Amanuensis Monday – Politics at Asbury Park, NJ School - June 1941

I hope my great-aunt Addie Tucker doesn’t mind if I share a letter she received from one of her Asbury Park, New Jersey teaching colleagues in June 1941.  Reading the letter I couldn’t help think – the more things change, the more they stay the same – workplace politics.  If I didn’t know when this was written, I would guess it was recent, as school politics seem to remain pretty much the same.

I share this letter on the off chance someone has an ancestor listed.

Letter addressed to:

Miss Adalade C. Tucker

Trumansburg, NY

From: Louise D. Mehegan

1319 Fourth Avenue

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Posted June 15, 1941

“Dear Adalade: We were so glad to hear from you and had no idea of waiting so long to reply. There has been much excitement at school and I have waited day by day for two weeks to see how things came out before writing you. There is so much to tell you I hardly know where to start. Contracts were not given out until May 27^th and at High School May 28^th and then several were missing. I’ll try to remember them all.

Miss Wood, Jane McCarthy, Lil Monks, Emma Martin, Mr. King, Mr. Hemphill, Viola Osborne, Mr. Greer, Mrs. Gleason.

The two latter are young but the board decided not to give them under tenure and the others are 62 or more. They were within their rights in letting them out but it was the short notice that made everyone furious. The Mothers Clubs – Dr. Shaw. Mrs. Hurley and a lot of others went to the board meeting last Tuesday. The Teachers’ Ass’n had a “hot” meeting – Ella says the hottest one. The “big shot” was there and what they did to him was plenty.

The result was they are coming back next year. We will tell you all about it when we see you. We can fill a book on the subject. Really the school was demoralized for two weeks. You never saw such a rumpus. Well it is all over now and what a let-down.

We have heard today that Miss Grady’s mother, sister and niece were all killed in an auto accident yesterday. They were on their way to Asbury to spend the weekend with  Grady. Isn’t that terrible? It was a rainy day and perhaps that had something to do with it.

It is the first time we ever remember having a storm for the final school meeting. It poured. Irene started away after the meeting. She was going to Mary’s and start from there this morning.

The Hemphills went out to Wooster, O. for his reunion and then on to their camp in N.J. They expect Margaret and the children about July first to spend the summer with them at camp.

We do not know when Mr. Miller (?) along with the rest are moving but will let you know before I come. Does Robert know we are to get the Windsor chair from him to bring to you? If not, will you write him a card and tell him we will get it?

Don’t think of any other news just now so will just say hope to see you before long. Until then be good – as ever, Louise