Bettina Pearson came to Cullman County from her graduation at Alabama College in 1941 to teach math at West Point. In those days, teachers taught whatever needed to be taught. She also taught typing, which she had for six weeks in college; history, which was not her favorite subject; algebra, business math and 7th, 8th and 9th grade math. She had a 9th grade homeroom and 7 periods with about 260 students a day.
She remembers the children[s first names were all different from those she had known, except for Mary, and her last name was Fullilove! She told that to somebody recently, and that person was kin to the Fulliloves.
Many of the young men did not graduate in 1941 because World War II started in December and Uncle Sam called them. One of those men was about six months younger than Miss Pearson. Because of the war, the business math was turned into aeronautical math, which she had never heard of before.
Twelve miles from Cullman, with no car and limited resources, Miss Pearson was ready to go to Cullman County High School in the fall of 1944. In 1943, Margaret Bird, a recent graduate from the University of Tennessee, joined the faculty at West Point as the home economics teacher. Sgt James F. Burns, her newly acquired boy friend, was picked up at the Cullman bus station by the principle, Mr. Hammer when Miss Bird and Miss Pearson were grocery shopping on Saturdays. Four of the teachers lived at the West Point teacherage that year, and Sgt. Burns often took pictures as he was flown over West Point school or when he came to see Margaret, whom he married in 1944.
Several of Sgt Burns’ pictures can be seen in History of Cullman County. Vol. II, published by the Cullman Times in 2004. Other pictures will be presented to the museum as Bettina Pearson has time to peruse the 40 something books of pictures stored at the home of Mrs. Paul Presto in Cullman. One volume (1980-81) shows pictures made in Utah when Mrs. Raymond Higdon, at that time, and Mrs. John Gregath visited the Willis who had come from Salt Lake to Alabama at Mrs. Higdons request after the tornado devastated the court house in Jasper. There are also pictures of the 1881-1981 First Methodist celebration and some of the members who celebrated these 100 years, including Mr. and Mrs. Robert Moore, Jennie Nance and C. J. Cartron.
Published U.S. Legacies Aug 2005
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