Edward Eudy

From the Advertiser Gleam:  Mr. Edward Eudy passed away in Linden, Tennessee on January 12, 2011.  Complete arrangements will be announced later by Gober Funeral Chapel.

 Today we hear an awful lot on the news about bullying in schools.  Kids can be cruel and Edward Eudy wasn't exempt from teasing and jeering.  He failed three grades and was fifteen years old when he was in my 6th grade class.

Ms. Lolas Waldrop was our 6th grade teacher, and a fine teacher she was.  She made all the holidays very special for her students, including Valentine's Day.  On February 14, 1970 she brought a beautifully decorated box to school with a slit wide enough to put your hand through.  The box was filled with those tiny candy hearts with words on them like Be Mine and Sweetie Pie.  Each boy in the class got to choose a girl to go up to the front of the room and draw hearts until the words on his heart matched her heart.  You got to keep the hearts you drew.  It sounds so simple now, but those were the days before computer games and I-phones.  There wasn't even cable TV at the Grove.

Ms. Waldrop, a woman ahead of her time, knew that it was only fair for each girl to have an opportunity to choose a boy to go up and draw candy.  When it was my turn, I chose Edward Eudy, well, because I felt sorry for him.  This choice catapulted into uncontrollable laughter from Nickey Walker and Jay Porch.  After Ms. Waldrop got the class back under control, she gave me a wink and a smile.

The reason I remember the details of this event is because Ms. Waldrop went to my Grandmother Gibson's house that afternoon to tell her about my noble deed.  (Mama Gibson was in Ms. Waldrop's Sunday School class.)  That was just the kind of teacher Ms. Waldrop was.  What a legacy she left after 40 years of teaching!    

My Dad believed that education was the way out of poverty.  Lord knows Ms. Waldrop and the other teachers at Union Grove did their very best to educate Edward.  May he rest in peace.