather's book, One of Ours, and really enjoying the assignment. She also introduced us to Shakespeare by taking us to plays at her beloved alma mater, The University of Texas. She was a very effective teacher who taught me a lot---but I still occasionally split my infinitives. ---Jan P.S. Both Judy PS. and Janean called all the Howard Johnsons in the Austin phone book and finally found our heroine. I was pleased to see the note about Mrs. Johnson’s retirement, as I have thought about her several times over these past 40-plus years. She was probably my most favorite teacher in high school, and I’m not sure how many English teachers can claim such a thing. One thing I remember about her class was book reports. We were supposed to do a book report every 6 weeks. She assigned us three books and we were allowed to choose the other three. I went up to her after class to let her know that I had already read the assigned books and wanted her to suggest others. As I recall, she was quite taken aback that a student would admit to already having read an assign-ment, but she did give me some other titles. (I have never been a particularly analytical reader, but I do still read voraciously and average at least three books per week – sometimes a book or more a day if I have the time. Obviously I don’t do a lot of heavy reading now that I am out of school. ---Linda M. |
| She told us about the Indian Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadalupe. |
| I guess the teacher who influenced me the most was Mr. Anthony. His algebra class really turned me on to math. When I was at UT, my advisor asked me what I wanted to major in, and math and English were the only things I could think of. So I had a double major, math and English---a very unusual combination. I never taught English, as math teachers were always more in demand. shortage. (See more about him on Pg. 2) ---Janean |
| "Miss Minnie" took the Spanish Club to San Antonio. |
| Margaret Davis |
| Donald Anthony |
| Favorite Teachers |
| I also remember that a teacher who shall remain nameless took a gavel and a book which she put on my head, and then hit the book to show that you can't beat the things in the book into one's head. I believe it was after I had passed the mid-terms, when I was hardly passing. ---Dewey Graduation Day! The morning of graduation rehearsal was so much fun - but then - that same teacher called me aside after practice and informed me that I would not be graduating with the class that night because I was short one book report! Terror at BHS! How could this happen! She took me to the classroom and told me I could give an oral report, but would need to do it right then and there. I could not tell you what book report I gave, but it satisfied her. The rest is history and to this very day, I have terrible dreams about Senior English! ---Judy PS |
| Rosemary Johnson |
| Mack Birtchet |
| It seems that not ALL our teacher memories are good ones... |
| As for my favorite teachers, I guess that I also enjoyed and learned a lot the year with Mrs. Johnson. I appre- ciated working on the yearbook and getting to go to the Shakespearean plays at UT that the sponsors took us to. ---Judy E |
| I agree with Bob and Janean that Mr. Jones and Mr. Anthony were such nice people who provided help over and above the call of duty, and I would add Joe Wilson (Algebra I) to that list. ---Judy E. |
| I smile when I read what others say about Mrs. Minnie. She saw very quick- ly that our class was a "lost cause" and really expected (and got) almost nothing from us. ---Judy E. |
| 1959: Staff of the BHS yearbook/annual, The Lair, sponsored by Mrs. Johnson, third from left. |
| Some fifty years later, I remember our high school instructors from a different vantage. Bailey and Pauline Jones were probably the two most gifted teachers to endure me. Mrs. Jones taught 4th grade at Tyler Elementary, making every subject interesting, particularly literature, where her ability to interpret such stories as "Heidi" made each character come to life. Opposites apparently attract, since her husband, Bailey, was pragmatic and steady in the classroom, where he struggled valiantly to explain plane geometry to me, despite my complete absence of analytical skills. I don't know whether he knew I was cribbing from sweet little Gladys before I confessed, begging for mercy for a poor kid who needed the course to graduate. He said, "On the final, write down everything you know about the subject." I wrote pages of gibberish only a mother would love (and only someone who loved me would have even attempted to decipher). When the grades were posted, I received a D-, which was sufficient to graduate me. Thank you, Mr. Jones, for your benevolence; otherwise, I would still be warming a seat in Belton High School. ---Robert Lee Now I probably owe Mr. Jones an apology for failing Algebra II, as I sort of made up my mind I was not going to do it. (Later, as a college course, I did pass it.) ---Dewey |
| Bailey Jones |
Donde
estan los
servicios?
estan los
servicios?
| My favorite teachers were Jean Caraway and Mrs. Johnson. ---Nancy |
| Jean Caraway |
| Jean Caraway and Mrs. Johnson were my favorite teachers. ---Nancy Note: Ms. Caraway taught physics, chemistry, and biology, and she was the Science Club sponsor. |
| Coach Pirtle was not only a beloved figure around BHS, but he was also my Sunday School teacher. He was very gracious to give his time to escort our class around the "new" high school at our '95 reunion. In fact, he has dedicated his whole life to serving his community---especially kids. ---Jan Bee Coach Pirtle gave me a lot of encouragement which I still use to this day. ---Johnny W. |
| Apr. 10, '08 from Coach Pirtle: What a joy to log onto your website. The class of 1960. What a GREAT class and a GREAT bunch of kids. YOU ARE SPECIAL! Look forward to hearing from you. Coach Pirtle |
| Joe Pirtle |
| Joseph Wilson |
| August 18, 2009, Mrs. J writes: Even though you have not heard from me in a long time, I am still alive. I wrote a little about myself and tried to get it into the computer, but had no success. I have enjoyed all of your emails. It is hard for me to imagine that so many of the last class that I taught at Belton are now grandparents and great grandparents. I was really planning and hoping that I could attend the 50 year reunion of the class. It is sad for me to tell you that I will be attending the graduation of my oldest granddaughter from the School of Nursing of Ohio State University on June 13th. I retired with 34 years of working in the field of education, and I have been retired since December of 1995. I am still very active and stay busy with activities and responsibilities at our church, am active in the Austin Retired Teacher's Organization, Reading Circle and still walk many miles each week. We did much traveling for many years, but not much lately. My husband"s health is not the best. We also have a granddaughter who will be a senior in McNeil High School in Round Rock and a grandson who will be a freshman at the same school. These two children are our son's children and the girl in Ohio is our daughter's child. Thank you again for always including me in your emails. With fond memories, Rosemary Johnson (Another letter and photo from Mrs. Johnson dated June 1, 2010, is on Favorite Teachers, Page 2). |
| "Miss Minnie" Henderson |