1935 - 1937 - Comments by Floy Ruggles

I was ten and in the fifth grade when we moved to the Armstrong place (Fred & Erma Zuege's lived there later). I really do not remember where Alice was then. She was home some of the time. When we moved to the Ritchey place, a mile or so northeast of there, she was teaching and was home part time-weekends and vacations. She was going with Rich Gregory then and got married about the time we moved to the Andres place about 4 miles west of Haigler.

During the school year of 1935, Edward Wall and I walked to school together. He would watch for me to cut across their pasture and come out to join me. After we moved to Ritchey's place, I walked through the field to Zuege's and Roy and Dale joined me then all four of us walked together.
Doralene White walked home with us as far as their turn off but could not see us from the house in the morning.

I think Roy Zuege's mother was Erma. They had a girl, Helen I think, that had not started school before I graduated from eighth grade-and moved. I stayed with them the last week or so of school because my parents moved before school was out. Then they had another girl later.

I stayed out of school one year after eighth grade. My parents thought maybe by the next year they could afford to send me to Platte Valley Academy. But the next year was not any better, financially, so I started Haigler High School. They moved to Parks the last six weeks of school and I transferred to Parks for the remainder of the year. For a few days or weeks I rode an old brakeless bike to Haigler to school. Then I got to ride with Tom Pierson and his wife, along with Dorothy Bush (later Clegg) and Helen Pennel. Piersons lived in Parks, I think, and came to Haigler every morning to work and back home in the afternoon. I think Tom had a mail route and Viola worked at the bank.

While we lived in Parks, Ed and Nellie Jensen came to work in this part of Nebraska and the Seventh-day Adventist Conference men began to realize we existed. My folks were encouraged to send me to Platte Valley Academy, near Shelton. I was told later that my dad had written to the Academy, soon after I started, saying that he was going to take me out because they could not see a way to keep me there. But the principal, Adam Rudy, persuaded him to leave me there. By God's grace, their $20 was there every month and I worked the other $20 at 19 cents an hour. I had a 2 hour study period before lights out in the evening to study and prepare 4 subjects. I was on the high honor roll throughout the next three years - also by the grace of God. I always studied my Bible Lesson thoroughly first, then did the others in the time remaining. I worked all afternoon and during free periods starting in the dining room and ironing room the first year. The next year I went to work for the Business Manager in the school office.

Refer back to the 1937 Entry