Economic
repercussions and the high unemployment rates created by the Great Depression,
extending into the early 1940s were significant factors leading our mother to
her one room school teacher job in the late 1930s.When she graduated with the Kenesaw High School class of 1936, Fern Mae Enevoldsen was awarded a scholarship to attend college based on her musical talents. Throughout her years in Kenesaw, she sang and played the piano for many community gatherings. The scholarship provided for only a portion of the college costs; unfortunately, her family did not have the money for her to realize her dreams of pursuing this educational opportunity. Instead, her life took another pathway, likely one of financial survival, as earnings for one room school teachers were meager.
One year after finishing high school, Fern Mae Enevoldsen was hired to teach at District 37, Sunnyside School, located northeast of Kenesaw where she spent the 1937-1938 and 1938-1939 school years. With the help of the county superintendent, she organized the Sunnyside Parent Association. As a child, she told me stories about arriving early at the school so she could warm the building and prime the pump. Being the sole teacher in a one room school required a lot of tasks beyond instructing children of many ages and it must have been quite difficult during the
cold winter months to face these challenges.
After these two school years, my mother left teaching and enrolled at the Olsen Beauty College in Hastings. She pursued a career as a hair stylist before and after her marriage to Francis “Pep” Martin in 1941. One only has to look at her photos to understand her artistic passions.
Throughout her life, our mother continued informal teaching by enriching the lives of her two daughters, Janet and Karen, providing them with opportunities to attend great musical and artistic performances as well as instructing them in the fine arts of homemaking – cooking, sewing needlecraft, and entertaining. She was involved in community service, leading student organizations such as 4-H and Jobs Daughters. She also shared her Holy Land travel experiences through her in-depth, detailed presentations to high school students and church groups.
Even though our mother did not continue her formal teaching beyond the two years she spent in a one room school setting, her contributions to her family and her community descend through generations and are still evident.
Fern Mae Enevoldsen Martin died in 1992. She is buried with her husband in the country at Ft. McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell, Nebraska.
One year after finishing high school, Fern Mae Enevoldsen was hired to teach at District 37, Sunnyside School, located northeast of Kenesaw where she spent the 1937-1938 and 1938-1939 school years. With the help of the county superintendent, she organized the Sunnyside Parent Association. As a child, she told me stories about arriving early at the school so she could warm the building and prime the pump. Being the sole teacher in a one room school required a lot of tasks beyond instructing children of many ages and it must have been quite difficult during the
cold winter months to face these challenges.
After these two school years, my mother left teaching and enrolled at the Olsen Beauty College in Hastings. She pursued a career as a hair stylist before and after her marriage to Francis “Pep” Martin in 1941. One only has to look at her photos to understand her artistic passions.
Throughout her life, our mother continued informal teaching by enriching the lives of her two daughters, Janet and Karen, providing them with opportunities to attend great musical and artistic performances as well as instructing them in the fine arts of homemaking – cooking, sewing needlecraft, and entertaining. She was involved in community service, leading student organizations such as 4-H and Jobs Daughters. She also shared her Holy Land travel experiences through her in-depth, detailed presentations to high school students and church groups.
Even though our mother did not continue her formal teaching beyond the two years she spent in a one room school setting, her contributions to her family and her community descend through generations and are still evident.
Fern Mae Enevoldsen Martin died in 1992. She is buried with her husband in the country at Ft. McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell, Nebraska.