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An article in FIRST 100 YEARS OF NOLAN COUNTY, TEXAS (1985 by Nolan County Historical Commission) has this information about JEANETTE WADE (a very well-known school teacher in Sweetwater): Page 389 JEANETTE WADE
Jeanette Wade is remembered by many students as a social studies teacher at Reagan Junior High School in Sweetwater. Miss Wade completed forty-one years of teaching in Nolan County. She joined the Sweetwater staff in 1922 and taught until a few weeks before her death on December 17, 1963. Besides teaching social studies, she said that she taught everything during the years. This included twelve years of summer high school history and English, elementary grades, and she even coached a boys’ basketball team.
Miss Wade was a short lady, always neatly dressed. She demanded full attention in the classroom and commanded due respect from each pupil. Discipline was seldom a problem. She could conjure a steel face with squinted eyes of fire that would melt away about any disorder that might occur. If this did not achieve results, she was also notorious for swinging “Ole Buster”, a long thick paddle. She had a candid personality possessed with a sense of humor.
Her classes were interesting and educational. She saw each student as a separate individual. She once remarked, “In social study classes, a teacher has a chance of finding the capabilities of individual students and of helping point them out to each of them.” Her main interest was in her students. “Teaching is a rewarding profession. I’m proud of all my students as I watch them enter the fields of their choice and as they make achievements in areas of their professions and business.”
Lelia Jeanette Wade grew up at Clairemont in Kent County. When commenting on her early life, she stated, “My people were all ranching people. I always loved the life on the range and remember a favorite pony of mine. He was an Indian pony named Jimmy Cane that I rode all during my childhood.”
Miss Wade held a Bachelor of Science degree from Abilene Christian University and a Library and Master of Science degree from West Texas State University in Canyon. She also attended the University of Mexico. In the summers between 1940 and 1946, she was assistant to the Director of Girls at North Texas in Denton.
She enjoyed reading, sports, and good music. She read books on philosophy, especially the classic philosophers and the modern existentialists. Miss Wade was a member of the AAUW, Alpha Sigma Lambda, Delta Kappa Gamma, B&PW Club, and the John Dewey Philosophical Society. She was a member of the 4th and Elm Church of Christ.
Lelia Jeanette Wade authored the book OUR COMMUNITY (ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NOLAN COUNTY), published locally in 1960. She prepared an article for the Encyclopedia Americana on Sweetwater in 1961.
Miss Wade was an inspiration to students and friends. Though physically crippled, she stood as a monument to courage and strength. In her “Philosophy of Life”, she hoped to be remembered as “a good game guy”. Truly she was that and more, as she taught and molded knowledge and wisdom into the minds and lives of those around her. A cartoon in her book exclaims, “Jeanette Wade. Wanted Dead or Alive for Brainwashing School Kids!” She was a legend to those who knew her. Miss Wade was loved and respected by those who were fortunate enough to receive some of that “brainwashing”. |